(Business 2.0 Magazine) -- You can't go far wrong in a truck equipped with an Astrata box. The device, half the size of a cigarette pack, can be wired into anything that moves - truck, car, shipping container - to head off nearly every conceivable type of disaster.
It can be programmed to stop a drunk or unauthorized driver from starting a vehicle, for example, or detect and shut down a truck that has been hijacked, locking the thief inside and alerting its owners.
The Astrata-GLP (global location platform) is part Big Brother, part James Bond - except that it already exists, and corporations and governments are paying close attention.
Powered by GPS tracking, wireless communication, and a Linux-based operating system, Astrata is the brainchild of Martin Euler and Tony Harrison, a British accountant and an Irish technology executive, respectively, who bet that the need for tracking and security devices would grow exponentially after 9/11.
Their client list now includes Shell Oil (Charts), Nestlé, and the government of Singapore.
Course correction
Astrata can detect a gasoline tanker that veers one block off its route, thwarting attempts to use it as a bomb. Security giant Group 4 Securicor puts it in armored cars in Indonesia.
Driver ID system
Astrata can be programmed to start only after the driver passes a breathalyzer test and presses a thumb for identification. A video camera can record the driver's activities. Singapore's Civil Defense Force is using the camera and thumb ID system in its hazmat trucks.