There is disclosed a method and apparatus for an object locator system
(10) for requesting and obtaining information about the location of a
mobile object, having attached thereon a lightweight object locator (42),
operable in a region served by a two-way paging system (12) and a global
positioning satellite system (50). The object locator (42) may be
selectively activated to conserve power or enabled to respond only when
beyond or within a boundary. Further, the object locator system (10) may
provide the location information in several forms including rectangular
or polar coordinates referred to a base station (18) or origin, position
on a map display, etc. In alternate embodiments the two-way paging system
(12) may be substituted by a direct wireless link or a satellite relay
communications link; the location information may be translated into
human readable form either before or after transmission from the object
locator; the location information may be presented at an output as
selectable text; spoken message or graphic display including a map; the
location information may have associated therewith other information such
as time the location was determined, the status of the object locator,
the condition of the battery, position of the object locator relative to
a boundary or electronic fence or to indicate an alarm condition; or the
location information may be accessed or delivered by dial-up or automatic
means.