Astrocast and Digitanimal have announced the signature of a strategic partnership to develop a Satellite IoT (SatIoT) solution. Both companies are collaborating to commercialise an tracking device that connects to Astrocast’s global satellite network. The SatIoT-based collar is designed to enable farmers to track livestock remotely. This will allow them to adopt Agriculture 4.0 farming practices as they manage their herds.
“Within remote farming environments, there is often little or no terrestrial network connectivity. To solve this problem, some farms try and install antennas and base stations to deploy ground networks and access cloud technologies. But it is challenging for many farmers to deploy a reliable and financially viable infrastructure, especially if they do not have a high volume of animals to monitor,” says Carlos Callejero, CEO, of Digitanimal. “Our goal is to change this situation for these remote farmers, as we incorporate Astrocast’s low-power, cost-effective SatIoT into our livestock tracking solutions. This technology – and the access to data that it provides – will enable farmers to accurately establish the location of their herds anytime and anywhere, allowing them to better manage livestock. For example, they can track movement patterns and create geo-fences to detect when livestock has drifted into areas they should not be.”
Farmers needing this kind of satellite connectivity solution can be found globally. New Zealand, Australia, Kenya, and South Africa are obvious markets for this tracking technology, Astrocast claim. Other countries in Africa and Asia also have large, extensive herds in vast regions with no reliable cellular network access. In Europe, it is estimated that there are 87 million cows and 50 percent of these animals are located in areas without terrestrial/network coverage.
Fabien Jordan, CEO, and Co-Founder, of Astrocast, says, “There is a digital divide in many rural and farming areas across the world. This divide is largely caused by a lack of network connectivity, which prevents many farmers from adopting smart farming practices. While the art and science of farming have been established for centuries, the innovative use of IoT and sensor technology enables farmers across all scenarios to digitise their farming practices, become more efficient, save costs, and reduce their carbon footprint. By partnering with Digitanimal, we look forward to facilitating access to new technologies and practices for livestock farmers globally.”
Through this partnership, it will be possible for any farmer across the world in 2023, to connect their animals to the cloud and track them.
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