Gemalto protects Amazon Rainforest
Gemalto has traveled to the Amazon Rainforest, where it has teamed with Cargo Tracck to protect Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest using M2M technology.
This solution applies embedded connectivity and intelligence to preserve one of Brazil’s most precious resources, wood. Strong global demand for rainforest wood along with the lucrative nature of illegal logging operations has put the Amazon Rainforest in danger. More than 4,000 square miles of Brazilian rainforest has been destroyed in the last two years alone with 224,000 square miles decimated since record keeping began in 1980.
Cargo Tracck and Gemalto devised and executed a pilot program and sting operation that leveraged powerful Machine-to-Machine (M2M) technology to catch thieves in the act of illegal deforestation. Designed by Cargo Tracck, the discreet tracking unit uses Gemalto’s small, but powerful Cinterion BGS2 M2M module, which enabled cellular communications between the trees that contained the tracking units and law enforcement.
When a tagged tree was harvested, the solution immediately began sending alarms to law enforcement officials. Smaller than a deck of cards, the tracking devices were hidden in a resin case made to blend in with the surrounding tree trunk. Ten of the devices were covertly installed in remote active harvesting areas deep in the jungle. The power management system of the Cinterion module provided power enabling the device to operate reliably in the field for more than a year without recharging batteries.
Gemalto’s Cinterion M2M technology is integrated in a variety of solutions that enable machines, devices and even trees to communicate on mobile networks to improve processes, productivity and efficiency. This initiative highlights how M2M technology can be applied to help deter crime and protect the environment, but the technology can also be used to enable secure POS transactions; remotely manage assets, buildings and industrial operations; improve productivity of fleet operations as well as power industrial PDAs for work forces.