We have been doing a lot of work with switches and sensors lately on our GO-3000 and GPSI-4000 line.
In addition to inputs (panic button, when a garbage truck empties a can, when emergency lights are on in an ambulance, etc.), we have been doing work on outputs lately as well.
While we are fairly reluctant to support “remote vehicle shutoff” due to liability reasons, we will work with certain customers on supporting outputs to do any range of things:
- Disable the vehicle’s starter (unless an authorized driver swipes in)
- Disable the vehicle’s fuel pump (if a vehicle is stolen or idling too long)
- power a buzzer or light for the following:
- Speeding
- Idling
- Forgot to sign in using a Driver ID card/keyfob
- On demand from dispatch
Basically, using outputs allows us to turn something on or off remotely, using relays. Since we don’t want customers accidentally wiring them wrong and stranding their drivers, we will be supporting this closely and only occasionally.
Anyway, here is a quick video of this in action, showing a couple of lights which depict the remote switches being turned on or off. Click on the photo to download a .mov (Quicktime from my iPhone) to view. If you don’t have Quicktime, sorry –just trust that we remotely change one light to turn off, and the other to turn on. The iPhone .mov is sideways if I try to create a blog-compatible .flv, so hopefully you can view this ok.
This is in our development lab where we are constantly pushing the envelope on how to make our products work for customer requirements.
This generally requires some sort of custom work for the customer, and a familiarity with the customer’s requirements, so we will limit this type of work where appropriate. But we have this capability now and can use it for custom requirements where security or other custom requirements are necessary and a big concern.
Rob.
