Texting gets married to satellite based location

IT'S NOT often you hear of new uses for text messaging, but together Skywave and Aztech have found one. Remote control by satellite.

Basically Aztech has married its Spike messaging terminal to Skywave's D+ satellite terminal. The result is a tool which is ideal for creating location-based services on land or at sea.

The Spike terminal can be made to transmit pre-defined messages which can then be tied into information about the terminal's position.

One of the advantages to Skywave's terminal is that it can automatically switch over from a satellite connexion to a GPRS/GSM link. So if the terminal loses sight of the D+ satellite in a built-up area, it can still transmit by roaming onto GPRS.

"Security and safety are just two examples of critical applications that together Skywave and Aztech help enable," claimed Geoff Salter, Aztech's president.

We also guess that it makes a great tool for ensuring that value consignments don't disappear when sent into an otherwise hostile environment. µ

L'INQ
Skywave