Europe News: Masternaut tracks with aerial maps through Microsoft Virtual Earth

Sharon

Sharon Gill

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22nd March 2007

Vehicles can now be tracked using street-level aerial photography following the latest innovation by Masternaut.

Using Microsoft Virtual Earth, vehicle movements can be tracked on high-resolution aerial photomaps or satellite imagery. This bird’s eye view of the real world supplements the existing street mapping layer, providing additional information and detail.

Fleet controllers can clearly see their vehicles approaching landmarks such as shopping centres, car parks and industrial sites. In town, Virtual Earth can even reveal road markings including loading bays and individual parking slots. This allows controllers to guide drivers and confirm exact locations day or night.

In the case of theft or unauthorised use, the aerial maps allow very precise tracking and identification of access points for hidden vehicles.

Masternaut uses satellite positioning technology to calculate the position of individual vehicles, providing minute-by-minute and turn-by-turn records of movements, enabling fleet managers to view vehicle movements in real-time in their real world context.