Commotion Wireless+Mesh Networking

[Cribstone]

Mesh Networks offer a compelling p2p alternative for geographically-defined locations. Existing wireless protocols include XBee Pro https://www.digi.com/products/wireless-wired-embedded-solutions/zigbee-rf-modules/point-multipoint-rfmodules/xbee-pro-xsc

Commotion Wireless is a new project to develop mesh networking capability across multiple platforms. https://commotionwireless.net

The project is in early alpha and looking for new developers. Would make a great theme for an online hackathon.

[Cribstone]

A key advantage of using open source in vehicle tracking will be in the flexibility of using multiple networking formats to meet the needs of each unique deployment. In some cases, real-time location might be of less importance than other data inputs which could be collected through the CANBus OBDII port (i.e vehicle speed, fuel efficiency, mileage etc.). While such data may be harder to transmit it also won't need to be accessed as often as the real-time coordinates.
A cross-platform system could be optimized to transmit certain types of data in accordance with the strength of the networking node it has access to. For example, if only a GSM signal is available then the vehicle would only transmit the basic location coordinates but could transmit more detailed information if connected to a local mesh network or set to "dump" all the data at a preconfigured wifi hotspot along the route.
Such a setup would blur the distinctions between datalogging and real-time tracking and open up a wide range of new applications on the front end.