Low Power Mode for Custom GPS Tracker
upstart writes:
Low Power Mode For Custom GPS Tracker:
GPS has been a game-changing technology for all kinds of areas. Shipping, navigation, and even synchronization of clocks have become tremendously easier thanks to GPS. As a result of its widespread use, the cost of components is also low enough that almost anyone can build their own GPS device, and [Akio Sato] has taken this to the extreme with efforts to build a GPS tracker that uses the tiniest amount of power.
[...] [Akio Sato] imagines this unit would be particularly useful for recovering drones or other small aircraft that can easily get themselves lost. He's started a crowdfunding page for it as well. With such a long battery life, it's almost certain that the operator could recover their vessel before the batteries run out of energy. It could also be put to use tracking things that have a tendency to get stolen.
The advantages of this device are that it doesn't need a simcard or the ability to connect to any telephone system - it relies on LoRa which is free but its practicality will depend on coverage in your area. LoRa has become quite popular in Europe, Asia and (surprisingly?) parts of Africa. The tracker is also incredibly low power - the designer has managed to get a month's worth of operation out of a single coin-cell battery. It achieves this by having periods of sleep between periods of activity so it will not provide a real-time positional update but a periodic update. However, for its intended purpose this is entirely acceptable.
It is definitely worth a look, either to build one or to adapt some of its ideas to other projects.
Read more of this story at SoylentNews.