Helium, a Californian company offering a decentralised, open-source IoT network based on public LoRaWan access points, is now compatible with Actility subsidiary Abeeway.

French firm Abeeway specialises in fused multi-technology low-power geolocation to provide IoT geolocation use cases using smart sensors, suitable for outdoor and indoor asset tracking as well as people’s safety.

A starter kit is available on ThingPark Market.

Users can place the LoRaWan-connected smart tracking devices in anything they need to track and protect, be it cars, motorbikes, bikes, keychains, luggage or handbags. The device can also be used to monitor the safety of elders, children and other family members. Or it can be securely mounted on a pet’s collar.

This works anywhere in the Helium network, leveraging an individual Hotspot or any other Hotspot in their community. Unlike Bluetooth-based tags, there is no need for compatible phones to be around for recovery and there is no requirement for a SIM card.

The long-life battery-powered trackers provide accurate and responsive location, adaptability to a wide range of environments, and integration with third-party IoT platforms and applications. The trackers are now integrated with Helium’s People’s Network, enabling simple and affordable asset tracking applications.

Aimed at companies developing uses in the connected home, asset and animal tracking, or in data collection from infrastructure sensors, the Helium Network was built by individuals who deploy Hotspots. With Helium’s own open source blockchain technology, individuals are incentivised to deploy Hotspots, which simultaneously mine cryptocurrency and provide LoRaWan coverage for hundreds of square kilometres.

Hotspots are the size of a small router (15.2 by 15.2 by 3.8cm) and plug into a home network, providing wireless connectivity for location tracking and theft recovery applications, such as tracking and monitoring vehicles, equipment, trailers, bicycles, livestock and pets. Helium has more than 50,000 Hotspots in the world.

Abeeway devices combine multiple geolocation technologies leveraging wifi hotspots, Bluetooth beacons and patented low-power-assisted GPS. Users can quickly geolocate all their valuable belongings anywhere indoors and outdoors if the tracker is within reach of any Helium hotspot, generate alerts in case of movement, and use geofencing to receive notifications when the tracker is in a specific zone.

The trackers are equipped with a powerful buzzer; once in the vicinity of the tracker, the user can make it ring to spot its exact location.

The Micro Tracker can be attached to keyrings, placed in a bag, hidden in a bicycle, or attached to a pet collar. They can also be used as a call or SOS button. The Compact Tracker and Industrial Tracker target asset tracking for construction and industrial environments. The Smart Badge focuses on visitor tracking and people safety for hotels, factories, construction sites and hospitals.

For example, Bouygues Construction locates more than 20,000 pieces of equipment in real time, while Volvo improved its trucks factory operations. Over 39,000 Abeeway sensors are being deployed in Saudi Arabia by Red Sea Development as part of extended IoT security for its construction workforce and vehicle fleet.

Smart Badges can also be used for proximity detection and contact tracing for Covid-19.

The trackers come with a cloud-based device management application to monitor the devices and their location, and to configure them. A cloud location platform is provided for interfacing to third-party IoT platforms using JSon and Rest based APIs. A driver is provided for integrators wanting to interface third-party applications from the Helium data feed.

For consumer use, later in the summer, a mobile app will be available for Android and Apple phones, which will provide a simplified configuration interface and allow users to locate their own trackers as well as share their position with others, so everyone in the family can know where the cat is, for example. The app also allows users to define custom zones and receive notifications once an item or a loved one leaves or enters those areas.

“The support of Abeeway on the People’s Network furthers our mission to decentralise wireless infrastructure and unleash a whole new world of applications that would otherwise be impossible,” said Frank Mong, chief operating officer at Helium. “With over 50,000 Hotspots in 5500 cities across the globe providing LoRaWan coverage, locating your valuables with Abeeway is easier than ever before.”

Olivier Hersent, CEO of Actility, added: “We are happy to partner with Helium and to revolutionise the IoT together. With Abeeway smart sensors fully integrated with Helium’s out-of-the-box LPWA connectivity, tracking works anywhere around your home but also leverages the tens of thousands of other Helium hotspots. It’s all about the community collaborating to make lost pets and objects a thing of the past.”