How to know which vehicle I am driving?

[kalos]

Hello!

I manage a fleet and drivers have pda's to communicate with me. The problem is that they often get to different vehicles than they should to and they never notify me, so that I cannot track them with my tracking software.

Is there a way to get notified when a driver with a pda that has logged in with specific account to automatically notify me what vehicle they are into?

Is there an app that  I can use?

I was thinking to somehow pair the pda with the car, how can that be done?

thanks!

[wraith808]

Depending on what kind of phone, you could rig something up with NFC.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015UMPVNI/

[kalos]

thanks but I dont want to have to touch the phone on the surface, is there a touchless way?

[wraith808]

thanks but I dont want to have to touch the phone on the surface, is there a touchless way?

These tags don’t have batteries in them, but they do have a bit of memory. When you place your phone’s NFC reader near them, the NFC reader provides power to the tag, and can read the data from the tag. The tags are programmable, so you can write whatever data you want into the tag from your phone.

http://www.howtogeek.com/212117/how-to-use-programmable-nfc-tags-with-your-android-phone/

NFC is a lot like RFID, only it's a more up-close-and-personal type of wireless. Whereas RFID can be used from a distance, NFC readers work at a maximum range of about 4 inches (10 centimeters). NFC readers aren't suitable for RFID-style inventory tracking; their range is too short. So NFC tags will appear in a flood of products and promotional items where bits of digitized information might come in handy.

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/nfc-tag.htm

[kalos]

sorry but the driver will not remember to put the phone on the surface

that's why I need a wireless way, that will detect that the specific pda is inside the car, is there a way?

thanks!

[skwire]

sorry but the driver will not remember to put the phone on the surface
that's why I need a wireless way, that will detect that the specific pda is inside the car, is there a way?
thanks!

kalos, I don't think you realise just how custom and complex your request is.  This isn't a "download an app from Google Play and all my problems are solved" sort of thing.

Based on your past history of requests, I'm going to go out on a limb and say, no, there probably isn't a cheap, consumer-level off-the-shelf solution for what you want to do.  On the other hand, I'm going to guess that, yes, there probably is an enterprise-grade solution out there but it almost certainly isn't going to be cheap or simple.

[4wd]

Put a WiFi hotspot in each vehicle, each with a different SSID.

The PDA is only required to detect, not connect with it, then report the SSID it found.

Use the Onion Omega2 (US$5 + P&P), the C.H.I.P. (US$9 + P&P), RasPi 0 + WiFi dongle (<US$10), or there's probably others with WiFi.

Same idea as NFC but much greater range and probably cheaper.

You'd probably need to write a small program for the PDA.

This isn't a "download an app from Google Play and all my problems are solved" sort of thing.

Considering that no information has been given regarding what the PDA/phone/thing is, (as usual), then it is indeed highly unlikely the solution would be this easy 

[kalos]

@4wd smart!

But why it cannot be simple and cheap as a bluetooth dongle that will sit on the car and when the pda or even a small dongle in the keychain of the car's key pairs with it, a signal will be generated in the pda?

Bluetooth has 1m range, in contrast with wifi that has several meters range (and the cars must be quite close together at the depot)!

[4wd]

But why it cannot be simple and cheap as a bluetooth dongle that will sit on the car and when the pda or even a small dongle in the keychain of the car's key pairs with it, a signal will be generated in the pda?

Try it, I've found that Bluetooth may or may not connect and that half the time I have to tell it to specifically connect with a device - no good if you want it to do it automatically.

Bluetooth has 1m range, in contrast with wifi that has several meters range (and the cars must be quite close together at the depot)!

Wait until the vehicle has moved, one assumes there won't be two people driving it, or detect at intervals, after 5-10 detections of the same SSID over a period of an hour or two I think it'd be safe to say if your guys are still standing around in a yard full of cars then you need new drivers.

Plus you may find that range is considerably reduced when the device is sitting under the seat/dashboard.