My research is nearly complete and the verdict is in, I will assemble and test an improved arduino GPS car tracking unit using the Arduino microcontroller. Project Eagle Eye consists of using a GPS unit and recording a vehicle’s location history by using a data logger that also logs the time and date of each location snapshot. The point is to build an improved unit able to transmit location data wirelessly & not solely relying on retrieving the unit and analyzing its data physically.
Wireless location tracking is better as you’re able to retrieve the data on the fly without risking discovery. Physical retrieval is incredibly risky as you need to be caught once and you’re done; with wireless transmission you could be within a few hundred feet in the safety of your car and not be detected as the receiver records the data on your seat. When conditions are ripe, you would then retrieve the unit away from prying eyes.
Despite this project being simple and to the point, there are still experiments that must be run. The first order is to verify the GPS could work being underneath a car as the antenna must point toward the sky in normal situations. I don’t anticipate this being a significant issue as the combined obstruction from cloud cover more than being under a vehicle, yet GPS still operates. Next is how much data can be sent at a distance. Looking back on my HC-12 post , toward the bottom of the article I discussed how adjusting the baud rate changes the allowable amount of data sent. The higher the baud rate, the more data that can be sent at one time, with a lower communication distance. I must verify if a days worth of data can be sent within a reasonable time and at a reasonable distance. If so, then what’s the maximum amount of data that can be sent for each baud rate?
I’ll return with further results as the project progresses. In the mean time, stay tuned for other arduino- based posts!