By Rob Irving, Senior Software Developer

For the past 5+ years as an ALK developer I’ve watched the smartphone ecosystem change at an incredible pace. CoPilot first began over 10 years ago on the Pocket PC/Windows Mobile platforms. Years later we were able to move to iOS and Android as those platforms expanded the Smartphone consumer market. The release of Windows Phone 7 really excited me, but limitations of the SDK prevented ALK from being able to develop a CoPilot application for the platform. It wasn’t that we didn’t want to support the platform, but we wanted to make sure we would have been able to create an experience worthy of the CoPilot name.

Read More on the CoPilot Blog

Read our full press release on the event: Industry Thought Leaders Gather at the Ninth Annual ALK Transportation Technology Summit

Here are some of the highlights from our unique industry event:

On Tuesday, April 9^th, we partnered with the American Red Cross to host a blood drive at our Princeton, New Jersey headquarters.  The Red Cross collected 24 pints of blood.  As a result, 72 lives will be saved thanks to our ALK volunteers!

Giving back is extremely rewarding.  We’re thrilled to have had such a great turnout at our blood drive and to have helped save so many lives.

Some Blood Facts:

Blood is composed of several elements, each of which performs a special function in the body.  Whole blood contains red cells, white cells and platelets suspended in plasma. These components can be separated and transfused to up to three patients.

Red Blood Cells – help treat anemia or acute blood loss and carry oxygen from the lungs to the tissues.  Red Blood cells last up to 42 days.

Platelets – help control bleeding, replace platelets destroyed by disease or cancer therapy.  Platelets must be used within 5 days.
Plasma – supplies nutrients to cells and are used to replace fluids in shock and burn victims.  Frozen plasma may be kept for up to 1 year.

For more information or to schedule a blood drive visit:  www.redcross.org.

Mary Kelly

Manager, Corporate Communications

Now, synchronization between the back office to the cab is made possible with ALK’s latest capability – RouteSync.  RouteSync sends the planned PC*MILER route directly to an on-board device running CoPilot Truck.  This synchronization helps to maintain route compliance, ensure operational consistency, and reduce non-revenue mileage.

Find out more about RouteSync by watching the demo!

Capping a year of significant wins based on Motorola Solutions mobile computers, ALK Technologies, a global leader in GeoLogistics™ and navigation software, was named Best Mobility Applications Partner of the Year at the Motorola Solutions Executive Partner Conference in Sorrento, Italy.

2013 looks to be another great year for us out on the road. We’ll be showcasing PC*MILER, ALK Maps and CoPilot at over 20 tradeshows and we want you to know where to find us! Here’s a sneak preview:

	AMSA Annual Education Conference & Expo Atlanta, GA March 3 – 6
	TCA Annual Convention Las Vegas, NV March 3 – 6
	NPTC Education Management Conference & Exhibition Cincinnati, OH April 28 – 30
	ALK Transportation Technology Summit Princeton, NJ May 14 – 16
	PeopleNet User Group San Antonio, TX August 19 – 21
	McLeod Software Users’ Conference Scottsdale, AZ September 15 – 17
	TMW TransForum User Conference & Exhibition Anaheim, CA September 22 – 25
	ATA Management Conference & Exhibition Orlando, FL October 19 – 22
	Roadnet Roundup Users ConferenceOctober
	NITL TransComp Exhibition/IANA Intermodal Expo/ Houston, TX November 17-19

Be sure to mark these dates on your calendar!

Don’t forget to register for the 2013 ALK Transportation Technology Summit in May either – our event is incredibly unique and will be the one event not to miss in 2013.

Keep up with us on Facebook and Twitter to learn more about where we’ll be in 2013.

We’re very excited to announce the official release of our latest innovation, ALK Maps, a development tool used to create mapping and routing visualizations with our proven data sets and algorithms.

What is ALK Maps?

ALK Maps is a JavaScript API that developers can use to build their own mapping applications similar to Google Maps API or Bing Maps API.  The key difference is, ALK Maps was designed specifically for the transportation and logistics industry, as it provides the industry standard truck-specific routing, mapping, geocoding and visualization found in our PC*MILER solutions.  We are also planning to add international data coverage, similar to that used in our CoPilot Live Professional solutions which are currently available in over 50 countries worldwide.

We created ALK Maps in response to feedback from our commercial customers who were trying to use conventional mapping toolkits but found the routing capabilities lacking what they needed to calculate and display accurate commercial routes.

More importantly, what can you do with it?

ALK Maps enables you to overlay and visualize your own geographic data and combine it with the industry-standard commercial mapping and routing ALK has built over the last 30 years.  Even though our desktop and mobile solutions are continuously being improved, many of our customers find value in integrating their own proprietary data and workflows with ALK’s solutions.

Featuring an easy to learn JavaScript API, developers can begin a basic mapping web application in just a few lines of code.  We’ve also included a number of examples and demos in our developer portal to help in getting started.  In addition to routing, the ALK Maps API offers geocoding functionality to find addresses or translate latitude and longitude locations back into addresses.  There are many functions to allow almost any kind of geographic data  to be displayed over ALK Maps, enabling the creation of rich visualization applications.  There are even weather and traffic overlays that can be included in the applications.

I have spent the past year creating ALK Maps with our Server and Web Applications Team and we couldn’t be happier to present ALK Maps to all of you officially.  Over the last few months a number of our customers have been beta testing the product and we’re thrilled to hear they can’t wait to get their hands on the finished product.  Our work, of course, is never done and we are planning to continuously evolve and improve ALK Maps to ensure it is the best it can be.

To read more about the capabilities of ALK Maps or try it out yourself, visit www.alkmaps.com.  Or feel free to post a comment or question here on the ALK blog!

Nick Springer
Director of Design and Web Applications

Don’t forget to register now for this enlightening event!

Derek J. Leathers is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Werner Enterprises. Derek has worked in the transportation and logistics industry for over 20 years. Throughout his tenure at Werner, he has held integral roles in many faces of the organization, including the establishment of Werner’s Mexico operations, oversight for all the asset operating groups and leading the launch of Werner Global Logistics, which encompasses transportation management and freight movement within Intermodal, Ocean, Air and Brokerage. Prior to joining Werner in 1999, Mr. Leathers was one of the first foreign members of Mexico’s trucking association (CANACAR) and was based out of Mexico City for several years. Derek holds an Economics degree from Princeton University.

]]> http://blog.alk.com/derek-leathers-returns-to-deliver-keynote-address-at-2013-alk-transportation-technology-summit/feed/ 0 http://blog.alk.com/top-5-reasons-to-attend-the-alk-transportation-technology-summit/ http://blog.alk.com/top-5-reasons-to-attend-the-alk-transportation-technology-summit/#comments Mon, 14 Jan 2013 11:00:32 +0000 Ashley Riley http://blog.alk.com/?p=722

We’re gearing up to host our biggest summit yet. Watch our promo video (above) and click  here to register!

Still not convinced? Here’s the top 5 reasons to attend the 2013 ALK Transportation Technology Summit:

1. Valuable Education- With a format consisting of expert seminars, case-studies, panels, and facilitated roundtables, the primary objective of this event is to gather a highly influential group of individuals for candid discussions on ways technology will continue to move the industry forward.
2. Learn the Latest Industry Trends– Our panels and roundtable discussions are geared to create conversation and help attendees understand where things in the industry are headed. Take advantage of these forums to learn what your peers deem valuable.
3. Exclusive Networking – With over 200 attendees, the opportunity for making connections is plentiful. Bring your business cards and get ready to meet professionals and experts of the industry.
4. Share Your Experiences –Communicate the successes and obstacles of your industry. You may be surprised to learn how your peers have dealt with the same issues.
5. Get Inspired- Return home with a recharged, rejuvenated perspective on business!

Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) announced today that it has acquired privately-held ALK Technologies Inc. of Princeton, NJ, a global leader in routing, mapping, mileage and navigation technologies. ALK Technologies offers proprietary routing and international map-based solutions for transportation, logistics and mobile workforces. The addition of ALK® is expected to extend and complement Trimble’s Transportation and Logistics product portfolio, including TMW Systems’ transportation management solutions, PeopleNet’s integrated onboard computing and mobile communications systems and GEOTrac’s fleet management and worker safety solutions for the oil and gas industry. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“This is a significant milestone in ALK’s long history in transportation,” said Barry Glick, Executive Vice President and General Manager of ALK Technologies, who will continue to lead the organization. “We are excited to join our well-known and respected partner TMW Systems under the global umbrella of Trimble. These organizations share our passion and vision for how location information can transform business and productivity.”

 Read the full press release here.