iot in transportation (4)
Thought of opening your venture in the bakery and pastry sector but could not make it because of lack of proper storage at a particular temperature. If your company is leading company in the bakery and pastry sector and has various production and retail shop, a fleet of over 20 vehicles that perform around 40 deliveries every day then you have dabbled over the right partner.
Biz4intellia, an end-to-end Industrial IoT solution provides a cold chain monitoring and smart tracking system that works from storing the stuff at a proper temperature to reach the destination in peak condition. You need not to worry if you want to deliver your stuff in the morning and want to reach out your customer early at the point of sale. To control the temperature and make delivery more proficient, Biz4intellia has its own Smart Tracking solution which uses sensors and gateways.
The route optimization feature of Smart Tracking maps out the optimized routes for the fleet drivers so that the deliveries of cakes, pastries, and fresh bread products to the retail outlets can reach within the given time. With the sensor system, the temperature and location of each fleet can be known in real-time and hence alerts can be received through a smartphone/tablet/pc and basic internet connection.
The below image tells about the present status of a particular vehicle like the temperature of the refrigerator, weight it is carrying, latitude, longitude, speed, and battery. Alerts are sent if a driver crosses the threshold of the speed or the refrigerator is not at a correct temperature.
Role of Sensor and wireless gateway:
During transportation of the food items, maintaining an optimal temperature was a critical task to prevent the costly spoilage. The Cold Chain Logistics solution provides a consistent and inexpensive way to ensure that your coolers and freezers are working properly, possibly saving thousands of dollars from unnecessary damage.
Biz4intellia IoT solution eradicated all the challenges and developed the Cold Chain Monitoring solution consisting of a temperature sensor, 3G antenna, wireless gateway, GPS antenna, and a charger.
The temperature sensor used cost near about $49 with a frequency of 900MHz.To accurately measure the temperature, a thermistor is used. These small-sized sensors are perfect for monitoring ambient temperatures around the physical location of the sensors. Customized sensors allow the user to set the frequency of readings and the threshold value so that alerts via SMS or email can be sent. The sensor works accurately up to a temperature of +/-1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) with the actual range varying according to the environment. With the sensor reporting frequency and other variables, you can also determine the battery life.
Out of the box features:
- Alerts if a door is left open:
During the course of taking the food from one place to another or during loading/unloading, if the door remains open then an alert is sent for the same. Also, if pilferage occurs during the same, notification via SMS or e-mail is sent.
- Geofencing:
The Geofencing feature captures the location of the vehicle with the coordinates of a particular area. Sends alerts when a driver deviates from the prescribed path as it can bring delay in delivery time and can cause accidental loss.
- Reduce Spoilage and Waste:
If a temperature is not within the range then it spoils the food and hence it becomes a waste. Therefore, a real-time alert is sent if a cooler’s temperature is outside of its nominal range.
- Save time and resources:
The automated system tracks temperatures so that a manual checking is not required. Hence it saves the time and resources to track the temperature and location of the vehicle.
- Predictive Maintenance:
Improved scheduled maintenance can be attained by the sensors and then the devices calculate the expected lifetime of machines well before their threshold comes.
- Maintain regulatory compliance:
Sensors help businesses to achieve regulatory compliance by giving 100% accurate data.
- Monitor from anywhere:
In a world of the digital era, accessing your smartphones/tablets/pc let you monitor the vehicle from anywhere around the globe.
How does it work?
The Biz4intellia solution monitors the temperature in the vehicle refrigeration chamber and sends the data to the gateway with the help of the 3G network. The real-time location of the vehicle is obtained with the help of the GPS antenna and is sent with the help of 3G network only. The battery has a capacity of 6600mAh and sends data even when the vehicle is off. In the absence of 3G coverage like in remote locations, data values are stored in memory and are then sent as soon as the vehicle comes in the coverage area.
Real-time data analysis-
With the recent digital technologies, transmission of data has become very easy. Mobile technology enables the transmission of data which gets accessed by the gateway. Also, it tells about the temperature along with the position of the vehicle in real-time. The solution can be used for any transport or logistics company that needs instant temperature and position monitoring of the fleet. As cakes are one of the most delicate goods to be transported, tracking their real-time location and refrigerator temperature was always a necessity.
The cold chain logistics is a catalyst in the supply chain thereby supplying better nutrition and improving global food security. Temperature controlled logistics and monitoring system plays an important role in the modern day business. With the ever-increasing population residing in the present developing or emerging countries, there are huge business opportunities in emerging markets. Companies are taking advantage of these modern technologies thus providing more benefits to the people. The reliability and the efficiency of the cold chain logistics solution have reached to a point where the food and beverage industry can make the best use of it.
As the technology made its footprints into the market companies as McDonald switched from frozen to fresh beef patties for its core burger product which could not have been possible without the coming up of the cold chain logistics.
What is an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS)?
The European Telecommunication Standards Institute states that intelligent transport systems are those which include telematics and all types of communication between vehicles, in vehicles and between vehicles and fixed locations. Moreover, ITS is used not only in road transport but also in rail, water, and air transport. The Integrated System is quite capable enough of consuming a large amount of data and hence producing useful information to the traveler. This efficient information guides the traveler to reach their destination in the most optimized way.
Why a large amount of data is important?
We hear more often that people are getting fastly connected than ever because of accessibility to high-speed transportation and increased capability for sharing information, IoT in transportion is a fusion of this large amount of data which comes from multiple sources.
According to a study by McKinsey Global Institute recently it was stated that automotive industry will be the second largest producer of data in the forthcoming years and if we combine automotive with travel and logistics industry then the output for the same grow by an additional 30%.
How the data is fetched from sensors?
Sensors are highly important to get the raw data and if we consider the data of one sensor with another than we can get a deep understanding of the performance and behavior of the system. With the IoT in transportation, sensors and fetched data from them helps in detecting whether a wheel on the vehicle is slipping or not and accordingly alerts the driver or the concerned person to apply brakes. The data from these sensors help in the real-time analytics within the vehicle.
How this sensor system enables to take quick business decisions?
Data from various sources is collected and is integrated to reduce the uncertainty. Data collected from sensors is gathered and is analyzed further to have a deep insight such that it reduces the uncertainty for a particular situation. For example, the ambient air temperature being used alerts that the temperature is below freezing and the sensors used on the axle reports slippage then the situation come out to be that there is ice in that area. These alerts are sent by the cloud analytical system and (not sent manually) which warns the driver before entering a particular area.
Further, the cloud-based system sends this report to the operations center as well. This analysis report is further sent to nearby and surrounding systems which are outside the geo-fenced area. Alerts tell them about the detected ice region so that they can re-route if possible.
The Industrial IoT and its myriad potential have changed the scenario of the Transportation industry. the system has enabled to make smarter and more informed decisions. The IoT technologies need to be embraced to cope up with the competition. As the industry was in continuous suffering from heavy operational costs, the implementation of Internet of Things has made safe and cost-efficient business operations. On leveraging IoT, the connectivity and capability for predictive analytics has streamlined the processes and hence has enhanced their bottom line.
It is still the early days for autonomous trucks, and a report by Gartner estimates that by 2021, less than 1% of long-haul, over-the-road freight will be carried by driverless trucks.
The trucking business already leverages the advantages of using mobile technologies, but the volatile nature of rising labor rates, fuel costs, increased traffic, and a changing regulatory environment, continuously making operations challenging.
Inefficiencies caused by lack of visibility create considerable costs. However, with the help of disruptive technology such as the Internet of Things (IoT), visibility into equipment, assets, personnel, and transactions, enterprises can better support crucial operations in real-time and improve operational efficiency and performance.
By leveraging enterprise IoT asset intelligence, the trucking can tackle problems with solutions powered by IoT.
Problem # 1: The traditional transportation model lacks the operational efficiency of the trucks.
The Solution: IoT in transportation has empowered trucking business owners to improve the operational efficiency of trucks by real-time monitoring and tracking of the fleets. With real-time monitoring capability, decision-makers can make out-of-the-box business decisions. Whenever there is an engine oil leakage, an alert is sent well before time indicating about the threshold it has reached, that’s how the internet of things makes a difference in the trucking business.
Problem # 2: The consumption of fuel was increasing and congestion problems start arising.
The Solution: Usually, the traditional transportation business models consumed energy affluently due to improper route management, so an optimized route management was crucial to building a sustainable trucking business. With the help of real-time field data, efficient fleet route management eliminated almost 175 grams of carbon emission, produced by every extra mile traveled by any vehicle. With the manual monitoring getting expensive and inaccessible, the IoT enabled heat and motion sensors to utilize the energy resources more smartly, which provides huge value to the administrators.
Problem # 3: Tracking of public transport became a serious issue.
The Solution: Managing the traveling from one point to other was possible by the traditional public transport but not the tracking real-time location of the vehicle and knowing when it will arrive at a particular stop. With the help of real-time sensor data, selecting the optimal route based on real-time conditions got easy, resulting in better public transit management. The IoT sensors tell where the traffic is jammed up and reduces the congestion and find an alternate route became easy which consumed the energy and time. IoT sensors tell where the traffic is jammed and convey the alert to the fleet and find an alternate optimized route to save time and energy.
Problem # 4: Increase in operational cost and damage to the infrastructure.
The Solution: From the traditional transportation model, loading the exact amount of load in the trailers was near to impossible. So, a proper check on the vehicles like size, weight, and type of vehicles is done and the load in the trailer is measured in real-time using weight sensors. Through IoT and smart devices, the overloaded vehicles can be identified and can be partially unloaded to evade fines. From the real-time tracking, alerts are sent well before time so that an optimized efficiency can be achieved.
Problem # 5: No advance alerts and availability of parking slots.
The Solution: The integrated smart transportation system tells the real-time information of the driver as well as the vehicle and warns them about the potential engine outbreaks. IoT in transportation can also ensure the smart parking, which tells about the lots that are presently available in real-time. Also, the multi-level parking system helps in reducing the operating and maintenance expenses. IoT sensors help in increasing the safety, comfort, and efficiency in driving and parking.
CONCLUSION:
Over several recent years, the Internet of Things has unlocked a box of new opportunities in the trucking industry and has undoubtedly advanced beyond recognition. IoT is all about digitally connecting devices and analyzing the data to predict future outcomes or possibilities and the transportation industry is at a point where it can leverage the full potential of this disruptive technology.
