Vehicle location data is the
big data collection of
vehicle
A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), ...
locations, including
automatic vehicle location data. This usually includes times and often photographs as well.
Common methods of data collection include
automatic number plate recognition
Automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR; see also other names below) is a technology that uses optical character recognition on images to read vehicle registration plates to create vehicle location data. It can use existing closed-circuit te ...
of
vehicle registration plate
A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate ( Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identific ...
s from images collected by cameras mounted on vehicles or fixtures along roads,
as well as
radio-frequency identification (RFID) from
dedicated short-range communications
Dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) are one-way or two-way short-range to medium-range wireless communication channels specifically designed for automotive use and a corresponding set of protocols and standards.
History
In October 1999, ...
transponders
[
] (such as those used for
electronic toll collection and
parking lots).
Database
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases s ...
s of this information may be maintained by government or private entities. Private companies use vehicle location data for vehicle
repossession and consumer profiling.
Government databases have been subjected to legal orders for location data.
Access may be restricted to use in criminal cases, but may also be available for civil cases, such as divorce.
Automatic number plate recognition
Vehicle registration plate
A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate ( Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identific ...
s may be automatically scanned with equipment, mountable on vehicles, that identifies an image characteristic of a registration plates, takes a photograph, and reads and records the registration number.
Such scanning may be done by government
or private industry.
Private industry collects this information for profit through, directly or indirectly, activities such as consumer profiling and repossession.
Companies have collected over 1 billion scans of registration plates in the United States,
stored in multiple
national databases.
Transponders
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) read from
dedicated short-range communication transponders voluntarily obtained by citizens for
electronic toll collection enable recording of time and location data at toll crossings.
Scanning equipment has also been installed at additional, non-toll locations,
enabling further data collection. Transponders have also been hacked, allowing reading and tracking by unauthorized parties.
Privacy concerns
The
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
issued a report on license plate tracking, finding that the vast majority of scans collected are the vehicles of innocent persons.
See also
*
Indoor positioning system
An indoor positioning system (IPS) is a network of devices used to locate people or objects where GPS and other satellite technologies lack precision or fail entirely, such as inside multistory buildings, airports, alleys, parking garages, and un ...
(IPS)
*
Parking lot
References
{{reflist
Automatic number plate recognition
Mass surveillance
Geographic position
Geopositioning