With the world constantly evolving every day and with our customer’s needs growing in fleet management requirements, Geotab’s fleet management device has also been evolving over the years to meet the needs of our customers. From 1996 to 2019, we have come leaps and bounds in the telematics industry and are now one of the world’s fastest-growing telematics company.
With that said, we are going to recap on the evolution of Geotab’s fleet management device and how Geotab has excelled through the years.
Geotab GO1 Device
The very first Geotab fleet management devices were much bigger than that of today and they had a square form factor. This unit recorded GPS data and allowed clients to download data when required, using a key supplied. Meaning that back then the units were passive devices and did not download over the air.
Geotab GO2 Live Device
With our customer’s needs growing, Geotab decided in 2002 to introduce the live GO2 device into the market with more features like driver identification with a touch key housing, add-on buzzer, auxiliaries outputs, vehicle ignition detection, external modem as well as live tracking which can be accessed through a database. One of the great features of the GO2 Live was an additional relay control ability (immobilizer starter cut).
Geotab GO3 Fleet Management Device
In 2006, GEOTAB released its new GO3 unit, which supported more functions like WiFi and J1939 (CAN bus). On the engine side, J1708 supports RS485 for legacy vehicles while J1939 supports CAN standard, which was becoming more popular around this time.
Geotab GO4 Fleet Management Device
The GO4 unit was a major upgrade and unique as it had an internal modem compared to the previous GO units. An integrated and switchable modem allowed GEOTAB’s system to be more robust than previous versions. The features on the GO4 unit included engine data, driver identification, live monitoring, add-on buzzer, auxiliaries, driver behaviour monitoring and OTA updates.
Geotab GO5 Fleet Management Device
In 2010, GEOTAB released its first plug & play device, which was compact and was an OBD installation for vehicles that supported it. It also had less wiring for non-OBD installations. The GO5 was basically a streamlined and compact version of the popular GO4, with no auxiliaries output and a built-in buzzer.
Geotab GO6 Fleet Management Device
In 2012, production started on the GO6 unit, which was the same compact size of the GO5 device. The GO6 also included auxiliaries and was the first device to offer IOX expandability for additional integration. The GO6 was also capable of sending data much quicker than its predecessors.
Geotab GO7 Fleet Management Device
Geotab’s latest fleet management device, the GO7, caters to more than one vehicle protocol at a time, allowing the device to collect data simultaneously for all possible datasets. These include RPM, VIN, fuel level, seat belt detection, odometer and much more. The device now also supports all major vehicle manufacturers worldwide. Over-and-above the technical specs, the device has also been made more affordable and allows for increased automotive protocol expansion.
The features of the GO7 include:
- Real-time vehicle data.
- Small form factor device.
- Easy plug-and-play installation
- Intelligent in-vehicle driver coaching.
- Built-in auto-calibrating accelerometer.
- External device expandability via IOX Technology.
- Breakthrough accident detection and notification.
- Fast GPS acquisition time using Almanac OTA support.
- Accurate engine diagnostics, DTC, and proprietary engine data.
Author: Preston Govender, Technical Support Co-Ordinator – GEOTAB AFRICA (KZN)
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