AnsuR – Operation Arctic Lynx Partner Spotlight
AnsuR: Operation Arctic Lynx (OAL) is a partnership-driven field demonstration of Iridium® and Iridium Connected® technology over a two-plus week period, primarily focused above 60 degrees north latitude and stretching as far as 82 degrees north latitude. Iridium is the only satellite communications network that provides reliable, truly global coverage, including the polar regions.
Learn more about AnsuR’s OAL participation:
- Tell us more about AnsuR and what attracted you to participate in Operation Arctic Lynx.
AnsuR researches, designs and sells innovative software solutions which optimize bandwidth use when communicating photo and video. Participating in Operation Arctic Lynx was an amazing opportunity for us, especially since we are getting so much positive feedback on the usefulness of our solution. As a Norwegian company, Arctic solutions are quite relevant for us too.
- Can you tell us more about the products you are demonstrating on this expedition and what they’re typically used for?
Our products allow users to communicate important visual data, photos and video (both clips and live streaming) with very low bandwidth – up to 99% less than some other methods. They are typically used for sending mission-critical photos and video via lower-bandwidth satellite communication networks, like Iridium®, and also work well with higher bandwidth.
Video footage sent over the Iridium Certus enabling comms on the move; video footage using the AnsuR ASMIRA application.
- Can you explain a bit about how your technology works and what communications threads you have been most eager to experience?
Our technology is built around a slightly different idea than what is normally used – we let users focus the bandwidth on the content that is most relevant and interesting for the mission. This can be done via interactive communication, letting users pull what is most needed in the resolution required for photos and video clips. For video streaming, we have optimized the compression for the highest possible quality with minimum bitrate and developed proprietary streaming protocols that minimize overhead. This seems to result in better video quality with less need for capacity than other solutions and has been called a game changer.
- What would you like readers to know about OAL and your product specifically? Are there any features or unique capabilities that standout in the Arctic environment?
The Arctic is an area with increasing interest globally but does not have reliable terrestrial connectivity. Satellite communications is critical when things happen, and video is essential in many situations, like surveillance, telemedicine, search and rescue and much more. Lives can be saved by better visual situational awareness.
- Do you have any additional thoughts to share?
In this exercise we are demonstrating new capabilities, which is a good feeling. The full potential will be realized when the capabilities are put to test in live operations. This exercise has opened the door for us to amazing opportunities with Iridium and our partners, and I am hopeful we can leverage all of this potential.
To learn more about AnsuR, visit: www.ansur.no
