Particle tracking devices integration

Cartwheel supports Particle tracking devices for teams that want to track drivers without requiring a phone or the Driver App. Particle’s Tracking System is a platform that sends location data from a tracker device to a management console.

With the Particle integration, Cartwheel can:

• show driver location on the Dispatcher map (using the tracker’s coordinates)
• automatically set a driver to Visible / On Shift when a device is assigned
• optionally automate pickup and completion status changes based on movement

Before you start

• Devices must be available in your Cartwheel environment (your team will typically connect Particle devices on the Particle side first).
• Only assign devices to the correct Cartwheel Team before assigning them to drivers.

1) Assign tracking devices to a Team

Go to: Properties → Global settings → Integrations → Tracking Devices

1. Select one or multiple devices
2. Click Assign to Team
3. Select the appropriate Team and click OK
4. Click OK again when finished

To remove a device from a team, select it and click Unassign.

2) Optional automation settings

In the same Tracking Devices section, you can enable:

• Auto-pickup:  Automatically marks orders as Picked up when the driver leaves the pickup location.
• Auto-complete Orders: Automatically marks orders as Completed when the driver leaves the drop-off location.

How it behaves:

• When an order is assigned to a driver with a device, tracking begins.
  As the driver starts moving and leaves the pickup area, the order can switch to Picked up.
  After arriving at drop-off, staying briefly, and then moving away, the order can switch to Completed.

3) Assign a device to a driver (day-to-day workflow)

Go to: Dispatcher Map → Tracking Devices tab

1. Select the device you want to use
2. Click Assign
3. Choose the driver and click OK

After assignment:

• The driver is automatically set to Visible in Cartwheel
• Cartwheel starts updating the driver’s coordinates from the device
• When you hover over the driver icon on the map, you’ll see the device ID shown before the driver’s name.

Order status updates (manual vs automatic)

• Manual updates: Order statuses can always be updated manually (we can provide limited dashboard access for teams that only need status controls).
• Automatic updates: If Auto-pickup / Auto-complete are enabled, statuses can be updated automatically based on device location.

Device limitations 

Tracking devices can have location accuracy limitations that Cartwheel cannot control. This is normal for GPS/cellular trackers:

• weaker performance inside buildings
• reduced accuracy in tunnels, dense urban areas, or places with poor GPS reception

Best practice: devices should be kept in the driver’s vehicle (where they have better sky visibility and more stable signal).

Important behavior: Driver App login

If a driver who has a tracking device assigned logs into the Cartwheel Driver App, they will be automatically unassigned from the tracking device.

This prevents double-tracking and keeps one active tracking method per driver.

Beta release

Particle tracking is currently in beta. We’re still actively developing and improving it, so you may see small changes as we improve performance and workflows.

If you’d like to enable it for your account, contact us at [e-mail].