DUBLIN - Globalstar Europe Satellite Services Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Globalstar, Inc. in Dublin, Ireland, announced that Mongolia-based Spotter has now deployed over 12,000 animal-tracking collars based on SmartOne C and SPOT Trace.
These satellite IoT devices are being used in Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to track and safeguard horses, including high-value competitive racehorses. The technology is seeing rapid growth, up from 1,000 Spotter devices deployed in January 2020, now up to 240,000 horses now protected. Horses are part of daily life in Central Asia and horseracing is a major sport in Mongolia. However, with the sparsely populated nation’s 4.5 million horses roaming fence-free, keeping tabs on the animals is a major challenge for owners.
Spotter's far-reaching technology solutions that can monitor the location of millions of horses. These animals are semi-wild, and free to range across vast expanses to graze.
Spotter has developed a new hybrid IoT device that can be connected to SmartOne C. It can be fitted on specific at-risk horses and, as a result, the owner can know if the individual animal has roamed away from the herd. The system can track the breakaway horse up to a 1km radius, giving the herdsperson the opportunity to locate and retrieve the animal before it has travelled too far.
Spotter has deployed 9,000 SmartOne C-fitted collars and 3,000 built on SPOT Trace. Requirements differ among customers. The horses typically roam in herds of around 30, with one lead stallion keeping the animals together and providing protection. As a result, the group can be effectively monitored with just one collar.
Spotter has created a new hybrid collar which leverages Globalstar satellite communications along with radio transmissions to create a low-cost solution that makes it possible for owners to track individual horses as well as a herd.
The introduction of analytics to help discover optimum grazing areas is in Spotter’s technology and applications roadmap. Furthermore, Spotter believes that the requirements for its technology solution will expand far beyond horse-tracking. Spotter’s collars are already being used to track and monitor livestock, including cattle, sheep and goats, but are additionally helping conservationists to protect wildlife.
