AMI India launches Falcon-i vehicle tracking system
By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 02 July 2009, 16:07 IST   |    17 Comments
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AMI India launches Falcon-i vehicle tracking system
Chennai: In a country like India that has an extensive road network covering over 3.28 million kilometers, it can be a herculean task to track a vehicle on the move. But, now with the growth in wireless technology, keeping an eye on the vehicles and drivers has become easier. The vehicle tracking systems (VTS) aid the fleet owners to know exactly the location of their vehicle at a given time. With a huge potential in the Indian market for such devices, American Megatrends (AMI) India has launched Falcon-i, a VTS to cash in on the demand. Due to the presence of several competitors, Falcon-i could sustain only by providing a unique service. "The advantage in Falcon-i is that the all the hardware and software requirements are directly provided by AMI and not by a third-party," says Subramonian Shankar, Founder and President of AMI that manufactures both hardware and software components. According to Shankar, this uniqueness of Falcon-i gives the customer better scalability and service compared to other provider. Route deviations, over speeding, fuel consumption and journey time are some of the vehicle's aspects that the device can monitor continuously. Falcon-i was designed, developed and manufactured in AMI's operations in Chennai, which is headed by Sridharan Mani. "This is a great achievement by our Indian team," said Shankar. The Indian subsidiary is part of AMI that has nine offices around the world with the global headquarters in Norcross, Georgia. The device uses GPRS technology to transfer data from the vehicle to the owner through messages or through the dedicated website. "We used GPRS, since it was cost effective and we have tied up with most of the mobile operators for the service," said Mani. The basic model will cost Rs 10,000 per unit and the prices vary depending on the additional features required. AMI is mainly targeting the segments like goods carriers, mining industry, BPOs and schools to sell the VTS. "Since security is the main concern with vehicles transporting employees and school children, this device addresses their concern also," added Shankar.