First generation SNT trackers

The Ghent-based start-up Sensolus presented an energy-efficient GPS tracker at the Mobile World Congress that uses the Sigfox Internet of Things (IoT) network.

GPS trackers have become commonplace, but trackers that use the Sigfox IoT network are completely new. Not familiar with Sigfox? The French start-up is rolling out low-energy networks in several European countries (including Belgium) through which sensors, electricity meters, smartwatches, and even washing machines can be connected to the internet.

The Ghent company Sensolus presented a GPS tracker at the Mobile World Congress that communicates over this network. “The advantage of Sigfox, which uses the so-called ultra-narrowband spectrum, is that sensors need very little energy to operate. The network also only allows very limited data traffic,” explains Laurence Claeys from Sensolus. “Traditional GPS trackers consume a lot of energy, which is why until now they were only used in devices with their own power supply or devices that needed to be charged daily,” she continues. “The Stickntrack GPS tracker we developed can last up to five years without any external power supply. And the Sigfox network, which will soon be rolled out in Belgium, is the ideal network for tracking such ‘energy-free’ devices.”

When the team behind Sensolus heard that Sigfox would begin commercially exploiting the ultra-narrowband spectrum, they decided to build a prototype of their energy-efficient GPS tracker.

With this idea, they won the ESA Innovation Award 2014 and were selected for ESA Business Incubation via Innotek. They already have successful implementations of Stickntrack operating in Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and France.

Stickntrack is a compact ‘stick and track’ GPS tracker equipped with a data integrity and configuration algorithm, which ensures that no installation, cabling, or external power supply is required.

You can simply attach Stickntrack to the device you want to track, and it can last up to five years on two AA batteries. Sensolus also developed APIs and a web interface where reports, alerts, and journeys are visualized — suitable for use in logistics, agriculture, smart city projects, safety, and healthcare.

Press release in Knack