Iridium Communications has introduced remote asset trackers to monitor container and vessel movements
These small trackers are powered by solar energy, are maintenance-free and secure.
Iridium Edge Solar can also be used to monitor oil and gas pipelines, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) applications, and heavy equipment telematics data reporting.
Two-way communications are provided by the trackers for real-time data transmissions over Iridium’s global L-band satellite connectivity. Their signals are transmitted over a constellation of 66 low Earth orbit satellites with low latency for rapid communications.
Their deployment would enable maritime companies to adopt internet of things (IoT) for asset tracking and equipment monitoring applications.
“Iridium Edge Solar is a unique and versatile solar-powered asset tracking device, when compared to alternatives available in the industry,” said Iridium executive vice president for sales and marketing Bryan Hartin. “No other solar-powered IoT tracking device matches its geographic coverage and capabilities.” Iridium’s satellite constellation has worldwide coverage, including over the polar regions.
These sensors can be customised and deployed in a network using Bluetooth low energy (BLE) technology to track machinery, vessels and containers.
“The addition of BLE local wireless connectivity adds a new level of customisability for applications requiring multiple and disparate sensor readings,” said Mr Hartin.
Iridium Edge Solar has complete encapsulation of all vital electronics, military-grade ruggedised packaging and an intelligent dual-power system, ensuring two-way communications delivery even in low-light conditions.
Iridium said these devices would last 10 years without maintenance. They can be combined with Iridium CloudConnect and back-office integration through Amazon Web Services to integrate into company IoT tracking and monitoring systems.
Iridium has almost completed field trials of Iridium Edge Solar. It already offers Iridium Edge and Iridium Edge Pro for IoT and tracking services.
In December 2020, Iridium launched its first commercial Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) service, providing emergency communications over its US$3Bn Next satellite constellation.
GMDSS is an internationally regulated service, governed by IMO’s SOLAS convention. It provides life-saving assistance to seafarers in distress and has equipment on board more than 60,000 ships.
In 2020, Iridium introduced a series of Iridium Certus L-band communications services, with the latest involving 176 kbps on the uplink and downlink using 0.7 kg antennas. These services were explained during a Riviera-hosted webinar on 12 November – use this link to access the webinar in our library.
Riviera will provide free technical and operational webinars and virtual conferences in 2021. Sign up to attend on our events page
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