Helium hotspots allow a fisherman to track his crab pots and prevent the loss of thousands of dollars.
James Buffmire, a technology executive and avid crab fisher, typically loses about 10 crab pots each year. The purchase price of each pot is $300, and when you add in the price of the crabs, Buffmire loses several thousand dollars each year.
For some time now, Buffmire has been looking for a way to track the traps. However, it turns out to be very It is difficult to find a system that works properly in the Pacific Ocean.; you cannot rely on proximity networks or mobile GPS, as they lose coverage more than two miles from the coast.
In this way, in December 2021 he discovered Helium, a Blockchain-powered wireless node system which runs on its own cryptocurrency, HNT. Thanks to Helium's long-distance internet (LoRaWAN) system and the use of an industrial tracker created by its own company, Buffmire has been able to track the traps without any problems.
Since he started using Helium, the fisherman has already recovered 3 traps worth more than $1.000.
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Helium a network with growing support
Helium is known as a blockchain network of decentralized wireless Internet access points.
Since its launch, it has attracted the attention of many users, experts and investors, including: Tiger Global and Andreessen Horowitz which led the latest round of funding of more than $200 million. Following the closing of this new round of funding, the company's valuation exceeds $1.200 billion.
Helium Hotspot Growth
Currently, there are more than 740.000 active points worldwide, according to data on the Helium website. These points act as HNT mining nodes, while also offering wireless access for “Internet of Things” (IoT) devices, although in the long term it is hoped to create a decentralized wireless network like 5G.
However, the Helium network is finding many use cases. For example, some coffee shops are using the network to power sensors that send alerts when cold beer is low, to stores that use it to track foot traffic, sensors to measure flooding or air and water quality.
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