GPS World

Tag: Sigfox

  • Next-Generation Tracker Debuts

    Photo: StickNTrackStickNTrack — an award-winning low-power tracker from Sensolus — is now active in eight European countries.

    StickNTrack guards and tracks position, journeys, motion and status of any non-powered asset without the hassle of charging batteries, managing SIM cards or an intrusive installation, Sensolus said.

    StickNTrack’s web-based service platform is tailored for low-power asset tracking communicating over the French-based Sigfox. Because Sigfox is an ultra low-power communication network, it significantly reduces StickNTrack’s power needs so that it consumes up to 40 times less power and lowers life-cycle costs by 50 percent compared to existing compact GPRS/GPS products, Sensolus said.

    The tracker’s power can last up to five years. In the third quarter, an upgraded version will be released with extended battery lifetime up to nine years, according to Kristoff Van Rattinghe, who developed StickNTrack along with Laurence Claeys, Johan Criel and Koen Van Vlaenderen.

    Users can access the StickNTrack web portal with any smartphone running Android OS or iOS. The full feature set can be accessed on a tablet or laptop. Features include interactive timelines, intuitive geofencing, email alerting and optimized energy savings.

    The ruggedized, waterproof StickNTrack is 120 x 50 x 25 millimeters and weighs 255 grams. It can track assets on the water, such as yachts or buoys, providing automated logbooks, alerting users when assets enter or exit specific zones (such as harbors), and providing real-time journey information for those at home.

    StickNTrack’s developers took third place in the 2014 European Satellite Navigation Competition, after taking first in the Flanders regional competition. It also won the European Space Agency’s Innovation Award.

    Dubbed a “distruptive innovation” by the European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC), StickNTrack “opens up an abundance of new business opportunities in tracking trailers, containers, machinery, tools, bikes and more. Future accuracy and availability improvements based on GNSS will trigger additional advancements, such as by automating supply chains for packages and their delivery. Ultimately, stickNtrack is a next-generation location tracker that significantly lowers the barriers to embedding even more GNSS technology into our daily lives.”

    “Every day new types of non-powered assets are being connected to our service platform,” Van Rattinghe said. In the coming years, Sigfox aims to provide global coverage.

  • Traqueur Unveils Autonomous Mobile Beacon Nano

    Traqueur Unveils Autonomous Mobile Beacon Nano

    Photo: TraqueurTraqueur, a French-based company in the field of advanced telematics, has introduced Nano, an autonomous mobile beacon for the protection of property and objects designed to optimize the potential of the Sigfox network.

    Nano uses radio and GPS to track indoor and outdoor location, has a battery life of three to five years and is named Nano for its compactness.

    In June 2014, Traqueur formed a strategic technical partnership with Sigfox, the sole operator of the global cellular network for the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine-to-machine communications.

    Nano displays functionalities of UHF direction finding, providing the ability to locate buried and hidden objects. It also has a high-sensitivity GPS module and an integrated antenna to transmit its position through the Sigfox network when the beacon moves.

    Nano’s roaming features open up prospects for international marketing.

    The development of Nano has received support from BPI Ile-de-France (Paris region).

    “Certified Sigfox Ready and provided with mixed UHF/GPS technology, the Nano beacon means that we can offer the widest range of technology solutions of the track and trace type on the market and can address new segments including merchandise and logistics, for example,” said Marc Verdet, CEO of Traqueur. “We are also accelerating our international development through distribution partnerships in every country with a SIGFOX network infrastructure.”

    “The development of this new beacon by Tracker, based on our network, is extremely innovative and shows the limitless scope for innovation that SIGFOX technology allows, “Stuart Lodge, Executive Vice President Global Sales at SIGFOX. “This technology gives by far the longest battery life on the market, a decisive advantage for applications such as the location of property. The solution developed byTraqueur, because it is very demanding, confirms the legitimacy of our technology wherever the SIGFOX network is deployed.”

    DiscoverTraqueur in forthcoming trade shows in France:

    · Flotte Auto meeting, March 19, 2015 – Palais Brongniart – Paris Stand B07

    · DLR Congress, March 26 & 27, 2015 – CNIT Paris – Stand 44

    · MtoM & Connected Objects show on April 1 & 2 – CNIT Paris – Stand E7 Conference: Innovation in value-added services around the IoT. Tracker Nano presentation workshop.

    · Intermat from April 20 to 25, 2015 – Paris -Nord Villepinte – Booth 6B022