GeoMoby offers Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act tools

Originally launching the technology to benefit the mining industry, GeoMoby uses geo-fencing, or virtual fencing to track the movements of people and equipment.

Company director Mathieu Paul said GeoMoby was asked by a mining company to use the technology to start tracking indigenous heritage sites, and has since begun to branch out into how the technology can be implemented across different industries.

Now expanding their vision to agribusiness, GeoMoby offers tools for farm safety, and to track heritage sites.

'Protect' is an app which maps sacred indigenous or heritage sites, and, when in range, will send an alert to the user's phone if the geo-fence has been breached.

Depending on the set up, the software can track who breached the fence, where they went and how long they spent in the restricted area.

"If agribusinesses have acted with cultural sensitivity and respect to Aboriginal heritage sites, then they can prove, with Protect data, that they have adhered to heritage agreements," Mr Paul said.

GeoMoby's founder Chris Baudia and director Mathieu Paul said the company had been working with the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage (DPLH) to begin to map some of the already recognised heritage sites.

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In an ongoing relationship, Mr Baudia said the technology had been shared with a number of Aboriginal co-operations who had shown support.

"The goal for these discussions was really around maximising or making sure that we were tailoring the product rather than the technology to what these groups were needing," Mr Paul said.

"I think it's been welcomed by all stakeholders."

Mr Paul said the focus of their technology was not to find heritage sites, but to fence them, and therefore it is up to the user to indicate to GeoMoby where the heritage sites on their property were located.

"A heritage site can be small, it may be a tree, and a truck on the other hand can be really big, so having those alerts to let you know when you are close to the area or have crossed into it, can be helpful," he said.

GeoMoby also uses smartwatch technology to track the location and wellbeing of its wearer, revolutionising farm safety.

"Western Australia introduced new tougher laws on work, health and safety (WHS) in March, 2022 and now, in 2023, there are no excuses," Mr Baudia said.

The watch can track heart rate, sleep, body temperature, blood oxygenation, and fatigue, as well as be able to detect if the person has fallen, or if they have stopped moving, which will send an alert.

The aim of this wearable technology is to "dispatch the right emergency response as quickly as possible," Mr Paul said.

Using their other location equipment, trackers can also be used to locate livestock, machinery and small pieces of equipment which may be easy to lose, or to locate stolen items.