Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1172746
32 SMT007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2019 also had to design our own encapsulation pro- cess because we have to make our device bul- letproof so that it can withstand flooding, fire, precipitation, dust, and elephants coming up to the camera and putting their mucus from their trunks on the camera after sniffing it. A hyena carried off one of our units once too, so we had to make it "hyena-jaws-proof." Over- all, we've had to invent the hardware for the camera and communications unit, figure out how to put it together, and then write the soft- ware. All sorts of unique software had to be added. The parts that I'd say are off-the-shelf are the satellite modems, but getting access to them is not easy. And the gateway is assem- bled from off-the-shelf hardware, but then the software that binds that is unique. Johnson: When we started this conversation, you made a couple of statements about what technology works for you and what doesn't. I want to make sure that we have a chance to drill down into that because I think that's a meaningful perspective. As you're describ- ing your application, it's easy to jump to the conclusion that IoT and 5G will be helpful to you because you're talking about the need for increased data rates and lower power consump- tion. But as a practicable transmission tech- nology, it doesn't work for you because you need long broadcast throws and strong, steady, and penetrating signals over long ranges—not high-frequency, short-range piconets. I'm para- phrasing, but I think I heard you imply that holding onto 2G technology is more appropri- ate for you moving forward. Dinerstein: For cell connectivity, yes. For LoRa, Semtech—the company that has the patent on it—is advancing rapidly. We hope to take advantage of advances in LoRa technology. On the satellite modem side, it's state of the art. The great thing about Inmarsat is that their sat - ellite modems always work. With their geosta- tionary satellites, as long as you have a win- dow to the sky—even a light gap in a rain forest—and the azimuth and angle set cor- rectly, you'll have connectivity, which is vital for us. We're now looking at a project to help conserve mountain gorillas in several countries in Africa. You can imagine that the most diffi- cult challenges you could possibly face would be in tropical mountain environments where you have steep slopes, deep hidden valleys, etc. How in the world are you going to get a signal out of a mountain gorilla in one of those val - leys? We can do it with this new technology. You have to invent or take advantage of the technology that applies to your use case. It would be great if there were 5G and more IoT adaptations that we can take advantage of, and there will be. We're talking a lot with Micro- soft, who is also one of our supporters and are helping us create DNN models to run on our device. And while we had to invent the hardware, we think our platform could be useful for address- ing a number of use cases without changing it very much. In addition to anti-poaching, we can address wildlife monitoring by having groups like Intel, Microsoft, and Google help us move models that detect gorillas, elephants, or chimpanzees, which we're working on right now. That way, you could only send pictures of species of interest through the system to the person at the other end who wants that infor- mation, such as park officials or biologists. It could help with wildlife monitoring because rather than trudging up a mountain-