Satellite IoT for Monitoring and Tracking of Athletes in Extreme Environments

This paper aims at demonstrating the feasibility of a satellite Internet of Things (IoT)-based solution for the monitoring of vital parameters of athletes performing sport activities in extreme environments, as well as for the tracking of their position to carry out rescue actions in case of accidents. In order to overcome the limitations that come from the lack of connectivity in the areas where these sports are in general performed, the solution presented in this paper is based on the so-called satellite IoT technologies. This term is used to indicate all those facilities that exploit satellite communication to transmit data related to IoT services and applications. In this context, data are generally transmitted at a relatively low rate and in a small number of bytes containing general information acquired by sensors. The system presented in this paper is based on the Swarm technology which allows the transmission of a predefined amount of monthly packets in accordance to the subscription of a low price data plan. The system is exploited to periodically send a set of parameters (i.e., heart rate and body temperature) related to the activities of the athlete, as well as his/her position. The final purpose of this system is to keep on monitoring the athlete regardless of his/her position in order to prevent possible accidents and to intervene in case of casualties.