Axonn, a provider of asset-tracking hardware for the Globalstar Simplex asset-tracking service, has announced the commercial availability of the AXTracker MMT. The latest offering in Axonn’s line of asset-tracking devices, the AXTracker MMT joins the company’s AXTracker T3 product and boasts additional features such as 2.4 GHz radio capabilities for wireless programming; a smaller, low-profile design; and increased battery life.
Utilizing the Globalstar low-Earth orbit (LEO) mobile satellite system, Axonn specializes in developing technology for wireless global one-way communication and tracking of mobile assets such as cargo containers, refrigerated and dry van trailers, railcars, heavy equipment, construction and service vehicles; and fixed assets like government and military equipment, generators, pipelines, and propane and fuel storage tanks.
Simplex systems provide communication only one-way, from the asset. This form of communication allows costs to remain low and battery life to be extremely high, and is especially effective for assets without available external power, according to Axonn. By contrast, duplex, or two-way, systems use rechargeable batteries and only can operate for a given timeframe without a source of external power. Other benefits of Axonn simplex products, the company says, include fast, easy installation; they also are designed specifically to operate in harsh environmental conditions.
A “place-and-play” long-service-life solution, Axonn says the AXTracker MMT: features a 4-by-12-by-1-inch low-profile design that does not require external power or harnesses; can be installed easily with double-sided adhesive tape or screw mounting; and features rugged construction for use in extreme operating environments. Designed with a removable battery module, the MMT carries a battery life of up to seven years.
The MMT’s 2.4 GHz radio capabilities also allow users to extract XML form data and program a single device using a wireless laptop or PDA handheld device, whereas downloads with the AXTracker T3 require a plug-in connection. In the future, the MMT will allow data to be transmitted to RF gateways in yards or at security checkpoints, and can support roaming (cargo RF tag) sensors, such as door and temperature sensors.
“We have gained valuable experience on the extreme environmental conditions AXTrackers endure,” says David Biggs, chief executive officer of Covington, La.-based Axonn. “As a result, the MMT has undergone extensive environmental testing to simulate a wide range of harsh conditions that vary from what is inflicted on a container crossing the ocean to what an instrument is exposed to on an Alaskan pipeline.”
“What we have created here is truly a revolutionary product that can be used for a multitude of applications,” Biggs says. “At the end of the day, this product is an alternative to complicated and power-consuming communication devices on those assets that only require simple, one-way communication. If the key to operating your business more efficiently and effectively is to understand what is happening to your asset, like when your container left port or was loaded on a railcar or if the door was opened while in transit, then you are the perfect candidate for our new AXTracker MMT.”
