| Enfora's Fast Track to Affordable Wireless Mobile Tracking |
As specialists in affordable wireless data solutions, Enfora produces
some of the best mobile tracking devices on the market. The company's
Spider® MT is an in-vehicle "transceiver" that employs the
RabbitCore RCM2020 core module as its processor, helping make it the most
economical wireless Internet Protocol (IP) mobile tracking device available.
As specialists in affordable wireless data solutions, Enfora produces
some of the best mobile tracking devices on the market. The company's
Spider® MT is an in-vehicle "transceiver" that employs the
RabbitCore RCM2020 core module as its processor, helping make it the most
economical wireless Internet Protocol (IP) mobile tracking device available.
Since its release last November, the Spider MT has become one of Enfora's
best-selling products. But to get the device to market quickly, the Plano,
Texas-based firm had no time to waste. With a major customer anxiously
waiting on an advanced order, Enfora looked to Rabbit Semiconductor to
help speed development time.
"We had a customer who wanted several thousand units, but we didn't
have a solution readily available for them," says Doug Bohls, Enfora's
director of product development. "Because development time was crucial,
we chose to go with the Rabbit processor. It proved to be the right choice,
as we had a working prototype within two weeks."
Wireless IP, also known as cellular digital packet data (CDPD), is a
technology that enables remote supervisors to easily track and communicate
with their fleet vehicles. The Spider MT is a GPS/CDPD transceiver that
first relays coordinates to a tracking system. Then, utilizing any web-ready
device, the user can access the vehicle's location, speed, and direction
of travel.
In designing the Spider MT, Enfora's engineers hoped to maximize functionality
while minimizing size. The Rabbit's compact dimensions and four serial
ports helped them meet their goals. "When we saw the Rabbit had four
serial ports, it met our block diagram architecture very well," says
Bohls. "And we're utilizing all four ports in the Spider MT."
The RabbitCore Development Kit, featuring the Dynamic C® development
system, helped Enfora's designers meet tight hardware and software deadlines
simultaneously. "Since we had such a short development cycle, we
couldn't wait for the hardware—it was being developed at the same
time," says Bohls. "So we had to do all of our development on
the kit that Rabbit supplied; then we simply hardwired over to our existing
modem. We just plugged a couple existing pieces together with the RabbitCore
and that was our development platform."
Dynamic C's highly developed software libraries saved the engineers
even more time. "With all those libraries built in, we didn't have
to develop any of the low-level functionality on the processor,"
says Bohls. "We got the core module, and within a day or two we were
doing some significant work." The Spider MT brings together the power
of wireless data and location awareness, giving drivers in-vehicle access
to communications tools that help them do their job faster and better.
"What's unique about this product is that it can be used by the person
in the vehicle and as a remote tracking device at the same time,"
says Bohls. "On both sides you have Internet and GPS access. The
driver can receive e-mails, search the web, or get information from the
corporate network via the Internet. With a laptop or PDA and GPS mapping
software, the user can get location-based services and plan delivery points."
Meanwhile, the RabbitCore gives users a lot of flexibility to make customized
mobile tracking applications. "The fact that we are able to upgrade
the Rabbit in the field makes it possible for us to meet a lot of our
customers' feature enhancement requests," says Bohls.
The Rabbit processor also provides advanced functionality that allows
users to perform such tasks as locking and unlocking doors and turning
lights on and off—all from the convenience of a hand-held device.
And while the GPS/wireless IP combination gives fleet managers a real-time
look at their mobile assets, the Rabbit's I/O capability permits even
more comprehensive monitoring of mission-critical data.
As an affordable and convenient mobile tracking package, the Spider
MT is well positioned in the fast-growing automated vehicle location industry.
"We had strict design goals to meet our overall production cost targets,"
says Bohls, "and the economical RabbitCore helped us meet this price
budget."
For more information: 972.633.4400 www.enfora.com
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