June 6, 2014
Social Entrepreneurs Create Wireless Prototype Devices for Lion Tracking Program, UNICEF Remote Medical Diagnostics Initiative, Solar Power Metering, More
CTIA Enterprise & Applications 2011, Booth 435 – October 11, 2011 – Telit Wireless Solutions, the North American Technology arm of Telit Communications PLC, today announced that its cellular M2M modules are being incorporated into a variety of applications with societal and environmental benefits by progressive New York City engineering, research and development firm GROUND Lab.
Dedicated to creating technological solutions that successfully address environmental, social and humanitarian challenges worldwide, GROUND Lab is the brain child of two former master’s students of New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program at the Tisch School of the Arts, Benedetta Piantella and Justin Downs.
According to GROUND Lab co-founder Benedetta Piantella, Telit M2M modules are integral to the success of several devices created by the firm. These include:
- open source tracking collars to help conservationists protect the last 2,000 lions living in the wild in Southern Kenya in collaboration with the Lion Guardians Program;
- a portable networked device created in partnership with UNICEF to collect accurate, high-volume medical data from the field in real time for diagnosis by health facilities in Uganda;
- a logic board for a modular, micro-utility system called SharedSolar, by Columbia University, to provide affordable and reliable power to rural areas in Africa;
- a low-power, low-cost cell phone-based printer for remote health facilities in Africa designed in collaboration with Columbia University.
"We conducted extensive research of embedded cellular modules for our applications and found Telit’s products provided the highest reliability under harsh conditions at the small size we needed for our compact designs," said Piantella. "Telit’s durable and dependable cellular modules have been crucial in meeting the needs of our clients."
"From mHealth to pet tracking to smart metering, Telit is continuing to enable new M2M-based connected technologies that enhance our everyday lives. The outstanding minds behind GROUND Lab demonstrate how these same device concepts can be applied to humanitarian and conservationist efforts, broadening M2M’s impact on a global scale," said Mike Ueland, vice president and general manager of Telit North America.
Telit M2M modules enable GROUND Lab’s devices to communicate data via wireless networks. The specific Telit modules incorporated into the devices include the GE865-QUAD for the lion collars; the GM862-GPS for the UNICEF prototype; and the GE863-GPS and GE864-GPS for the SharedSolar and GSM printer applications.
Telit offers customer assistance and information exchange for device designs in the Telit Online Technical Support Forum, an open developers platform that also serves as an invaluable technical knowledge database for the entire M2M community.