All posts tagged: things

There’s more to the Internet of Things than just deciding upon the desired outcome, designing and selecting the appropriate hardware, software and network infrastructure required to enable things to communicate with each other. You may even have systems in place to analyse data from the system as described in our previous article about the industrial Internet.

However you can take the system further – by planning the processes of how various entities can work together to find synergy and more opportunity from the investment. These entities can be classed as individual Internet of Things installations. Some organisations such as Cisco Systems have even coined a new term – the “Internet of Everything” – which takes into account the people, data, things – and the processes of how they can all work together.

This is an interesting development and not one unique to any particular manufacturer. However “uniqueness” in itself a possible hindrance when designing a system – as lack of compatibility with other systems can be a downfall over the longer term. So as part of the design process, you need to decide whether or not you want your system to communicate with others for the benefit of all involved.

In doing so the linked systems can work more efficiently together and make life easier for all. This involves coordinating various events in a way that may have been normally achieved by a person who would normally use two or more disparate systems at once to achieve a single goal. In other words – taking intelligent decision making to the next level.

This level of integration can be found in many areas, such as the consumer device and industrial fields. Let’s consider some broad examples of how processes can match two different systems to meet a common goal for the end user.

Traffic and vehicle systems – The ability to monitor traffic on major roads and arterials is nothing new, however the data generated can of course be used to broadcast traffic data for external services, alter signal timings, variable speed signs and other notices to motorists. Furthermore some vehicles now have GPS receivers which are pre-programmed with static speed limits and other warnings.

As a motorist your ultimate goal is to get to your destination as safe and as fast as legally possible. If the IoT system in the vehicle could interact with the separate traffic system – by submitting location and planned destination – a customised live route plan could be sent to the vehicle directing the driver to the optimum route. The vehicle could also take fuel consumption into account, the distance to travel – and interrogate the traffic system for the location of the nearest service station if required.

Commercial interests could also integrate live fuel pricing into the system to allow the vehicle to select the cheapest fuel as well. Finally the law enforcement aspect can also create some interesting scenarios that may not be popular with all – but useful to administration. Nevertheless all of these functions then remove the tasks away from the driver, allowing them to focus on driving and safety.

Intelligent hotel HVAC and water solutions – Running a large hotel includes a myriad of fixed and variable costs with respect to energy usage. Some buildings may utilised standard fixed-thermostat hot water boilers and air conditioning systems that may have a degree of adjustment, but still run when not entirely required in all areas of the hotel. By creating a system of processes that allow a hotel’s guest booking system to integrate with intelligent HVAC and water systems – real money can be saved on energy bills.

By re-engineering or installing new zone-based air conditioning systems into the building that allow greater control of output to various areas or zones, and individually-controlled hot water systems for each room (or each floor) the ability to shut down complete areas when required can be possible.If the hotel’s booking system could allow bookings to occur in certain areas – for example booking rooms in sequential order, whole zones or floors can be kept full with guests, and empty with vacant rooms. By creating processes for the booking system to communicate with the HVAC/water system – the minimum of energy required for booked rooms could be used and vacant areas could be shut down.

With customers pre-booking check-in times – individual hot water systems could be only activated a few hours before guest arrival and shut down until the next booking – saving more energy. Furthermore by capturing weather data and understanding the seasons, the booking system could ensure guests are booked into the cooler or warmer side of the building – thus reducing the impulse to “turn up the heat” or “crank up the air conditioning” upon arrival.As you can easily imagine, a fair amount of planning needs to be taken into consideration with regards to the processes involved in Internet of Things systems that may need to work together.

Even if you aren’t considering system interoperability – adding the ability for data interchange with other systems should be considered to avoid future obsolescence.Just as in the 1980s a wide variety of computer systems was reduced to a handful – in the 21st century connected technology in our “Internet of Everything” will need to work together in order to find success. Planning is the key, and understanding the requirements is paramount.If you have the needs, the ideas – and want to move forward with intelligent systems – you will set your organisation on the path to increased efficiency and profitability – and this is where the LX Group can partner with you for your success.

We can discuss and understand your requirements and goals – then help you navigate the various hardware and other options available to help solve your problems. We can create or tailor just about anything from a wireless temperature sensor to a complete Internet-enabled system for you. For more information or a confidential discussion about your ideas and how we can help bring them to life – click here to contact us, or telephone 1800 810 124.

Published by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.

Many organisations, pundits and ourselves at the LX Group have discussed various aspects of what is generally termed the “Internet of Things” with great enthusiasm. And there’s many good reasons to be interested in this new level of technology. However from an external viewpoint, many people are still concerned that this “Internet-connected devices” is just a fad, being proposed by boffins and experimenters to automate their coffee machines or send a tweet when their children arrived home from school.

However nothing could be further from the truth. The Internet is real, devices are getting connected and more information than ever is being made available from connected systems. Industries of all types can take advantage of this to their benefit – and thus the concept of the “Industrial Internet” is born. This isn’t a new, separate Internet but instead a term for benefiting from the intelligence available with new technology to enhance any industrial operation.

This concept can be broken down into three specific categories:

Intelligent devices – these are the local hardware devices that work within existing or new installations that serve as the bridge between the installation and the larger overall system. Examples can range of a variety of connected instrumentation, sensors, local user-interfaces, or any other type of data-gathering and transmission device. In the past these may have been current-loop or other proprietary connections – but instead these devices are connected by a wired or wireless IP (internet protocol) connection.

The benefits of intelligent devices are several – their hardware cost can reduce over time with increasing volumes and popularity of the technology used; with a standardised interface the deployment and training costs for staff can be minimised; and with constantly-connected devices more data about the system operation can be gathered, allowing greater levels of analysis and faster decision-making cycles.

Intelligent systems – As the sum of all the parts, an intelligent system contains the new and existing hardware, networking and computing power that combine to offer a level of synergy unavailable from preceding technologies. With new levels of data output from intelligent devices, insightful programming by systems analysts and a strong background knowledge, optimisation of any operations can be achieved.

With knowledge comes understanding – allowing optimisation of all parts of the system. From simply matching machine usage to off-peak electricity prices to detecting device irregularities in real time, you can find savings in operations, system maintenance and also learn new insights about system operation in general. By monitoring device status in real-time you can reduce required holdings of consumables, pro-actively organise preventative maintenance instead of waiting to be notified of a fault, and fine-tune operations based on external and internal factors.

Intelligent decision-making – Over time as more operation data is gathered, analysed and verified by humans – the burden of decision-making can often be transferred to the system itself. The greater the number of data channels and volume of data being recorded offers the opportunity for a higher level of prediction of future events. Just as existing weather scenarios can often be used to predict future behaviour – a system can make decisions based on captured data that fit within predetermined parameters. From a simple laser printer that can order its’ own service call when the drum needs replacement; or an off-site diesel generator that can use data such as the load from attached refrigeration systems, ambient temperature and the amount of sunlight to determine how much fuel needs to be ordered and when it is required; or a delivery truck that can monitor speed, distance travelled, engine fluid levels, location and driver history and then decide when it needs a service – intelligent decision making can reduce the number of person-hours required for any organisation, and also help predict and determine situations that may not have been possible to realise with existing systems.

The Industrial Internet exists today, and using systems designed with the three categories mentioned earlier will help your organisation become more efficient, understand more about itself, and find cost benefits in all measurable areas. However the biggest step is the correct implementation of such a system. Like any plant or equipment purchase, making the right decision first – and once – will set your organisation on the path to increased efficiency and profitability – and this is where the LX Group can partner with you for your success.

Published by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.

There has been much discussion about the increasing possibilities available to existing systems by using the Internet of Things for two way transmission of data for logging and control purposes. However there is so much more than just working with data in a more efficient and cheaper method.

The concept and reality of the Internet of Things also allows devices to have increased levels of intelligence to further their defined tasks. This may sound like science-fiction, however it is possible – and already demonstrated in may consumer devices. For example – recent smart phones can download and install operating system updates without any intervention by or technical knowledge required from the user.

Using this same method your IoT devices – if designed appropriately – can be updated with new firmware just like our example smart phones. You can do this with two methods – by either using existing hardware such as “Electric Imp” modules that can be fitted in existing hardware, or creating new or re-designed hardware with the appropriate microcontroller/wireless chip combination.

When your devices can remain connected – or connect when necessary, they can also offload processing requirements to the cloud service or other connected server hardware. By programming your devices to simply send, receive and act on data the processing work can be offloaded to the server-side, reducing the requirement for faster device CPU speed, memory and so on. This in turn can reduce the hardware purchase cost, physical size, and also the power requirements for the device – saving money at all stages of operation.

All this sounds great – and has been put into practice in many fields. Let’s run through a few examples from a wide variety of examples.

Remote Point-of-Sale devices – Within the broad field of vending machines, point-of-sale devices, unattended ticketing machines and more – so much can be done to make stakeholders’ lives easier and cheaper. Product prices can be updated in real-time; data from the POS machine can be served to the central host giving real-time data and sales analysis; environmental data can be used to price cold drinks in real-time – for example when the local temperature increases or you know a certain area will be busier than usual – increase the drink price. The concept of supply and demand can be tweaked to your advantage with the right technology. And of course service calls and device monitoring can occur.

Passenger Information Systems – Almost every public transport system has some sort of PIDS (Passenger Information Display System), however their level of usefulness is usually determined by the ability of the system to run on-time. Remote displays may be programmed with timetable data to show when services should arrive, and on-board displays can show the “next station is…” type of data.

However when things go wrong – such as diversions, breakdowns, late-running or data required in an emergency – this data cannot be updated by local operators or staff in unattended stations. Thus the ability for a bus or train to communicate with a central server can allow relevant data to be displayed in real-time to the required PIDS units. Redundancy can be employed to allow for various failures, for example RFID technology at a railway station can be used to detect when a particular train arrives and departs. And when timetables change, stations are altered or new information is required to be displayed – it can all be done remotely or even while on the move.

Cube Satellites – In the last twelve months various groups have been working on tiny satellites that are launched into space along with regular commercial satellite payloads. Although this is a far-out example, it’s a demonstration of what we’re talking about. Each of these tiny satellites contain inexpensive consumer-level microcontrollers that control sixteen AVRs each running their own firmware, collating data and sending it back to earth via UHF radio link. The firmware for each of these AVRs can be uploaded and thus alter the satellite’s function when required.

The IoT is more than just wireless data – it’s about control. Having more control over your assets and revenue stream can increase business efficiency and profitability. With the right applications and minds on the task, even the simplest thing can be constantly tweaked to maximise gains. Here at the LX Group we can discuss and understand your requirements and goals – then help you navigate the various hardware and other options available to help solve your problems. We can create or tailor just about anything from a wireless temperature sensor to a complete Internet-enabled system for you. For more information or a confidential discussion about your ideas and how we can help bring them to life – click here to contact us, or telephone 1800 810 124.

LX is an award-winning electronics design company based in Sydney, Australia. LX services include full turnkey design, electronics, hardware, software and firmware design. LX specialises in embedded systems and wireless technologies design. https://lx-group.com.au Published by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.

After reading various articles in the media and elsewhere, or examining your competitors’ products – you may start to ponder if the “Internet of Things” really matters. That’s a fair question, and the same can often be asked when a new technology emerges from the horizon. However unlike other changes in technology the leap to an IoT can be considered as revolutionary instead of evolutionary – and thus it does matter.

But why? As mentioned in our previous articles, the ability for something to be connected to the a network is tremendous. With intelligence provided by bespoke hardware at the client side, they can now receive or send data when the device is programmed to do so at an appropriate time. Consider the following examples:

Monitoring temperatures of multiple points in a production facility – No longer do you need to use a wired connection back to the main system – instead each temperature sensor can be equipped with a wireless module and communicate to the server via WiFi. Sensors can be relocated, added, or deleted without the effort to rewire – and with the advances in energy harvesting they can possibly be self-powered. A minimal microcontroller between the sensor and wireless module can also continuously monitor all status and notify the server of an error – and the server can detect a total failure and alert technicians without delay via many channels.

Consumer-device interaction – By now you’ve seen the LED light that can be controlled via a smartphone. However that technology can be utilised in many more ways – imagine if you arrived home at night, and your car communicates with the home system to turn on various lights, HVAC, and even turns on the stereo. Or an alarm system that emails, tweets and texts you images of the room where motion is detected – as well as alerting the authorities.

Upgrading existing M2M connectivity solutions – If you have existing devices that communicate with a server over custom wireless data solutions or expensive GPRS packet-data links – there may be an opportunity to upgrade the communications to IP via WiFi.

For example, if you have twenty vending machines in an airport that has terminal-wide WiFi access – by switching the communications from cellular to WiFi you not only save on line subscription and data charges, you can also interact more easily with the machines for status updates and alerts. Converting equipment to standard wired or wireless IP communciations allows integration with a wide variety of current and future IoT systems giving you flexibility and more possibilities than ever before.

The Internet of Things is important, it does matter – almost anything can communicate with anything or anyone. It’s a simple statement, that describes an almost infinite amount of possibilities. And the race is on to introduce this functionality to existing and new products. Customers are becoming more savvy with the Internet and networking – and understand how it works. By creating solutions that makes life easier, simpler and more convenient for your customers via IoT technology you will be ahead of the pack – to your benefit.

If you want to find out more, move forward with your own designs to make them IoT-ready, or don’t know where to start – partner with an organisation who can pull together the software, hardware and know-how to make it happen – the LX Group.

Here at the LX Group we can discuss and understand your requirements and goals – then help you navigate the varioushardware and other options available to help solve your problems. We can create or tailor just about anything from awireless temperature sensor to a complete Internet-enabled system for you. For more information or a confidential discussion about your ideas and how we can help bring them to life – click here to contact us, or telephone 1800 810 124.

Published by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.

Moving on from our examination of Hardware design directions for Internet-of-Thing solutions, we now turn to the software portion of the solution. As there was many hardware options to consider, there is also a variety of choices to select from when looking for a service to collect data from and interact with your hardware. Each have their own features, costs and drawbacks – however these factors and more are subject to the goals of your project.

Nevertheless each have their own distinctive features, so let’s examine three existing and experienced market players in more detail. The first is known as “cosm”, however previously called “pachube”. Cosm is flexible in that you can use your own hardware designs or existing hardware from other vendors, and no hardware licensing is required. You can prototype very easily with cosm using inexpensive development platforms such as NXP’s mbed or even an Arduino-compatible board. This allows your hardware team to get started straight away.

However the service is mainly for capturing and organising “feeds” of data from connected devices, and this can be done for zero cost. There are other options that allow device management and provisioning, however they are in beta stage at the moment. Nevertheless the cosm platform is effective and excellent for capturing data from remote devices for analysis and action – and with very low start-up and running costs it’s great for experimenting or proof-of-concept prototypes.

The next service we consider is “Thingspeak”. This is a fully open-source IoT platform that designed for data feeds and interaction with hardware in both directions. You can also import existing data collected before implementation. Although Thingspeak is open-source, it does provide security via API keys and user authentication. Rules can be created that react when data reaches a certain value or parameter – which cause twitter messages, can trigger hardware or other devices via a connected PC.

You can also export all captured data in .csv file format for ease of local analysis or system transfer. Due to the openness of the system, there’s a great variety of tutorials and examples available for Microsoft .NET, Arduino, python, processing and other environments – which will help your team get up to speed. And currently the service is no-charge. With these factors in mind, Thingspeak can provide a simple solution however more direct enquiries with the organisation would need to be made with relation to long-term changes in costings.

Finally we take a look at “Nimbits”. This service provides the usual cloud-based data gathering, analysis and so on – but using the Google Apps. This offers an incredibly reliable server, integration with Google Docs and other related software tools. As with Thingspeak, Nimbits is fully open-source and allows import and export of your own data. Nimbits offers integration with social media such as facebook and twitter.

The service is free for up to 1000 API calls per day, and then one cent per 1000 calls. Therefore you can again try it for free, or at a very low cost. Getting started is simple, with a range of tutorials on data capture, and interaction or messaging based on circumstances. It does require more coding than cosm or Thingspeak, however this isn’t an insurmountable challenge.

The IoT industry is growing, and even as we write this more services are being introduced and demonstrated. It can be difficult to choose which service to use, as they’re all quite young and untested over the long term, so having hardware and plans that can span two or more different services is essential for the longevity and sustainability of your IoT project.

Here at the LX Group we can discuss and understand your requirements and goals – then help you navigate the various hardware and other options available to help solve your problems. We can create or tailor just about anything from a wireless temperature sensor to a complete Internet-enabled system for you. For more information or a confidential discussion about your ideas and how we can help bring them to life – click here to contact us, or telephone 1800 810 124.

LX is an award-winning electronics design company based in Sydney, Australia. LX services include full turnkey design, electronics, hardware, software and firmware design. LX specialises in embedded systems and wireless technologies design. https://lx-group.com.auPublished by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.

When designing hardware to integrate with an Internet-of-Things solution, or an entire solution – it can be easy for the design team to focus on the software, server and control system due to the ease of prototyping and the availability of experienced people. It’s a common philosophy that once the software is “sorted out” – the hardware can be easily designed to work with the system. Thus it can be tempting for organisations who move towards IoT solutions to focus on the software more than the hardware as it may seem at the outset to be more complex and more difficult part of the system.

However hardware design cannot be overlooked or resources in that field minimised. There is much more to consider than just what “the hardware will do” – the consideration of which type of IoT system to work with needs to be executed – and in conjunction with that the choice of which hardware design path to take.

After deciding on which IoT platform to design your hardware for, the choice of hardware design path is crucial to the success of your IoT implementation. Even if you’re developing for internal use, or offering hardware or turnkey systems to customers – the choice of hardware design can play a part in the long-term success or failure of the system.

When we say the “choice of hardware design” it is not the actual type of device (however that can also play a part in success or failure) or design tools used to create something – it is the choice between one of hardware design paths. That is, will you choose proprietary hardware interface designs from an existing supplier; create your own hardware and protect the intellectual property with copyright and possible patent protection; or open-source your design to some degree to allow input and contribution from internal and external customers? There are pros and cons to each method, so let’s examine them in some more detail.

Existing design – This is the easiest option for your design team, as the hardware interface to the required IoT system has been designed, tested and ready for integration into your hardware. To resell your own devices based on an external system can require licence or royalty payments to the system provider, however this will often be returned “in kind” with marketing support, referrals and leads from the system provider. However you’re at the mercy of the success or failure of the host system – which could leave you with outdated and useless hardware that can be at least difficulty to modify or at worst a total write-off.

Internal, protected design – With this option you have access to the required interface design from the IoT system provider that allows you to create your own hardware instead of buying or licensing technology from the provider. It gives you total control over the hardware design – including possible modularity between the IoT interface hardware and the product itself, in case of system failure (as mentioned previously). Furthermore you have complete control of the design, maintain all IP, and can market your designs as an exclusive product that’s compatible with the system. However all design, support and revisions will happen in-house.

Open-source – After a few minutes searching on the Internet it may seem that almost everyone is open-sourcing their designs to allow all and sundry to review, modify, critique and sometimes re-manufacture their products. This method is preferable if you are offering paid access to the server-side infrastructure or you are happy to allow others to create devices that compete with your own hardware to quickly allow customer take-up of your IoT system. Furthermore you can build a community around users of your system, which can reduce the support load and generate good-will. However taking this path in essence abandons revenue from hardware sales and any intellectual property your team have created. Finally, larger customers may see this product as insecure (even if it offers encrypted data transmission) due the openness of the designs.

Here at the LX Group we can discuss and understand your requirements and goals – then help you navigate the various hardware and other options available to help solve your problems. We can create or tailor just about anything from a wireless temperature sensor to a complete Internet-enabled system for you. For more information or a confidential discussion about your ideas and how we can help bring them to life – click here to contact us, or telephone 1800 810 124.

Published by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.

Moving forward from our last instalment about the recent rise of the Internet of Things, in this article we’ll start to examine some of the major IoT systems that are already on the market in order to help determine which of them may be suitable for integration into your next or current project. At this time this isn’t an exhaustive list – however the three systems examined below each offer a wide variety of functionality which is implemented in different ways.

The first system is the “Electric Imp”. This is a simple yet powerful client hardware and cloud service system with a focus on simple implementation. The hardware consists of a device which is the same physical format as an SD memory card, and a unique identification IC which is fitted to your product. The Electric Imp card contains an industry-standard 802.11b/g/n WiFi transceiver and antenna, and a Cortex-M3 microcontroller with GPIO, I2C and SPI bus support and more.

The physical size of the hardware makes the Imp system relatively simple to integrate into existing and new products, and the hardware cost can be well under Au$30 in volume. To make things happen, software for the Electric Imp is created using an online IDE which is then transmitted to the required Imp via the Internet. This software allows your product to interact with web services, servers, smart phone applications and more. Furthermore the software can be updated and broadcast without any user operations, allowing bug-fixed and new features to be seamlessly rolled out.

However the Electric Imp is still in “developer” mode – considered as a late beta. Nevertheless it offers an inexpensive and theoretically trouble-free option for IoT integration. For more information, visit the Electric Imp website.

The second system is “Ninja Blocks” – developed locally in Australia, and finding global success. The Ninja Block is based around a combination of a BeagleBone Linux computer and a customised Arduino-compatible – and connected to the Internet. The system allows interaction with a cloud service (the “platform”) and variety of customised devices such as temperature and motion sensors, and also allows connection to commercially-available devices such as RF-wireless power outlets and alarm sensors.

Devices communicate with the Ninja Block via RF or USB cable, and the cloud interaction is provided by the cloud-based Ninja Platform. Once new devices are added to the Ninja Block, they are recognised by the cloud-based platform and the end user can create rules which interact with sensors and actuators. Furthermore smartphone applications can be developed for local interactions. Finally, the Ninja Blocks system is designed for the end-user in mind, allowing your customers to either create their own rules for your products – however you can also integrate your own API.

Due to the success of the system it is envisaged that a market for devices to interact with the Ninja Blocks will grow – and thus the opportunity lies in creating new products to interact with the system. Furthermore the system hardware has been open-sourced, allowing much faster and cheaper device design. For more information visit the website.

The final system we examine is the “ioBridge” system. This is the most mature of the three systems examined, and possibly spans the gap between the Electric Imp and Ninja Blocks. Almost any kind of device can be designed to integrate into the ioBridge systems, and as with the other two work with cloud-based servers/services and local mobile applications.

One benefit of the ioBridge service is the established development environment and the ioBridge company can create bespoke web applications for your product that integrates their hardware. However as it was before the “rush of Open Source” the ioBridge system is closed-source and licensing is required to create devices to work with it. If you’re looking for an IoT system this may not be the most cost-effective hardware solution, unless your product is designed specifically for customers already entrenched in the ioBridge ecosystem. For more information visit their website.

Although the Internet of Things may sound simple, and the goal is to be for the end user – as product developers there is much to take into account. The market hasn’t even come near the point of maturity – however all the options available are exciting and have great possibilities for automation, connectivity and making customers’ lives easier. Just as the manufacturers of video recorder units had competing standards in the 1980s, so do the IoT systems of today. It is too early to decide the winner, however each system has its’ pros and cons for each of your applications.

Here at the LX Group we can discuss and understand your requirements and goals – then help you navigate the various IoT options available to help solve your problems. We can tailor anything from a modified sensor to a complete Internet-enabled system for you. For more information or a confidential discussion about your ideas and how we can help bring them to life – click here to contact us, or telephone 1800 810 124.

Published by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.

You may have seen the term “Internet of Things” bandied about recently in the popular press and media outlets, and like many fads considered it to be some sort of “buzzword” or meaningless phrase created by social media gurus that can be safely ignored.

However nothing could be further than the truth. The IoT (as we will now refer to it) is a broad definition for how almost any device around us can be connected to each other and other services over the Internet.

That may sound a little broad, so let’s consider some examples:

Checking the room temperature at home remotely, and control the HVAC if required – so you arrive home to a pleasant environment
Monitoring and controlling water flow levels for irrigation systems in four different states from a central office
Receiving an email from isolated vending machines when they detect possible theft, excess vibration or tilting
Real-time position monitoring of valuable cargo shipments as they travel between warehouses

With fixed or reliable wireless Internet access in all these examples, you can accomplish it all and much more. The IoT allows you to be in more than one place at the same time – to receive data from anywhere – and to control from anywhere – as long as Internet access is available.

Furthermore the volume and types of data that can be collected is only limited by your requirements and device type. With a constant IP connection between a sensor and your IT system – data can be gathered for real-time analysis. Information is power – and the more you know about your assets and their performance – the more agile your decision-making can become.

This type of machine communication isn’t new – for example you’d be familiar with terms such as M2M and telematics for many years. However the concept of channelling all the data over the Internet or a private IP network is what the IoT is about.

Existing sensors and actuators (the devices that send and receive data) can usually be adapted to the new IoT with little effort. For example, a sensor with a 4-20mA current loop output can be engineered with a current sensor that can be read with a basic microcontroller – and then interfaced to the IoT node.

As most IoT environments are skewed towards the consumer and technically-literate hobbyist, there will be work involved in adapting the system for your particular needs. For example, the provider may offer a range of doorbell or simple temperature sensors – but not devices that can transmit or receive data over standard data buses such as IIC or SPI. In situations like these, your engineering team or parter will be required to create interfaces between your current devices and the bridge to the IoT.

Enabling your devices to work with the IoT can be a challenge, due to the variety of systems and standards on the market, each with their own pros and cons. There are many points to consider, and these can include:

The initial costs of interface hardware, staff training and ongoing maintenance

Can you use your existing actuators and sensors – or create your own ones, or must you acquire new ones that are specific to the IoT system under consideration?
Is the required power and communications infrastructure available when upgrading particular areas to the IoT?
Will the data and commands be transferred using an external Internet-based host system, or can you keep the data within internal private networks?
If using an external host system, can they offer you an agreed SLA value?
Is the host system using proprietary data protocols – forcing you to use the host system provider’s engineering team to add your own devices to the system?
What security features are available to stop unauthorised access to the devices and the host system?

The Internet of Things is more than an exciting concept – it exists today, and your organisation can benefit from it. However due to the incredibly combination of systems and options – consider partnering with an independent organisation that has your needs first and foremost.

Here at the LX Group we can discuss and understand your requirements and goals – then tailor anything from a modified sensor to a complete Internet-enabled system for you. For more information or a confidential discussion about your ideas and how we can help bring them to life – click here to contact us, or telephone 1800 810 124.

Published by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.