U.S. Fleet Tracking to monitor Super Bowl assets

The device the size of a Motorola RAZR is keeping track of the vehicles the NFL is using to transport the Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona Cardinals and the media during this week’s Super Bowl XLIII festivities in Tampa.
Come Sunday, the wireless machine-to-machine technology will not only keep track of the team vehicles, NFL personnel and team owners, the vehicles transporting the game’s halftime entertainment, which is headlined by Bruce Springsteen, will also be under the watchful eye of the NFL and federal and local authorities.
In all, Oklahoma-based U.S. Fleet Tracking is monitoring 104 vehicles the NFL is using to get the media, teams and its personnel to Raymond James Stadium. The company is using a solution that provides live tracking with the small device that does not need to be installed in the vehicle. The device can simply be attached to clothing of the vehicle’s driver.
The company’s M2M solution works on Kore Telematics network and provide updates of a vehicle’s whereabouts every five seconds, said Jerry Hunter, president of U.S. Fleet Tracking.
“They know exactly where every vehicle is at every instance,” he said.
To track the vehicles, TV monitors are used that shows all the vehicles on a map. Functions include a bird’s-eye view of where all the vehicles are or close up shots to track a single vehicle. The solution can track vehicle speeds, whether the vehicle’s engine is started and if the doors are open. The software also has a replay function to determine where a vehicle was earlier in the day.
Hunter said his company has been supplying the NFL with the solution for the past four years. In the first year, the company tracked 12 buses that were used for both teams.
With the NFL tightening its security for its annual showcase, vehicles have been added through the years, Hunter said.
“Come Sunday, I am sure we will be tracking even more,” he said
The company offers its product for $30 a month. Hunter said the majority of his clients are businesses that track company fleets. On occasion, spouses have also used the technology to keep track of a family vehicle.