RemoteSpark Connectivity: SpaceX Starlink & LTE

I can say I was truly excited at the thought of testing RemoteSpark on Starlink. When I saw the SpaceX announcement about their low orbit satellite system that would bring high-speed Internet to remote areas, I knew RemoteSpark and Starlink would be a perfect match.

RemoteSpark is Kognitiv Spark’s industrial-grade remote communications tool built on the Microsoft HoloLens. It’s used to connect technicians and engineers to remotely located subject matter experts to reduce equipment downtime and maintenance-and-repair-related travel costs for senior techs and subject matter experts.

As we headed off to the low-connectivity countryside in rural New Brunswick, Canada, to test RemoteSpark support calls connected via Starlink, I decided to add a couple of additional connectivity tests.

The first was to test a Microsoft Surface Go with built-in LTE and the second was to try a truck that also has built-in LTE capabilities.

Starlink for RemoteSpark on HoloLens for the remote worker and Truck-based LTE and Surface Go based-LTE for the remote expert. This is a perfect real-world use case as the remote worker could be anywhere in the world connected by Starlink’s satellite network and the expert could be on a job site connected on their LTE mobile hotspot or vehicle-based LTE.

We connected the remote worker and the remote expert for a high-quality mixed reality video call using Starlink and LTE networks. As RemoteSpark’s CTO, I had high confidence that RemoteSpark would work perfectly but with the test complete, I was very happy.

For an additional test, we disabled the LTE on the Surface Go and connected to the Wi-Fi in the truck which in turn was connected to LTE using a separate service provider. That worked flawlessly as well.

We’re seeing the era of connecting people in innovative ways to help them collaborate on complex issues being ushered in right now! Using tools like RemoteSpark and the HoloLens, connected to networks like Starlink, empowers people to solve problems beyond the capabilities of what phones or 2D smart glasses enable. Harnassing the power of a true Mixed Reality video call, which works reliably in low-bandwidth, low-connectivity conditions, can solve help solve complex tasks today.

It’s so awesome when things…just work.

Thanks to Ben Cummings (About: Engagement & Wedding Photographer, New Brunswick — Ben Cummings Photo & Video (benjcummings.com) for the use of Starlink.