Actility has struck a deal with mapping and location company HERE Technologies to integrate HERE’s positioning capabilities into its own LoRaWAN management platform. It means internet-of-things (IoT) users can “pinpoint” their assets accurately and continuously in both indoor and outdoor environments.
The combined solution, combining GPS, A-GPS and Wi-Fi positioning, can locate assets in the supply chain with minimal energy consumption and low cost of ownership, bringing “plant-to-store goods tracking or industrial supply chain transparency” to life, according to Actility.
Asset tracking is a strategic market for Paris-based Actility. The low-power connectivity specialist acquired geolocation system company Abeeway last year, strengthening its solution portfolio with a LoRaWAN tracking device.
Fuller picture – supply chain tracking, from the factory floor through shipping and retail
Olivier Hersent, chief executive at Actility, commented: “We are very enthusiastic to join forces with HERE to fill what we believe to be a gap in the market: multi-country, low-power geolocation solutions with increased accuracy in almost every situation and a compelling business case based on low total cost of ownership.”
HERE’s venue mapping and so-called ‘fingerprinting’ of Wi-Fi signals, providing information about the location a connected device, can improve indoor positioning precision, with an accuracy of five to seven metres.
Francois Fortun, head of business development at HERE, said the Amsterdam mapping company continues to build momentum on the IoT space. “Our ongoing growth in this market underscores our position as the go-to location services provider for IoT technology,” he said.
Actility’s ThingPark connectivity platform is the most widely deployed LoRaWAN platform among low-power, wide-area (LPWA) network operators, with 50 service providers in over 30 countries. At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February, the company unveiled a version for managed enterprise networks for dedicated vertical IoT solutions.
Actility can enable multi-country geolocation solutions using its LoRaWAN roaming hub and its Abeeway long-life trackers.
