To stay relevant in an ever-evolving industry, gaining more value from your existing applications is an important step that your company could take today. In this post, we will go into detail regarding how your company, with the help of sensor technology, can gain access to value-adding data, without spending a fortune.

Sensor Technology - the Future of IoT

The buzz regarding sensor technology is not for nothing. There are huge gains that you can make from implementing sensor technology into your current applications. These are a few of the most important features of sensor technology in IoT compatible industries:

1. Location

Location sensors are devices that are used for measuring location data for the tagged machinery. To make sure that your machinery is working in an optimal way, it is important to have full access to positional data. You can then use this data to optimize warehouse routes, reduce workflow bottlenecks, and reduce risks, both for human staff and also related to machine malfunction. Investing in Location sensor tags provides your company with crucial data about how your warehouse or factory performs.

2. Temperature and Environment

You most often use temperature sensors in food processing, chemical handling, and HVAC control. However, you can also use them in specific circumstances in manufacturing. These sensors can take advanced temperature measurements, monitor, and measure air and barometric pressure, humidity, and CO2.

3. Activity

Sensors that use activity data are getting more and more popular in warehouses and in manufacturing. This is especially because activity sensors enable organizations to have more control of activity on the factory floor. You can for instance use these sensors to turn lights on and off based on activity in a certain zone and thereby cutting energy costs, or to gather data relevant to certain activities in the factory or warehouse, such as tracking machinery to prevent accidents and to predict maintenance.

Sensor Techonology Adds Value to Your Current Applications

There are many use cases where sensor technology adds value, regardless of industry or application. One critical area where smart sensors can provide plenty of benefits is maintenance. Identifying potential risks in regard to your machines has never been an easy task. If you are not using smart sensor technology for your maintenance, you are probably working reactively, or in the best-case scenario, proactively. This means that you are either waiting for the machines to break and then fixing them, or continuously maintaining your machines, regardless of if they need it or not. Both these scenarios are however costly, and this is where the added value of sensor technology enters the picture.

By applying sensors to your machines, you can start using predictive maintenance. What this means is that your machines gather and broadcast their status to optimize the maintenance of them. This leads to better and more efficient usage of spare parts and reduces downtime. Some other benefits include reduced time spent on maintenance, increased efficiency, and reduced risks associated with machine failure.

What Do You Need to Implement Predictive Maintenance?

You need the following to implement predictive maintenance:

• Smart sensors

By applying a smart sensor to your machines, you get all the data you need to plan and predict maintenance

• Data communication

In order for the data to be used you need a system for the data to be sent to and from your machines.

• A central database

You need a place for the data, either locally or cloud based.

• Predictive analysis

Most people are not trained in predictive maintenance. Therefore., most organizations use some kind of software or algorithm to plan their machine maintenance.

How Does this Sensor Technology Work?

Our sensor tags are ready to be used. We are well aware that our users are wary of getting too technical with their devices. After all, these sensors are made to optimize and streamline your operation, not make it more difficult. When you have installed your sensor tags you gain access to Wittra’s API. This gives you access to a world of data. This enables you to use the data you gather from your sensor usage.

Other Use Cases & The Future of Industry

While predictive maintenance is something that almost every business that uses machines can implement, there are many more use cases for smart sensors. As we mentioned previously, you can use smart sensors to measure temperature and humidity. This means that you can use them in industrial IoT environments and in food processing. Additionally, you can use them as triggers for alarms in factories and warehouses. There are also obvious benefits in positional sensors when it comes to logistics and warehouse management. Smart sensors can also lead to great benefits for your staff. You can use the data that they generate to generate reports and analytics for your organization.

Many have labelled sensor technology as a crucial part of what experts are calling Industry 4.0, the fourth industrial revolution. The best part is that the benefits of sensor technology are two-fold and synergistic: you get the added value from data that the sensors enable, but you also get the added benefit of data and analytics that your machines are now able to communicate with you. As such, you will probably not find a more valuable investment in 2020 than a smart sensor. Contact us to learn more about how your company can get more value from your applications in 2020.

Want to Learn More About Sensor Technology?

You are more than welcome to contact us if you have any questions regarding sensor technology. Furthermore, get in touch if you have any questions about other topics such as 6LoWPAN tech, mesh networks, routers, etc. We are experts when it comes to all things related to IoT solutions.