Overview of GPSAccess

Integrated Bluetooth/GPS Communication
GPSAccess is a .Net library for communicating with bluetooth-enabled GPS receivers. There are many good GPS libraries on the market, but only GPSAccess offers a seamless integration with the Widcomm/Broadcom Bluetooth stack using our own proven BTAccess SDK.

Here is a quick overview of the features in GPSAccess:
Click here for full PDF documentation

1. General Design
  • Runs in the background with an icon on the Today screen, like a device driver. Click on the icon to bring up a simple UI to see latest GPS values, start/stop GPS operations, monitor GPS activity, and set various configuration options.

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  • Connect-and-CollectTM technology.  Automatically connects to last-used GPS receiver and immediately starts collecting data. If device is no longer available, automatically starts search for new GPS receivers in the area. This is great for fleet management where drivers frequently swap out GPS receivers and PDAs.
     
  • Automatically reconnect after a powercycle. Now your app can forget about managing tricky powercycle code! GPSAccess will automatically sense when the PDA has been turned off and back on again and reconnect to both the Bluetooth stack and the GPS receiver behind the scenes.
     
  • Parses all the standard NMEA GPS sentences and continuously stores the latest values for easy access via the public GPS class:
    • Connection Status

    • Name and bluetooth address of GPS receiver

    • Latitude, Longitude, Altitude

    • Bearing, Speed, Precision

    • Satellite positions

    • Date/time of last Stop and last Move

     
  • Can run without bluetooth:  if you use GPS receivers that connect to (or appear as) a standard serial port you can still use GPSAccess, it just bypasses the bluetooth operations. This lets you develop a single application that works with all sorts of GPS receiver situations, bluetooth-enabled or not.
     
  • Config options include:
    • Device name filter to connect with only device
      • brands
    • Bluetooth passkey if required by some GPS receivers

    • Autodetect bluetooth port, or specify COM port
    • GPS data caching at specified Sample Interval

    • Choice of continuous or periodic connection
      • to conserver power
    • Trace logging, GPS raw data logging

2. Easy .Net API
Use C#, VB.Net, or any other .Net language to communicate with GPSAccess using one simple GPS class:

  • Get latest GPS data values in a variety of formats

  • Get current connection status

  • Control start/stop of GPS operations

  • Set GPSAccess configuration options

  • Subscribe to GeoFence events

3. Unique GeoFencing Features
"GeoFencing" allows you to define a circular boundary of any size around any GPS location (latitude/longitude coordinates). GPSAccess will notify you when your device is approaching or leaving a location as it crosses that boundary. GPSAccess can also notify you about "speed transitions" as you go from moving to stopped, or from stopped to moving. This is very handy when you want to know for sure when you've really arrived at a location/customer without relying on your users to tell you. And our GetVector method lets you access the distance and bearing between any two points so you can easily implement your own custom proximity logic.

4. GPSDemo Sample Project
A complete C# source code for a robust demo program highlighting the basic GPS functions, including GeoFencing and a unique "radar view" of monitored locations. 

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