In an evolving world of interconnected devices and hyper-personalized experiences, geofencing has emerged as a game-changing technology. By providing a real-time bridge between the physical and digital realms, geofencing has revolutionized the way businesses and individuals engage with their environment. By harnessing the power of location-based services and boundary detection, geofencing opens up a world of possibilities for targeted marketing, enhanced security and seamless automation for the mobility industry.
What is geofencing?
Geofencing refers to the creation of virtual boundaries or “fences” around specific geographic areas to deploy actions upon entry, inside or exit of the area. These boundaries can be established around a building or deployed in a larger area such as a neighborhood or even a city. Using GPS or Wi-Fi signals, geofencing allows companies to provide users with relevant information and services based on their precise location.
How does geofencing work?
The principle of geofencing is to define virtual boundaries in the physical world. Thanks to the use of geolocation technologies, we can monitor and trigger actions based on the presence of an individual in those boundaries.
The different stages of the process are:
- Define the boundaries: Geofencing begins by establishing geographic boundaries, which can be customized to suit specific needs: security or marketing needs for example.
- Be compatible with geolocation and data transfer services: Geofencing relies on GPS technology or location services available on smartphones and other devices to track and determine the user’s precise location. GPS utilizes signals from satellites to calculate the device’s coordinates. Instead location services combine GPS, Wi-Fi, and cellular data to provide accurate location information.
- Trigger the defined area: Once the boundaries are defined, specific trigger zones or “geofences” are set up within those boundaries. These trigger zones act as virtual tripwires, activating predefined actions when an individual enters or exits the designated area.
- Activate the programmed action: Geofencing can initiate various actions or send notifications based on the user’s location. These actions can include delivering targeted advertisements, sending personalized offers or alerts, updating app content, or even automating certain functions like adjusting settings or activating devices.
- The data collect: Geofencing systems collect and analyze data about users’ location, interactions, and preferences. This data provides valuable insights into consumer and traffic behavior. This allows brands, communities, or cities to optimize their strategy to improve the user experience.
Who is using a geofencing solution?
Geofencing solutions are being employed by a diverse range of industries and organizations to enhance their operations, marketing efforts, and security measures.
In the mobility sector, the technology is applicable to several professions and uses :
- For services: For shops offering mobility-related services such as repairs or the sale of accessories, the use of Geofencing can enable the deployment of new marketing levers. For example, when the zone is triggered, the cyclist will receive a notification inviting him to have his bike serviced or to benefit from a special offer. This can encourage the cyclist to maintain his bike more often.
- For cities, the technology can be used for preventive or legislative purposes. For example, after an accident, public authorities can demarcate a risk area and inform all people in the area or entering it of the measures to follow. In another use, geofencing can be used for low-carbon areas. If a polluting car enters the area, geofencing will notify it of the nature of the restriction and the possible penalty.
- For fleets, the use of geofencing allows for more efficient management. For example, the fleet manager can schedule a notification to inform the user of their proximity to the vehicles. Technology can also be used to monitor user behaviour. By analysing the data, the fleet manager can identify commuting patterns, bicycle density by area and time of day. It could then share some of the data with users to alert them when they enter areas of heavy traffic.
For e-bike fleet managers, real-time data collect and analyze are key elements for an optimal management of the maintenance and health of the bikes in service
Our geofencing solutions for electric bicycle fleets
At Velco, we also offer solutions for optimal management of e-bike fleets. By integrating one of our premium IoT devices, the fleet manager will be able to access all the statistics about the connected bike on a dedicated software: number of bikes in use, bike and battery status, speed, geographical position, trips made, fleet statistics and performances…
Thanks to the data collected, our software is an aid to strategic decision making with the possibility of identifying high traffic areas, activity times and usage patterns.
What are the functions of our tracking solutions?
By choosing Mobitrax or Nuotrax – our premium IoT for e-bikes – the fleet manager gives his cyclists access to several services via a mobile application, mostly useful for long-term bike rental systems:
- Protection against theft: real-time geolocation, digital locking and unlocking, notification in case of suspicious movements, power cut-off and sound alarm.
- Maintenance follow-up: personalized maintenance advice according to the model and brand of the electric bike and maintenance reminder notifications for safe use
- Statistics: trip history, usage statistics (speed, distance covered, etc.)
Designed to be customised to the brand’s codes, the mobile application extends the mobility and brand experience by providing high value services to cyclists.