Geofences are virtual boundaries based on geographic coordinates. When combined with global position system (GPS), or more generally global navigation satellite system (GNSS) transmitters, geofences provide a powerful tool for monitoring the location and movements of objects of interest through proximity alarms. However, the accuracy of geofence alarms in GNSS-radio frequency (GNSS-RF) transmitter receiver systems has not been tested. To achieve these goals, a cart with a GNSS-RF locator was run on a straight path in a balanced factorial experiment with three levels of cart speed, three angles of geofence intersection, three receiver distances from the track, and three replicates. Locator speed, receiver distance and geofence intersection angle all affected geofence alarm accuracy in an analysis of variance (p = 0.013, p = 2.58 × 10(-8), and p = 0.0006, respectively), as did all treatment interactions (p < 0.0001). Slower locator speed, acute geofence intersection angle, and closest receiver distance were associated with reduced accuracy of geofence alerts.
Keywords: GNSS; GNSS-RF; GPS-RF; geofence; position, navigation and timing; real-time GPS; virtual fence.