India's First In-House GPS Vehicle & Asset Tracker

The Problem

Fleet operators and asset owners in India had few affordable, locally-built options for real-time GPS tracking; most available hardware was imported and difficult to customize or service locally.

Constraints

• No existing local supply chain for a purpose-built tracking PCB — every layer had to be designed from scratch.
• Cost pressure to keep the bill of materials competitive against imported trackers.
• Small team covering hardware, firmware, and enclosure design simultaneously.

Approach

• Designed the PCB layout and circuit schematic in-house, including power management and GSM/GPS module integration.
• Wrote the embedded firmware controlling location polling, data buffering, and transmission.
• 3D-modelled and prototyped the enclosure for vehicle and asset mounting.
• Assembled and tested complete units locally rather than outsourcing manufacturing.

Outcome

• Shipped a fully functional, India-built GPS tracking device under the COP911 brand.
• Demonstrated a complete hardware-to-firmware product cycle without external hardware vendors.
• Established a repeatable in-house hardware design process later reused for the ZeroTouch device family.

Technologies