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Last update: September 2nd ,2024
Register on the Thingstream platform
u-blox Thingstream is a service delivery platform providing a management console that you can use to enable and manage the entire suite of u-blox services. CloudTrack is a service under 'Location Services'.
Sign-up is free, quick and easy. Just go to the Thingstream portal and register with your company information. Note: If you already have a Thingstream domain, you do not need to register again.
Create a CloudTrack Thing
CloudTrack requires a Thingstream SIM in order to function. You will have received a redemption code (or CSV file containing multiple codes) which you will need to enter in the portal to create your CloudTrack Thing(s).
Use the navigation bar on the left side of the page, go to Location Services-->Thing List, and choose the "Add Location Thing" button on the top right of the page.
In this section
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Go to Use a code and then either enter a single code or select the option to redeem multiple things and upload your CSV file.
Follow the steps in the wizard to finish adding your CloudTrack Thing. We will automatically create a flow to handle the location requests sent by the CloudTrack app. This flow will send an email to the domain owner with the calculated position. You can edit that flow to do something else with the result any time you wish. Have a look at our flow guide for more information.
CloudTrack Tracker application
CloudTrack works exclusively with u-blox cellular ‘combo’ modules that have global band capability and integrated M8 or M10 GNSS:
SARA-R422M10 / SARA-R422M10 LTE-M, NB-IoT, and EGPRS module with integrated M8/M10 GNSS receiver
SARA-R10001M10D LTE Cat 1bis module with integrated M10 GNSS receiver
LENA-R8001M10 LTE Cat 1bis module with global coverage and integrated M10 GNSS
You will need to download the CloudTrack Tracker application to get the best from the service. You will find it in the downloads section of the portal.
The application sends location updates as a JSON string whenever a configured event occurs. The typical payload contains location data in the form of coordinates or MEASX data as obtained from the GNSS receiver or information about the currently connected cellular base station which can be used to determine a location.
The payload is sent to predefined topic device/<identity>/publish, where <identity> is shown on the Thing Details page for the device accessed from the 'Portal Things' page and is of the form identity:xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx
Configuring the CloudTrack Application
Configuration is done over MQTT by sending QoS 1 messages to the topic device/<identity>, for example by using the "Send Message" menu on the 'Portal Things' page.
Note that in order to conserve power, the device will not remain connected to the Thingstream gateway at all times. It will poll for configuration messages whenever it publishes. Configuration messages should be sent to the device using QoS 1, otherwise the message may be discarded.
An example of a configuration payload is:
{ "config": { "interval": { "min": 10, "max": 60 }, "motion": 3, "loc": {"measx": 1, "gnss": 2, "cell": 3} }}
This will set the client to awaken on an hourly basis "max":60.
Priorities are then set for the type of fix that is preferred, in this example it will provide a measx response as first priority, if this is not possible it will attempt to provide a gnss fix and finally if that is not possible a cell location fix.
Using AssistNow
A configuration option is available to enable u-blox AssistNow service on "combo" modems that support this feature as listed above.
Ephemeris data is requested from the Thingstream server using MQTT and this data is sent to the modem. Since this data is valid for a few hours, if the tracker interval is short then this data can be shared between multiple runs of the tracker.
Example of AssistNow configuration:
{ "config": { "AssistNow" : { "age": 180, "lat": 52, "lon": -4 },"loc": { "gnss": 1 }}}
config.AssistNow.age: Sets the number of minutes to keep the data.
config.AssistNow.lat: Sets the approximate latitude in degress. This needs to be a whole number.
config.AssistNow.lon: Sets the approximate longitude in degress. This needs to be a whole number.
Setting config.AssistNow.age to zero will disable use of AssistNow.
Further details on all configuration are available from documentation within the Application itself.
Observing the results
The Thingstream Data Flow Manager will provide feedback in the form of an email to the owner of the domain regarding configuration changes and also with an email that provides a link to a location on a map.
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