Blog 24: May Extra Blog

Carl La Russa 

North

Blog 24: May Extra Blog

This month has been very busy at my mentorship. First my mentor and I had to take a trip down to Sycuan Casino in San Diego to replace three faulty tracking units in some buses. When we arrived at the casino, we were notified by the transportation official that Sycuan 6, code-name for Limo 6 was getting an interior makeover which created more stress for my mentor because he has to track down the vehicle and do a separate installation at some other time. On top of that, our tech support man, Tom Smith who lives in the UK was unable to provide us with technical support as he was attending to other business. With all these issues on our hands, we still managed to replace the other faulty units and check that all the units at the casino were running properly.

The following week, my mentor calls me and tells me that Sycuan 6 is at a customization shop in Ontario and that it was going to be his only chance at intercepting the limo before it heads back down to San Diego. So I agreed to go along with him and install a new unit. We get to the shop at around 9 A.M., get the keys to the limo from the manager and we begin working. Two hours later, we complete the installation and call it a day. 20 minutes after I get home, my mentor calls me and says that the unit is not registering on the tracking program and that there is a faulty connection within the wiring. The limo was scheduled to leave the shop that evening and go back down to San Diego, but luckily for us, they decided to postpone it until the next morning. In the end everything worked out as planned.

Here is my mentor inspecting the faulty unit that we retrieved out of Sycuan 42.

Here my mentor is preparing to replace the faulty unit in Sycuan 2.

It turned out that the unit that was installed in this van by the casino mechanic was buried under the dashboard. It took us about an hour just to locate the unit.

Blog 23: Senior Project Reflection

Carl La Russa

North

5/22/2015

Blog 23

1.) Positive Statement

  - What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why? 

- I am proud of how I was able to salvage my activity. The software required to run my tracking program wasn't working properly on the laptops so I decided to have my audience create a geofence on a sheet of paper. With my senior project, I am proud of having been able to go and visit actual companies that use my mentor's tracking system.

2.) What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation? 

- I would give myself a P.

3.) What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project?

- I would give myself an AE.

4.) What worked for you in your senior project?

- What really worked for me in my senior project was having my mentor as my next door neighbor. The conveniences of just walking over to his house and talking to him about my project was really beneficial for me.

5.) What would I have done differently in my senior project?

- If I could go back in time, I would've started my Independent Component 1 earlier. I didn't realize until about January that was falling behind on my hours. I was pretty stressed the last couple weeks of January trying to schedule visits at businesses that work with my mentor.

5.) How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?

- The senior project has really helped me gain more insight into the transportation industry and how technology is revolutionizing the way people move. I plan to become a mechanical engineer one day and hopefully work with vehicle systems that use GPS or any other sort of electronics.

Blog 22 Mentorship

Carl La Russa

North

5/12/2015

Blog 22: Mentorship

1.) Literal   

•      Del Shindell, my mentor's house.

2.) Interpretive

• Having worked with my mentor for almost a year now, has taught me a lot of things about vehicle tracking and how it works. The most important thing that I've gotten out of my mentorship is being able to research a topic quickly and apply that research to reality whether I was installing tracking units, opening them up and diagnosing problems, or helping customers with questions they might have about vehicle tracking. Through my mnetorship, I was able to present what I had found more fluently to my classmates helping them paint a better picture of what I do during my mentorship in their heads. Having some solid research already in mind helped me further my research into my topic and find important information related to my EQ.

3.) Applied

• By completing my mentorship, I've been able to gain knowledge that people who just read articles and websites on my topic would've never been able to acquire. My EQ, "Who benefits most from vehicle tracking software?" has been easy to find answers for, but as for the answers, its been difficult to find research to back them up. This is where my mentor and all the people that I've talked to about my topic have provided me with answers and reasons as to why those answers apply to my EQ. My mentor gave me many answers to my EQ and many reasons as to why they were legitimate and it was my job to find others who would narrow them down and give me specific information that I could use for my research and presentations.

Exit Interview Blog

Carl La Russa

North

Exit Interview Blog

1. My EQ is "Who benefits most from vehicle tracking software?". My three answers are Teen Drivers, Commercial Truck Drivers and Adult Drivers. 

• My best answer is Commercial Truck Drivers because GPS tracking encourages them to stay on task without taking detours or long rest stops, drive more efficiently by taking the fastest route to a destination and be responsible for someone else's property. With a tracking unit installed in a commercial vehicle, a driver will become much more cautious about what he or she does with the vehicle when out on the road. For example, say an employer mandates that all of his/her employees can't exceed 70 mph while making deliveries and a driver exceeds the maximum speed limit set by the boss, the boss will know exactly when and where that particular driver exceeded the speed limit and be able to take action accordingly.

1. Over the course of my mentorship, I've been working with my mentor who mostly sells tracking units and software to commercial transportation companies. These companies rely on my mentor's tracking system to locate their vehicles and make decisions based off of the information that is given to them through the program. After studying my topic for over a year now, all the research that I've done has proved to me that commercial vehicle drivers depend on tracking systems to get paid the correct amount of money, show that they are responsible with company property and to complete their jobs when and where they're supposed to. 

•  Some problems that I faced during my mentorship were trying to organize visits to car dealerships and fleet businesses that my mentor already worked with. At the beginning of the year I was trying to get my mentor to organize visits to some of the places that he works with for my independent component. What was difficult about this was calling the businesses and trying to setup a time to come by and visit along with my mentor when my mentor has a tight schedule and people at the businesses have little time to talk. To solve my problems, I took some time during my Thanksgiving and Winter Breaks to go and stop by some of these places without my mentor and try and get contacts for future interviews and visits.
• The two most significant sources that helped me answer my essential question are "Understanding GPS Principles and Applications" and "8 Misconceptions About GPS Vehicle Tracking." The book "Understanding GPS Principles and Applications" goes into depth on how GPS developed from just a military tool in the early 1970s to something that plays a vital role in everyone's lives today. One section of the book called Applications in Transportation explained to me that vehicle tracking plays a major role in many transportation companies and other highway services. My other significant source, "8 Misconceptions About GPS Vehicle Tracking." explained to me how many business owners and people who are in charge of large fleets don't believe a tracking system will benefit them at all. What this article does is that it takes all the arguments and gives an in-depth explanation as to why they are wrong and in-turn argues why more people aren't buying tracking systems for their vehicles.

April Extra Blog

Carl La Russa

North 

4/29/2015

This past month, I've been very busy working along with my mentor on a brochure for his tracking company and trying to boost sales on tracking units. We were able to create a good looking brochure that encompasses everything about the company and how our tracking system works. We ran into a couple problems along the way when we read over the content on the brochure and discovered that we had completely left out any information on the tracking website itself and that that is the main key to actually viewing vehicle activity. We had so much information on the tracking units and benefits of tracking that we had forgotten to include anything about the tracking software.

Independent Component 2

Carl La Russa

North 

4/24/2015

Independent Component 2 Blog

a.) "I, Carl La Russa, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work."

b.) My mentor, Del Shindell, Alex Weiss, and Steve Szczuka have helped me complete my 30 hours of work. 

c.) Senior Project Hours Log updated.

d.) Over the past couple months, I've been working alongside my mentor, Del Shindell, to secure deals with trucking companies in the Chino area by making a Sygmatech brochure, that we would be able to hand out to potential customers and business cards that I could hand out. During the month of March, my mentor explained to me that business has been a bit slow lately and that he wanted to begin finding new clients for his tracking system. For several days during the second week of March, I was over at my mentor's house designing a brochure with pictures and captions that would inform potential clients about the system and its capabilities along with the benefits of having a tracking system in their fleet. To go along with the brochure, my mentor wanted me to get my own business card in case I was confronted with a potential client. Another reason my mentor wanted a brochure for his company was so that he could use it to give to some of our neighbors up the street since one of them manages a fleet of construction vehicles and was interested in the system. During all of this, I spoke with Alex Weiss and Steve Szczuka, both experts that have worked in the field of GPS and GPS tracking. Mr. Weiss worked with my mentor at a company called Hughes Aircraft about 20 years ago where they contracted with the U.S. military building systems that could track submarine torpedoes and missiles. Mr. Weiss helped me answer some questions that had about GPS and how it has evolved over the years into becoming a major component of people's lives. Mr. Szczuka on the other hand helped me understand how GPS might evolve to meet future needs and how itself is changing the future of tracking and navigating. Over the last couple weeks, I've been making calls to trucking companies, trying to peak some interest about my mentor's tracking system and what it can do for these companies. 

e.) The second independent component has helped me a lot in answering my essential question. First of all, when I was out pitching the tracking system with my mentor, I was able to see how tracking systems have already benefited many businesses. For example, when I went into Frontier Transportation in Chino, one of the managers there explained to me how much time and money they've saved by tracking their vehicles. I heard the same story from Odyssey Tours when I visited their bus yard along with my mentor. Along with all the product pitching, I was able to speak with some great experts within the field who really were able to explain to me why GPS is so important whether it be in transportation of any other application.

Here is the front page of the Sygmatech brochure that my mentor and I designed.

This is the inside of the brochure that explains everything about the tracking system from the tracking unit specifications to the features of the tracking program.

March Extra Post

This month, my mentor and I have been pretty busy setting up the tracking software after one of the servers was wiped. What I was asked to was setup the geo-fences that my mentor used in order to locate vehicles more quickly. While I was working on setting those up, I helped my mentor setup the fences that are being used by the bus and commercial vehicle accounts. 

Here is my mentor by his computer working on the Odyssey account, setting up the Odyssey Bus Yard fence.

Blog 18: Fourth Interview Preparation

           

                                         Carl La Russa

                                                    North

                                                   #113

          Fourth Interview Preparation

1.) In your opinion, how has GPS revolutionized the way people travel and navigate?

2.) Do you believe there is anything that can be improved upon with GPS? Why? How?

3.) In regards to vehicle tracking, how is GPS a major factor in tracking a vehicle?

4.) While researching my topic, I discovered that there are two types of tracking systems, a cell-based system and a GPS- based system. What are the differences between the two and which one is better?

5.) How might a business employing a large amount of vehicles benefit from having a tracking system?

6.) What sorts of information do you think a fleet business would want to extract from their vehicles while out on the road?

7.) Are there any benefits for the drivers who are employed by these companies?

8.) Other than being used in business applications, how might a GPS tracking system be implemented in order to reduce congestion and traffic delays in a major city?

9.) During my research, I read about something called ITS or an Intelligent Traffic System that can monitor every single vehicle out on the road and be able to direct traffic so that there are no delays or backups. Is there something like this already in place somewhere? If not, is it possible to develop a system like this using GPS?

10.) If a system such as ITS would to be put in place, how do you think it would gather vehicle information?

11.) Is there a possibility that the government could mandate people to have a tracker in their vehicles?

12.) If so, do you think people would compromise some of their privacy in order to optimize traffic flow?

13.) In terms of personal use, how do you think a family might benefit from tracking a teen driver?

14.) If the tracking system identifies problems with a teen's driving, do you think the teen would try and improve his or her driving? Why?

15.) If an adult were to track themselves, do you think they would try and improve upon their driving?

16.) During my mentorship, my mentor told me about a certain word or piece of code that is used to determine the accuracy of GPS. What does the word consist of?

17.) How does the length of the word increase the accuracy of an object's location?

18.) Are there any restrictions as to how long the word can be?

19.) Are there different types of words or lines of code that can be used to track objects or is there just one that can be modified?

20.) While a vehicle is being tracked, is there any transfer of data between satellites and the unit in terms of code?

Blog 17: Third Answer

I'm 1.) Who benefits most from vehicle tracking software?

2.) Adult drivers will benefit greatly from vehicle tracking software in that they will always know where their vehicle is at in case it is stolen, keep track of maintenance on their vehicle and learn how to spend less time on the road getting from A to B.

3.) Vehicle tracking is beneficial for every driver, but for adult drivers like my mentor, they can view their fuel consumption through the daily reports generated on the tracking website, keep up on routine maintenance with their vehicle and have the peace of mind of knowing where their car is at all times.

4.) GPS Tracking 101: How GPS Tracking Works. I chose this article in particular because it really explains how tracking benefits everyone, whether you own a fleet business or need a tracker just for personal use. It explains the difference between passive and active tracking, the different types of units used to track vehicles and how information travels from the vehicle itself to a computer where it can be viewed.

5.) Although tracking can really be molded and shaped to fit anyone's lifestyle, it's ultimately up to the owner/driver of the vehicle to change their driving habits and/or maintain their vehicle.

February Extra Post

This month I've been very busy working with my mentor on testing two new units that are eventually going to determine if my mentor goes ahead with a deal in New Orleans. 

Here you can see my mentor installing a SIM chip in one of the units. 

This here is one of the units when we first pulled it out of box. We opened it up to install a SIM chip and to begin programming it and charging its internal battery.

Blog 16: Answer 2

1.) Who benefits most from vehicle tracking software?

2.) Commercial truck drivers; they benefit from reduced fuel consumption due to more efficient routes that they learn to take after reviewing their driving history. Along with efficient driving, drivers also learn how to be responsible when out on the road with someone else's property. Having a productive and safe employee driving a vehicle will not only make the customer happy when they arrive on time with the delivery but it will also benefit the vehicle owner's wallet with reduced operating costs and a solid customer base.

3.) Teen drivers will benefit greatly by having a tracking system in their car because it will make them better drivers. First of all teens are known for being distracted while they drive, whether it be with their friends in the car or with their cell phones. With a tracking system installed, parents will know immediately if their child is performing dangerous tasks such as speeding, braking abruptly, or texting while driving and will be able to take action accordingly. 

4.) My mentor has actually experienced his system have a bus driver fired for recording excessive amounts of driving hours. A company called Odyssey Tours located in Orange has been using my mentor's tracking software and units for many years. They have also had to relieve many of their drivers due to cheating on driving hours, speeding while on tours and excessive idling while waiting for passengers to return to the bus at a stop.

By having one of my mentor's tracking units in my own car, I have been able to improve my driving significantly by learning the spots where I speed on my daily commute to school and by being more conscious about when I sit in my car and run the a/c for too long.

5.) 

- "Why Track Your Commercial Vehicle" by Tag Guard

- "GPS Tracking- Talking to Employees" by How to introduce GPS Tracking to Employees

- "Hey, why did you floor it?" " Tracking junior behind the wheel" by Edmunds

- "Truvolo- A new device to keep teen drivers safe" by Blogcritics.org

6.) One of my mentor's friends that also works with GPS told me back in October that the most important factor that parents are looking for is peace of mind, knowing that their teen driver has arrived at their destination safely.

7.) Whether it be for commercial use or for personal use, GPS tracking benefits everyone from parents to teens to truck drivers. These people will begin to realize that they need to be responsible while driving and not put themselves or others out on the road in danger. A tracking system will keep a truck driver focused on his job while a teen will think twice about racing the guy next to him at a stop light. Nobody goes home empty handed with a tracking system.

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

Carl La Russa

North 

2/11/2015

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

1.) For my Independent Component 2, I plan on working with my mentor on securing a deal with Bendix, a company that sells safety cameras for commercial vehicles. By securing this deal, my mentor will be able to purchase fifteen cameras, install them into his client's mini-buses and connect them to Sygmatech's tracking units so that they can stream video data to my mentor's computer server and ultimately to the client. Currently, my mentor and I are awaiting approval from the client in San Diego, but once my mentor's client gives us the go ahead, we will order the cameras and schedule a time to go down to San Diego and install them into the min-buses. Along with the camera deal, I will also be helping my mentor order components for one of his clients in Louisiana that is starting up a fleet business who wants tracking units in his vehicles that will have an independent power source but still be able to track the vehicle's location and speed. Although my mentor isn't planning on traveling to Louisiana to install the units himself, it leaves him with more responsibility in terms of providing detailed installation instructions and other critical information to the people who will be working with the units that will be needed in order for the units to work properly. This project will require my mentor and I to create charts and/or diagrams that illustrate the installation process and make sure that all the components needed for the installation will arrive on time and in one piece. 

2.) While I'm completing my hours for Independent Component 2, I will be documenting everything that I'm doing by taking pictures and posting those pictures along with my Extra Posts every month. The pictures included in the Extra Posts will come with detailed explanations of what is going on in the picture and what I was doing at the time the picture was taken.

3.) By completing thirty hours for my Independent Component 2, I will have learned how my mentor's tracking system can be configured to support other devices such as surveillance cameras. It also allows me to experience how clients work with tracking systems and how they are able to fit it into their businesses to maybe save them money or identify a problem with their fleet. By working alongside my mentor, I can observe how he explains the different functions and uses of a tracking system to other people or companies that are interested. Using these observations, I can make my presentations in class better and I make sure I have the right information that will answer everyone's questions. 

Blog 14: Independent Component 1

Carl La Russa

North

2/5/2015

Blog 14 Independent Component 1

Literal

a.) "I, Carl La Russa, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of my work."

b and d.) For most of my independent component, I worked with my mentor, installing tracking units into vehicles such as cars and buses and setting up accounts so that clients can track their vehicles. I also worked on finding people that worked within my topic area that I could interview such as Mr. Hans Molin, a sales manager at Bendix Inc., a company that builds and sells cameras that cooperate with tracking systems to record accidents that occur with commercial vehicle such as buses and eighteen-wheelers. An achievement that I am proud over is when I was able to get my mentor to meet Mr. Molin and have them reach a deal on cameras that would be installed in fifteen buses that my mentor tracks.

c.) I've updated my hours log.

Interpretive

       Over the past couple months, I've been working feverishly to find contacts for interviews and I've installed many units along with my mentor. In October my mentor and I installed one of the larger units into his personal car, just to show me how an installation works and what needs to be done afterwards to make sure the unit works properly. By knowing how to properly install and setup one of the tracking units I learned a whole lot in terms of how a unit communicates with satellites and cell towers to send its location data to a computer server and how people, specifically commercial vehicle drivers might benefit from having such a unit installed in their vehicle. In November, I contacted the finance manager at Mark Christopher Auto Center who wanted twenty units to be installed in the dealership's rental car fleet. The week after I talked to her, my mentor and I visited the dealership where we spent hours in car trunks making sure each unit was installed correctly and testing each and every one to see if they transmitted the correct information every thirty seconds. During the month of January I was able to land an interview with Mr. Molin who I had contacted back in December. I was also given a tour of his office building where all of the company's products are designed. The past couple of weeks though have been the busiest though. First of all I went with my mentor down to San Diego to supervise the installation of seven units into some vans. While in San Diego, my mentor also checked up on some other units to make sure they were running properly. Secondly, I took a tour of Odyssey Coach's new bus facility in Orange, CA along with my mentor. Shortly thereafter we did an inspection of Bus 42, one of the buses that was having issues with its unit. Thirdly, my mentor and I drove down to Santa Ana to meet with Mr. Molin and to discuss a potential deal with cameras that would be installed on the inside of some buses in San Diego to record what is happening and to have the camera hooked up with the tracking unit so it could send this data to my mentor's company servers. On the way back from that meeting we stopped of at the Odyssey Bus Yard to get an update on the situation with Bus 42. 

Applied

    By completing my independent component, I've learned quite a bit more than I would've by just researching my topic online or looking through books. For instance, when I worked with my mentor at the Odyssey Bus Yard, I learned how the actual units are installed, how they function, and the reaction from actual drivers who work for Odyssey. I have also spent countless hours with my mentor at his house just learning how to work the tracking website, the tracking iPhone application and how to repair malfunctioning units. The best part about this project so far is that I actually get to use one of the units in my car. I know exactly where my car is at all times, what the battery voltage is, and if the car is on or not. So far I have gained a lot of experience and knowledge about my topic just by shadowing my mentor and tagging along with him when he needs to go visit bus yards or car dealerships.

 Here is my mentor inspecting one of the buses at the Odyssey Bus Yard.

Here is Bus 42 being repaired by the yard's head mechanic.

This is Odyssey's official logo on the side of one of its buses.

Here is my mentor inspecting the work done by the lead mechanic at the Odyssey Yard.

Here is a stripped down trunk of one the cars my mentor and I were installing one of the tracking units in.

Here is Mr. Molin discussing with my mentor how his cameras work.

This is my mentor attaching the ground terminal from the unit to the car's battery.

In this picture, my mentor and I trying to solve a problem with one of the malfunctioning bus units.

Here is where my mentor runs tests on all of the units he purchases.

Here my mentor is inspecting the car's battery.

January Extra Post

This month has been very busy for me. First of all I interviewed the product manager Mr. Hans Molin at Bendix which is a company that manufactures safety systems for commercial trucks. Currently I am working with my mentor on trying to secure a meeting with him because my mentor possibly might purchase some of his product. Secondly, I worked all last week on trying to figure out an activity for my second lesson and ironing out all of the details for my presentation. And lastly I've been granted admin access to the tracking system by my mentor and I've been working with him on how to make the tracking website and iPhone app more user friendly. 

Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

1.) I am proud of having props like the tracking units and the tracking iPhone app and website to show to the class because it engaged the audience and kept them focused on what I had to say.

2.) I believe I deserve a P because I met all the requirements because I don't feel like I went above and beyond during my presentation. I think I could've gone more into detail on the actual units and how they work instead of spending the amount of time I did explaining the tracking website and app.

3.) Having the actual tracking units to show to the audience made my presentation because everyone wanted to take a look at them and audience members asked questions about them.

4.) I should've directly referenced my first source because I incorporated information from it into my EQ answer.

5.) Teen drivers will benefit from tracking technology because they will learn from their mistakes and they will be able to see where they went wrong and be able to fix the problem right away. Say a teen was speeding on a certain street, they will be able to know exactly where they speed all the time and they will remember to slow down the next time.

Blog 12: Mentorship 10 Hours

Carl La Russa

North

1/7/2014

1.) I am completing my mentorship hours at my mentor's house.

2.) Del Shindell, President of Sygmatech Inc.          Cell: (909)-576-1150

3.) I have completed a total of 30 hours with my mentor including Independent Component hours.

4.) During the 10 hours that I completed over the summer, I was introduced to the tracking units themselves and the website used to track vehicles. I was also given an in-depth lecture of how the units communicate with satellites and eventually, how they send their data to the company's computer server in England.

5.) 

December Extra Post

During the month of December, my mentor and I worked on several things. First, I got in contact with a woman named Sharon who works at a car dealership and is interested in purchasing GPS tracking units for her dealership's rental car fleet. For several weeks my mentor has been preparing units for the contact I received by testing each and every one and programming them. Secondly, we've been working on trying to implement a text message alert system into our tracking application for iPhone. The alert system would allow users to receive an alert in the form of a text when a particular asset enters a geofence. And finally, I've been talking with a man named Hans Molin who works for a company that manufactures safety systems for commercial trucks. I will be meeting him at his job this Thursday.

Blog 11: Holiday Project Update

1.) During my winter break, I worked with my mentor on several things. First of all, my mentor was having problems with his iPhone and his iPad which he both uses to run his tracking application on. To solve these problems, we decided to take a trip to the Apple Store in Brea Mall and see if they could straighten out all the problems. Secondly, my mentor and I discussed some steps we need to take in order to move my project forward and I talked to him about leaving a message with Mrs. Ortega and verifying the hours I've done with him. Last but not least, I introduced sort of an idea for the company's head programmer which was integrating some sort of text alert system into the Sygmatech app so that users can be notified when a particular asset enters a geofence.

2.) the most important thing I've learned while working over the break with my mento is patience. Whether it's waiting for a response from our head programmer in the UK or waiting for a new unit to secure a satellite connection, everything, takes time, and sometimes it can't all be done right here right now.

3.) If I were going to perform a 10 question interview on someone, I would choose Mr. Hans Molin. Mr. Molin has worked for Volvo Cars and is currently working on safety systems for commercial trucks at Bendix Truck Systems. I contacted him through one of my moms friends and I will be visiting his job later this month. Having this kind of expertise with automobiles and safety systems, Mr. Molin is the perfect guy to talk to regarding my project and current EQ.