Swiss Alpine Skiing Gets Safer, Thanks to LoRA RF

If you’re going to get that License to Kill and Aston Martin, you’re going to have to learn to ski in the Alps. And thanks to an IoT innovation at the LAAX resort in Switzerland, that’s a bit safer than it used to be. 

Semtech Corporation, a semiconductor supplier, has completed a successful trial of its LoRa Wireless RF technology, allowing TalkPool (News - Alert) and Wuerth ITensis to deploy it in a ski tracker solution that will monitor students on the slopes of the Swiss Alps in the upcoming ski season.

“We are happy our solution was chosen by LAAX to track and keep students safe at their ski school,” said Robert Spertina, head of IoT and managing director, TalkPool. “The LoRaWAN network platform offers the type of long range RF communications required to monitor students in vast mountainous terrain, while also using very little power. This provides the ski resort with a solution that works well and is cost effective. For example, one base station can cover an area several kilometers wide and the sensor batteries can last for years, which means they do not have to be replaced very often.”

Each student who takes a lesson will be equipped with a sensor module that transmits the student’s location to the network via a gateway. All instructors will be able to tap into this information using an app. Being able to locate a lost student fast on the mountain is important because if the student is disoriented due to the elements or an injury, a quick response is critical. In addition to safety, the ski tracking solution improves the efficiency of ski instructors as they are able to spend more time teaching rather than searching the mountain for lost students using only their eyesight.  

“We were pleased that after several months of testing, a sensor network based on our LoRa RF technology was chosen to keep skiers safe on the slopes of the Swiss Alps,” said Mike Wong, VP, Marketing and Applications, Wireless and Sensing Product Group, Semtech. “Companies are using our technology to develop some truly remarkable outdoor tracking applications. The latest solution from the TalkPool and Wuerth Itensis teams for the LAAX mountain resort is an excellent example of this and also serves to highlight how LoRaWAN solutions can be used to make the world a safer place.”

Looks like all I need now is a martini and a quirky henchman to fight.