1. Ranger In-Vehicle Hardware
Benefits of Ruggedized In-Vehicle MDTs
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2. Ranger Unit Overview

3. Why Ruggedized?
TripSpark has continued to offer a ruggedized MDT versus moving to a tablet solution for a multitude of reasons.
Ranger hardware is designed specifically to operate and survive the rigors of the transit environment with respect to water, dust, vibration and shock.
Rangers provide multiple I/Os that can connect to on-board peripherals. Typically, additional hardware (i.e., T-Box) is only required for automated next stop announcements. Tablet solutions do not have these I/Os therefore additional hardware is required to be able to connect to peripherals.
Tablets still have to integrate to some form of VLU (Vehicle Logic unit) to operate all interior and exterior peripherals, which is not going to be an off the shelf component. Any RMA for these units will still need to be dealt with in terms of sending units back to RM for repair should anything arise.
VLU integration with a Tablet will also make the tablet solution not as mobile as promised. As tablets use BlueTooth® to connect to their VLUs, connectivity issues may present themselves.
It may be perceived that it takes a little longer to install Rangers given the wired connections to peripherals however these physical connections are vastly more reliable than wireless connections meaning reliable operation and data collection.
While Rangers may have a higher upfront (capital) costs, they are designed to have a low total cost of ownership (recurring costs) achieved by reliability, longevity (10+ years versus 2 to 3 years for tablets), and efficient communication minimizing wireless carrier costs.
When asked, customers that have Rangers would not consider moving to a tablet solution citing that tablets just aren’t designed for transit.

4. Key Benefits
Transit Grade – Built with and for Transit systems specifically
Built to Last – Several clients still operating original Ranger 1 Units that came out in 2005 (Impressive ROI)
Single Point of Logon for easy peripheral management
Accurate driver schedule information
Ranger checks to see if there is a new schedule each time a driver logs on.
Multi-Modal software capable
FR, DR, EZDrive all can be operated on the same unit at the same time
Hardwired for:
Safer data storage and quicker data transfer
Compressed file size for transfer and lower data costs
More accurate GPS tracking due to more frequent pings than most MDTs ???
Built-in WiFi, Bluetooth and Internal Antennas that contribute to reliability, simplify installation, and deter tampering.

5. XMM and XGate Middleware
Secure, Remote Updating of On-Board Devices
TripSpark’s XMM solution allows agencies to configure and update in-vehicle devices over the air (OTAP) saving both time and money. The ability to update the entire fleet simultaneously avoids the need to coordinate a visit to each bus to perform manual updates. If a critical issues arises it can be handled effectively, in the field, minimizing downtime.
Updates and file transfers are made with confidence since XMM monitors progress and, if interrupted, XMM will restart the process from the last step rather than from the beginning, saving both time and potentially air time charges (for emergency updates that cannot wait for vehicles to be within WiFi coverage).
Remote Troubleshooting
Support staff can remotely capture screen shots with XMM to aid in real-time troubleshooting.
Log downloads and an event viewer, that presents a timeline view, supports expedient troubleshooting and issue resolution.
In the event of an emergency, high resolution GPS and speed logs can be retrieved remotely through XMM. This can provide second by second data for a requested time period offering greater visibility into location and speed prior to, during and after the emergency.

6. References
Ruggedized vs Tablet Solutions Whitepaper – insert link here once finalized
Ranger In-Vehicle Hardware overview Video
Site References:
Lethbridge Transit – Ranger Success Story
Quinte Access – Ranger Success Story
Lynx (Luis Pino????)