Important basics about this high-connectivity technology, and prototyping with it
There are plenty of off-grid challenges where satellite is the only realistic way to move data into and out of remote or hostile areas.
BY JEREMY LOSAW
The Achilles’ heel of IoT is that it only works in places that have infrastructure to move data to the cloud. WiFi and ethernet work great inside of buildings, and cellular and LoRa help in remote areas, but all are at the mercy of how much coverage is available.
The advent of satellite IoT is pushing the boundaries, offering unparalleled connectivity to even the most remote corners of the world. This technology is not just a tool for advanced industry pros but also the average inventor.
Here’s some detail on satellite IoT, its applications, and how you can prototype with it.
A sci-fi kind of history
The concept of using satellites for communication is not new.
Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke is credited with the original concept of using satellites for global communication—first postulated in papers he circulated in 1945—and the space race of the 1950s and 1960s resulted in the placement of many communication satellites into orbit. The 1964 Olympic Games were televised through satellite link, giving the general public access to the benefits of satellite data transmission for the first time.
Using satellites specifically for IoT is a much more recent development. In contrast, cellular technology had a lot of development put into it. With the cellular coverage map filling out in modernized places, it became a viable solution for many IoT applications.
Satellite IoT, on the other hand, lagged. However, there are plenty of off-grid challenges where satellite is the only realistic way to move data into and out of remote or hostile areas, pushing satellite IoT forward.
Coupled with the decrease in cost of placing satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO), satellite IoT started becoming widely viable in the 2010s. Now, companies such as Iridium have a network of 66 LEO satellites to support their IoT network, and there are many other competitors available. Important for the inventor, many different development kits are available to test applications easily—and at reasonable cost.
Satellite IoT has its challenges, many of them overcome and some still needing work. One is a lack of standardization of technology.
Terrestrial networks and protocols are largely standardized, which makes interoperability between devices very easy. But this is an area that is evolving in satellite.
Satellite has also had a bad reputation communicating with terrestrial networks, and it has been historically difficult for satellites to talk to devices running other protocols. This has also largely been solved.
Cost has been an issue, especially in the realms of satellite data and the hardware to communicate. However, access to the networks and hardware is increasing and driving down the costs, making it more available to a wider field of applications.
Applications opportunities
Many IoT applications are inside the range of standard terrestrial networks, but plenty are not. It does not take long, even in modernized countries, to travel to areas that are out of cellular range—and of course, off-shore locations inherently are not serviced by terrestrial connectivity.
On land, agricultural applications are a big growth area for satellite IoT. Farms large and small tend to be in rural areas where cellular or wired connectivity is scarce, making them prime areas for innovation. Similarly, oil and gas fields tend to be in remote areas away from population centers. Satellite IoT can also be valuable for environmental monitoring applications in unpopulated areas, and can be helpful for asset tracking when property moves away from connectivity zones.
Maritime applications are also prime for satellite IoT solutions. There are no cell towers offshore in our oceans or even large lakes. Cargo management, or monitoring of environmental or tech assets offshore, are a welcoming playground for satellites.
How to prototype
Because we are living in a golden age of satellite IoT adoption, it is much easier to develop these types of devices than ever before.
Iridium has a number of options for development hardware to test it in your application. It has off-the-shelf asset trackers, such as its Edge and Edge Pro solutions that are easy to get going. However, they are $999—a steep price even with its 6 months of free data up to 25kB.
For more adventurous developers, Iridium modems are available from open-source suppliers like SparkFun and Adafruit. But they require a data plan and some development work to get up and running.
IoT company Particle is jumping into the fray, starting to offer low-cost and accessible entry into satellite. Its new development board, the Muon, offers multi-radio connectivity, including satellite for just $84.95. The Muon has the same form factor as a Raspberry Pi and connects seamlessly with the Particle IoT cloud, with inexpensive data plan options.
The Particle Muon development board is helping to make satellite more accessible to the masses.
No matter which platform you choose, note that satellite IoT is meant for low-data bandwidth applications. Data rates will either have a ceiling or be very expensive to push frequently. Applications where data is required on the scale of hours or days is better suited to this technology.
Sky-high future
Satellite IoT has gone from the realm of niche industry applications to being available widely for inventors and hobbyists. As more satellites are deployed, the cost of deployment and data throughput should improve—and there are already significant improvements in data and hardware costs.
Savvy inventors and innovators will be sure to add this technology to their prototyping palette.