Transcript
Hi Lander, welcome to our studio.
Thank you.
Today we're going to talk about geo tracking.
But before we dive into that, can you maybe explain what Geodynamics, as a company, what you do?
Yes, so we are a software company. We're based in Kortrijk, in the West part of Flanders. And we have track and trace solutions for the construction sector.
But then, at some point, you also started working for events.
Yes, that's true.
The reason I've invited you is: I read an article on your company's blog about Rock Werchter. There you did some impressive stuff for the First Aid. What exactly did Geodynamics do there?
So we equipped some ambulances and some medical teams, in the field, with a tracking system.
So this is the complete tracking system?
Yes. As you can see, it's quite small. I has a battery that lasts about thirty hours. And we send one position every five seconds. And those positions are visualized on a website.
So you know, at every moment, where all the First Aid workers are in the field.
Yes, that's true.
And so, for Rock Werchter, what we added is: we added some layers on the map, that show where the exits are, where the toilets are. And we divided the complete area into a grid. So when something happened, the team could check where the nearest worker was.
And why is there a need for that?
Because before, there were no tracking systems. All things also went okay. What does this system really add?
Real-time views on the map. That's something they really need. Because they need to respond as quick as possible. And when they have the information where the nearest person is, that could be quite useful.
But maybe, also, in advance, in spreading people across the...
Yes, that's also...
If you see that everybody is at one point, you can already say: okay, spread a little bit.
Yes, to dispatching it's also very useful.
Yes, but not only festivals. In the talk we had just before we started recording, you also mentioned sporting competitions. Cycling and rally races.
Yes.
What kind of services do you provide for those kinds of events?
Well, for example, for the rally part, we equip every participant, in his car, with the same system. There it is useful because a rally is driven on a closed road. But it's a small road in Belgium, really small. So for the organization, it's good to know who is on the track. And when there is a crash or something, they need to know the exact location.
Another event type is cycling. Because there, you also actually support the organization in what they need to do.
Yes, that's true. Because when you have a group of cyclists, it could be a really long bunch of...
A long location.
So, in that case, we equip the first car, the car just behind who is in the lead, and the last car. And the organization, for them it's necessary to know how long it stretches. So, at one point, they say to the last car: advance a little bit further. To keep the cycling race a bit closer together.
Yes and I can imagine you have some kind of commando centre? Or something where you can track everything. And your people will operate the systems. Or how does that work?
Normally we just send them in advance, to them. It's quite easy to use. You have an On/Off button. You switch it on and everything is visualized on a map. So it is quite fast, also in the controlling area. There's always one person who is looking at the map. From time to time. But we, as a team, we are not really involved.
So, it's that easy to use that people can do it themselves.
Yes, it's quite easy. We send them by post. Tomorrow you have them, you use them and it goes quite well.
At this moment you do tracking. You also told me that you do more and more events. What is the ultimate goal? What are still the next steps to be taken? What do you see as the future for this kind of...
We get a lot of response, feedback, from our customers, asking for custom mapping. So now we use the Google Earth maps. Or some sort of. But there are some local authorities who really want to use their own mapping. That's something we are looking into, right now.
Yes, especially, also, for a festival, it can be interesting. Because everything on the festival can be on the map. Actually, already a bit like what you did with the layers for Rock Werchter.
It could be useful to really know where the toilet is located.
Now you see a map. You see a big field. Because Rock Werchter is just three weekends in a year. So it's a completely different map there. But if you see the location of the toilet on the map, that could be really useful for us.
How accurate are these devices? Can you really...
Is it really on a meter or how...
Normally we use GPS system and GPS is accurate up to three meters.
Okay, so you have a very good view of where people are.
What I did read on your website, and that's quite interesting: you have a lot of these devices available.
Yes.
So even for large events, or where a lot of people need to be tracked or vehicles need to be tracked, you can deliver that.
Yes, we have about 500 devices, all the time, in stock.
The biggest one we did was something from Red Bull. They do a tour with motorcycles. It's called: Red Bull All The Way. So every participant was tracked. That's over 600. That was the biggest one we did.
That's impressive.
A last question. Something I also learned is I can rent these from you. But also, for some occasions, there are also possibilities for sponsorships.
Yes, that's true. That's because our main focus is not supplying events with trackers. Our main focus is to build our brand. Because we are located in the construction area. So we're open to sponsoring.
Okay, that's very good to know. And I think a lot of organizers will contact you about that. We will put the link to your website below the video.
Lander, thank you very much for coming over and sharing about these wonderful trackers.
Thank you very much.
And you, at home, thank you for watching our show. I hope to see you next week.
