The federal government can now retrofit its fleet vehicles to support the Internet of Things to connect to their vehicles and obtain telematics and other information that's viewable through an iPad mini.

Intelligent Decisions Inc. (ID), a global IT systems integrator and exclusive federal reseller of Internet Skyz, will offer this capability to federal fleet vehicles, the company has announced.

Using Infinite Skyz’s SkyzMatic vehicle connectivity system, a solution that converts hard-wired signals from meters, sensors, and equipment to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular signals for communication over the Internet, fleet managers will be able to connect everything in a vehicle to the Internet, where information can be viewed and managed by both the driver and fleet manager.

The SkyzMatic vehicle connectivity system has numerous sensors to provide vehicle fleets with connected car features. The system is a type of telematics system but offers more than what a standard telematics system provides, according to Elizabeth Drake, vice president of Infinite Skyz.

These next-level features include security and safety features such as remote camera monitoring, blind spot detection, and front and rear distance monitoring. It also provides navigation and in-vehicle Voice over IP (VoIP) calling, and can be enabled as a Wi-Fi hotspot, which can “eliminate the need for other devices that may be in the vehicles [that] have monthly data plans,” Drake said.

For billing, customers can purchase the equipment up front and pay a monthly data access fee, or they can purchase a 24-month contract in which all capital and data costs are included, Drake said. Specific costs depend on the feature set selected and bandwidth required.