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Glossary of Terms
(terms/abbreviations, and their brief descriptions follow)

(Click here for the "Frequently Asked Questions" page).
  • AEMP - Association of Equipment Management Professionals
    A standard supporting the delivery of basic telematics data, in XML format, including GPS location, operating hours, fuel consumption, and odometer)
    [more information at AEMP Telematics and Wikipedia]
  • APN - Access Point Name
    Configuration attributes for a GSM/GPRS modem when used on a specific wireless service provider's network.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • ASCII packet - Data bytes in "American Standard Code for Information Interchange" format
    A set of bytes in a data packet which can usually be represented by the characters on a keyboard. When referring to data packets from a remote tracking device, an ASCII data packet indicates that all data bytes can be represented in printable text characters (usually with the exception of packet terminating characters, such as a carriage-return or line-feed).
    [more information on Wikipedia]
    (see also Binary packet)
  • AVL - Automatic Vehicle Location
    Generic term used to describe the various types of available GPS tracking applications.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • Binary packet - Data bytes in low-level 2's-complement numeric format
    Data bytes comprised of binary data are typically not able to be represented as printable characters. Sections of a binary data packet are usually segmented into 1, 2, 4, or 8-byte formatted integers, or in rare cases IEEE-754 floating point decimal values (most binary data packets from tracking devices represent decimal values in an integer format with a fixed decimal point).
    (see also ASCII packet)
  • CANBUS - Controller area network
    Vehicle engine-bus communication standard for providing engine diagnostic information.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
    (see also OBD)
  • CDMA - Code Division Multiple Access (also "cdmaOne" and "CDMA2000")
    A cell-phone communication standard.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
    (see also GSM)
  • CSD - Circuit Switched Data
    The original form of data transmission used in GSM.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • DCS - Device Communication Server
    Generic term for any GTS service which listens for incoming connections from remote GPS tracking/telematic devices. The purpose of the DCS is to receive incoming packets from a remote GPS tracking/telematic device, parse the received data, and insert the data into the appropriate database tables.
  • DTC - Diagnostic Trouble Code
    A set of SAE fault codes generated by OBD-II (see below) to indicate touble issues with the vehicle.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • ENRE - Event Notification Rules Engine
    Abbreviation for the "Event Notification Rules Engine". An optional add-on module for the GTS Enterprise which can support complex rule definitions for sending notifications based on arrival/departure, speeding, digital input triggers, time of day triggers, alarms, etc.
    [The ENRE pdf technical manual can be viewed here]
  • Epoch Time, also Unix Time or POSIX Time
    Defined as the number of seconds since Midnight January 1, 1970 UTC. Nearly every available operating system and programming language has tools for converting this time into a display format relative to any specified TimeZone. "Epoch Time" is the time format used for the "timestamp" column in the EventData table.
    [more information on the FAQ page]
  • ESN - Electronic Serial Number
    A 32-bit number (typically represented as an 11-digit decimal value) usually used to uniquely identify mobile CDMA devices.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • Geosynchronous
    Often confused with "Geostationary", a satellite in Geosynchronous orbit means that the satellite is at the same location in the sky at a specific time each day. A satellite with a Geostationary orbit is Geosynchronous, however a satellite with a Geosynchronous orbit is not necessarily Geostationary.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
    (see also Geostationary)
  • Geostationary, also Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO)
    A satellite in Geostationary orbit means that it is positioned directly above the Earth's equator, and has a orbit period equal to that of the Earth's rotation (and in the direction of the Earth's rotation).
    [more information on Wikipedia]
    (see also Geosynchronous)
  • Geozone
    A type of geofence that represents a virtual geographical boundary around an office, home, or other place of interest. A polygon-type geozone is made up of 3 or more points representing the geographical boundary of the geofence. A point-radius geozone is made up of a single point at the center and a radius.
  • GeoCorridor
    A type of geofence that is made up of several points along a driven route, and a radius from the center of the line that connects the points along the route.
  • GMT - Greenwich Mean Time
    A global time standard based on the time at Greenwich, England. All timezones are based relative to GMT.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • GNSS - Global Navigation Satellite System
    Generic term for "GPS".
    [more information on Wikipedia]
    (see also GPS)
  • GPRS - General Packet Radio Service
    A packet based mobile data service used for providing Internet connectivity to mobile devices.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • GPS - Global Positioning System
    A network of satellites, maintained by the US, which provides location information to ground-based receivers.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
    (see also GNSS)
  • "GPS Drift"
    A phenomenon effecting GPS receivers which gives the appearance that the GPS receiver is moving, sometimes with significant distances within a large area, even though the GPS receiver has remained stationary. The effect is more pronounce when the GPS receiver is located inside or near tall buildings, in canyons, etc.
  • "GPS Logger" or "GPS Data Logger"
    A device used to record periodic GPS tracking information within its internal memory which is intended to be downloaded to a computer at a later time.
  • GSM - Global system for Mobile Communications
    A cell-phone communication standard.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
    (see also CDMA)
  • GTC - GeoTelematic® Client
    Commercialized version of the OpenDMTP client application.
  • GTS - GPS Tracking System / GeoTelematic® Server
    Generic term to be either of OpenGTS®, or the GTS Enterprise tracking systems.
  • GTSE - GTS Enterprise
    Abbreviation for the "GTS Enterprise".
  • GTS Enterprise - GTS Enterprise
    Commercial GPS fleet tracking system built on the open-source OpenGTS® version, with many additional features.
    (see the GTS Enterprise information page)
  • HDOP - Horizontal Dilution Of Precision
    A value indicating the horizontal accuracy of a GPS fix. This value ranges from 1.0 to over 20.0. The larger the value, the less accurate the GPS fix.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • I.F.T.A. - International Fuel Tax Agreement
    This is an agreement between the US and Canadian Provinces to simplify the reporting of fuel used to operate vehicles that cross jurisdictions.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • IMEI - International Mobile Equipment Identity
    A 15-digit number that uniquely identifies a GSM cell-phone or modem on a GSM network. The IMEI number can usually be found printed on a label in the battery compartment of a GSM cell-phone, or on the bottom of a GPS tracking device utilizing a GSM modem.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • J1587
    Engine diagnostic protocol standard (developed by SAE)
    [more information on Wikipedia]
    (see also J1708)
  • J1708
    Engine diagnostic serial communications hardware standard (developed by SAE)
    [more information on Wikipedia]
    (see also J1587)
  • J1939
    Engine diagnostic communications/protocol standard (developed by SAE)
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • MCC - Mobile Country Code
    Used to identify wireless network mobile stations.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • MNC - Mobile Network Code
    Used in conjunction with MCC to uniquely identify a wireless operator.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • LBS - Location Based Services
    Any service which integrates the geographical location of the service requestor. Typically used in mobile devices.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • LEO - Low Earth Orbit
    The area above the surface of the Earth typically extending from 200 to 2000 kilometers.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • MEO - Mid/Medium Earth Orbit
    The area above the surface of the Earth typically extending from 2000 to 35000 kilometers.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • OBD - On Board Diagnostics
    Generic term for any computer resident in a vehicle which provides engine diagnostic information.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • OBD-II - On Board Diagnostic interface, Standard 2
    Standardized type of engine diagnostic interface.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • OpenGTS® - Open Source GPS Tracking System
    The Open-Source GPS Tracking system available for download from SourceForge.
  • PDE - Position Determining Entity
    A network service that assists a Device in determining its position.
  • PTCRB - A North American certification ensuring compliance with cellular network standards
    The PTCRB organization that provides compliance certification for mobile/cellular devices operating in North America.
    [more information on the PTCRB website]
  • "Real-Time" GPS Tracking
    A "Real-Time" GPS Tracking is essentially any system where the remote tracking device is able to immediately send GPS location information and telematics to the server over some form of transport media, such as GPRS, CDMA, Satellite, WiFi, etc., allowing the GPS data to be available for reporting and mapping shortly after the event was generated on the device. The term "immediate" here is relative, however. There are several external factors which can delay the delivery of the generated GPS event to the server. These factor may include, but are not necessarily limited to, coverage area limitations, wireless network delays, etc. Non-Real-Time GPS Tracking systems would include those that use "GPS Loggers" to collect data which the vehicle in in transit, and where the logged data is captured when the vehicle finally returns to the office or other home-base.
  • RFID - Radio Frequency Identification
    A wireless short-range detection system used to track items (ie. pets, packages, equipment, etc) which have been equiped with special RFID "tags".
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • SAE - SAE International
    A professional organization which establishes standards in the automotive industry.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • SBAS - Satellite Based Augmentation System
    Generic term for systems which augment/improve the accuracy of calculated GPS locations.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
    (see also WAAS)
  • SMS - Short Messaging Service
    A text-based communications service used on mobile devices.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • SVR - Occasionally used to abbreviate "Stolen Vehicle Recovery"
  • TCP - Transmission Control Protocol
    A connection/session-based communications transport.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
    (see also UDP)
  • UDP - User Datagram Protocol
    A connectionless communications transport.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
    (see also TCP)
  • UPS - Uninterruptable Power Supply
    A peripheral device that provides electrical power to a computer in the event of a power-fail. Highly recommended for computers experiencing frequent power-outages. An installed UPS can provide enough time to properly shutdown a system gracefully, preventing possible MySQL index file corruption, or other issues.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
  • WAAS - Wide Area Augmentation System
    Developed by the FAA to improve the accuracy of a calculated GPS location.
    [more information on Wikipedia]
    (see also SBAS)
  • WDS84 - World Geodetic System 1984
    The standard latitude/longitude coordinate system used for navigation and GPS tracking.
    [more information on Wikipedia]

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