Short burst data (SBD) satellite transceivers, as defined by Iridium, are perfect for integration into complete wireless solutions and can be used for a wide range of applications in numerous markets.

M2M - or machine-to-machine - solutions are deployed to solve a wide range of challenges, from farmers who want to track and monitor their livestock to scientists studying animals in the wild. In each case, a unique solution is required.

Monitoring and control systems in remote, unmanned locations require a reliable and cost-effective communications service to collect and transmit data to operations centres for further processing.

It's hard to explain why, but high-altitude ballooning is fascinating - and a little addictive. We've been following the antics of UK-based Andrew Ashe, who along with Mikal Hart (author of the fantastic IridiumSBD library for Arduino) has successfully tracked their balloon and been able to recover its payload thanks to RockBLOCK.