Our lives can be a bit of a mess, and it’s not always easy to find things in it, but with the internet of things, Telstra is going to give the scavenger search a go.
We’ve all had those moments where we go on a bit of a rampage and look every place trying to find something we need ASAP. Often a desperate struggle, it can arise from just about anything, be it a genuine need to find your wallet or keys, or the concern that yes you might have lost something and now you need to tear up the home trying to find it.
These situations aren’t fun, but they are something technology can assist with, as gadgets can add tracking to help you find this and that in your life, and possibly some things you weren’t expecting.
Typically, “this and that” might be the keys, your wallet, or possibly even the remote, and Telstra will be accommodating for that with the Telstra Locator Bluetooth tag that will talk to the Telstra Locator app and coordinate where things are, similar to how Bluetooth tracking works for other companies, including Tile and AirBolt’s locks. That means apps will naturally pick up devices, but not necessarily tell the app user where they are unless the products are theirs. Essentially, the app will coordinate where the items last were, whether that means inside your own home, left in the park, or somewhere else.
But a Bluetooth tag isn’t all Telstra has coming, with a WiFi tag also arriving soon, too, helping to form part of Telstra’s “Location of Things” product range.
Built for things that go moving like a pet or a bike, or even luggage, the Telstra WiFi Locator tag will connect to the Telstra Air WiFi network, and provide more consistent tracking out and about for things tagged with one.
Given that Telstra WiFi is made from a wireless network connecting payphones and homes sharing a portion of their Telstra broadband network, it’s possible that Telstra Locator could be more beneficial when used in this way, and given it will be rechargeable, could make it indispensable when taking things outside that you have no desire to lose.
Telstra will also be making a version of the Locator tag made to access its 4G LTE networks, though this has been developed more for larger needs, such as machinery and vehicles.
“Telstra’s new Location of Things products use connected technology to solve everyday problems for Australians, from families and local businesses through to our country’s largest enterprises,” said Michele Garra, Head of Innovation and Strategy at Telstra.
About the only catch we can possibly see is straying off grid, and taking your products out of an area where they’re likely to be found.
At home, you’ll likely be fine with a Telstra Bluetooth Locator tag, and likewise in the city where there’s plenty of Telstra Air WiFi support, anything tagged with a Telstra WiFi Locator tag will likely similarly be good, but the moment you go off grid, say in the outback or to a different country, you may find this technology doesn’t do much, if anything.
However, it’s a first step, and given it’s one that is still in development and not expected until later this year as a subscription-based service, we expect Telstra will help to cement what the catches are by the time it launches, as well as explain where it’s expected to work at the time it goes live.
