What a great year 2018 was for IoT! After launching over 1,300 full fledged IoT projects in the past year, we gained some important insights. We saw an increase, not only in awareness but in IoT implementation, globally. Smart buildings and cities are increasingly making their presence known, while IoT platforms are becoming more connected and intuitive.
What IoT trends will we continue to see make an impact in the upcoming year? We sat down with Axonize’s CTO, Omri Cohen, to obtain some insights into what’s driving our industry in 2019.
What are the most popular sensors used in IoT?Keeping in mind that the end goal for most customers is to reduce cost, these popular sensors aid them in reaching that goal.
The Top 4 most used sensors are:
- Temperature SensorsTemperature sensors are the most popular sensor used today. A lot of customers use temperature sensors for their refrigeration needs. For customers dealing with food, medications, blood samples etc. temperature sensors are indispensable to their business.
- Electricity SensorsElectricity sensors are mostly used to help reduce costs. These sensors help customers realize where they are using the most electricity and how to make the necessary changes.
- GPS SensorsGPS sensors give customers their exact positions and locations, which is especially useful with in-transit visibility.
- Building Management SensorsBuilding Management sensors have been around for a while, but they are now being used for visibility of a building status.
How often does a sensor send an event? There is no generic answer to this question, but if we take a look at specific sensors, we can get a better understanding of how each sensor works. Every sensor needs to send data based on business needs. There are sensors that want to know about location, so they send data every few seconds, and there are sensors that send reporting on parameters that change every few minutes like Co2, temperature, etc. In general, a temperature sensor sends a reading every 2 to 5 minutes, while electricity sensors send more frequently, every 30 seconds to 1 minute. You can see how real-time information gives the customer a holistic view of what is being measured.
How long does a sensor’s battery last? Most cordless sensors have batteries that will last up to two years. After two years, the battery will probably need to be replaced.
How often do people go into their IoT platform? At Axonize, we’ve noticed that most people configure all their sensors at the beginning of the process, and once it’s set up, they don’t go into the IoT platform more than once or twice a day. Customers rely on notifications, which is the basis of the system. When they receive notifications, they either go into the platform or solve the problem directly from the notification. This is the great benefit of the notification system – work efficiency.
How many notifications are generally sent in a day? Again, this depends on use cases. The rule of thumb is: many issues = many notifications. If you don’t have any issues to report, the number of notifications will be significantly less. Most sensors have a daily summary sent at the end of the day.
Moving on to widgets, which widgets do customers use the most?There is quite a variety in what customers use. The most popular widgets at the moment are notification counts & breakdowns and the temperature gauge.
Which rules do people use? With the Axonize platform, customers can create their own rules, dependent on their needs. Most commonly, people use the following rules:
- Threshold rulesThreshold rules are cause and effect rules, leading to an action. A popular threshold rule example is: ‘If the temperature goes above a certain degree, then send a SMS/Text message or Start the AC.’
- Time-based rulesTime-based rules revolve around time and setting rules based on specific times. For example: ‘When the time is 8:00 am, start the AC units.’ or ‘When the time is 6:00 pm, turn off the lights in the buildings.’
- Situation rulesA situation rule involves a particular action item. For example: ‘If the AC is working on the weekend, then trigger an alarm.’ or ‘if the heat goes above a certain temperature in the building, then notify the building manager.’
What segment is the most popular? There are a number of popular segments, but currently, the most popular include: Building Management Systems (BMS), refrigeration, logistics and small/medium smart business.
In regards to small/medium smart businesses, customers seem to be implementing, monitoring and analyzing sensors, such as: flood detection, fire detector, temperature sensors, refrigeration, electricity sensors, surveillance cameras and door sensors, more often. All of these sensors in action, in tandem, result in creating a smart building, facility, factory or business. We are seeing more and more of these popping up all around the world, and this is something we should be looking out for, and planning for in 2019.
Thanks to Omri for an in-depth look into the IoT trends of 2019! We’re ready, are you!