EXPANDING GPS TRACKER FUNCTIONALITY WITH OBD-II DONGLE

INTRO

The vehicle tracking market is surely and rapidly growing around the world, but so is the competition among the telematics service providers and integrators too. Prevailing vehicle basic Track & Trace scenario might not be good enough anymore to compete efficiently and sustain the business long term. To address the concern and assist these companies, Teltonika Telematics is ready to offer a cost-efficient solution.

CHALLENGE

Did you know, the market size value for vehicle tracking systems is estimated to reach USD 19.38 billion in the year 2021? Even more, the revenue is forecast to grow more than double to USD 46.33 billion by 2028. According to the same report, the passenger vehicles segment accounted for the dominant share in 2020 - over 41%.

That explains (and confirms) the popularity of the simple vehicle GPS trackers with basic Track & Trace scenario. They have an essential feature set, easy to install and set up, compact, affordable and should be perfectly suitable to satisfy the needs of the passenger cars, corporate or private, and light commercial vehicles market segment. All good so far, but there is a challenge to deal with - not only increasing competition among telematics service providers and integrators, electronic components shortage but also drivers and/or fleet managers growing expectations in a quickly changing environment. They demand more value without paying a premium.

For that reason, basic vehicles (especially corporate ones) GPS coordinates tracking, and use of Trip scenario is not good enough anymore. Nowadays, critical factors when choosing a GPS tracker model are additional features and value that integrators will be able to offer for the end-users and clients without spending a fortune. Ideally, the currently installed and deployed vehicle tracker portfolio, as well as fast and easy installation or upgrade option, have to be considered too. Altogether, this attractive combo would help to compete in the market successfully, get more projects and expand the business or at least ensure its sustainability.

Keeping all this in mind, here at Teltonika Telematics, we are ready to address this rising concern and offer a cost-efficient solution right away.

SOLUTION

To showcase and explain it, we choose Teltonika SPECIAL category GPS tracker FMT100 model specifically developed for the insurance telematics industry. You can learn more about its use case and benefits here. Additionally, we utilise the on-board diagnostics dongle, the device that plugs directly into the vehicle OBD-II (aka OBD2) port and connects wirelessly to the tracker via Bluetooth® connectivity.

Please note, the FMT100 is a non-OBD type device. But having access to OBD-II and diagnostic trouble codes (DTC) data combined with its own feature set gives fleet management significant extra benefits - vehicle diagnostic parameters of interest and their performance monitoring in real-time, timely maintenance procedures avoiding pricey major repairs and downtime. Also, customised reports on-demand, drivers’ behaviour and discipline improvement, lower insurance and business running cost, etc.

How it works - OBD-II dongle reads relevant vehicle parameters and/or codes and sends them to FMT100 tracker via Bluetooth® connectivity utilising the dedicated data transfer protocol, respectively. Afterwards, the FM device sends this data, combined with its GNSS location details and, in this case, insurance telematics related tracking info, via GSM network to a server for further analysis and reports.

This way, fleet managers can monitor two data streams at once - one from the vehicle tracker and another from the OBD-II port. Convenient, practical, and simple as that. Please note, Teltonika FMB modules only work with OBD-II dongles based on ELM327 or STN1110 microcontrollers.

What to track - the most common and reasonable parameters to monitor are vehicle speed, engine RPM, engine oil temperature, fuel level, fuel rate, coolant temperature, EGR error, fault codes and so on. Overall, it depends on a particular fleet specifics. The list can be revised anytime upon demand.

How to set up - firstly, the Bluetooth® OBD-II dongle has to be connected to a vehicle OBD port. It takes only a moment, no special tools or premises are required. Secondly, the Bluetooth® setting of the FMT100 model has to be set up using Teltonika configurator as shown below. To do so, please navigate to the menu section 'Bluetooth®' and enable relevant features accordingly.

Finally, in the menu section ‘OBD II’ choose parameters (aka ‘Input name’) in the presented list you are interested in, select a priority of each of them and save the configuration by clicking ‘Save to device’. The exact standard parameter and code list available for tracking will depend on a vehicle maker, model and the year of manufacturing. Learn exact steps on how to connect Bluetooth® OBD-II dongle to Teltonika FMB devices here.

The OBD-II dongle hardware installation process is quick, hassle-free, and takes literally a few seconds. The best part - these devices are broadly available worldwide and affordable to any fleet budget.

To sum up, with this solution, businesses can get the best of both - already up and running Teltonika GPS tracker feature set, as well as abundant OBD-II and DTC data benefits simultaneously helping to considerably improve fleet vehicle tracking, monitoring, and management. Teltonika vehicle trackers firmware updates and configuration changes can be made using the recently renewed FOTA WEB tool too. It is a powerful software solution helping to manage GPS devices swiftly and efficiently.

TOPOLOGY

BENEFITS

• Get more by paying less - now fleet managers can track and monitor two data streams, from the vehicle GPS tracker and the OBD-II port, simultaneously without spending a fortune.
• Fast and simple installation - Bluetooth® OBD-II dongle can be plugged in a matter of a few seconds, literally. No wiring, no soldering, no special tools, no mess. The solution applies to any non-OBD type Teltonika vehicle tracker supporting Bluetooth® connectivity.
• Customisable OBD-II parameter set for every project - to get the maximum value out of it, choose only the relevant data to your project or business in the Teltonika configurator tool, and skip the rest. Pay telecoms only for the data you really need and actually use.
• Improved profitability and competitiveness - by utilising extra OBD-II and DTC data, businesses will achieve noticeable cost savings, improve drivers’ habits and discipline, lessens risky driving behaviours, accidents, repairs, maintenance, insurance and operational cost, resulting in a better ROI, cash flow, profits, and competitive ability.

WHY TELTONIKA?

We offer not only Bluetooth® LE technology and OBD-II based swift solution to get extra fleet tracking features, but also top-notch Teltonika vehicle GPS trackers with advanced firmware and handy accessories. Extensive and practical feature sets, multiple usage scenarios bring plentiful benefits and help to optimise business operations, lower their running cost, improve any business competitiveness and return on invested capital.

From the start of the company 23 years ago until today, Teltonika strong and growing team has manufactured 15.5 million IoT devices, helped to succeed thousands of customers and partners worldwide. We are the right place to get all you need to succeed - an impressive variety of certified GPS devices and software tools for any use case imaginable in vehicle telematics. Our innovative approach, extensive global market knowledge, state-of-the-art production facilities with automated robotic assembly lines and customer support meeting your expectations give us a competitive edge and make Teltonika Telematics a business partner of choice.