Birds of a Feather Flock Together

With the help of Tele2 IoT Lithuania’s Glosendas provides custom wildlife tracking solutions using state-of-the-art solar powered devices – that are nearly as light as a feather.

Founded in 2015 by Vytautas Grigoraitis, the idea for Glosendas came when some ornithologist friends asked Vytautas to develop a device that could be used specifically to track birds and outperform available transmitters at that time. Since then this collaboration with scientists has developed into a strong partnership with another Lithuanian company, Ornitela, which is taking care of world-wide marketing, distribution, and customer support for these innovative devices.

“The market for these types of devices is competitive and driven primarily by scientists researching a variety of issues,” explains Vytautas. “The issues range from bird migration to the impact of wind turbines to bird flu.”

When it comes to tracking wildlife – and birds in particular – there are a couple of big challenges: finding the right balance in terms of design and functionality, and gathering data across a wide swath of regions. Close collaboration between engineers and ornithologists who are well familiar with bird telemetry is therefore essential.

In terms of design, a number of different factors needed to be taken into consideration: the weight and size of the device was as important as battery life and the overall comfort of the animal or bird. And depending on the type of device, things like accelerometers, barometers, magnetometers, temperature gauges, GPS, and even light sensors could be included – and the more extras included the more draining to battery life and the heavier and bigger the devices would become.

We have a highly skilled engineering team at Glosendas that knows how to address the design issues. But IoT – and connectivity – was something new. We needed a partner who could find a solution that fit our quite specialized needs. When Tele2 IoT was recommended we saw that they had the solution we needed.

Glosendas’s devices, which gather and distribute data, are usually spread across markets and regions, and primarily use satellite communication. This can both drive up costs and eat up a lot of battery life. But because real time data is not critical for the scientists’ work, the branded OrniTrack bird transmitters are able to store data gathered from GPS sensors on the integrated memory and then transmit it using cellular communication, all while the bird being tracked is in a particular coverage area.

“There are a number of reasons why we chose Tele2 IoT,” explains Vytautas. “First, it was crucial we find a provider with truly global coverage, so that the solution would work regardless of where the birds are. We can see from the data currently collected that the birds using our tracker have travelled all over the world, from Greenland to South Africa, from Mexico to India. And Tele2 IoT’s solution has worked flawlessly.”

SIM cards that can be embedded into the devices is another reason Glosendas chose Tele2 IoT, which has consistently delivered shipments within seven days. Access to a control center that allows Glosendas to monitor the quality of service, troubleshoot devices, and make sure no data is drained during the testing phase is also important.

“And finally, Tele2 IoT support has been exceptional,” says Vytautas. “Whenever we have questions or problems we always get a fast and professional answer that solves things quickly.”

Today, Glosendas is growing in places the company never expected. Several thousand devices are already deployed, and there are around 30 types of OrniTrack transmitters for different types of birds.

“We’re looking forward to expanding our relationship with scientists and making sure that what we do creates fantastic value for both research and humanity,” says Vytautas. “This is how we’re creating a smarter world – together with Tele2 IoT.”

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

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