Telematics refers to systems that monitor cars, trucks and other mobile equipment and vehicles through the use of GPS technology and diagnostic devices to provide information about a vehicle’s location and movements as well as other data.
The tracking device installed on a vehicle to enable this process (often called a ‘black box’) can provide a wide range of information about a vehicle aside from its location; it can include information about its speed, fuel use, tire pressure and servicing requirements, among others. It enables the operator of fleet vehicles to save on maintenance through vehicle condition monitoring and improve fuel efficiency by learning about driving habits under various conditions.
The black box device installed on a vehicle sends data about its status through a communications network to a database, often located in the cloud. A large range of data can be collected and processed including vehicle position, speed, trip distance, idle time, fuel consumption, fault warnings and engine status data.
