Works beyond cell coverage
GNSS establishes location. LoRa carries it across the group. Cellular and Wi‑Fi are never part of the tracking loop.
Off-grid group tracking · In development
Drover: Off-Grid GPS Tracker for Groups
Your Circle. One Map. No cell service required.
Drover is a local-first tracking system for the places cellular coverage stops. Keep up to eight people, pets, or pieces of gear visible on real offline maps — without a cellular plan, Wi‑Fi, or a monthly bill.
Drover is a local-first, off-grid GPS tracking system by SiliconBrane Inc. that uses 915 MHz LoRa radio and multi-constellation GNSS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou) to connect up to 8 Nomad trackers to a central Drover hub. Nomads broadcast their position over LoRa; the hub relays it to a phone over Bluetooth Low Energy for display on offline maps. The system requires no cellular service, no Wi-Fi, and no subscription.
The Drover system
How the LoRa GPS Tracking System Works
Every Nomad finds its own position and sends it over long-range radio. The Drover gathers those positions and passes them to your phone. One compact system, built for the edge of coverage.
Nomad
Up to 8 per Drover
LoRa radio
Drover
Stays with you
Bluetooth
Phone app
One offline map
Nomad — the tracker
Goes with your people, pets, or gear. GPS + LoRa, up to 8 per Drover.
Drover — stays with you
Carry it in a pocket, pack, or on a keychain. It receives Nomad locations over LoRa and forwards them to your phone over Bluetooth.
Phone app — everyone in view
See the whole group on one offline map. No cell signal needed.
Why Drover
Subscription-Free Off-Grid GPS Tracker Features
Drover strips away the dependencies that make ordinary trackers fail off-grid — towers, accounts, data plans, and cloud services.
No monthly fees
You buy hardware, not another subscription. Core tracking remains available without a service plan.
Offline maps that are actually offline
Download regions before you leave. Your group stays on the map when data coverage disappears.
Local by design
No cloud login is required for core tracking. Your positions stay between the trackers, Drover, and your phone.
One group, eight Nomads
Build the set that fits your outing: people, a pet, critical gear — any mix, under one Drover.
Field-ready target
Compact rechargeable hardware, USB‑C power, and an IP67 enclosure target for real outdoor use.
Your people, in view
Who Uses Drover: Hiking Groups, Kids, Elderly Parents, Pets
A family is not a dot. Neither is a trail crew, a campsite, or a dog that slipped a lead. Drover is designed around the whole group.
01/ GROUPS
Keep the whole group on one map.
Track your hiking or camping party off-grid, even when there is no cell signal.
02/ KIDS
More room to explore.
See where everyone is at parks, camps, and festivals — without handing every child a phone.
03/ OLDER PARENTS
Stay connected outdoors.
A simple location link for family walks and outings where cellular coverage is patchy or absent.
04/ PETS
One more member of the group.
Clip a Nomad to a collar and follow the same map you use for everyone else.
Development targets
Drover Technical Specifications: Range, Battery & Hardware
Drover is still in hardware development. These are the core technologies and design targets guiding the prototype.
Coming soon
Final enclosure, battery life, range, and certification details will be published after field validation.
- Nomads per Drover
- Up to 8
- Nomad positioning
- Multi-constellation GNSS
- Long-range link
- LoRa · 915 MHz
- Phone connection
- Bluetooth Low Energy
- Charging
- USB‑C
- Ingress protection
- IP67 target
- Map mode
- Downloadable offline regions
- Cloud account
- Not required for core tracking
Why Drover Is Local-First: No Cloud, No Account, No Tracking
Self-funded. No crowdfunding campaign.
Drover is being developed deliberately, with working hardware first and promises second. Launch timing and pricing will be announced when the product is ready — not before.
Comparison
Drover vs Satellite Messengers vs Bluetooth Trackers
How Drover compares to Garmin inReach-style satellite communicators and Apple AirTag-style Bluetooth trackers.
| Feature | Drover | Satellite Messenger (e.g. Garmin inReach) | Bluetooth Tracker (e.g. Apple AirTag) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly subscription | No — buy the hardware, own it | Yes — required plans from ~$15/mo | No — but requires Apple/Google network |
| Cellular service needed | No — 915 MHz LoRa radio | No — uses Iridium satellite network | Yes — relies on nearby phones for location |
| Real-time group map | Yes — up to 8 Nomads on one offline map | Limited — point-to-point messaging, no live group map | No — single-item location, crowdsourced |
| Works fully offline | Yes — local-first, offline maps | Yes — satellite link works anywhere | No — needs the Find My / device network |
| Two-way messaging | No — location tracking only | Yes — satellite text messaging + SOS | No |
| Emergency SOS | No — not a safety beacon | Yes — dedicated SOS to rescue coordination | No |
| Best for | Groups staying together off-grid: hiking, camping, kids, elderly, pets | Solo backcountry emergencies and messaging | Finding lost keys/wallets in populated areas |
Drover is a group coordination tracker, not an emergency beacon. For life-safety situations, carry a satellite messenger or personal locator beacon.
FAQ
Drover FAQ: Coverage, Subscription, Range & Availability
The short answers on coverage, phones, fees, and what “coming soon” means.
No. Drover needs no cellular service or Wi-Fi. Each Nomad determines its position via multi-constellation GNSS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou) and transmits it over 915 MHz LoRa radio to the Drover hub. The hub connects to your phone locally over Bluetooth Low Energy.
No. Drover has no monthly subscription for core tracking. It is designed around hardware you own and offline maps, not a required cloud service or recurring fee.
Yes, for the full map experience. Your phone provides the map display and interface, while the Drover hub provides the LoRa radio bridge to the Nomads. Keep the Drover hub and phone with the group owner.
It depends. LoRa range varies heavily with terrain, vegetation, antenna height, and obstructions — from under a kilometer in dense forest to 10+ km line-of-sight. Rather than publish a best-case number, Drover will share repeatable real-world field test results after production hardware is validated.
Not yet. The Drover hub, Nomad trackers, and companion app are in development. Join the launch list below to hear about field testing, availability, and final specifications.
Launch updates
Join the Drover Launch List for Availability Updates
Get notified about field tests, production milestones, and launch availability. Pricing will be announced when the hardware is ready.
Occasional launch updates only.