Queen’s Awards 2011: Trident Sensors wins Award for multifunction GPS tracker

The unit weighs 500g and has an advanced design which minimises power consumption, enabling it to operate remotely for long periods and provide live data at intervals as frequent as once every 20s. Customers include research institutes, blue chip companies and the military. "It is wonderful to receive such high level recognition for the Polaris system," said Helen Cussen, founder and managing director of the Surrey based company. "We are only a three person company, but we know we have produced an exceptional product that is highly competitive across a range of international markets." Cussen and co director Dr Bill Simpson originally developed the Polaris system for data transmission from remote platforms, but it is now used in applications such deep sea oceanography, iceberg tracking, personnel and vehicle tracking, container tracking and vessel monitoring. When used in the defence sector for tracking personnel, Polaris' motion sensor is designed to notify when an operative is down and also plays a part in search and rescue missions. It uses the Iridium satellite constellation of 66 satellites for two way communication anywhere in the world, including polar regions. This is possible because the Iridium satellites are in polar orbits, unlike other systems which do not cover high latitudes. Trident Sensors was founded in 1997 and designs its own hardware, firmware and software. PCB and component manufacture are subcontracted out, mostly to local companies, while assembly and test are carried out by Trident. The company's new satellite track and trace product is called TIGER, pictured, which has smartphone connectivity via Bluetooth. The Queen's Awards for Enterprise are highly prestigious and granted for outstanding achievement by UK businesses in the categories of Innovation, International Trade and Sustainable Development.