What are they, what do they consist of and how do civilian location systems work?
Location systems are nothing more than devices that enable geo-location and an associated interface for reading and interpreting the collected data.
The location devices available on the civilian market are mainly so-called GPS units. They consist of a power supply and a GPS receiver module. Depending on the intended functions, the locator may also contain a GSM module to transmit information about its position and a memory carrier. Most of the popular locators have a built-in rechargeable battery to provide power for several – tens of hours. Selected models can be connected to the cigarette lighter in the car or directly to the battery. The shape and size of the tracking device can vary greatly, and the forms of camouflage are mainly limited by the manufacturers’ creative inventiveness.
In order to determine the position of an object, the tracking device itself is sufficient. However, in order to have access to the history of travelled routes or imaging the movement of an object on a map, it is necessary to be connected to a software platform. Such a combination can already be called a localisation system.
There are a number of location systems available on the market, allowing a GPS locator to be assigned to a dedicated online platform. Thanks to the platform, the user, after logging in, has access to various information and parameters of the working device. Some of the location systems are free of charge, however, more sophisticated fleet solutions are available in subscription packages. The big advantages of the former are low costs, significant independence from external parties and partial anonymity. The advantages of the subscription solutions, on the other hand, are the extensive functions using various sensors, e.g. Engine start/stop, or alerts on attempts to jam the GPS receiver.
GPS positioning
GPS location systems use a radio signal from satellites in orbit around the earth for their operation. A ‘visibility’ of at least 4 satellites at the same time is required to establish a position with high accuracy. It is generally not a problem for the locating device to find an adequate or even more than the required number of satellite signals, but buildings, mountains and other large objects can effectively block the relatively weak GPS signal.
Alternatives to GPS
GPS satellite location is not the only solution that uses satellites to determine position. Currently, in addition to the American GPS system, the Russian GLONASS and the European Galileo (GNSS) are fully functional.
GLONASS satellite geolocation
Finding locating devices with GLONASS support is no longer a problem. Very often, these devices use both GPS and GLONASS satellites, increasing the level of precision of their measurements.
Galileo, the European GPS location system
GNSS, or the Galileo Navigation Satellite System, is also used in geo-localisation devices available to the average person. Of course, there is no expectation that the cheapest models from Aliexpress will use the European system, but locating devices with ‘GPS + GNSS’ information are becoming increasingly common.
Does China have its GPS?
There is also China’s BeiDou 2 (BDS) system covering parts of Asia, the Indian Ocean, Australia and parts of the Pacific Ocean, and several systems in development, such as Japan’s QZSS and India’s IRNSS.
GSM location
The GSM technology used in locating devices not only allows information to be sent from the device to the user, but is also itself a way of determining position. Some models, or software solutions, use information about which BTS mast a device with a SIM card is logged into. Based on this, the position can be determined, although the margin of error here is much greater than with satellite systems. For some, such precision is sufficient – it allows them to determine whether an object is in a particular locality or has moved to another. GSM-based location systems are insensitive to the loss of radio signals from satellites.
Can a location be determined via Bluetooth
Bluetooth was considered of little use in tracking due to its limited range. Combined with the support of various GPS-based applications, it has proved to be a reliable alternative to GSM-based locators. BT locators require relatively little energy to operate. The small BT fobs often used as ‘pagers’ for keys, phones and other items have a very long operating time. They work well, among other things, in applications that do not require frequent updating of the object’s position.
Janosik and other supporting applications
One example of an application that supports Bluetooth locators is Janosik. The device communicates with the nearest random Janosik user and, through them, unknowingly transmits information about its current location.
GPS spying
The ease of use and wide availability of locating devices and software, make locating systems used not only to secure objects, but also to unauthorisedly monitor someone’s position.
It should be remembered that Polish law penalises such use of locating devices, but not everyone is concerned about this. Therefore, there is a risk that a vehicle, phone, parcel or even a person is located and not necessarily for a good purpose. It is worth checking your phone for the permissions granted to all applications. Also check your car for any ‘drop offs’.
Concerned that someone might be tracking you using a locator? – Feel free to contact our specialists. We will help you assess the level of risk and carry out a possible investigation for the presence of eavesdropping and locating devices.
