Key concepts and definitions

This page describes the relevant entities for understanding and using PathStack.

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Data Provider

A Data Provider is an organisation or individual that has a Telematics Account which can be connected to a Tenant to allow data for Devices installed in vehicle’s or other physical assets to be accessed by a Data Consumer.

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Data Consumer

A Data Consumer is an organisation or individual that may access data for one or more Connections via PathStack interfaces.

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Telematics Account

A Telematics Account is a logical grouping of Devices provided by a Telematics Provider under a service agreement that permits tracking and data collection of vehicle or other asset movements and activity.

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Telematics Provider

A Telematics Provider is an organisation that provides vehicle and/or asset tracking services using Devices.

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Data Sharing Rules

Data Sharing Rules are sets of rules that are applied to a Connection which allow a Data Provider to limit the data that is visible to a Data Consumer based on various criteria such as time ranges, locations or Devices.

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Tenant

A Tenant is a PathStack account created by a Data Consumer that will have one or more Connections established by Data Providers.

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User

A User is an individual within a Data Provider or Data Consumer organisation who interacts with PathStack to establish or manage a Connection or to access data and analytics from Connections. A User with API or Websocket access to a Tenant may access data for any Connection within the Tenant, subject to the Data Sharing Rules established by each Data Provider.

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Connection

A Connection is an open channel for data flow from a Telematics Account to PathStack that is enabled by a Data Provider using the PathStack connection interface.

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Device

A Device is a GPS tracking unit installed in a vehicle or other physical asset that exists within a Telematics Account.

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Activity

An Activity is a defined period of time during which a vehicle or other tracked asset performs a specified task such as travelling, idling, loading, unloading, waiting or maintenance.

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Trip

A Trip is a specific case of an Activity where the vehicle or asset in focus is in motion (other than stationary periods required during the trip) and travelling from a defined origin to a defined destination.

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Position

A Position is a record of a vehicle or asset’s exact location and state at a specified moment in time.