Talking Electronics

• The GPS Cube is a miniature GPS datalogger / tracking system measuring only 63 x 57 x 35mm and powered from a single 9V battery. By using careful power management combined with a movement detection system it gives up to one week of typical tracking using standard a 9V Alkaline battery and up to one month using a 9V Lithium battery. Rechargeable NiMH batteries may also be used to reduce operating costs.

The unit features magnetic mounting and is provided in a weather resistant metal enclosure. Transfer of logged data is performed using the supplied infrared adapter (requires free RS-232 serial port) and the software supplied allows downloading and configuration of the unit.

Some example applications for the GPS Cube datalogger include:
# Covert GPS tracking and law enforcement
# Commercial vehicle monitoring and driver performance monitoring
# Bus and passenger vehicle timetable validation
# Athlete and sporting performance monitoring
# Staff travel recording and route optimization
# Recreational sport and leisure - motorsport, cycling, gliding etc.
# Livestock and animal tracking and management

When the GPS Cube is in standby mode current consumption is around 150uA giving months of standby time even with a cheap rechargable battery. The unit can be programmed to wakeup when movement is detected which enables the GPS receiver. The GPS receiver uses less than 40mA in full tracking mode and can be programmed to go back to sleep after a defined interval. By using this method battery power is not wasted while the target object isn't moving and extended battery life is possible.

Complex triggers may also be defined so that only required data is logged to memory. Many comparable products only allow a logging interval to be specified. The GPS Cube for example may be programmed to only log a position every 30 seconds during certain times of day while the vehicle is moving above 10Km/h. Eight different triggers with up to eight different trigger conditions may be defined.