EOTrackMe: Settings for uTrackMe (iPhone & iPad)

uTrackMe is one of the supported EOTrackMe phone interface products. This program is to be used in conjunction with either an iPhone or an iPad. ExplorOz Members using uTrackMe with either their iPhone or iPad have the ability to publish their location in real-time to their very own EOTrackMe Map. uTrackMe supports full “store and forward” of data, meaning that your route can be stored when you do not have phone coverage and forwarded when service returns. Additionally, Members using an iPhone/iPad have the ability to share their location with other EOTrackMe users, as well as viewing their current location/route. uTrackMe can also be used with an iPod touch, however as these devices only have Wi-Fi connectivity, they will be limited to submitting data when a Wi-Fi connection is available.

To download uTrackMe for iPhone/iPod Touch click here.

To download uTrackMe for iPad click here.

Once you have this application installed, the set-up is as follows:

uTrackMe has "in-app" settings for some of the most essential settings. You can get to these settings by clicking the "settings" button in the top left corner of the application (it looks like a cog). The following data must be entered within the uTrackMe settings in order to synchronise your device with the EOTrackMe servers

In-App Settings

Tracking Service:-

Select EOTrackMe as your tracking service. Once selected a tick will be displayed beside the EOTrackMe service icon.

EOTrackMe Settings:-

Once EOTracKMe has been selected as your tracking service, your settings page will display a EOTrackMe settings option. Your ExplorOz Member Number needs to be entered into the ‘Member Nr’ field. Type your Member number in prefaced with a M. For example if your ExplorOz Member number was 458, you would enter M458.

Background Tracking:-

Background Tracking - This options tells uTrackMe to continue to run in the background (on supported devices). Be aware: running uTrackMe in the background has roughly the same power consumption as running it in the foreground and will have a significant effect on your battery life.

Advanced Settings

Additional, more advanced, settings can be found in the "Settings Application"; accessible from your iPhone or iPads home screen. This is the grey app, that looks like a cog.

The advanced settings are explained below, along with our recommended settings. However, Members are more than welcome to customise these based upon individual requirements.

User Interface:-
Proximity Sensor - With the proximity sensor enabled the screen will dim and the application will no longer respond to user interaction when an object is near by (on supported devices). (Recommended: OFF)

Interface Rotation – Enables/Disables the automatic screen rotation on your device (Recommended: ON)

Units – Displays measurements in either Metric or Imperial. (Recommended: Metric)

Map Type – Changes the way in which the uTrackMe Map is displayed. Available options are all Google generated and consist of Map, Satellite or Hybird. (Recommended: Map)

Center Map - Aligns your uTrackMe Map centrally over your current location (Recommended: ON)

Background Tracking Notification:-
Show Notification - Tells uTrackMe to show a dialog box whenever the application is sent to the background and uTrackMe is configured to continue to run in the background. (Recommended: ON)

Connection Errors:-
Show Alert - Tells uTrackMe to show a dialog box (that is automatically dismissed after a couple of seconds) whenever a connection error occurs. (When set to "NO" the connection errors are still logged however). (Recommended: ON)
Publish

Interval - The interval in seconds between requests to the server. (Recommended: 2 Minutes)

Timeout - The connection timeout in seconds. (Recommended: 30 Seconds)

GPS:-
Desired Accuracy - Tells the GPS what accuracy to strive for. (Recommended: Best)

Distance Filter - Tells the GPS the minimum distance in meters a device must move laterally before an update event is sent to uTrackMe.
Setting this to a large value reduces the power consumption at the cost of resolution (but not precision). (Recommended: 200 Metres)

Minimum Accuracy - Tells uTrackMe to discard location updates from the GPS that have a lower accuracy. Instead uTrackMe will consider the position "lost". For example setting minimum accuracy to 500m discards location information based on cell towers. (Recommended: 500 Metres)

Track Log:-
Send Entire Track - Tells uTrackMe to send the entire track log to the server instead of only the last known value. Enabling this option can significantly increase the amount of data that is sent to the server. (Recommended: ON)

Cache Size - Defines the size of the cache in points that uTrackMe uses to store the still unsent part of the track log. (Recommended: 131072)

Cache Persistent - Tells uTrackMe to write a copy of the cache to persistent memory. This ensures that no unsent track log data is lost if the application is terminated (note: cached data is not lost when the app is suspended). Enabling this option might increase the power consumption. (Recommended: ON)

Min Displacement - Tells uTrackMe the minimum distance in meters a device must move laterally before a new position is added to the track log. (Settings this value smaller than the GPS minimum distance filter has no effect). (Recommended: 50 Metres)

Extras

*Members with multiple devices (such as 2 x iPhones) running uTrackMe have the ability to share their location information. A full screen map shows your location and the location of the other iPhones and iPads. This would be a great feature to use amongst friends on your next 4WDing trip!

**Approximate data usage: Each packet is not huge however if you travel 200km with a 5m "Distance Filter" you will be sending 40,000 position reports each being around 700bytes totalling approx 28Mb, if this is reduced to 50m you would be sending in 2.8Mb and at 500m only 280Kb. So the 200-250m number is the most suitable as it will produce a good mapping result and keep the data usage at reasonable level.

**If you are looking for the settings for uTrackMe Version 3 – Please Click HERE**