CHAPTER EIGHT

Object tracking

WE HAVE SEEN THE BENEFITS OF OBJECT RECOGNITION, with ­associated tracking being an associated tool and advantage. This is a topic of increasing interest, as shown by recent reports of activity in capturing the market with applications that focus on unstructured data.

8.1 OBJECT RECOGNITION

Gartner, Inc. has identified what it believes will be the most important mobile applications in 2012. Focusing on high-end devices with an average selling price (ASP) of more than $300, analysts have identified the top ten cutting-edge technologies and trends for 2012. Among these is object recognition (OR).

High-end devices have an increased sensor and processing capability that enable sophisticated applications to recognize the user's surroundings, including specific objects of interest. Because OR provides an easy-to-use interface, more apps will come to the market with enhanced capabilities by 2012. Users will rely on the camera, as well as other device sensors as a communication tool when OR ­capabilities are combined with more-traditional app functions, giving users advanced search capabilities and a plethora of entertainment and productivity functionality.

See www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1544815 for more information, or skype-news.tmcnet.com/news/2012/02/01/6091400.htm.

8.2 DATA MANAGEMENT

LexisNexis (www.lexisnexis.com), a company providing computer-assisted legal research services, recently picked enterprise software company ­MarkLogic to power components of its new Lexis Advance solution. MarkLogic's latest product, MarkLogic 5, is a ‘next-generation' database for Big Data and unstructured information, which allows organisations to analyse rich media with textual data in the same application. It includes the MarkLogic Connector for Hadoop, which combines large-scale batch processing with real-time Big Data applications.

8.3 TAGGING

There is already literature that broaches, and drills into, the subject of object identification, storage and tracking, for instance Tagging: People-Powered Metadata for the Social Web, by Gene Smith, published by New Riders in 2007.

This book indicates that tagging is fast becoming one of the primary ways people organise and manage digital information. Tagging complements traditional organisational tools such as folders and search on users' desktops, as well as on the Web. These developments mean that tagging has broad implications for information management, information architecture and interface design reaching beyond those technical domains and into our culture at large. We can imagine, for example, the scrapbookers of the future curating their digital photos, emails, ticket stubs and other mementos with tags.

In addition, this book explains the value of tagging, explores why people tag, how tagging works and when it can be used to improve the user experience. It exposes superficial simplicity of tagging to reveal interesting issues related to usability, information architecture, online community and collective intelligence.

8.4 TRACKING

Although the reach of object tracking is yet to be felt in relation to business reporting, the concept and application of tracking is already familiar in various industry segments.

Worldwide Tracking Inc.

This business entity specialises in offering comprehensive, versatile and cost-effective GPS communication solutions for many real-time management applications in the market today – see www.worldwidetracking.ca.

Among other things, the company offers a service called LoadTrek.net, an extensive dispatching solution that simplifies transportation management by integrating the entire process. It allows users to create and assign loads, track assets in real time, communicate with drivers, collect Department of Transportation (DoT) and fuel tax data, bill customers and analyse with one software program. In addition, this is a scalable system. The modular structure offers the opportunity to design a custom solution that fits current company needs, then expand functionality to reflect developing demands of a business.

This application has numerous features:

• Pinpoint the exact location of all your assets at any time with GPS real-time tracking.
• Create and assign loads with ease using drag-and-drop electronic load assignment.
• Receive reliable fuel tax information via electronic fuel tax data collection.
• Ensure constant DoT regulation with LoadTrek's electronic DoT monitoring system.
• Improve driver/dispatcher communication by making route, DoT and time card information accessible from any Internet-equipped computer.
• Increase operation productivity with the detailed load-analysis plan.
• Compare and improve driver performance with an elaborate driver data analysis.
• Simplify the billing process with LoadTrek's financial plan.
• Run LoadTrek seamlessly with QuickBooks and Great Plains software.
• Stay organised by storing customer and driver information electronically.
• Set driver and load rotations for reoccurring loads with the click of a mouse.
• Quickly determine resource availability and order status with active icons.
• Increase dispatch efficiency with an easy, drag-and-drop interface.
• Map routes and establish delivery times with a single mouse click.
• View driver requests to create advanced dispatch schedules.
• Link multiple drivers and equipment to generate delivery projects.
• Monitor equipment assignments to minimise resource downtime.
• Obtain current and historical vehicle locations to ensure driver compliance.
• Utilise driver messaging to send route updates and customer requests.
• Create detailed reports for drivers and third-party providers.
• Ensure the security of important information with complete accessibility control.

Packagemapping.com

Another aspect of tracking objects is through mapping, which is common in the transport sector. Consider Packagemapping.com (www.packagemapping.com).

Purchasing a subscription from Packagemapping.com allows a business to put the tracking program on its website. 

People tracking – by Google

Software from Google enables mobile phone users and people with other wireless devices, including laptops, to share their whereabouts with family and friends, and to do so automatically. The product is called Latitude (www.google.com/mobile/latitude).

Note that Latitude can display the general location of an opt-in user based on information from GPS satellites and cell towers.