In recent times, the term geofencing It is being used more and more in the automotive world. It is not something new, as it has been useful for years for a more professional sector. However, technology is advancing and it could end up being part of the lives of many individuals, as it has very extensive and disparate ones. Take advantage of geolocationwhich is used to keep the vehicle’s position under control at all times, but with some interesting features.
Origin of geofencing
Originally, geofencing was present in the systems of company fleet managementWith a series of GPS devices, the movement of all vehicles could be controlled with the advantages that this entails. The technology has allowed that to go further and you can see the number of kilometres travelled, as well as the consumption. You can even find out the condition of the vehicle, detecting possible faults and breakdowns.
So it has already passed from one control and security measure (in case of theft, the situation is reported in real time), to a complete tool thanks to the additional information from the car’s OBS. So much so that it has reached a point where the area in which the vehicles operate can be limited. That is the known as virtual perimeter or geofencing, which allows the creation of a limited area in which vehicles can operate.
Geofencing and electrification
This system of making a car unable to leave an area in which it is operating or, conversely, unable to enter other areas It can be very useful too. It is not about the vehicle stopping working if it crosses these limits, but rather about informing both the driver and the person responsible for the vehicle of what is happening. This also opens up the debate on data protection and/or privacy, but the truth is that with electrification its use has also intensified.
In most cities they already exist low emission zones which are restricted for some vehicles. With geofencing, these areas could be configured so that those who are prohibited from entering could know in advance. This would help many users who do not know the city and whose car could tell them that your entry is not permitted to some of them. There are also more options available and the possibilities are almost unlimited.
Other uses for geofencing appear in the carsharing companiesso that their cars do not park outside the selected area and users are up to date. It would be interesting if the plug-in hybrids were aware of their access to cities so that at those times they would operate exclusively with electricity. The blue light of some of them was the pilot project. At a personal level, the profile could also be configured so that a parent puts a restriction on the movement of their child when they leave the car with them.
Future of geofencing
The future of geofencing could go so far that it would end directly removing speed limit signs. A recent proposal from Ford says that vehicles would already have the maximum speeds for each road entered into their system and would notify the user through the screen of what that limit is. It would solve the problem of maintenance of many physical signs and also those that remain partially hidden.
There is also some controversy because it is proposed that vehicle attendants automatically adjust at that speed in the geofenced area, so the driver could be affected by that detail. The vehicle could even be configured so that did not allow the user to exceed that limit speed even if I wanted to. In any case, we will still have to wait to see the evolution of this technology, which seems to be starting to interest manufacturers.
