Update a vehicle location

  • Fleet Engine requires frequent vehicle location updates for optimal performance, achievable through the Driver SDK or custom code.

  • The Driver SDK is the simplest method for location updates, with dedicated documentation for Android and iOS.

  • For custom solutions, direct calls to Fleet Engine can be made with location data, requiring updates every 5 seconds to 1 minute.

  • Vehicles can be updated using REST or client libraries, with code examples provided for both Java and REST.

For the best performance with Fleet Engine, provide it with a stream of vehicle location updates. Use either of the following ways to provide these updates:

  1. Use the Driver SDK: simplest option. See the Driver SDK documentation for Android or iOS.
  2. Use custom code: useful if locations are relayed through your backend, or if you use devices other than Android or iOS. This guide covers that approach.

If not using the Driver SDK to update the vehicle's location, you can make a direct call to Fleet Engine with the vehicle's location. For any active vehicle, Fleet Engine expects a location update at least once every minute and at most once every 5 seconds. These updates require only Fleet Engine Driver SDK User privileges.

Update vehicle location example

Java

static final String PROJECT_ID = "project-id";
static final String VEHICLE_ID = "vid-8241890";

VehicleServiceBlockingStub vehicleService = VehicleService.newBlockingStub(channel);

String vehicleName = "providers/" + PROJECT_ID + "/vehicles/" + VEHICLE_ID;
Vehicle updatedVehicle = Vehicle.newBuilder()
    .setLastLocation(VehicleLocation.newBuilder()
        .setSupplementalLocation(LatLng.newBuilder()
            .setLatitude(37.3382)
            .setLongitude(121.8863))
        .setSupplementalLocationTime(now())
        .setSupplementalLocationSensor(LocationSensor.CUSTOMER_SUPPLIED_LOCATION)
        .setSupplementalLocationAccuracy(DoubleValue.of(15.0)))  // Optional
    .build();

UpdateVehicleRequest updateVehicleRequest = UpdateVehicleRequest.newBuilder()
    .setName(vehicleName)
    .setVehicle(updatedVehicle)
    .setUpdateMask(FieldMask.newBuilder()
        .addPaths("last_location"))
    .build();

try {
  Vehicle updatedVehicle =
      vehicleService.updateVehicle(updateVehicleRequest);
} catch (StatusRuntimeException e) {
  Status s = e.getStatus();
  switch (s.getCode()) {
    case NOT_FOUND:
      // Most implementations will call CreateVehicle in this case
      break;
    case PERMISSION_DENIED:
      break;
  }
  return;
}
// If no Exception, Vehicle updated successfully.

REST

curl -X PUT \
  "https://fleetengine.googleapis.com/v1/providers/project-id/vehicles/vid-8241890?updateMask=last_location" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $JWT" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data-binary @- << EOM
{
    "supplementalLocation": {"latitude": 12.1, "longitude": 14.5},
    "supplementalLocationTime": "$(date -u --iso-8601=seconds)",
    "supplementalLocationSensor": "CUSTOMER_SUPPLIED_LOCATION",
    "supplementalLocationAccuracy": 15
}
EOM

See providers.vehicles.update reference.

What's next