GlobalPoint Technologies (GPT)
GlobalPoint Technologies (GPT) was the first commercial client for the newly established Centre for Electronic Nano-Systems (CENS), an R&D service established by Cenamps in partnership with Durham University. CENS and Cenamps are helping GPT, a North East based firm, to become a world leader in the field of satellite tracking devices, with the launch of the Guardian - a tracker 1,000 times more sensitive than any other product currently available on the market. Measuring just 2in by 1in, it is also the world most compact satellite tracking device.
Using military technology, previously unavailable in civilian global positioning systems, the Guardian is the first tracking system on the market that can transmit signals and information when underground and inside secure containers.
GPT invested significant funds in the tracker and the technology was acquired from QinetiQ, a research and development organisation that supplies the Ministry of Defence. When GPT approached Cenamps, they required technical support to integrate the tracker with their existing telematics system -a task that CENS successfully delivered and on time.
In just two and a half months, CENS created the hardware and wrote the software by incorporating the tracker with a mobile phone in a larger device with its own microprocessor. This meant the device could communicate via the Internet or SMS and even had the capability to monitor the condition of the object being tracked. It can also store large amounts of information over time and is voice-enabled for two-way communication.
John Davidson, Chief Executive Officer of GPT commented on Cenamps & Durham University's approach “Without Cenamps’ involvement, this whole project would have been significantly delayed and the product would have been much slower to market… Durham University was quite outstanding. It was inspiring how the team recognised the tracker’s potential. For academics they showed a sense of commercial reality and worked incredibly fast to turn it around”.
The Guardian will be manufactured by TT Electronics in Blyth, Northumberland - resulting in a true North East enterprise, which will create dozens of semi-skilled skilled jobs in the region. John Davidson is supportive of the region: “We intend to see that all manufacturing development and intellectual property stays here in the North-East, showing a good return for our investors while creating wealth and jobs for the region” The tracker has fantastic potential and the commercial applications are endless, including asset tracking, personal security and logistics support.