There are many benefits of creating an in-house application, and risks
as well that can prove to be fatal to your business. PHOTO | FILE
By CHRIS MWANGI
The Internet of Things (IoT) technology is the new revolution in the ICT world.
It is conceptualised as a network of physical objects or
“things” embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and connectivity
to enable them achieve greater value and service by exchanging data with
the manufacturer, operator or other connected devices based on a common
infrastructure.
This is a technology that portends great benefits
for both the public and private sectors as it creates a new opportunity
to harness connectivity with economic benefit and potential usefulness.
Today, IoT is providing solutions to various
enterprise and business problems as well as societal challenges that
impact the economy.
One such challenge in Africa is poaching. Even as
conservationists call for more pragmatic interventions, governments
across Africa are struggling with poaching.
In a unique pilot project currently under way in
South Africa, Intel and Dimension Data, a cloud services and data centre
company, have designed a surveillance solution capable of monitoring
endangered species in the wild.
Intel is contributing a number of credit card-sized
Intel Galileo boards—complete with 3G communications and onboard
storage features—which are affixed to black rhinos.
The low-power Intel Galileo boards are encased in a
tamper-proof Kevlar-based ankle collar, which also features a durable
solar panel to recharge the board’s battery.
Each collared rhino’s geo-location and movement is
data encrypted (to ensure poachers cannot get to it) and then sent to
the cloud. A tiny RFID chip is also embedded in the rhino’s horns.
If the Galileo board detects a break in proximity
between ankle and horn, anti-poaching teams can be alerted with
helicopters, drones and ground-based vehicles to apprehend the poachers.
Other partners in this initiative are the Madikwe
Conservation Project, i-Detect, a global software company that helps
companies manage risk and cellular provider Vodafone who are
contributing wireless connectivity.
This could also be applied to manage resources and ensure efficiency, say in an industrial set up.
For example, Intel worked on a project with Daikin
Industries to create smart air conditioning units capable of detecting
weather conditions and automatically configuring to the right settings.
Daikin Industries is leading innovator and provider
of advanced air conditioning solutions for residential, commercial, and
industrial applications.
The IoT project involved fitting the Daikin
Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning (HAVC) with gateways and sensors,
to be able to better prepare for changes in weather conditions.
The project enabled a merger between the air conditioning equipment and control providing a better experience for users.
The benefits of IoT are, however, not limited to poaching or
HAVC and can be harnessed to solve various enterprise business
problems.
One such example is the brewing industry that can
benefit from leveraging the power of IoT. For example, the Intel
technology-based SteadyServ iKeg system uses RFID and sensor technology
to collect data from beer kegs and provide feedback to bar owners about
the state of their inventory.
It aggregates market data to help distributors and
brewers better serve consumers by catering to their tastes. Sensors are
connected to a gateway and data is uploaded to the cloud.
At the corporate level, the keg data can be
combined with point-of-sale data, social media and historical data.
Using advanced analytics, beer manufacturers can ensure that each
individual location has the right beer, in the right place, at the right
time.
Another sector that would benefit from IoT based
solutions is the fleet management transport sector. Intel’s project with
Vnomics Corp, a leading fleet management solutions provider, has
demonstrated the value of IoT technology in fleet management.
The project used sensors, intelligent devices, and
real-time data analytics to make freight trucks more efficient and safer
to drive while reducing overall fuel consumption.
As a result, one of Vnomic’s customers, Saia
Trucking has seen approximately 15 million litres per year in fuel
savings by connecting 100 percent of their fleet with Internet gateways
based on Intel platforms.
Lastly, Africa can also benefit from harnessing IoT
technology in healthcare to help resolve some of the management
challenges faced by this sector.
Often, the healthcare systems in Africa are
crippled by inefficiencies and lack of better technologies to manage the
growing needs.
We see advances in sensor, connectivity and
processing technologies enabling all sorts of patient data to be
collected, analysed and securely transmitted to the cloud at affordable
costs.
The automatic collection and processing of data
from such sensors would also limit the risk health workers are exposed
to and also reduce human error during data entry.
The potential for leveraging IoT in the enterprise
is not lost on the analysts. The Business Insider BI Intelligence report
of 2014 predicts that enterprise will make up 39 per cent of the
roughly 23 billion IoT devices expected by the year 2019.
This will make enterprise use of IoT the largest by
sector outpacing home and government use. African businesses should
evaluate their processes and map areas that can benefit from IoT in
improving the quality of service delivered or in delivering healthier
bottom lines.
Mr Mwangi is Enterprise Technology Specialist for East Africa, Intel Corporation.
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