Pod Group and Wyssen Increase Safety of Ski Season by Deploying Resilient IoT Connectivity in Avalanche Detection Devices
Pod Group’s Best signal Multi-Network SIMs have been selected to provide connectivity for Wyssen’s avalanche towers
Cambridge, UK, 20th March 2017 – The ski season will soon be coming to a close and winter sports fans are taking to the slopes to make the most of what remains of the snow. Behind the scenes, Internet of Things (IoT) technology is helping to make the season safer for all concerned. One of the leading technologies in this area has been developed by Wyssen, a Swiss company based at the foot of the Alps that develops avalanche control solutions. Wyssen has today announced that it is integrating into its devices a highly resilient IoT connectivity solution from Pod Group, the global expert in IoT connectivity and innovation.
Wyssen’s solution has been designed to detect and prevent avalanches using various monitoring systems (radars, infrasound sensors, geophones etc.) and artificial triggering techniques with explosive charges. Wyssen designs and manufactures avalanche towers, which are solar powered and fitted with a deployment box holding the battery, electronics and the charges. A sophisticated algorithm in combination with sensors are used to provide an early warning of increasing avalanche activity in a given area based on detection of infrasound emissions. All the data monitored by the towers, including feedback from weather stations, results from radar installations and sensors and footage from the cameras is sent to a central control centre where it can be analyzed. Should action be required, an explosive charge can be detonated once it is confirmed no humans are in the danger area.
Due to the remote nature of the towers and the need for resilient, mission critical connectivity, Wyssen has decided to integrate best signal, multi-network SIM cards into its devices. The Pod Group solution has been designed with these requirements in mind, including global connectivity across multiple networks on one SIM card, connection to the best signal on device start-up and the ability to automatically swap to a back-up network if signal is lost, giving the most reliable and flexible coverage for Wyssen´s devices wherever they may be situated. “The flexibility of the Pod Group SIM card was paramount, explains Benjamin Meier, engineer at Wyssen. We wanted a single SIM card, interchangeable for each device that makes up our system. This makes management of the SIMs simple and straightforward.”
Charles Towers-Clark, Managing Director of Pod Group added; “Wyssen´s solution is an excellent example of how the IoT and Big Data can help improve our lives. The combination of Wyssen’s state-of-the-art technology with Pod Group’s connectivity which has been specially designed for remote and mission critical IoT applications, will result in a highly resilient solution that will help to save lives on the slopes.”
About Wyssen
Wyssen Avalanche Control AG is market leader in Switzerland, Austria and Norway and known worldwide for highly innovative and rock solid solutions for preventive avalanche control: “Safety through innovation” is the brand statement.
The value propositions besides the aforementioned avalanche towers include, avalanche detection systems, weather stations as well as services providing avalanche control as a complete solution in addition to the equipment.
About Pod Group
Pod Group is a specialist in complete connectivity solutions tailored to Internet of Things (IoT) applications, bringing over 20 years of experience, research and innovation to the mobile connectivity market. With offices across the globe and access to 600+ networks in 185 countries, Pod Group provides global multi-network, multi-IMSI, eUICC and LPWAN connectivity solutions combined with end to end IoT security, centralized connectivity management and a hierarchical billing platform.
Press contacts:
Amy Garcia Rendle
Email: amy.garcia@podgroup.com
Skype: amygarciarendle
Phone: +44 (0) 1223 850 900
