Automatic coupling/uncoupling based on Trailer ID

Fleets equipped with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons may use this technology to automize coupling and uncoupling operations between vehicles and assets.

The Automatic coupling based on Trailer ID is currently available for vehicles equipped with C4MAx tracking devices.

Configuration

The first thing that must be done is to configure your vehicles and assets with the BLE beacons. Please contact your Frotcom Certified Partner to get the instructions on how to acquire, install and configure BLE beacons for your fleet.

Once this initial setup is concluded, you will find the Coupling section in Administration > Account > Driving conditions:

To activate the coupling operations, select the option Allow automatic coupling based on Trailer Id. You will see that two more selectors are available, so you can choose the Vehicles and Assets (previously configured with BLE beacons) that can be automatically coupled/uncoupled:

Note that you cannot have two different automatic coupling operations for the same vehicle. In other words, if you configure a vehicle to use the Automatic coupling/uncoupling based on GPS, this vehicle will not be available for Trailer ID, and vice-versa. 

How it works

After defining which vehicles and assets will be using this feature, Frotcom will monitor their position and proceed with the coupling and uncoupling operations like the following:

Uncoupling rules:

• It will only be checked if the vehicle is currently coupled.
• For every received packet, Frotcom checks if we still receive the MAC address of the coupled trailer (no matter if it is the strongest signal or not).
  • If we do receive the MAC address, it means that the trailer is still coupled.
    • If not, the timestamp is recorded, and new records are checked.
      • If the MAC address shows again, the timestamp is cleared out.
  • If not, and we are processing a tracking packet that is 2 minutes later than the recorded timestamp, the trailer is uncoupled from the vehicle.

Coupling rules:

• Only validated if the vehicle is currently uncoupled and is moving (GPS speed > 10 km/h).
• For every received packet, the timestamp and the MAC of the beacon that is moving and has the strongest signal are recorded.
• For the next record, Frotcom checks if the moving MAC with the strongest signal is the same.
  • If not, update the recorded MAC and timestamp.
  • If yes, and already 2 minutes elapsed since the recorded timestamp, then it will be coupled with the corresponding trailer.
• If the vehicle stops meanwhile (speed < 10km/h), the recorded MAC and the timestamp are cleared out.

Tracking on Frotcom

The result of automatic coupling and uncoupling is displayed in Frotcom the same way as the manual operations. You can see more details about manually coupling and uncoupling vehicles and assets in this article.

Now, to differ a manual from an automatic coupling, you must select a vehicle/asset from the vehicle list and check its bottom panel:

Automatic operations have their user marked as System, while manual couplings have the user who placed the operation.