Globalstar Europe Satellite Services Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Globalstar, Inc., has announced that a major international hazardous gases logistics provider has deployed the Ovinto Sat smart asset monitoring system enabled by the Globalstar satellite IoT chipset and Globalstar satellite network to remotely monitor tank containers.

The logistics provider operates a fleet of 600 cryogenic tank containers for transporting cargoes such as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), argon, nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide for customers including energy and gas providers, industrial companies, medical businesses and beverage makers. Each of the tank containers been fitted with an Ovinto Sat sensor device, as is every new tank container added to the fleet.

Globalstar said the logistics company began to deploy Ovinto Sat four years ago. “Earlier solutions the company tried were only able to provide positioning information. Only Ovinto Sat sensors could measure internal temperature and pressure”. 

Alternative systems trialled were unable to provide uninterrupted tracking due to reliance on GSM technology, as well as being overly complex and lacking an intuitive user interface, Globalstar said. In contrast Ovinto Sat units did not suffer these problems, as well as being rugged with an ATEX certification and a long battery life due to Globalstar’s low power STX3 chipset, which it claims is the smallest and lowest power consuming chipset on the market, paired with long life batteries.

Operating on the Globalstar satellite network, the Ovinto Sat package allows customers to monitor tank containers in container stacks, as long as they can connect to the Globalstar satellite network. “The sensor devices are affixed to the outside of the container, each safe inside its own rugged domed casing, to keep a continuous line of sight with the satellites. The devices maintain uninterrupted visibility of the satellite network In Low Earth Orbit, so data on the environmental characteristics of the container flow uninterrupted as they traverse the globe,” Globalstar said.
 
“The Globalstar satellite system remains the best solution on the planet on account of its coverage, minimal latency, low power and, as a result, its affordability,” added Frederick Ronse, Managing Director of Ovinto.

An earlier application pairing Ovinto’s sensors with GLobalstar’s chipset and satellite network for monitoring tank containers used to ship craft beef from Europe to the US was reported in 2016.