Startup schickt Bluetooth in die erdnahe Umlaufbahn. Hubble Network und Life360 wollen ein weltweites Netzwerk zur Artikelverfolgung starten.

>A recent Bluetooth connection between a device on Earth and a satellite in orbit signals a potential new space race—this time, for global location-tracking networks.

>Seattle-based startup Hubble Network announced today that it had a letter of understanding with San Francisco-based startup Life360 to develop a global, satellite-based Internet of Things (IoT) tracking system. The announcement follows on the heels of a 29 April announcement from Hubble Network that it had established the first Bluetooth connection between a device on Earth and a satellite. The pair of announcements sets the stage for an IoT tracking system that aims to rival Apple’s AirTags, Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTag2, and the Cube GPS Tracker.

>Bluetooth, the wireless technology that connects home speakers and earbuds to phones, typically traverses meters, not hundreds of kilometers (520 km, in the case of Hubble Network’s two orbiting satellites). The trick to extending the tech’s range, Hubble Network says, lies in the startup’s patented, high-sensitivity signal detection system on a LEO satellite.

>The caveat, however, is that the connection is device-to-satellite only. The satellite can’t ping devices back on Earth to say “signal received,” for example. This is because location-tracking tags operate on tiny energy budgets—often powered by button-sized batteries and running on a single charge for months or even years at a stretch. Tags are also able to perform only minimal signal processing.