Startup Hiber wants to read IoT devices worldwide using nanosatellites

Dutch startup Hiber is targeting the growth market of Low Power Global Area Networking. With a network of nanosatellites, the company promises to be able to read sensor data anywhere in the world at low cost. Rutger van Dalen, at Hiber, will be presenting the Industrial Ethernet Event the technical approach of the startup explain further.

By: Dimitri Reijerman

At the end of 2018, two Hiber satellites were launched into the sky. The first nanosatellite, HiberOne, was launched into orbit by the Indian space agency ISRO, while HiberTwo went up with a SpaceX rocket. At approximately 600 kilometers above the Earth's surface, these satellites, together with a dozen other satellites yet to be launched, form a network – called Hiberband by the startup – that can pick up IoT data on a global level.

Van Dalen talks about Hiber's mission: "We want to offer global connectivity. Coverage in rural areas can largely be arranged with cellular and lora networks, but at the South Pole that is more difficult. On 90 percent of the earth's surface, including the oceans, you have no coverage of land-based wireless networks."

Economical modems

Much of Hiber's research is not only in the construction of compact satellites, but also in the necessary modems. These are extremely energy-efficient, meaning that batteries last up to 10 years. The transmission technology has also been tinkered with considerably, says Van Dalen: "We have developed the modem ourselves that sends the package to the satellite. This modem knows when the satellite will pass by based on a predictive algorithm. This algorithm works on the basis of GPS coordinates and time."

The Hiber modem, which is connected to a temperature sensor for example, waits patiently for a broadcast signal from an overcoming satellite. At the right moment, the modem sends its data. A packet can contain up to 144 bytes, sufficient for many IoT applications.

Van Dalen says that the frequency of upload options to the satellite will increase: “At the moment, you can send one packet of data per day, but that has to go to at least once per hour or even per quarter. The satellite takes the received data and shoots it back to a ground station at the right time. The data is then forwarded to the back-end, where customers can retrieve the data and do something with it.”

Commercial IoT services

The company, active since 2016, was made possible by money that investors put into Hiber. Hiber now employs forty people and there are also business developers active in the US and Asia. This is the first steps in the commercial offering of IoT services, says Van Dalen: “This is the first steps in the commercial offering of IoT services, says Van Dalen: “We have many pilot customers who have committed, including some big names in the industry.”

Thanks to relatively cheap nanosatellites, there are some pirates on the coast. There is Astrocast, a company that is backed by Airbus, while Myriota is owned by Boeing. "Those are big names, but we are the first," says Van Dalen proudly. "We have satellites in the air, the others don't have that yet." When he cautiously looks to the future, he is also optimistic: "We hope to be able to receive data everywhere in the world on a quarterly basis in five years, perhaps bidirectionally. And that will involve millions of devices."

The lecture by Rutger van Dalen is free to visit during the Industrial Ethernet Event. You can register free of charge.