Berg Insight, the world’s leading IoT market research provider, today released a new market report covering the cargo tracking market.

The number of active tracking devices deployed for cargo loading units including trailers, intermodal containers, rail freight wagons, air cargo containers, cargo boxes and pallets reached 7.5 million worldwide in 2019. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.4 percent, this number is expected to reach 23.2 million by 2024.

In terms of installed units, trailer telematics is today the most developed market, followed by tracking devices for general cargo applications and intermodal containers. The markets for tracking solutions for rail freight wagons and air cargo containers are considerably smaller but are estimated to grow substantially during the coming five years. The total market value for trailer and cargo container tracking solutions reached an estimated € 1.1 billion in 2019. Growing at a CAGR of 16.2 percent, the total market size is forecasted to reach € 2.2 billion in 2024.

Berg Insight ranks ORBCOMM as the largest vendor of tracking solutions for cargo loading units, having a significant installed base of trailers as well as containers. ORBCOMM is together with SkyBitz, Spireon, CalAmp, PowerFleet and Samsara the leading players on the North American trailer telematics market in terms of number of active units.

The European trailer telematics market is smaller than the North American and is dominated by Idem Telematics, Schmitz Cargobull, Transics/WABCO and CLS Group. Five major vendors on the container tracking solution market are Malaysia-based Envotech, China-based ZillionSource, France-based TRAXENS and Sierra Wireless and Geoforce based in the US. Mecomo and Agheera, both based in Europe, are major vendors in the adjacent swap body segment. Nexiot, Siemens, SAVVY and DOT Telematik based in Europe and Amsted Rail based in North America are significant vendors of tracking solutions for rail freight wagons. Sensitech, Roambee, OnAsset Intelligence and Controlant are notable players in the general cargo segment, also offering solutions for air freight cargo tracking.

The global COVID-19 pandemic is anticipated to create an increased focus on supply chain visibility and security going forward.
“In light of recent events it has been made clear that real-time data on the location and condition of cargo in transit is crucial for an efficient and reliable supply chain”, says Martin Backman, Senior Analyst at Berg Insight. Low-Power Wide-Area (LPWA) networks developed specifically for IoT applications such as Sigfox, CAT-M1, NB-IoT and LoRaWAN are now increasingly available around the world which lowers the barriers for adoption of tracking solutions.

Mr. Backman concludes:

“There are great opportunities for solution providers ahead as there will be a surge for cargo tracking solutions post COVID-19 and there will be various communications technology options available to support different customer needs.”

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In partnership with Sigfox and delaware, Condat launches CondatLink for better inventory management and visibility of sealant consumption.

Condat, a global specialist in surface chemistry including industrial lubricants, today announced its partnership with Sigfox, the world’s leading IoT service provider and initiator of the 0G network.

With its long-term partner delaware, an internationally renowned integrator of innovative technology solutions, the two companies have created CondatLink, an IoT solution capable of helping tunnel boring machine operators to better manage their supply and stock of sealant on construction sites.

Sealant stock management: a major challenge for tunnel construction

With more than 25 years of experience in the field of tunnels, with more than 4,500 km laid, Condat has unique know-how and an international reputation in its sector. In particular, the company is a leader in the manufacture and supply of tail seal greases, products designed for tunnel construction in wet areas. Tail seal greases are essential for tunnelling especially in the event of water ingress, as job sites risk being delayed and, in the worst case, may even be submerged.

Condat delivers all over the world using 20-ton containers. Until now Condit’s sales teams worked with customers to estimate requirements, without being able to obtain precise information on sealant consumption.

Guy Chemisky, Director of Operations at Condat, explains:

“We needed a solution to prevent our tunnel boring machine customers from running out of sealant on their sites. In the life of a construction site, many parameters can speed up or slow down the consumption of this product. To satisfy our customers, we had to think of a way to find out about it, without having to contact someone on the worksites. We had the feeling that IoT was the right way to go, so we turned to delaware, our technology solutions partner of more than 23 years, to help us.”

CondatLink started as a concept last November at Del20, the delaware working group focused on innovation, where concrete cases and feedback are shared, and in January, the project was launched:

“We started this project together by working on an end-to-end strategy: from the ideas phase to the design of the applications. We then put several people from the IoT ecosystem in touch with each other. Sigfox was chosen to support us during the implementation of this project and the design of the tracking and monitoring equipment,” adds Baptiste Duriez, Partner at delaware.

Sigfox was chosen by Condat for its 0G network covering more than 70 countries and regions and its proposal to fully integrate the solution into Condat’s SAP environment.

“We were very delighted by the maturity of the thinking. The Condat and delaware teams had carried out an in-depth study of the service experience expected for users and how the solution would fit into production. Even the notion of return on investment with stock management had been analysed. We were therefore able to bring our expertise to the project to introduce a solution very quickly,” says Patrick Cason, Managing Director of Sigfox France.

“This project was carried out thanks to a dozen-strong team from Condat, delaware and Sigfox. By combining all these skills, the spirit of innovating together and the desire to co-develop with our suppliers, we managed to finalize this project in a very short timeframe and in the middle of a period of lockdown”, adds Guy Chemisky.

The IoT for better consumption monitoring on construction sites

Sigfox’s expertise has led to the implementation of the CondatLink solution, which will be available internationally and will enable more precise information about the level of consumption of sealant on building sites, thanks to a connected device that monitors the opening and closing of sealant drums.

The device is attached to the drums as soon as they leave the production plant. It is small (116x45x30mm), light (around 100g) and has, at least, a one-year battery life. As for the software, it uses Sigfox Monarch (international device, frequency management) and Atlas (geolocation) technologies. It will emit a message regularly to signal the location of the drum (asset tracking) while emitting regular messages indicating its change of state when the drum is opened (asset monitoring).

The information obtained by this connected device is sent to Condat and their clients via the Sigfox 0G network and available on a dedicated tracking application. This platform will take the form of a dashboard allowing the customer to track consumption and stock, and Condat to manage its deliveries worldwide.

Aware of environmental issues, Condat has been offering solutions for more than 20 years that are more respectful of individuals and the planet. The development of CondatLink is part of this approach. Thus, with delaware and Sigfox, Condat wanted to pay particular attention to the ecodesign and optimization of the battery. Moreover, the optimisation of transport and the better planning of deliveries, obtained via this solution, enable the company to avoid air transport as much as possible and, therefore, to greatly reduce carbon footprint.

A first use case that aims to deploy tens of thousands of connected objects

A test phase is planned for July with the implementation of this solution over two sites. Initially, the challenge will be the deployment of tens of thousands of objects by next year.

“Tomorrow, we will be able to go further than just monitoring the consumption of sealant on building sites. It will be possible to do this with many other products and for sectors other than tunnel builders. One of our major technological challenges in the coming years will be to make greater use of the data we have been collecting for more than 20 years to build predictive models and serve our customers better”, concludes Guy Chemisky.

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• IoT platform collects, analyzes and visualizes data in real time to better manage resources
• Improves project management with agile decision making

McConnell Dowell, a leading infrastructure construction company has selected Orange Business Services to design a customized, smart and scalable IoT solution.

It will enable construction sites to collect and report on real-time information, such as heavy machinery utilization and asset tracking, to enable smarter decision making for operational efficiency, time saving and cost reductions.

The construction industry faces significant business and technology challenges. These include equipment and skilled labor shortages, increasingly short project schedules and rising costs of infrastructure delivery. IoT will allow construction sites to leverage real-time data feeds to tackle these issues head on.

Co-innovation led Orange and McConnell Dowell to co-create use case applications from innovation and ideation to platform deployment. Orange created a flexible, scalable IoT platform to collect, report and visualize real-time information over a private IoT network, focusing on digitizing manual and paper-centric processes and removing manual tasks from the construction site. Prior to this smart approach, McConnell Dowell could only access reports that were manually collated from physically captured data, which was both time consuming and inconsistent.

With the Orange IoT platform, McConnell Dowell can now access multiple devices and sensors collecting environmental data and measure asset utilization spread across construction sites to harvest data. This is then sent across a LoRa low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) to the company for analysis, correlating with other environmental data. Via real time dashboards, McConnell Dowell can collect telemetry data such as machine movements and track assets onsite allowing project teams to assess efficiency of machine use and report on individual asset utilization.

McConnell Dowell can also track material such as concrete panels from the manufacturer through transportation and installation. On site they can then identify each individual panel and take smart decisions, avoiding incorrect placement, rework and project delays. More use cases, business applications and new construction site roll outs are planned across the business.

“Infrastructure delivery costs are rising by 8% per annum. Efficient project management directly impacts our business performance. We are focused on embedding technology in our processes and Orange Business Services proved to be an ideal innovation partner. We are now working jointly to develop solutions that can be used at various project locations for different use cases. Together, we are future-proofing our business through agile, scalable and smart solutions that streamline business insights,” said Rhys Craigie, Alliance Systems Manager, McConnell Dowell.

“We take pride in working with organizations who lead their industry in driving digital transformation and continuous innovation. McConnell Dowell is revolutionizing the way infrastructure construction projects have been managed over the decades. We look forward to co-innovating with them to drive robust IoT-enabled ecosystems for large scale projects that touch millions of lives globally,” said Kevin Griffen, Managing Director, Australasia, Orange Business Services.

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SafetyCulture, the world’s leading platform for workplace safety and efficiency, and the National Narrowband Network Co (NNNCo), Australia’s longest-running LoRaWAN network operator, today released new food and environmental safety IoT solutions available with LoRaWAN connectivity for Australian and global markets.

The solutions incorporate SafetyCulture purpose-built temperature and humidity sensors, with carrier-grade LoRaWAN connectivity and N2N-DL data platform provided by NNNCo, and data visualisation, real-time alerts, and corrective actions via SafetyCulture’s iAuditor application.

SafetyCulture Chief Operating Officer, Alistair Venn, said:
“In our initial roll-out we’ve got 330 gateways supplied by NNNCo and devices going out to customers in Europe and Australia for immediate deployment.”

“Instead of relying on staff to regularly check critical environmental conditions, and manually input the results in a physical or digital form, these solutions enable automated data to feed back to iAuditor, and alert those who need to know whenever conditions change,” Mr Venn added.

The new temperature and humidity devices are available on the AS923 band for Australia and Asia Pacific, US915 for the Americas and EU868 for Europe and much of the rest of the world.

NNNCo CEO Rob Zagarella said:
“As more quality devices and sensors become available across multiple band plans we’re seeing increased economies of scale within the ecosystem as well as roaming and international opportunities.”

“That’s great news for enterprise customers who will see improvements in food quality and environmental safety, reduced loss and waste, and significant operational efficiencies,” Mr Zagarella added.

Sofia Dias, Food Safety and Quality Assurance Manager at Marley Spoon, installed SafetyCulture’s sensors in their industrial fridges to make sure over $100,000 of stock stayed at the right temperature.

“Late one Saturday night, we got an SMS alert from the sensors to flag that temperatures were rising,” Ms Dias said. “We sent someone to check straight away and sure enough, the compressor had failed and required urgent repair. If we had only found out about it when we arrived on Monday, we would have had to throw out everything in the cold room”, she said. “That one little message saved us tens of thousands of dollars.”

SafetyCulture and NNNCo have been working together for over 18 months, with NNNCo integrating the SafetyCulture sensors into its enterprise data platform N2N-DL to enable seamless data aggregation and ensure global network readiness.

“Having N2N-DL as the data middleware platform means that we can securely deliver the data coming from the sensors through the network right into the customers’ hands with iAuditor,” Mr Zagarella said.

Mr Venn added:
“With all this data coming back to one spot in iAuditor, businesses are realising a new level of visibility. iAuditor gives them a holistic view of all safety, quality and performance information in one place, regardless of whether the information is captured by human or sensor.”

The new IoT devices and solutions will assist enterprise customers beyond the food industry. The companies say that other use cases include temperature monitoring in server rooms to detect air conditioning failures, humidity monitoring in aviation maintenance facilities where aircraft blackboxes are installed, air quality monitoring in schools and office buildings, and detecting dangerous gases in underground mines.

Mr Zagarella said:
“There has been a clear and natural synergy right from the start working with the SafetyCulture team. We’re excited about the potential for these solutions to solve real problems and make real savings for SafetyCulture’s existing and future global customer base.”

“LoRaWAN has become the defacto network technology for IoT solutions requiring secure low cost low power connectivity with over 800,000 LoRaWAN gateways now deployed worldwide and over 145 million LoRa chipsets shipped.”

Mr Venn said: “We’re proud to be working with an Australian network operator on a global scale. NNNCo has become a true partner and worked with us closely to realise this opportunity.”

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IOT (Internet of Things) is a collection of many devices that are connected through the internet. In simple words, everything from a simple computer chip to a complex wireless network comes under the Internet of things. Any physical object or thing that can be connected to the internet and can communicate information and process data can be categorized into IOT.

How IOT (Internet of things) works?

The basic structure of IOT consists of web-enabled smart devices that use processors, sensors, and communication hardware to process and communicate information. The devices communicate with other related devices and act on the information they get from one another.

The Internet of Things has made human life easier by automating the things around and bringing new technologies that are taking control of human activities. However, IoT is also faced by major challenges that need to be handled to stay secure online.

IOT (Internet of things) implementation at home

Whether for home security or air conditioning control or door and windows, smart technology has made the IOT world quite famous. You do not need to reach out to the appliances; rather, these are controlled by remotes, mobile apps, and even voice commands. IOT contributes to the future of the human world, and you need to take care of the devices installed at your home to keep them up, private, and safe. So, let us look at a few tips to keep your IOT network at home, private and secure.

5 key tips to keep your IOT network at home private and secure

1. Spend on a good router

Buy a router that promises a supreme degree of security and performance. Do review the ISP’s maximum browsing speed. As the router is installed, change its default name and password for your security. Other than this, in order to avoid any malicious attack on your router, activate two-factor verification as extra security needed to sign-in even after entering the passwords.

Moreover, your data secrecy is always at risk when more than one device are connected. The IOT has a universal compatible feature that allows it to connect to the devices around automatically eliminating the need to connect to the network manually but putting your devices at risk by connecting to unidentified networks in the public domain. To secure your network, it is better to disable this option and use a reputable VPN. A VPN will keep the web browsing activity, and your device unnoticeable from the phishers.

2. Do not connect unused appliances to the network.

Just because you can connect everything to the network does not mean that you keep everything connected. It is better to limit your connections and use only those that are really required. Hackers are very clever these days; once they got your access, they will try to harm all of your assets. It’s better to connect only those appliances that are in a work process.

3. Creating a guest network is important.

Make a distinct network for your visitors and guests so that they can connect to your network without having access to shared files or networked devices. This allows keeping IOT devices secure. This is one of the best ways to keep your IOT network private and safe. Experts also say that your devices have strong possibilities to get hacked. So connect it with a guest network to create limitations for hackers. Even any of your appliance gets hack; the others still remain in a secure mode.

4. Have strong passwords

Always have strong and different passwords for every device on your network. Do not make it easy for hackers to get to your passwords; do note down all your passwords to keep track of all your passwords and never reuse a password. You should consider a password with at least 15 length. It should contain a mix mean less symbol, words, and numbers. Also, make sure to include uppercase and lowercase variations in it. In this way, you can give a tough time to the hackers so that they will leave your side without hack anything.

5. Use the latest and updated firmware.

Keep your firmware fully updated to avoid cyberattacks and hackers. Moreover, resolve all the bugs and errors on time to keep your network safe. Keep updating the system on a regular basis.

In short, keep monitoring your devices and have a complete understanding of your IOT system to keep it safe and secure. Read that surfshark review to know how firmware can help you. The privacy of your data is very important, and you should put an effort to keep your network safe and in proper working condition.

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Semtech Corporation announced that AIUT, a hardware and software provider specializing in Internet of Things (IoT)-based solutions in the oil and gas markets, has integrated Semtech’s LoRa® devices and the LoRaWAN® protocol into its new line of intelligent sensors for measuring the volume of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in tanks.

The sensors enable the remote and automatic monitoring of gas consumption, improving the process of supply and reserve management for distributors to reduce operating costs.

Krzysztof Paramuszczak, Director of the LPG Division at AIUT, said:

“The oil and gas industry is increasingly demanding smarter, scalable and connected infrastructure to monitor LPG tanks in real time.”

“Semtech’s LoRa devices and the LoRaWAN protocol enable AIUT’s products to offer the attractive benefits of reliable, continuous and remote LPG monitoring, as well as deployment flexibility. These advantages allow customers to improve workflows, reduce operating cost and prepare for future challenges.”

Fuel stations and other gas suppliers require a consistent inventory of LPG to satisfy customer demand. As a result, these customers desire efficient, accurate and reliable remote monitoring solutions to predict tank levels and optimize refill schedules. AIUT’s new platform for smart LPG tank monitoring enables the efficient and real-time management of LPG data from the supply network down to the individual tank.

The applications leverage the proven capabilities of LoRa devices and the LoRaWAN protocol to provide tank data and metrics on use, creating a coherent tool for the effective management of the gas supply. This provides distinct cost and efficiency advantages over legacy solutions such as drive-by or in-person tank reading. Additionally, AIUT’s solutions include remote valve control to stop or re-enable gas flow through the pump or tank, increasing safety and reducing waste on-site.

“LoRa devices represent a proven choice for real-time resource monitoring, providing actionable insight to reduce operational expenses and increase efficiency in gas management,” said Marc Pegulu, Vice President of IoT Product Marketing & Strategy in Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group.

“LoRa-based products are flexible in deployment, allowing their use on tanks underground without sacrificing connectivity or requiring external infrastructure. AIUT leveraged this deployment flexibility with LoRa devices’ capabilities for long range and reliable data monitoring to deliver leading products for the future of LPG management.”

AIUT’s new LoRa-based LPG sensors will be available in the U.S. market beginning July 2020. To date, AIUT has a number of successful and growing deployments across Europe, including those in France and Switzerland.

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Growing technological and network maturity opens the door to new addressable markets.

Asset tracking is one of the highest growth application segments for the Internet of Things (IoT).

According to a new report by global tech market advisory firm, ABI Research, asset tracking device shipments will see a 51% year-on-year device shipment growth rate through 2024.

Expanding LPWAN coverage, technological maturity, and the associated miniaturization of sophisticated devices are key to moving asset tracking from traditionally high-value markets to low-value high-volume markets, which will account for most of the tracker connection and shipment numbers.

“Hardware devices for the asset tracking market are primarily dominated by the need to balance power consumption, form factor, and device cost. Balance and compromise between these three must be achieved based on the use-case and are dictated by the business case and possible return on investment for the customer,” said Tancred Taylor, Research Analyst at ABI Research. “As these constraints are marginalized by greater volumes of adoption, by emerging technologies like eSIM or System-on-Chip, and by increasingly low-power components and connectivity, so too will the limitations on the business case.”

Expanding technological and network foundations drive the number of use-cases, and OEMs are responding by diversifying their hardware offerings. Some OEMs such as CoreKinect, Particle, Mobilogix, or Starcom Systems are innovating in this space by taking a reference-architecture or modular approach to device design for personalized solutions. Others are going to market with off-the-shelf or vertically-focused devices for quickly scalable deployments – such as BeWhere, Roambee, Sony, or FFLY4U.

Early adoption of asset tracking was in the fleet, container, and logistics industries to provide basic data on the location and condition of assets in transit. The total addressable market for these industries remains extensive, particularly as the solutions trickle down from the largest enterprises to small- and medium-sized companies. Increased device functionality combined with component miniaturization is key to driving the next generation of low-cost tracking devices. This will enable granular tracking at the pallet, package, or item level, and open new markets and device categories, such as disposable trackers. Emerson, Sensitech, CoreKinect, and Bayer are among companies driving innovation in this field.

Innovation among product offerings is accompanied by variations in business models and go-to-market approaches. Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are playing a significant role in driving adoption through increased verticalization, with Verizon, AT&T, and Orange among those offering subscription models for end-to-end solutions – comprising device, connectivity, software, and managed service offerings. This model is additionally gaining traction among OEMs, with Roambee an early adopter for a subscription-only model, and others such as Mobilogix following suit. This service-based model will gain additional traction as OEMs move down the value-chain by developing in-house capabilities or partner networks to simplify the ecosystem and consumer’s solution.

Taylor concluded:

“While there is extensive work to be done on the hardware side to make low-cost trackers that can be simply attached to any ‘thing’, many OEMs are shifting from a hardware-only model to more of a consultative approach to a customer’s requirements and deliver personalized end-to-end solutions. Flexibility, simplicity, and cost are crucial to gain enterprise traction.”

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ICT International’s LoRa-based precision environmental sensors enable smarter crop monitoring with a data-centric approach.

Semtech Corporation announced that ICT International, an Internet of Things (IoT) solution provider for environmental applications, and Definium Technologies (Definium), a developer and manufacturer of IoT gateways and devices, are leveraging an advanced array of products based on Semtech’s LoRa® devices and the LoRaWAN® protocol to improve crop yield in Australian avocado plantations with a data-centric approach to farming.

“Avocado crops are highly susceptible to stress at key times throughout their growing cycle,” said Dr. Peter Cull, Director of ICT International.

“Utilizing plant physiology sensors based on Semtech’s leading and proven LoRa devices enables the simple and accurate monitoring of moisture flow inside the plants, and allows farmers to respond quickly to stressors to improve yield. As a result, farmers maximize profit while reducing expenses related to product waste.”

“As the challenge of extracting high yields from crop farming continues to increase due to changing weather conditions, accurately monitoring environmental crop stress is crucial to ensuring we produce enough food to feed the world,” said Mike Cruse, CEO at Definium Technologies.

“Our collaboration with ICT International and Semtech to deliver precision environmental sensing solutions has broad applicability across the agricultural spectrum. These applications include grazing, row cropping, viticulture, and nut orchards, in addition to smart cities and mining.”

ICT International and Definium deployed a suite of LoRa-enabled sensors throughout a large-scale avocado farm in New South Wales, Australia to identify the ongoing causes of low crop yield. Through the use of soil moisture sensors, sap flow sensors, vapor-pressure deficit sensors, and weather stations, the data accurately identified periods of low soil moisture and high plant water stress, and matched those to excess fruit drop.

Smart agriculture applications are a proven vertical market for LoRa devices, which offer farmers and ranchers several advantages, including up to 30 miles of network coverage from a single LoRaWAN gateway in rural areas. Farmers across Australia are currently in the process of integrating ICT International and Definium’s LoRa-based sensors into their own smart irrigation systems to better address and respond to crop stress and significantly increase yield.

“From measuring environmental conditions influencing crop production to tracking livestock health, smart agriculture applications based on LoRa devices offer a leading flexibility and ease of use for farmers to quickly reduce environmental impact, maximize yield and minimize expenses,” said Marc Pegulu, Vice President of IoT Product Marketing for Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group.

“Commercial and independent farms alike are increasingly turning to LoRaWAN connectivity, leveraging its flexible and proven capabilities to help create smarter and more sustainable operations.”

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Cisco, IBM and Intel have produced a report that predicts massive growth in the logistics IoT market.

The tech giants estimate that the worldwide shipping industry deploying sensors will grow at a CAGR of 35.5 per cent through to 2022.

North America will lead the charge, followed by Asia, with companies installing sensors and internet-connected devices to shipments to track them and ensure quality.

The analysis emerges from broader predictions which suggest that sensors and other remote devices are going to become dramatically more ubiquitous over the following decade. Experts predict that the world may contain more than 100 trillion sensors by 2030, tracking everything from trailer temperatures to warehouse availability.

IoT in logistics is a critical component of the expected fourth industrial revolution. The idea here is to replace manual inventory management with automated digital tools that will take over much of the work. Companies will rely on computers to provide them with shipping volume estimates and tell them where goods are at any point in the supply chain. It’ll be easy to get fast LTL freight shipping quotes, instead of having to go through the slower and more cumbersome channels in the system today.

The internet of things works by connecting everyday objects to the internet, networking them together to achieve system intelligence. Sensors feed information into the network, while actuators allow people to take control of various features remotely. The primary changes over the next couple of years will be the use of sensors to feed data to head offices about the state of the supplies chains in real-time. Actuators and servos will increase as the decade wears on, providing operators with the ability to take physical actions remotely – a significant breakthrough.

In the ultimate scenario, IoT will allow logistics firms to automate their operations fully. Warehouses will use robots to pack items. And autonomous trucks will deliver them to their destinations. The hope is that it will reduce costs and improve transparency across the system. Companies could manage their operations remotely, instead of having vast numbers of people on the ground.

According to data from 2018, 25 per cent of operators are already using IoT-related technologies in their enterprises. They’re using these stems for things like route optimization and demand sensing. In the future, however, they will use more sophisticated sensors for things like monitoring temperatures on perishable goods and measuring the flow of products through factories and warehouses. Eventually, IoT technologies will allow firms to track employee performance and get a better handle on stock levels in their warehouse.

What’s exciting about IoT technologies in logistics is that many of them are ready to go right now. Companies don’t have to wait. Today, we’re very much in the fit-out stage, similar to where broadband was in the year 2000. It’s going to take around ten years for it to happen, but happen it will.

IoT will make logistics operations more biological. Companies will have sensors telling them what’s happening out there. And they’ll also have motor neurons in the form of remotely-activated servos and motors, allowing them to make real changes on the ground.

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Advanced Wireless Sensors and Carrier-Grade Network Services Help Save Municipalities Thousands of Dollars Per Winter Weather Incident.

Senet, Inc. today announced a partnership with Frost Control Systems, a U.S. based manufacturer and service provider of non-invasive, non-contact, Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS).

Through this partnership, Frost Control Systems has integrated Senet LoRaWAN™ network connectivity with its turnkey RWIS service to deliver remote monitoring of atmospheric and surface temperature for winter road condition monitoring.

With more than 1.2 million winter weather-related vehicle crashes, over $3 billion spent on de-icing materials, and 48 billion pounds of salt spread on roadways each year in the U.S. alone, automating the collection of critical road weather data for real-time decision making can have an immediate and measurable impact on roadway safety, the cost of deploying municipal resources, and the environment.

Brad Tener, CEO at Frost Control Systems, said:

“Supporting LoRaWAN and partnering with Senet for network connectivity is a strategic commitment that provides public works departments with the opportunity to improve operations and save costs by modernizing their roadway monitoring and management systems.”

“Senet’s carrier-grade network service and software supports the mission critical nature of road weather information systems. It provides cities and counties with a reliable, long-term connectivity solution for other infrastructure modernization projects.”

Compared to legacy systems that offer limited geographical coverage and are costly to deploy and maintain, Frost Control Systems’ RWIS is an all-inclusive application service, including hardware, software, installation, maintenance, and network design. Carrier-grade LoRaWAN network services from Senet ensure broad coverage optimized for low-power, long-range environmental monitoring sensors. These sensors provide road temperature, air temperature, humidity, dew point, and other roadway data to weather response applications. With timely, accurate, and actionable hyper-local information, public works professionals are able to improve roadway safety by ensuring proper treatment of high-risk areas such as key intersections, along bridges, roadways leading to schools and hospitals, and in areas with unique climate conditions.

In addition to safety improvements, even small municipal customers have reported cost savings of $10,000 to $15,000 per winter weather incident, realized through operational efficiencies, reduced material costs, and reduced overtime.

“We are excited to be partnering with Frost Control Systems to help municipalities improve their operations and save costs using low-cost wireless sensors, advanced network technologies, and highly differentiated service delivery models,” said Bruce Chatterley, CEO at Senet.

“The solution offered by Frost Control Systems is another proof point of how municipalities can better serve their citizens, address inefficiencies, and protect the environment with LoRaWAN enabled IoT solutions.”

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• OpticalLock‘s OPTi-100 monitoring system has patented sensors that detect motion, security status, humidity, location and other conditions for high-value fixed and mobile assets

• Telit’s xE910 modules ensure that OPTi-100 devices can always find a network, from legacy GSM through 4G LTE, including Cat M1, NB1 and NB2

Telit, a global enabler of the Internet of Things (IoT), today announced that OpticalLock is using the Telit xE910 family of modules to help railroads, shipping companies, storage facilities and other businesses monitor and secure high-value mobile and fixed assets.

The partnership is the latest example of how Telit enables solutions like OpticalLock to secure key parts of the global supply chain against piracy, which the International Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) predicts will drain $4.2 trillion from the world economy by 2022.

OpticalLock provides a comprehensive suite of connected solutions for monitoring, securing, tracking and recovering assets in shipping containers, trucks, planes, rail cars, security boxes, storage facilities and more. The suite includes the OpticalLock OPTi-100 product series, a palm-sized device whose shackle fits inside the eye rings designed for traditional locking mechanisms and provides status alerts.

The OPTi-100’s patented sensors detect motion, security status, humidity, location and other conditions. When there is a change, the OPTi-100 uses cybersecure, wireless communication to send an alert to the shipping company, asset owner or another authorized party. Customers can choose the version of the OPTi-100 depending on which wireless technologies they want to use. The OPTi-100A and OPTi-100B use the Telit xE910 family of modules, which support all major cellular technologies, from legacy GSM through 4G LTE, including Cat M1, NB1 and NB2.

The xE910’s network flexibility ensures that the OPTi-100A and OPTi-100B can maintain a constant, reliable connection, which is critical for securing high-value assets as they travel across a country, continent or the world. The xE910 also offers satellite positioning technology as an option, which OpticalLock uses for applications such as geofencing. At just 28.2 × 28.2 mm, the xE910 is highly compact, enabling OpticalLock to shrink the OPTi-100 to a palm-sized device.

“Telit’s technical expertise and technology are key for meeting our goals of designing a discrete, highly compact and internationally compatible solution,” said Jorge Sanchez, OpticalLock, CTO.

“Telit’s robust hardware portfolio provides OpticalLock the perfect size, global compatibility and quality of connectivity to make our hardware design a reality.”

Dennis Kelly, Senior Vice President Americas Sales, Telit:

“The global market for pirated goods is worth about $500 billion annually, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). OpticalLock is a leader in providing businesses with the IoT tools necessary to secure their products and supply chains. Telit’s xE910 modules ensure that OpticalLock customers can be confident that they always know the location and status of their high-value assets virtually anywhere in the world.”

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Octave All-in-One Edge-to-Cloud Solution Simplifies Industrial IoT Infrastructure, Helping Ekatra Launch Leak Monitoring Application for Liquid Fertilizer Tanks in Only Three Months.

Sierra Wireless today announced that Ekatra successfully reduced the development time of its new Industrial IoT (IIoT) liquid fertilizer tank monitoring application by 50 percent using Octave™, the all-in-one, edge-to-cloud solution for connecting industrial assets.

Octave enabled Ekatra to easily integrate IoT edge devices into industrial tank equipment, extend application intelligence to these IoT edge devices, and then integrate tank data into their cloud, allowing them to cut development time for the application from six to three months.

“Small and medium-sized companies are driving the growth of the Industrial IoT with innovative, practical, problem-solving applications that are transforming industries,” said Olivier Pauzet, VP Product IoT Solutions at Sierra Wireless.

“Ekatra is an excellent example, transforming regular liquid fertilizer tanks into smart tanks that can tell you when they are leaking or automatically stop themselves from being overfilled, and in only three months. By eliminating the need to build IIoT infrastructure from scratch, Octave makes it easier and faster to get IIoT applications from concept to market, allowing practically any company today to begin realizing the benefits of Industry 4.0.”

In addition to reducing development time, Octave has delivered Ekatra additional benefits, including:

• Edge Intelligence and Distributed Processing: Octave enabled Ekatra to develop and deploy edge processing rules in its IoT gateways from the cloud using simple Javascript code. This provides Ekatra with additional flexibility and capabilities, such as processing and filtering tank data at the IoT gateway before it’s transmitted to the cloud. Data transmission costs are reduced, while edge device battery life is extended by minimizing the power they use to transmit data.

• Predictable Pricing: The Octave subscription includes full access to the Sierra Wireless Global Wireless Network, development tools, and cloud APIs with a predictable message-based pricing that enables Ekatra to pay for the data they need, when they need it.

• Easy Application Updates: With Octave, Ekatra can send firmware and application updates over the air to thousands of devices, making it easy to update their application to meet specific customers’ needs or to add new capabilities over time.

• End-To-End Security: Octave devices are pre-provisioned to automatically connect to an encrypted global connectivity network with proven security measures to establish a trusted connection between edge devices and the cloud, helping Ekatra ensure that no malicious actors steal or alter customer data.

• Device and Fleet Management: Octave provides single-user interface to develop at the edge, in the cloud, monitor, control, update and maintain all edge devices and assets.

“Octave freed us from having to build any IIoT infrastructure for our new fertilizer tank monitoring application, allowing our team to focus almost exclusively on building the application itself,” said Alexey Klimenko, founder and CEO of Ekatra.

“In addition to reducing total development time for the application, Octave simplified practically everything involved in the deployment and management of the application’s IIoT infrastructure for us. By making it easy for us to get the right equipment data, at the right time, to the right system, Octave has not only improved our new application’s ROI, but also saved me and my team from a lot of headaches dealing with IIoT hardware, cellular service, device certification, embedded software and device management.”

Lowering Costs by Proactively Detecting Fertilizer Tank Leaks

Owned by large farms and fertilizer distribution companies, leaks from liquid fertilizer tanks – caused by corrosion, problems with their liners, or overfilling the tank – can lead to costs of $100,000 or more related to tank repair, lost liquid fertilizer, contamination clean-up costs and government fines.

Recognizing the opportunity to reduce these costs, Ekatra partnered with Heartland Tank Services, one of the nation’s leading providers of liquid tank construction, internal containment liners, and inspection services, to develop a new IIoT application. By collecting data on nitrogen fertilizer concentration, temperature, pressure and drain liquid level, the application would alert tank owners, operators, and service companies if a tank had a leak in real-time, and also automatically close fertilizer intake valves to prevent tanks from being overfilled.

Octave Provides the Industrial IoT Infrastructure Needed to Quickly Create a Smart Tank

In order to proactively detect fertilizer leaks, Ekatra engineered and built unique sensors. However, the key to success was connecting them to Ekatra’s Tank Monitoring cloud application. Each sensor is equipped with a Modbus interface and Ekatra needed to figure out the most efficient way to connect the sensors to the cloud. After determining it would be faster to buy an IIoT infrastructure solution than to build their own, Ekatra embarked on an evaluation process of IoT gateway solutions, assessing these solutions based on their cost, support for LPWA cellular standards(LTE-M), available cellular plans, ability to perform firmware and application updates over the air, and nine other criteria. Octave emerged from this evaluation with a score establishing it as the clear leader, leading Ekatra to partner with Sierra Wireless to bring their new IIoT liquid fertilizer tank monitoring application to market.

Octave greatly simplified the IoT application development process for Ekatra, enabling them to connect their Modbus-enabled sensors to the cellular network using Sierra Wireless’ FX30 IoT gateways. In addition, they were able to use JavaScript to connect the FX30 IoT gateways to their cloud-based IoT application platform in less than two days. Combined with Octave documentation and support that allowed them to quickly understand how to use the solution, Ekatra was able to develop and commercialize their IIoT liquid fertilizer tank monitoring application in three months – three months less they would have expected if they built the IIoT infrastructure themselves.

Liquid Fertilizer Tank Remote Monitoring Application Already Delivering Benefits

Heartland Tank Services has already deployed Ekatra’s liquid tank monitoring application at sites throughout the United States, with plans to extend the application to the thousands of tanks it services over the next 12 months. Already Heartland Tank Services is seeing benefits from the new application, with their team able to respond to tank leaks quicker, and fewer problems with tanks being overfilled.

“As a pioneer in using internal PVC liners as a primary containment mechanism for storage tanks, Heartland Tank Companies has been at the forefront in using innovative new technologies to improve tank storage since its founding,” said Chris Brooks, president of Heartland Tank Services.

“Our partnership with Ekatra to deploy this new liquid fertilizer tank monitoring applications builds on this heritage, allowing us to help our customers reduce costs by detecting tank leaks early. By providing us with the ability to deliver real-time data on tank leaks to our customers, this application enables us to offer our customers a completely new service, one that significantly improves our value proposition.”

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Iridium continues to introduce simplified ways for its partners to innovate, customize and launch smarter solutions.

Iridium Communications Inc. today announced commercial availability of its newest standalone asset management device, Iridium Edge Pro.

The latest addition to the Iridium Edge family of products, Iridium Edge Pro is the company’s first programmable solution for asset management, tracking, and recovery. The new device enables Iridium’s partners to create customizable end-to-end monitoring solutions for vessels, vehicles and remote equipment using Iridium’s best in class two-way network and truly global coverage.

Using MicroEJ® Java-based software development tools, Iridium® IoT customers can create new end-user applications quickly and test them virtually, which can reduce the time to produce a fielded solution. The built in geofencing and custom messaging tools are convenient building blocks for a wide range of IoT applications like vessel monitoring system (VMS) solutions for fisheries, cathodic protection, long-haul vehicle telematics, refrigerated container monitoring, electric generator (genset) management and more. Through powerful Java programming, the Iridium Edge Pro collects and processes data based on operational requirements, including exception-only reporting that can minimize operational costs from anywhere on the planet.

Feature rich, the device comes with built in Bluetooth/BLE, CANbus and Modbus interfaces, GPS, an accelerometer, and digital and analog input/output ports. Customers also have the flexibility to make over-the-air configuration and reporting updates to deployed devices using the Iridium network’s two-way communications, giving confidence that wherever in the world their assets are they have full control and visibility.

“With Iridium Edge Pro we now have a trio of out-of-the-box asset management products that serve a wide range of customer needs and applications,” said Bryan Hartin, executive vice president of sales and marketing, Iridium.

“As a programmable device with features like BLE connectivity, Java programming and CANbus protocol integration, we have created a smarter, more innovative and developer-friendly device than anything in the market today. Add in our truly global coverage with real-time two-way communications and it’s clear a new standard has been set for the industry.”

The combination of CANbus and traditional Modbus powers newfound flexibility from a satellite IoT device. For example, in the oil and gas industry Iridium Edge Pro’s Modbus protocol interfaces with Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) like flow meters. With CANbus, the device is ideal for integration with gensets that may be deployed for oil and gas, construction, mining and other remote heavy equipment applications. In addition, users can take advantage of Iridium Edge Pro’s BLE connectivity to pair the device with Bluetooth sensors that collect vital information, and also to connect smartphones, tablets and laptops to ensure, effective onsite maintenance.

As of the second quarter of 2020, Iridium commercial IoT subscribers grew 20% from the year-ago period to 863,000 customers, further cementing the company’s place as the premier satellite IoT company. Iridium plans to begin commercial shipping of the Iridium Edge Pro in Q4 2020. Iridium collaborated with development partner MetOcean Telematics to bring the Iridium Edge Pro to market.

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• “Smart IoT” connectivity ensures a reliable and secure gas supply for its customers

• Improved truck routing saves fuel costs and reduces carbon emissions

SHV Energy has chosen IoT connectivity from Orange Business Services to deploy smart telemetry and meters on its gas tanks across Europe and the US.

The solution will provide an enhanced gas delivery service to its customers across the world. It will help SHV Energy to improve infrastructure management, customer satisfaction and supply security, while saving on fuel costs and reducing carbon emissions.

SHV Energy is a leading global distributor of off-grid energy such as LPG, LNG and is active in the area of biofuels and renewable energy solutions. It supplies gas under brands, including Calor Gas, Gaspol, Liquigas, Pinnacle, Primagas, and Primagaz across four continents.

The company will fit smart devices to both legacy and new gas tanks, along with an antennae and a magnet mechanism that measures the gas. Each of these smart telemetry devices includes an Orange global SIM, which transfers data to SHV Energy’s offices via the Orange global mobile network. There the data is collected and analyzed to ensure that a customer’s gas tank is never empty. SHV Energy is also alerted if the tank registers any malfunction or leak. The data is also used to optimize gas delivery routes to reduce the company’s carbon footprint.

Marieke Schoningh, SHV Energy Management Board Member, explains:

“The move toward smart metering and the deployment of digital functionalities are critical in delivering the best possible service in supplying gas to our customer base. With this innovative IoT connectivity solution from Orange Business Services we can increase the flexibility, reliability and robustness of our network, and become greener in the process.”

Orange’s global mobile network is enhanced by an alliance of operators and more than 500 roaming agreements. This ensures that data gets to the data platform at SHV Energy’s offices fast, efficiently and securely. In addition, Orange provides value-added services, such as service and implementation management, to accompany SHV throughout its entire IoT journey. Orange Business Services was positioned as a Leader in Gartner’s 2019 “Magic Quadrant for Managed IoT Connectivity Services, Worldwide.”

“Connectivity is a key enabler of IoT. SHV Energy’s smart monitoring deployment is an excellent example of how a company can use our IoT connectivity solution to connect devices safely and reliably to transport data for actionable business insight and build a successful IoT-enabled business,” says Fabrice de Windt, senior vice president, Europe, Orange Business Services.

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Packetworx addresses COVID-19 concerns with new applications to measure power supply and deliver remote diagnostics to high-value assets.

Semtech Corporation announced it has developed with Packetworx, the premier Internet of Things (IoT) solution provider in the Philippines, a new automated packetSENSE Current Clamp electricity monitoring solution and packetSWITCH remote rebooting device based on the LoRaWAN® protocol.

“The LoRaWAN protocol offers the essential building blocks for developers and system integrators to quickly and cost-effectively create solutions to combat the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Arnold Bagabaldo, Founder and CEO at Packetworx.

“Packetworx is stepping up to meet the needs of smart facility and smart building management with IoT solutions that remotely monitor equipment and maximize operations with minimal human intervention and reduced risk.”

Packetworx’s IoT applications include packetSENSE Current Clamp sensor that measures electricity flow and packetSWITCH technology to remotely reboot a device. The combined solution has been deployed by several financial institutions to remotely monitor the functionality of automated teller machines (ATMs). Enabled by Semtech’s LoRa® devices, these simple retrofit devices enable 24/7 usage auditing, preventative maintenance alerts, alarms for inactivity due to power loss or malfunction, and remote on or off capabilities to reset the ATM.

Actionable data is provided on Packetworx’s visualization dashboard, packetVIEW. These applications utilize the LoRaWAN protocol to deliver long range connectivity, up to miles from the nearest gateway and deep indoors, and low power consumption, with battery life averaging three to five years.

“LoRaWAN allows solution providers the means to quickly connect legacy mission-critical equipment and receive the benefits of IoT and smart monitoring with a low total cost of ownership,” said Marc Pegulu, Vice President of IoT Product Marketing for Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group.

“Packetworx’s proven ATM use case has now opened the door to remote monitoring of applications across an endless array of markets, including healthcare, smart industry, smart utility, and logistics.”

The post Semtech and Packetworx Enable Remote Monitoring of Critical Equipment with LoRaWAN® appeared first on IoT Business News.

The kit allows the quick evaluation of solutions based on LoRaWAN® to reduce the cost and complexity of locating and monitoring IoT assets.

Semtech Corporation announced collaboration with Actility on a new Evaluation Kit for tracking applications based on Semtech’s LoRa Edge™ geolocation solution and Actility’s network management platform leveraging the LoRaWAN® protocol.

The kit allows solution providers and integrators to quickly evaluate this new technology and experience how it reduces the cost and complexity of building a solution for locating and monitoring IoT assets.

“The new Asset Management Evaluation Kit will allow customers to simplify and accelerate production, and test the capabilities of new products based on Semtech’s leading LoRa Edge geolocation solution and Actility’s ThingPark™ platform,” said Alper Yegin, Sr. Director of Standards and Advanced Technology Development, at Actility.

“The goal of this collaboration is to provide developers and customers with greater accessibility into the functionality of their asset management solutions. We are confident the kits with Actility’s leading Cloud services will abstract complexity and simplify development while also increasing the worldwide adoption of flexible geolocation applications based on the LoRaWAN protocol.”

Asset management is among the most promising applications for IoT. A variety of industries, such as transportation, logistics, healthcare, and food services, are investing in these applications to replace siloed legacy systems with automated asset management solutions.

Actility and Semtech’s Asset Management Evaluation Kit for LoRa Edge enables GNSS scanning and Wi-Fi AP passive scanning for indoor and outdoor location management with very low power consumption. Semtech’s advanced LoRa Edge chipset is bundled with Actility’s network server operating the LoRaWAN protocol and its ThingPark IoT management platform, as well as TagoIO’s application server as part of the complete Asset Management Evaluation Kit, available on ThingPark Market, the biggest IoT B2B marketplace. This optimizes multiple tracking scenarios including applications both indoor and outdoor. By combining GPS and Wi-Fi scanning, the platform delivers seamless and automatic switching using a single LoRa Edge-based device without need for human intervention, maintaining consistent visibility of asset locations.

Sree Durbha, Director of Product Management in Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group, said:

“The evaluation kit integrates Semtech’s LoRa Edge hardware with Cloud-based software from Actility and TagoIO’s application server to enable customers to develop innovative IoT asset management solutions which bring compelling advantages to flexibility, ease of deployment and the real capability to increase management efficiencies.”

“Solutions which simplify the IoT development process and provide greater confidence that technology will optimize workflows are in heavy demand from business owners and enterprises globally. Streamlining and standardizing technology across the ecosystem is essential to support the rapid growth of large, scalable IoT applications.”

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Next Phase in Ocean of Things Project Deploys Sensors to Collect Data.

PARC, A Xerox Company, announced today it has been awarded a contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the next development phase in the Ocean of Things, a project to expand what scientists know about the seas.

Initially announced by DARPA in 2017, the Ocean of Things project is deploying small, low-cost drifters in the Southern California Bight and Gulf of Mexico to collect data on the environment and human impact. This includes sea surface temperature, sea state, surface activities, and even information on marine life moving through the area.

“Oceans cover more than 70 percent of the earth’s surface, but we know very little about them,” said Ersin Uzun, vice president and general manager of the Internet of Things team at Xerox.

“The drifters gather data that we could never track before, enabling persistent maritime situational awareness.”

Each solar-powered drifter has approximately 20 onboard sensors, including a camera, GPS, microphone, hydrophone, and accelerometer. The different sensors can provide data for a broad array of areas including ocean pollution, aquafarming and transportation routes.

PARC leveraged its more than fifty years of experience developing industry-leading technologies to design a drifter that best fit the DARPA requirements for the program. Among other things, the float needed to be made of environmentally safe materials, be able to survive in harsh maritime conditions for a year or more before safely sinking itself, and use advanced analytic techniques to process and share the data gathered.

PARC built 1,500 drifters for the first phase of the project and will deliver up to 10,000 that are more compact and cost-effective for the next phase. Data gained in this round will help further optimize the final design, at which point DARPA expects to deploy large volumes of these drifters to provide continuous information and a better understanding of oceans that is missing today.

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• Hiber launches HiberHilo, a subscription based IoT solution, as organisations operating remotely call for simple solutions amid COVID-19 pandemic

• A first of many out-of-the-box offerings, the Oil & Gas Well Integrity Monitoring solution will exponentially increase well safety, enabling connectivity anywhere, at any time

• Proven by Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) and Royal Dutch Shell, HiberHilo can monitor up to 250 wells in a 10km radius, wherever they are in the world

Dutch satellite Internet-of-Things (IoT) solution startup, Hiber, today announces the launch of HiberHilo, its first end-to-end solution for Oil & Gas Well Integrity Monitoring.

HiberHilo is also the world’s first subscription service for IoT-enabled remote Oil/Gas Well monitoring and the company will be introducing similar services for other specific use cases in 2021.

There is a growing demand for remote monitoring in industries such as Oil & Gas to create more sustainable and environmentally friendly practices, especially with COVID-19 limiting travel halting routine maintenance checks. However, the IoT SaaS market in this space is nascent and lacks simplicity. Having already been one of the first firms to develop a remote IoT connectivity solution with the launch of its proprietary nano-satellites in 2018, Hiber identified the urgent need for readily available out-the-box end-to-end subscription based offerings. These must be designed bespoke for particular use cases, as well as being simple and efficient for businesses to install and implement.

The HiberHilo solution for Oil & Gas Well Integrity Monitoring is the first offering of this kind that Hiber will launch because this process is currently complex, time-consuming and expensive (costing up to $40,000 per field visit). Additionally, manual monitoring is prone to error and is often not conducted frequently enough.

Monitoring is critical to ensure that anomalies are identified early and addressed – this can include potential leaks which, if left unaddressed, can impact people’s health and safety as well as negatively impact the environment. HiberHilo’s out-of-the-box subscription solution utilises Hiber’s global satellite network to empower organisations to automate continuous annulus pressure and wellhead monitoring of up to 250 wells in a radius of 10km, even in the most remote locations on Earth. Pricing starts at $449 per month per well (1 sensor and a 5 year contract).

The all-in-one product is available as both a starter kit and in the form of an enterprise solution, both of which feature:

• A pressure and optional temperature sensor to ensure accurate and regular measurements – organisations can add more sensors to the network if required
• Easy connectivity anywhere, sending up to 24 messages a day or one per hour
• Alarm and alert settings
• An intuitive dashboard for desktop and mobile
• Support both on-site and via mobile

Coen Janssen, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Hiber said:
“We are excited to launch this first-of-its-kind IoT proposition for remote monitoring at a time when it is needed more than ever. HiberHilo has already been proven by Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) and Royal Dutch Shell (better known as just “Shell”) on an abandoned on-shore well.”

“This technology can be installed in less than 2 hours and within 0.25% accuracy levels of a traditional wired system, which is extremely reliable.”

“We look forward to more companies embracing this new proposition as it will save them time, money and lives by allowing teams to monitor well integrity from home as well as reducing the risk of well integrity issues to create more sustainable practices. The future for remote monitoring is very bright!”

Hiber entered the market in 2018 purely as a connectivity provider, utilising its own proprietary nano-satellite technology to unlock IoT connectivity in the 90% of the world without it.

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Increasing Demands on a Secured and Efficient Logistics Services

With the growing popularity of online shopping, individuals tend to purchase various products from the Internet. Small stuffs like electronic devices, clothes, daily supplies, or large equipment like furniture, home appliances, and even foods and medicines are all available online. Sourcing from the Internet is informative and time-efficient. However, most of the competitive suppliers are located in different regions from the buyers themselves, which results in a long journey and time to deliver the commodities. To make things worse, long-distance transportation is often accompanied by high risks.

Conventional asset tracking methods mostly rely on barcode systems or manual inventory. These operations have the fatal shortcomings of not being able to track the commodities in real-time; and because most operations require manual interventions, errors and losses of commodities are prone to occur during the logistics process. For transportations of drugs or foods that have high requirements on temperature and humidity control, the typical situations where goods deteriorate and become unusable due to the lack of a monitor system are reoccurring all the time. Thus, effective fleet management and asset tracking are particularly important in avoiding damages and losses of commodities as well as guaranteeing the time of delivery.

IoT Enables a More Powerful Asset Tracking System

The Internet of Things enables intelligent and connected asset tracking, which effectively enhances fleet management and ensures the safety as well as quality of commodities. It makes logistics information transparent, allowing logistic companies, senders and recipients to better monitor the logistics process.

Share Real-Time Positioning

The IoT asset tracking applications are commonly found in IoT trackers. To take land transportation as an example, with the help of GNSS features, the trackers installed on trucks can support real-time precise positioning. Unlike traditional methods where logistics information updates can only be done manually or uploaded through the barcode system after reaching logistics centers, the smart IoT tracker enables the truck to simultaneously synchronize its location information to the cloud and share with logistic companies, senders, and recipients along its way to the destination. The three parties can clearly understand the route and the latest progress, instead of only the driver having such information.

Avoid Losses from Thefts

Smart IoT trackers are also efficient in preventing loss caused by thefts. If unfortunately, thefts occur, the driver can send an alert to the logistics company using the connected tracker, and the latter can immediately notify the police with a precise location. In this way, the truck can be quickly and accurately located. By understanding where the commodities last disappeared, the police can narrow the search scope and shorten the search time, which will increase the chances of retrieval.

Maintain a Qualified Storage Environment

When transporting drugs or foods which demand strict environmental control, IoT temperature and humidity sensors can be installed in the cabinet to monitor real-time parameters and make sure the condition of the cabinet meets the storage requirement. Although many trucks are now equipped with automatic temperature and humidity control systems, there are still many system failures that ultimately lead to deterioration of commodities. But with the intelligent IoT sensors, automatic alerts will be sent to the driver when indicators are below requirement. Drivers can constantly monitor the cabinet environment without stopping the truck and checking.

Cat 1 – An Ideal IoT Solution for Asset Tracking

The Internet of Things enables intelligent asset tracking, simplifying the monitoring process while improving the overall efficiency and safety of logistics. Although IoT asset tracking systems have presented plenty of advantages, yet, lots of organizations that have deployed M2M tracking solutions have experienced connectivity problems. Fibocom’s LTE Cat 1 modules are ideal wireless communication solution for the scenario of asset tracking. As 2G and 3G are about to be phased out, Cat1 technology defeat other new communication technologies with its reliable connectivity and low cost. Unlike LPWAN that is more suitable for static scenarios, Cat 1 can provide fast and stable wireless connections even in a fast-moving scene, allowing real-time positioning without lag. In terms of application costs, CAT1 is much more economical than the LTE Cat 4, which is also 4G technology. In addition, as a type of LTE network, Cat 1 technology can be directly deployed based on the existing 4G network infrastructure without additional network construction required.

Fibocom’s Cat 1 Module L610 supports LTE, GSM dual-mode communication, VoLTE, audio, camera, LCD, keypad, and other functions. Formed as both LCC+LGA and MiniPCIe packages, it provides universal interfaces such as USB / UART / SPI / I2C / SDIO to meet various application demands of the IoT industry. The product positioning covers the Internet of things market with medium and low rates, such as pan payment, sharing, industrial interconnection, tracking, vehicle after loading and other application scenarios. Provide perfect high-speed experience for customers in the above fields.

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Connected applications promote safer, smarter and more effective learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Semtech Corporation announced it has collaborated with Shenzhen Sundray, a global provider of digital infrastructure and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, to develop a new “software-defined classroom” (SDC) IoT solution based on the LoRaWAN® protocol.

Sundray’s platform leverages the long range and flexible networking capabilities of LoRaWAN to support and deliver a portfolio of innovative connected applications for the classroom.

“The long range networking capabilities of LoRaWAN enable simple and effective IoT applications that provide safe, secure and connected classrooms during these uncertain times,” said Zhang Weibin, IoT Operation Director at Sundray. “Educational institutions can take advantage of the proven flexibility of LoRaWAN and realize the benefits of unified smart campus management.”

With the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, schools, universities and other institutions worldwide are increasingly seeking to integrate technologies that create safer and smarter campuses for its student populations. In China, these sentiments are echoed by the government, which recently developed the GB/T 36342-2018 Standard requiring increased data collection on campus processes and promoting the development of new technologies for flexible learning in and out of the classroom. Sundray developed its SDC solution to enable compliance with government standards and allow the quick connection of new smart campus applications under a single unified network.

The IoT platform leverages the LoRaWAN protocol’s interoperability functionality and Semtech’s LoRa® devices to support many third party devices and thousands of sensors per gateway. Several applications currently utilize the SDC platform to promote safer learning spaces, including classroom occupancy, equipment usage, temperature monitoring, door and window locks, and air quality sensors. Additional applications include those for the efficient use of teaching resource assets such as projectors and smart boards.

To date, Sundray’s SDC platform is used by more than 20,000 educational professionals across China, including those at leading institutions such as Southeast University, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Guangzhou Tieyi Middle School, Huainan No.2 Middle School, and Fuzhou Jinshan Middle School.

“As an leader in the LoRaWAN ecosystem, Sundray’s new SDC platform creates innovative smart campus solutions by not only enabling compliance with new government policies, but also significantly promoting safer, flexible teaching and classroom practices,” said Mike Wong, Vice President of China Sales at Semtech.

“Solutions based on the LoRaWAN protocol, enabled by Semtech’s LoRa devices, allow universities and other learning institutions to quickly bring its processes online by providing reliable connectivity across large campuses with minimal infrastructure cost. Accurate condition monitoring helps classrooms provide the safest environment possible so staff and students can focus on learning rather than health concerns.”

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