The Things Network
Topics: IoT, LoRaWAN, Network Tech
Transcript Excerpt:
The Logistics software company talked about how they use LoRaWAN technology for managing the last mile logistics on their supply basis. The company delivers a very flexible and configurable platform for integrating IoT into logistics which can support shorter supply chains like managing yards or a pool of containers to more extensive supply chains where you manage and track assets moving across the globe. The platform can even manage people logistics regarding office logic logistics or industrial settings, knowing which people move in and out of different areas. The company works with various tracking technologies like barcodes, GPS-based sensors, and RFID to deliver this flexibility. The company breaks the chain into four pieces. The first piece is the sensor or the tracker you mount onto any asset, then comes the network, which is the message carrier, either the public network, LoRa’s alternative or a satellite-based network. The third part is the message carrier which manages devices; it consumes the raw device data and makes that information available for their front-end software to integrate with this chain within IoT. For tracking assets, there are three essential things, first is the speed of innovation, the second part is the ability to control the infrastructure, and the third one is the basic messaging service. This platform provides the company with quick integration without going into different details about the messaging support for the actual device. NorSea talked about the government project of digitizing the supply bases and how they capture data in operation. NorSea operates offshore supply bases and always seeks to make operation on these spaces safer, smarter and greener. The project where LoRaWAN was a part of the solution was initiated to improve upon these principles. NorSea answers questions like how long a customer stores their assets on the key, where it is on this four-kilometre-long base, and how they can work as safely, smart and green as possible. They had to do all the tracking manually using maps and pins, which was hard. NorSea used a GPS LoRaWAN tracker to trace its internal assets. This resulted in an IoT case where operation is supported by addressing the pain points of locating forgotten load carriers, saving time and fuel. This saving provided them with a solution that reduces risks, cuts costs and generates revenue. A common challenge many companies face with introducing IoT is implementing trackers and managing them. NorSea solved this problem by pre-registring their devices with TTI device management and creating a small mounting app to control the field trackers.
