The company is using low power wide area networks (LPWAN) technology, working with Actility’s LoRaWAN version, to develop internet of things (IoT) applications.
Paul Gudonis, president of Inmarsat Enterprise, said: “Through our collaboration with Actility, we have the building blocks to tailor solutions for each specific opportunity, no matter where it is in the world.”
The company has announced three initial applications to demonstrate the scope of LPWAN systems. “These three early applications are indicative of the industrial IoT market in general: businesses don’t need an off-the-shelf IoT solution for agribusiness or asset tracking; they need a specific solution for a specific problem,” said Gudonis.
The asset-tracking application is to track cattle on a remote ranch in Australia, tracking location, movement, health and other key statistics. Alerts are sent out to warn of erratic behaviour or when animals get close to the perimeter.
The companies’ technology is being used to monitor water levels and reservoirs in a palm oil plantation in Malaysia, aimed at reducing the amount of land needed.
Inmarsat has not identified the location of the oil platform where its satellites are used to monitor production details and identify potential failure points.
Actility CEO Mike Mulica said: “Our collaboration with Inmarsat allows us to provide customers with an end-to-end solution to connect their assets and fulfil their IoT business needs anywhere in the world.”
