IoT Use Cases
On this page, you’ll find examples of the types of projects we do all the time. Some are real-world examples from actual projects we are currently pitching and some are examples of projects that we could easily develop, if the opportunity presented itself.
Industrial and Manufacturing
Bins and Tank Levels
Acme Manufacturing Supplies is looking for a way to remotely monitor the bins full of plastic pellets and tanks containing liquid adhesive at their customer's manufacturing facilities. The end goal is to route their supply trucks more efficiently and ensure that their customers don't run out of their product. In this solution, we would propose leveraging bin and tank level monitors that can be accessed in real time by both Acme and their customer. Acme would be able to monitor all of the bins and tanks across all of their customer accounts, and customers would only be able to access their own locations. The customer would be alerted when the bins and tanks fall below predetermined levels, and it would trigger an automatic replenishment order with Acme. This solution allows Acme to better manage their replenishment truck rolls and increase the quality of their customer service by ensuring that the customer never runs out of supplies. Automated replenishment increases the revenue for Acme by guaranteeing future orders are placed on time based on the bin and tank levels instead of relying on the customer to order directly.
Pump and Valve Monitoring and Actuation
Acme Pumps and Valves is a pump manufacturer that wants to make all of their their pumps and valves smarter. Their customers need a way to remotely monitor vibration, flow, pressure, speed, power, detect leaks, and actuate their valves. In this case, we would help their distributors and service providers, who will gain valuable insight on all the smart pumps they sell, by giving them alerts when something is amiss. This allows them to proactively contact the user for a service call. The end user would be able to schedule, control, and monitor the pump and valves through the mobile app on their phone, and be alerted the moment anything is exceeding the threshold set by the manufacturer (or overridden by the user). Acme gains precise, actionable insights into its pumps and their usage, which may impact future designs and current customer service.
Fire Extinguishers
Acme Fire Brigade manufactures and sells fire extinguishers that are deployed in buildings throughout the Southwest. Each floor of each building is required to have a certain number of fire extinguishers, and each extinguisher has to be verified to be in the right location and usable by either a member of Acme or by the property management company of the building. In either case, it's both time consuming and expensive maintenance. Acme is looking for a way to automate the monthly inspections. For this solution, we would use pressure sensors, flow sensors, and precise location monitoring to show the status of each extinguisher. Each customer would see their only own extinguishers, and Acme would see all of their customers' sensors. In both cases, they'd receive alerts and notifications when an extinguisher is moved outside of it's fixed location and if the flow sensor is triggered or if the pressure sensor measurement is outside of a predetermined range. Acme would both make money and save money with this solution. They could sell a recurring monthly maintenance package to their customers. By certifying the extinguisher operation remotely, they would save on labor costs and service truck rolls. The customer would save time and always have historical data about their equipment.
Environmental Monitoring
Air Quality Monitoring
Acme Air offers air purification devices that are installed in medical and dental offices. They need a way to let their customers see all of the devices in their offices (often across multiple sites) and be alerted when the air quality falls below a preset level. They also need to send SMS messages to their repair technicians if the device is malfunctioning. We would install sensors throughout the offices that measure particulate matter (PM), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Ozone (O3) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) as well as temperature and humidity. All of the data would be analyzed before showing it as a meaningful value in the web-based portal to the customer. Alerts and SMS would be sent out in real time based on the current conditions. This solution would allow Acme to monitor both the functionality, efficacy, and the efficiency of the units and allow their customers to give their patients peace of mind about the air quality of their offices.
Soil Monitoring
Acme Ag is a soil and fertilizer distributor that wants to allow their customers to monitor the weed growth, hydration levels, nutrient deficiencies, acidity, and overall health of crops and fields in real time. They want alerts when crops need attention, when stock tanks run low or overflow, and when there are leaks or faults in an irrigation system. We would create a solution that gives each farmer usable and actionable data about their different fields in real time. Acme would also receive access to the data from their customers to allow them to automatically replenish soil and fertilizer supplies and suggest other equipment and accessories that the farmers might need. This solution would allow Acme to keep their customers fully stocked and allow them to upsell for additional revenue. They can also charge each farm by the sensor as a recurring revenue stream.
Rodent Control
Acme Rat Control services the pest control needs of large residential and commercial buildings. One of their biggest pain points is having to manually look at each rat and mouse trap to see if a rodent needs to be disposed of. This is, obviously, a pain point for the customers as well. We would develop a solution involving smart traps that can be viewed on a map and that will alert both Acme and the customer when a trap has been triggered. Acme would be able to see all of their customers' traps and each customer would be able to see only their own traps. Acme could offer this as a monthly subscription to the property management of each building. They would reduce unnecessary truck rolls and the labor costs involved in checking empty traps, and the customer would not have to wait for a scheduled time before the traps are emptied.
Weather Forecasting and Conditions
Acme Construction has multiple construction sites at various stages of completion across Texas. In a state famous for sometimes experiencing all four seasons in one day, it's important for Acme to be able to know the weather situation at any given site in real-time. We would create a solution involving smart cameras that we pair with hyper-local weather data pulled in from an API. The cameras could be solar powered with a battery back-up so that they could be mounted at sites with or without a generator. Everything from weather predictions to ground conditions to rainfall to temperature and humidity at a specific site can be measured remotely in a web-based app. When paired with other monitoring solutions such as asset tracking and preventive maintenance monitoring for their equipment, Acme will have have greater visibility and the ability to predict inclement weather conditions at all of their sites. They will save money by eliminating the need for a worker to check each site manually, and they will also have images to use for proof for insurance claims if the need arises.
Water Management
Irrigation Monitoring
Acme Irrigation wants to offer their customers the ability to monitor and control their irrigation systems. The systems cover everything from small greenhouses to large corporate campuses to farm acreage. We would develop a scalable solution that incorporates flow monitoring, soil moisture monitoring, soil nutrition, and hyper-local weather monitoring. Customers would have the ability to remotely monitor and control their system as well as the ability to create irrigation schedules based on the aggregated data from the sensors. Acme would be able to monitor all of their customers' systems for leaks, flow issues, or other maintenance issues that might necessitate a service call. This solution would allow Acme to create a recurring revenue stream with monthly maintenance packages. Customers would be able to better manage their water usage which would lead to lower operating costs and better yields.
Water Flow Management
Acme Water Systems manages the flow control gates for multiple municipalities throughout the US. This involves sending a worker to the site to manually open and close the gates as the flow needs change. They are looking for a way to actuate these gates remotely. Using actuators that already exist in the IoT hardware universe, we would create a solution that allows the municipalities to monitor and control all of the gates in their area. When water sources reach a certain level, the gates can automatically open and close. They can also be controlled directly through the web-based interface if the need arises. The solution could also be paired with water level sensors for the lakes and streams and hyper-local weather monitoring. Acme would be able to see all their customers' gates and monitor them for preventive maintenance purposes. Reducing the amount of time and labor needed to manage the gates will save the customers both truck rolls and money. Acme can add a new recurring revenue stream by charging their customers a monthly monitoring fee by sensor or by area.
Here’s the proof.
Our clients have counted on us to deliver their IoT solutions since 2016. Here are some of their stories.
Commercial Plumbing Solution
MEPGUARD
A successful commercial plumbing firm that specializes in the high-rise residential space wanted to add…
Camera As A Sensor
Vue Robotics
Vue Robotics needed a cloud-based platform to visualize imagery, video, and data collected by its…
University LoRaWAN Network
University of Texas at Dallas
The University of Texas at Dallas is a research-oriented university with 32,000 students. Their campus…
After-market Tank Level Monitoring
Simon Innovations
Simon Innovations offers after-market, on-tank level monitoring of pesticide and fertilizer tanks and sprayers used…
OEM Tank Level Monitoring
Confidential
A large tank manufacturing company wanted to create a monitoring system for their tanks before…
Data Analyzation and Visualization
Instant Recall
InstantRecall provides the primary food recall system for restaurants in the United States.
Livestock Tracking and Monitoring
Confidential
This is an agricultural company that provides a way for ranchers to track individual cattle…
Regional LoRaWAN Network
Confidential
Business Opportunity In 2016, a leading provider of electrical products to the agricultural industry was…
Equipment Monitoring
AssetWatch Inc.
Business Opportunity AssetWatch is a leading solution provider of end-to-end condition monitoring and predictive failure…