European GNSS in Action: Finding Fido

StickNTrack is using European GNSS powered Location Based Services to help pet owners quickly find a roaming pet.

“We designed StickNTrack to locate objects that are remote, outdoor and do not have their own power supply,” says Kristoff Van Rattinghe, Partner at Sensolus, a Belgium-based offline analytics company working on existing Internet of Things technologies.

Using GPS, Sensolus developed StickNTrack, a low-power tracking device that can be stuck on almost any asset. The device is compact and provides the hourly position of objects for up to three years. Using the cloud-based web platform that comes with the device, users can manage settings and track location, trajectory, utilization, and even temperature of non-powered assets.

Ready for Galileo

StickNTrack has a plan for utilizing Galileo as soon as possible, something that Rattinghe says he is excited about. “Galileo will help improve positioning in challenging environments such as urban canyons,” he says. “In positioning, you need to get your line of site with satellites as quickly as possible, so the more satellites the better for accuracy purposes.”

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He says with four satellites Sensolus was able to develop a workable device, but with seven they will be able to improve and create an even more accurate and reliable product. “As Galileo adds more satellites to existing constellations, it reduces the time needed to determine an asset’s exact location,” he says.

The device can be used for businesses to track assets, such as vehicles, boats, and more. Rattinghe says companies can save money by knowing exactly where their materials are and how they’re being used. It can also be used in agriculture to track behavior of livestock over time.

An Extended Leash

One of the trackers most popular uses though is with personal assets. Pet owners can stick the device to their dogs’ collars, for example, and Rattinghe says it can even be used to keep track of children or elderly people. He says the cloud-based application is what makes it so easy to use across different assets.

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“A lot of devices existing today are on a smartphone, but I don’t see dogs traveling with smartphones, so we actually build the application into the collar where it can track the position and send it automatically to the Internet.”  The device can then be located by satellite and users can check the status on their phone, computer, or have results emailed to them. “You have direct access to the positioning,” Rattinghe says.

More Information

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