APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MONITORING AND BOUNDING THE PATH OF A GROUND VEHICLE

摘要

An apparatus and method for monitoring and bounding the path of a ground vehicle. The apparatus comprises a GPS receiver for receiving radio signals from a Global Positioning System which are indicative of the current ground position coordinates of the GPS receiver and thus, are the current ground position coordinates for the ground vehicle also when the GPS receiver is coupled to the vehicle. The apparatus also includes a data base for storing ground position coordinates which are indicative of at least one bounded area of permitted operation for the ground vehicle. A control unit which is responsive to the GPS receiver and the data base, is provided for comparing the stored ground position coordinates with the current ground position coordinates in order to determine if the ground vehicle is outside of the bounded area of permitted operation. A kill switch mechanism is provided for disabling the ground vehicle when the current ground position of the ground vehicle is outside of the bounded area of permitted operation.