Small Linux computer with a $15 GPS add-on board. Streams live NMEA coordinates over WiFi or cellular. Rugged case available. Runs Python scripts out of the box — perfect for sending GPS pings to your server every few seconds.

You already mentioned Android — great choice. A cheap ruggedized Android tablet ($80–$120) running a background GPS app can push live coordinates to your server every few seconds. No custom hardware needed. Can also display driver route info and let drivers flag stops.

Your GPS unit or tablet needs data to transmit live. A $15–25/month prepaid SIM on any major carrier works great. For fleets, look at IoT SIM providers like Hologram.io for $5–10/device/month with nationwide coverage.

Since your cameras are already set up, you need a way to export clips or snapshots to your server. These models support WiFi sync or SD card pull. For auto-triggering a photo at each stop, a simple relay or button wired to the Pi/tablet works perfectly.

A $12–18/month cloud server runs your database (PostgreSQL + PostGIS), web interface, and API. No on-site server to maintain. Automatic backups. Scales as you add more trucks. You get a real IP address, HTTPS, and 99.9% uptime.

Camera photos are stored as files, not in the database. These services store images for fractions of a cent each. Backblaze B2 costs ~$6/TB/month — for a fleet of 5 trucks taking 200 photos/day, you'd spend about $2–4/month on storage.