Horseware Ireland Announces Revolutionary Fitness Tracker for Horses Powered by Taoglas
Taoglas EDGE Connect™ brings the world of IoT to equine welfare and performance
Horseware Ireland, the leading branded horse blanket company and Taoglas®, a leading provider of next-generation IoT solutions, today announced the ground-breaking Horsepal Edge solution powered by Taoglas, at CES.
The Horsepal Edge is a market-leading Internet of Things (IoT) solution for the equestrian industry and represents the next generation in the Horsepal series. Building on the success of the original Horsepal, the Horsepal Edge enables a “connected horse,” allowing health, activity and behavior to be monitored in real time. Metrics include motion detection, movement style, sleep tracking and more. The Horsepal Edge ensures professional knowledge to optimize the wellness and performance of the horse through evaluation and management of activity, rest, sleep and environment.
Speaking on the inspiration behind the new Horsepal Edge, Horseware Ireland Founder and Executive Chairman Tom MacGuinness stated, “Having real-time data and a more holistic view of horse health and activity is something our industry has been lacking for ages. Digital transformation with 24/7 monitoring will help horse owners make more informed decisions about health, exercise and care and will ultimately lead to improved health and life of the horse. When we saw the need in the market, we decided to develop a solution from the ground up!”
The Horsepal Edge is powered by Taoglas’ EDGE Connect (shown above), a next-generation IoT hardware and software platform that provides full cellular, Bluetooth and GPS capabilities with heart rate and activity monitoring – all from an ultra low-power device. The Taoglas EDGE Connect platform also provides device management, sensor management, a full IoT security stack, power management and Data-as-a-Service out of the box and is the backbone behind the new Horsepal Edge solution.
“Being first-to-market with a superior IoT platform combined with our deep knowledge of the equestrian industry has allowed us to develop this unique health management solution for horses. We’re proud to lead this evolution and excited about what our continued innovation of the platform will provide in years to come.” -Tom MacGuinness, Horseware Ireland Founder and Executive Chairman
Monitoring horse health, activity and behavior metrics initially proved technically challenging and Taoglas worked with Horseware to augment and innovate technologies specifically designed to detect reliable heart rate signals through horse hair, train algorithms to work for horses and develop an ultra low-power device to allow for required battery life.
“We had to push the boundaries of power management, sensor optimization, edge computing and firmware optimization to achieve this world-class product, Horsepal Edge can continuously collect data 24/7 and has a battery life of weeks rather than days. Horseware is leading the digital transformation of the equestrian industry with the Horsepal Edge and IoT will help owners make even more insightful decisions. We are excited to bring this solution to market together with the innovative team at Horseware.” -Adrian Burns, President of the IoT solutions division at Taoglas
The Horsepal Edge’s key capabilities include:
- Capturing data including distance travelled by the horse, time spent grazing, gait analysis, sleep tracking, time spent standing still, etc.
- Fully operational GPS tracking for geofencing with active notifications
- An integrated heart rate monitor to assess the fitness of the horse and determine recommended activity level for optimal fitness
- A Rug Advisor with GPS and advanced temperature algorithms to advise which rug to put on the horse, factoring in the weather forecast for the next 5 days
- Multi-mode setup with sensor integration, including training mode, stable mode and vet mode
- Application including horse profile with farrier contact, veterinary contact, and ability to upload images of passports and vaccination certificates
- Cloud-based data that can be shared across devices anywhere
- User-controlled data update frequency
- An ergonomic shape and water-resistant casing
Ultimately, the Horsepal Edge is an essential tool for both the experienced equestrians who want to get real verifiable data or for the novice owner seeking peace of mind determining the right care for their pony.
For more information or to see a demonstration of the Horsepal solution, visit Taoglas’ booth (#2909) in the IoT Infrastructure Pavilion inside the Westgate at Tech East.
About Horseware Ireland
Horseware Ireland is the leading producer of equestrian and pet products including rugs, therapeutics, and accessories, as well as a range of performance and casual clothing for men, women, and children.
Founded in 1985 by Tom and Carol MacGuinness, Horseware Ireland has grown to employ over 700 people, with facilities in Ireland, Cambodia, China, and North Carolina. The iconic Rambo ® original turnout was a revolution in the design, fit and quality of horse rugs. The original Rambo ® turnout continues to be produced in Ireland and is exported around the world, to countries like North America, the UK, Sweden, Germany, and Australia.
Horseware Ireland is an innovative company with creativity at the core of all product development. They have won numerous accolades for their blankets and accessories. The original Horsepal system was launched in 2018, winning the coveted innovation award at BETA 2018.
See www.horsepal.com for further information.
About Taoglas
Taoglas is the world’s leading provider of next-generation IoT solutions, combining the latest in high-performance RF antenna with advanced positioning, imaging, audio and artificial intelligence technologies for companies with unique IoT challenges. With 10 world-class design, support and test centers in Ireland, Germany, Poland, Taiwan, China, and the US, in-house manufacturing in Taiwan and the US, and a dynamic online ordering system, Taoglas helps companies deliver complex IoT solutions to market quickly and cost-effectively.
Best-in-class support, unmatched consultancy, engineering expertise, and custom design services make Taoglas a trusted adviser to companies across a range of wireless and IoT technologies, from cellular 4G/5G, GNSS, Wi-Fi, DSRC/CV2X, NFC, LORA/LPWAN to any protocol used to transmit and receive data. This expertise is proven across a variety of use cases in automotive, utilities and smart cities, healthcare, telematics, smart metering and more.