Lacuna Space claims it has taken a major step toward scaling a direct-to-device (D2D) internet of things (IoT) network.
The satellites built entirely in-house and under Lacuna’s “Call of the Wild” banner, feature Lacuna’s LoneWhisper payload, which allows for small, infrequent messages from low-power devices and transmit them directly to orbit without any need for ground-based infrastructure.
LoneWhisper is built with a high-capacity D2D Long Range (LoRa) receiver in orbit allowing it to support more devices and reach all locations globally, even harder to reach remote sectors.
Lacuna said the satellites could be used for:
- Early flood warning systems
- Pollutant tracking
- Agriculture monitoring
Using low-power sensors that transmit data directly from the field, the satellite IoT network could monitor water quality continuously, in real-time, without the use of a cellular network or gateway. This is a lower cost way to do this type of data collection from traditional monitoring that depends on manual sampling and site visits. It is also extremely difficult in rural or hard-to-reach locations.
The sensors send only a few messages per day, allowing it to operate for years on a single battery.
“The ability to capture consistent and accurate measurements in hard-to-reach areas has unlocked a new level of granular environmental insight,” said Clifford Shapland, digital development officer at Ceredigion County Council. “We see this use-case as effectively limitless in scale and duration. Wales alone has over 33,000 km of rivers and streams, many of which pass through rural or isolated terrain.”
The “Call of the Wild” satellites are the first of several new satellite launches this year, Lacuna Space said. These missions will expand Lacuna’s coverage and message throughput in orbit, the company added.
