This Breton company designs GPS beacons to find stolen agricultural equipment
On the occasion of the 8th edition of Smartagri, in La Roche-Jaudy (Côtes-d'Armor), Thursday February 1, 2024, Yann Mac Garry, founder of Ticatag, a Lannion company specializing in the geolocation of objects, presented an innovation that makes it possible to find agricultural equipment in the event of theft. He designed GPS beacons with a long battery life.
"Thefts of agricultural equipment are becoming more and more frequent. It's a scourge," explains Yann Mac Garry, in the amphitheater of the Pommerit high school, in La Roche-Jaudy (Côtes-d'Armor), this Thursday, February 1, 2024. During the 8th edition of SmartAgri, a meeting place for the world of agriculture and innovation, the founder of Ticatag, a Lannion company specializing in the geolocation of objects, presents his solution for finding burglars and their loot.
The man who created many devices, such as the Tibike, a GPS tracker hidden in the rear light of a bicycle, has come up with beacons adapted to tractors. "I had already tried to sound out the agricultural world, without success. And then, in 2023, MS Équipement (specialist in the sale of agricultural equipment, gardening and green spaces) , which is a John Deere dealer in the West, came to see me, because the problem of burglaries was current in Brittany," recalls the business leader.
Great autonomy
Yann Mac Garry then developed three types of boxes with a high level of autonomy and each adapted to a different piece of equipment. He seized the beacon intended for the GPS antennas located on the roof of the machines. "These antennas cost €10,000. If they are stolen, it is double the punishment for the operator. He loses this money, and his tractor is immobilized."
The tracker to be installed on the consoles is much thinner, "because it has to be hidden behind the screen". Trailers can also be monitored using a larger sensor. "Here, the use is more in the context of sharing equipment between farmers. They can check where their fleet is."
The entire range has been designed to be very energy efficient. "We had to find a technology that would guarantee autonomy for several years. The batteries for the trailers last between five and ten years, and those for the consoles between one and three years," explains the entrepreneur.
About a hundred boxes have already been sold. “In 2023, we initiated the agricultural market. The dealers have now completed the test phase. In 2024, they should deploy the device and offer it on a larger scale to their customers.”