The IoT Project is a hub of electronics, Arduino, Internet of Things(IoT), and Embedded IoT-related projects for a beginner’s level to the advanced.
Predictive maintenance, connected logistics, data collection, and the Internet of Things (IoT for Internet of Things) projects are becoming a very concrete reality for many companies.
For example, in healthcare, an estimated 646 million IoT devices were used in 2020 in hospitals, clinics, and medical practices.
The IoT is present in all sectors, and this trend will be confirmed in the coming years: the number of cellular IoT connections should reach 3.5 billion in 2023. Piloting the implementation of a connected device requires a particular methodology to get the best out of it.
Here are the 6 essential steps to consider succeeding in this industrialization of the IoT project.
The IoT project, a paradigm shift
The IoT represents an important evolution in terms of digital transformation by fetching data that was previously inaccessible (underground pipes, a gas meter in a remote location, a crane on a construction site, etc.)
Its ability to connect most objects, the IoT project, therefore, constitutes a paradigm shift capable of transforming the organization of companies. And its advantages are many:
- Improved team productivity: thanks to IoT project solutions, recurring and low value-added tasks can be carried out automatically so that human resources are transferred to more complex tasks that require higher personal skills.
- Efficient management of operations: the interconnection of smart devices allows automated control such as, for example, inventory management, shipment tracking, fuel, and spare parts management in the industrial world.
- Better use of resources and assets: Automated scheduling and monitoring implemented using connected sensors enables more efficient use of resources, including better management of energy and water consumption (agriculture, management of green spaces, public spaces, etc.).
- Cost-effective operation: IoT project makes it possible to limit equipment downtime by intervening predictively only when necessary, according to the data collected. The production rate is therefore higher, which translates into more predictable activity and higher income.
The 6 stages of an IoT project
To simplify the framework of an IoT project, we have modeled the construction of a connected object in 6 essential steps. This IoT project modeling is intended to be simple and practical, easily usable, to help all entrepreneurs identify the essential stages of such a project.
First step: the object
Box inserted in a vehicle to monitor movements, sensor to measure the temperature or pressure elements of industrial equipment, or to manage medical equipment in hospitals (maintenance, rate of use, etc.), the object connected can be representative of extremely different and diversified elements.
The first step is therefore to acquire, or build, if necessary, the object adapted to the physical constraints of the company’s use case.
This low-consumption network offers great energy autonomy of up to 10 years on battery power. The terminal can then deliver 35,000 doses of hydro-alcoholic gel in perfect autonomy while reporting consumption information in real-time (number of doses delivered, gel level alerts, etc.).
Second step: connectivity for the communication of connected objects
Once this issue of the object has been dealt with, the objective is to make it connected. If the object captures the data, it has no meaning if it is not transferred.
A set of connectivity solutions exist to make the object ‘talk’. Depending on the nature of the object and the data it captures, you will have to choose the right network: 2G/3G/4G, low-speed and low-power networks such as NB-IoT).
Third step: collecting all the data
Faced with the multitude of objects, the collection, and modeling of all the data produced is a crucial point.
To process them, all the data must be collected and processed to be usable, and this is through a single simple and ergonomic tool. Collecting data can help save money.
So, as energy prices rise, IoT project makes it possible to transform buildings into Smart Buildings in order to drastically reduce consumption.
In the building sector, the IoT makes it possible to modulate the energy consumption of equipment using data provided by connected sensors.
For example, heating devices can adapt to the temperature of each room, and anticipate weather data and room attendance times to optimize energy consumption.
Fourth step: data hosting and storage
Data must be stored, managed, and administered securely. Faced with the criticality of the data (health or geolocation data), it is important to benefit from an infrastructure that guarantees the security of the data and that can adapt to the ramp-up of the project.
Fifth step: the development of application logic for the IoT Project
To give meaning to the data collected and to extract all its value (optimization of the company’s activity, customer loyalty, or even the proposal of new innovative services), it is necessary to be able to use them and link them together.
This results in the development and implementation of an IoT application.
Through such an application, the company will be able to make the best use of this data and control objects or processes.
Sixth step: restoring the data captured by the connected objects
To offer these new innovative services to its customers, the company must make an interface available to them to interact with them.
This IoT application offered in the form of a web interface, and a mobile application makes it possible to share data with its customers or suppliers, with ease and to improve the customer experience, for example.
In the industrial world, the IoT is inseparable from predictive maintenance. This is a type of maintenance that uses the power of collected data by sensors and analyzed it on a CMMS tool (computer-aided maintenance management) to intervene at the right time.
So you know the likelihood that a tool or piece of equipment will fail in the near future and what the possible causes are.
Health, agriculture, industrial production, services, smart cities, and transport, all sectors are affected by the IoT.
Whether they have an influence on the heart of the company’s activity (such as industrial production), or on peripheral uses (building maintenance, for example), connected objects are the best ally of connected decision-makers who place the given as a key to the success of their activity.
