FARGO - A software company has secured an $8.4 million deal to help the military develop ground sensors.

The U.S. Navy awarded the contract to Pedigree Technologies, which supplies software to companies that make remote wireless security systems.

Pedigree Technologies, which was founded four years ago, is part of the North Dakota State University Research and Technology Park. The company has eight employees.

"The movement from a wired system to a wireless system has really been a game changer on how the technology has moved forward," said Alex Warner, president and founder of Pedigree Technologies. "This contract says quite a bit about what we're building."

The technology allows users to remotely track, locate and monitor information in real time, either through computers or cell phones, Warner said.

"With our system, any wireless-enabled asset, such as a sump pump, for example, will call you on your cell phone to tell you, 'I'm pumping water' or 'I'm broken, come fix me,'" Warner said.

Warner would not be specific about the Navy's system, other than to say it's a "remote way to get information about what's going on at an area where people don't want to be sitting at." But he said the wireless system is ideal for patrolling areas without enough people to cover large amounts of land.

"I don't think it's going to be too long before we see these wireless sensors start popping up across borders and large geographical areas," Warner said. "There's advancements in several different areas that are coming together to make this happen."

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said the new technology by Pedigree will bring "some exciting new capabilities to the U.S. Navy" that will help maintain national security.