News & Blog

Telematics: Identification

Published On: 10th Nov 2017

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The use of identifying technologies to increase safety and security

With companies increasingly expecting high utilisation rates of their assets, such as road vehicles and construction equipment, understanding who was operating what, when and where becomes essential, not only for accountability but also resource and personnel management.

Simple Solutions has vast experience of applications involving remote identification and supply a number of integration-ready solutions to meet every requirement.

Identification: iButton

The ubiquitous iButton provides a convenient and low-cost identification solution that can be found on most Telematics’ hardware platforms today. With a small form factor, the ID ‘tag’ can be easily carried by the user and the identification process requires the user to present the tag to a receptacle that makes electrical connectivity to the Telematics device, which reads the unique identification number (also laser etched to the visible face of the tag) and sends to the application for matching with an individual’s name. While sometimes overlooked due to the relative simplicity of the identification solution, there are some hidden benefits on some devices, such as the ability to authenticate the user without any network connectivity (the valid user list is maintained on the device itself) and we will be providing a forthcoming blog entry dedicated to this topic.

Identification: RFID

Not having to physically present a tag to identify oneself can improve the capture process as the ID is read wirelessly, which helps adoption through minimising the human involvement. A common form factor is that of a credit card but can also come in the form of a fob, both of which are passive, meaning no battery is required and a long life is assured. With read ranges between 10cm and 50cm, the identification process can be performed without the user presenting the card or fob. Should the user already be using an existing RFID solution for access control or IT verification, there is also the possibility to reuse this identification solution with our Telematics devices.

Identification: Bluetooth

A number of our Telematics devices have Bluetooth available as either an internal option or an external accessory (commonly referred to as a dongle) that can interact with another Bluetooth enabled device, whether Standard Bluetooth for intelligent devices such as handsets and tablets or Bluetooth Low Energy devices such as key fobs. Both technologies support identification, with the Bluetooth Smart key fob having the ability to provide simple MMI features, like a push button to notify the Telematics device (and subsequently the application) that the user requires assistance or buzzer to notify the user that the assistance request has been acknowledged by the application provider.

Identification: Camera

With all of the above solutions subject to possible impersonation (using someone else’s iButton, RFID card, phone or key fob), we have the ability to take a digital picture of the driver or operator when important events occur, such as turning the ignition on or exceptions are detected, like poor driver behaviour and send the image immediately to an application. Visual identification is exceptionally powerful and provides an unquestionable record of who was present.

Identification: Biometric

Looking further ahead, we are constantly capturing the requirements of our markets and biometric solutions are receiving interest from solutions that need to improve the reliability and security of the identification process. Watch this space for more news from Simple Solutions on this topic..