IoT and the Barcode, or the Hare and the Tortoise?
Today the physical world is getting smarter. Technology allows the world to collaborate in a more sophisticated way. With IoT in the limelight, the opportunity to wholly connect the office with the outside world is up for grabs. This article walks you through some of the options that give substance to the IoT promise, ranging from barcodes to a full-blown network of intelligent devices.
Though IoT is definitely part of everyone’s agenda, I witness many companies struggling to make it tangible at an enterprise level. This article is a reminder that implementing IoT doesn’t always mean costly overhauls and adopting the latest technology stack. Often, it doesn’t take much to get started. The overview below explains in an extremely short, personal and not entirely scientific way, I admit, the potential and the scope of different kinds of technology that enables efficient asset interaction.
Barcodes
Low cost but passive. They sit and wait to be scanned. You have to point your device to the barcode. In industrial environments, there is a chance that they wear off because of the weather, chemicals, temperature.
RFID
Relatively low cost but passive. They sit and wait to be scanned. You do not have to point a device. Being in the neighborhood is good enough. You can count multiple items at once. The tags can be covered or hidden in an object.
LoRa IoT
The intelligent sensor sends a signal (a temperature, location, movement, sound, direction) that is picked up by an antenna.
- Low Bandwidth.
- Static.
- Single building.
- Bidirectional according to link-labs.
NB IoT
More intelligent sensors with a signal that is similar to GSM data than the LoRa one. The sensor can send AND receive, more data than LoRa.
- Not IP based.
- Works indoors.
- Requires more battery than LoRa.
LTE-M
- I do not understand where this can be applied.
4G / 5G
- GSM data.
- Real-time and huge volumes in the case of 5G.
- Batteries or electricity.
WIFI
- You use it every day, at home and in the office.
DCS/SCADA
- Have been around since the ’60s in manufacturing environments that require strict process control and follow up.
- Designed for reliability.
- Wired or wireless, over standard or proprietary protocols.
- Definitively redundant setup.
- Closely integrated with the machinery inside the factory.
Getting IoT right is no piece of cake. But a sure way to fail is following the hype for the sake of hype. Everybody should balance intended and future use, complexity, sustainability, and cost. Sometimes, going for the old-school barcodes makes more sense than implementing a complete IoT platform. Keep in mind that the simplest maybe disregarded technology could stand a better chance of delivering value and ensure the ROI of your IoT strategy.
Here’s what we’ve been cooking at TenForce
At TenForce we are obsessively looking for ways to connect the field and the office. We work with customers from the chemical industry, utilities, manufacturing, and government to help them identify asset locations, reduce the number of on-site visits, make site inspections more efficient, improve quality and, in general, increase their operational efficiency.
- Barcodes: we use them to identify assets during an inspection or to log incidents.
- LoRa IoT & NB IoT: we master the technology stack E2E and have some nice demonstrators.
- DCS/SCADA: We work with our clients in the manufacturing industry to integrate with DCS/SCADA systems to create an incident based on the interpretation of an alert.