GPS based navigation modules can now be found in almost every car on the road. These are not merely to help you find your route. They go way beyond finding the shortest routes for you. Real-time vehicle tracking was once rather difficult to implement concept due to technical, and hardware limitations in automobiles. But in the recent decade, mechatronics has changed the way we drive cars. Navigation systems which were earlier given only on high-end cars, now come loaded even in budget cars. And even if your car doesn’t have one, you have the option to install a navigation device as well.

Another concept closely spoken about along with GPS is OBD or On-board diagnostics. Taking the car diagnostics, a step further. We now see a lot of car OBD devices that also come with smartphone app connectivity. This means that whether you are inside the car or outside, you can still track your car’s location and do a lot more from your smartphone.

OBD trackers work through a vehicle’s OBD-II port. If you’ve ever seen car mechanics plug a small device into your car, they were likely using an OBD-II scan tool to get information on what is wrong with your car. Likewise, OBD car trackers can get information from your car through the same port. Unlike other car trackers that only use GPS location information, OBD trackers get location information in addition to information from the vehicle. Meanwhile, generic GPS trackers are what most people think of when they think of tracking. They use satellite technology to find the location of the device. Depending on the size of the device, a generic GPS tracker can be used to track many different things, from cars to people. However, they only track one thing: location. Generic trackers sacrifice richness of information for versatility. So when it comes to tracking cars, which OBD trackers specialize in, generic trackers don’t seem up to snuff.

Why is OBD better for vehicle tracking?
It’s easy to install and use. Once you find the OBD port in your vehicle, which is normally located under the steering wheel above the gas pedal area, installation is a breeze. You simply place the small device into the slot, and it takes car health and maintenance data from the port. With the JIMI IoT OBD tracker, for example, either log on to the JIMI IoT website or the JIMI IoT app in order to view the data.

It doesn’t need charging. Most car trackers contain a battery that needs to be charged regularly about once a week or so. OBD car trackers don’t have a battery and don’t need charging. They essentially never need to be removed, so there’s no fear of having it die just when you need it.

It collects more data. Because OBD trackers are plugged into the car, it can collect information from the car to help you understand your car better. By using an OBD tracker, you can track your vehicle’s fuel economy and mileage. An OBD tracker such as the JIMI IoT tracker can also provide diagnostics for vehicle problems. Even better: the smarts from the JIMI IoT AI system will provide personalized suggestions on how to optimize fuel and maintenance costs.

It helps you drive better. The JIMI IoT vehicle fleet tracking system automatically detects unsafe driving behaviors such as speeding or sudden braking. In addition to knowing where and when you (or others) are driving, you know how well you drove. JIMI IoT scores drivers and provides graphs and tables to evaluate the data. Comes handy if you have newly minted drivers at home.

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