French-based Internet-of-Things(IoT) network provider SIGFOX has deployed its network at the Belgium’s Princess Elisabeth Research Station in Antarctica. The network in the southern hemisphere was deployed to ensure the safety and security for research operations conducted in the area.
According to SIGFOX, the immediate benefits of the implementation is for members of the 2015-16 BELARE expedition, where the expedition members will be equipped with 45 GPS trackers connected to the SIGFOX network, allowing real-time tracking of their movements. SIGFOX’s ultra-narrow band (UNB) IoT network will allow the trackers to communicate with the two antennae installed at the station at a distance up to 40km.
The Antartica initiative is part of a broader effort by the newly launched SIGFOX Foundation, a not-for-profit that will work towards using the benefits of IoT to “protect people and the environment, improve health care and social ties".
Le Moan, SIGFOX CEO
The BELARE expedition is just one example of the many, many ways that SIGFOX can support programs that protect people and the environment, improve health care and establish social ties, with its network and the best associated resources from partnering with startups and device-makers.
