PrismaQuality Finland’s ReindeerApp and collar enables farmers to keep track of their herds, and helps mitigate losses from predators such as wolves and bears. The user interface which PrismaQualityFinland developed notifies herders when a deer is no longer moving, and Globalstar’s satellite coverage and location accuracy allows the farmer to know exactly where they should go to check on the animals.
Petter Kroneld, product development manager of PrismaQuality Finland, said ”When farmers asked us to develop a tracking collar for their reindeer, we knew right away that satellite connectivity would be essential to deliver the reach we needed. We designed the collar around SmartOne due to its satellite coverage, superior battery life, small size and low cost.”
Farmers need only change the collars’ batteries during the annual round-up in June, when herds get health checks and new-born fawns are marked to identify who owns them. Reindeer tracking systems based on GSM have been trialled in the past, but inadequate reliability in remote regions, higher price and poor battery life made these systems ineffective.
In addition to Finland and Sweden, ReindeerApp deployments are expected in Norway, Russia, Canada (to track caribou), as well as Nepal and Mongolia (to manage other species).
”Satellite IoT is transforming industries of all kinds, and applications are limited only by human imagination,” said Robert Clarke, regional sales manager at Globalstar. ”Our state-of-the-art IoT technology, combined with our worldwide fleet of satellites in Low Earth Orbit, is now helping reindeer farmers preserve their livelihoods and their traditional way of life.”
