Industrial Operators – You Own Your Data and Then Some
July here in the states is painted red, white, and blue. It’s a time when freedom becomes front and center. We are grateful for our young country. We remember the Founding Fathers and the sacrifices they made. We recognize, if only for a moment, our collective pride. No matter your country of origin, those who came before were brave enough to make a path toward a future with greater freedom. This got us thinking (after all, we do have “free” in our company name!). What does freedom mean when it comes to data? What does freedom mean for remote network industry leaders? Freedom means access to your data. Freedom means ownership of your data. Freedom means visualizing operations through real-time data. Data, in a sense, renders the freedom to take action, make informed decisions, and realize greater business value at scale. At FreeWave, we pledge to make IIoT data a freedom all remote industrial leaders can enjoy. Freedom gives way to growth, learning, and success. For more than 30 years, we have believed in the power of data. Data impacts decisions, business value, and, most importantly, the very future and safety of real people and our planet. Henceforth (to borrow from our Founding Fathers’ lingo), we’ve taken the liberty to create the first-ever industrial internet of things (IIoT) Bill of Rights. This is more than a list of nice-to-haves, they are must-haves for remote industrial operators of every size and industry. The IIoT Bill of Rights is our position on data governance and data democratization. It addresses global reach – that a remote industrial operator can be anywhere in the world and know what’s happening within their operations no matter how far they are spread out and what environmental conditions surround them. We believe a secure cloud environment is the right of every remote industrial leader. Zero Trust Security is not a privilege of a few, but the mainstay of many. Data should be kept safe, no questions asked. We also champion continuous connectivity. This comes by way of unlimited, high-speed, affordable satellite connectivity for all. To round our IIoT Bill of Rights, we lean into one of our four core values: Be a simplifier. This means that IIoT data solutions should be easy, plug-and-play deployments. No hair-pulling. No head-scratching. No unnecessary downtime. Instead: Open box. Power on. Get Data. This means fast deployment because uptime is one of the biggest freedoms IIoT data enables. Data inspires greater uptime because you have knowledge at your fingertips to make amazing decisions that keep operations running smoothly, all while keeping people safer. Another IIoT Bill of Rights amendment calls for cross-translation of protocols so that remote industrial companies can transform existing SCADA networks into data racetracks that carry more data, faster. Cross-translation allows different edge or SCADA protocols on the edge, SCADA, and even devices that speak different protocols to communicate. This is how industrial leaders can unleash the full power of an IIoT network infrastructure. The last amendment is AI readiness – because those who own their data will win the AI race. To see FreeWave’s full IIoT Bill of Rights, read our position paper. Working with our expert technical staff at FreeWave and experienced channel partners to solve your biggest wireless and edge computing challenges, you leverage the full solution for IoT connectivity that includes the FreeWave Insights™ data platform-as-a-service, satellite service connectivity (we’re a Connectivity Wholesale Partner in Viasat’s ELEVATE program), our portfolio of rugged connected devices, and satellite-connected devices (we’re a Global Authorized Reseller of ORBCOMM). If you’re passionate about bringing meaningful technology solutions to remote industrial companies, join us as a channel partner. If you’re a remote operator looking to scale business value leveraging your IIoT data, contact us here. We’re making a path to a future where data serves industrial operators in measurable and positive ways. Let’s do it together.
Injecting Agility and Automation at the Well Pad
Small-to-medium-sized oil and gas companies understand what it takes to be agile. They must survive and thrive in an industry led by giant producers. While no recipe to success is the same, the smaller players need to maximize production while simultaneously keeping costs down if they want to compete in the market. By adopting technology solutions that will make them agile and effective, these organizations can secure fast and significant ROI, while meeting production and operations demands. However, technology selection in a constantly changing landscape is murky at best. Take an operations manager at a small oil and gas company, for example. They are likely tasked with ensuring that operations are running smoothly at the wellhead while delivering critical data back to the business office in real time. It seems simple enough, but the operator is probably facing constant pressure to provide insights into their production sites and new solutions for operational efficiencies. At the same time, the IT team wants monitoring at the well pad 24/7/365, and they want to access that data whenever they please from anywhere. Perhaps, they have attempted to tack on several different technology solutions to help provide said data – but the new demands require a more sophisticated approach. The pressure is on to find a way to optimize data collection, monitoring and control of the assets in the field (including the communications network) or the company won’t be able to compete with the “always on” oil and gas producers. The good news is that there is hope. There are programmable wireless communication solutions for the well pad that are available today. With a little research, it is possible to find a rugged, easy to use solution that will deliver massive ROI. What Does Well Pad Automation Look Like? In modern oil and gas operations, well pad automation builds analytics and intelligence into the wellhead environment. This takes a step beyond traditional communications because it enables intelligent applications and programmability that establish an advanced operating environment. Automation can also present the opportunity for predictive analytics, remote command and control, new protocol translations, and modern cloud-based services at the wellhead. Automation helps an operator streamline their job and provides the IT decision makers with data that helps them understand daily operations. Automation technology makes this possible by powering data transmission, improving data quality and enabling intelligent data analysis. The oil and gas company then has the power to make informed decisions that drive higher production outputs, with ROI often achieved in a matter of months, along with substantially lower CAPEX. Bringing an Automated Monitoring System All Under One Roof The financial and business benefits of industrial automation are clear, however selecting technology solutions can be challenging. Operations managers need a wireless communication solution that can support next generation of well pad automation needs. The solution must include a combination of data monitoring, logic execution and data visualization. This is especially beneficial at the well pad sites that are remote and isolated. The big advantage today is that these decision makers are no longer limited to disparate technology solutions: Wi-Fi Automated Monitoring Systems establish Wi-Fi at the wellhead to enable voice, video, sensor data access and perimeter security. They can also leverage Wi-Fi for rapid maintenance across the wellhead, saving maintenance staff hours of time. Instead of driving to the remote wellhead, they are now troubleshooting issues from a truck or office. Wi-Fi also supports the collection of information from RFID devices and wearable devices designed to protect workers in the field. FHSS When the Wi-Fi is bridged with a Radio Frequency (RF) solution, particularly Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) technology, the data can then be collected from tank farms, PLCs, and sensors on the well and within the well. The wireless intelligence that is located on the devices in the sensor network, enables local execution on the RF devices, which supports data storage or data collection and analysis. Through cloud-based services, the data can be published globally, allowing mobile access from virtually anywhere. Additionally, an automated monitoring system may enable wireless telemetry in hazardous environments through modular wireless I/O solutions that leverage sensors to monitor specific points along the wellhead. Programmability With built in programmability on top of Wi-Fi and RF technology, the automated monitoring system is not only optimizes today’s operations, but it prepares the organization for the future as industries shift towards digital technology and total connectivity. For example, an engineer can write a simple application using open source technologies like Node-RED and Python that will display a dashboard of real-time data from the well pad as it collects information from sensors. The organization could also automate tank-level monitoring by developing or leveraging a third-party application to monitor water levels in the remote tanks from the cloud – which would then be accessible anywhere with a wireless internet connection. Benefits that Stretch Beyond ROI Automation at the well pad not only leads to ROI through wireless automated monitoring and control, but it has the power to transform operations and streamline production. When a small-to-medium-sized oil and gas producer leverages automation, they can make highly intelligent decisions through the technology features that enable enhanced monitoring, logic execution and visualization. They can also leverage these solutions to create a more secure operating environment and communications network. These solutions note only benefit the operators today, but they prepare them for future technology needs.
Nine Perfect Gifts to Get the App Developer in Your Life
Buying gifts for anyone is a struggle, but buying gifts for someone who loves technology can be even more of a challenge. As connected homes, vehicles and Smart gadgets take the world by storm – there are many options at a variety of price points. This year, go for gold and get something they will really enjoy. We have just the list to get you started. Without further delay, from the outrageous to the useful, here are nine gifts that any app developer will enjoy! Intel Compute Stick A full-fledged Windows 10 computer, the size of a USB stick, that you can plug into any HDMI display like a TV or monitor, is sure to please the special app developer in your life. They can carry it around in their pocket or on their keychain and they’ll always have a PC handy. Gunnar Computer Glasses Work, emails, social media, or games consume a lot of our time. Studies show that it only takes a few hours in front of a screen to cause computer vision syndrome or digital eye strain. Engineered to eliminate eye strain and block blue light because people, on average, are spending 8-10 hours a day on their digital devices. Gunnar is the only patented computer eyewear recommended by doctors to protect and enhance your vision – the perfect option for the practical gift giver. Pixelated Hand Shaped Mouse Looking for something a little less serious? This gift is sure to make a splash at the office! This quirky pixel mouse replicated the ‘pointer’ cursor type most commonly seen when you hover over a link on a web page. Cooking for Geeks: Real Science, Great Cooks, and Good Food This fantastic book, written by Jeff Potter, offers some of the science behind cooking and answers burning questions such as, “how quickly will a pizza cook in a 500-degree oven?” It’s orientated towards anyone with a technical approach to life, so is more likely to suit a developer than a designer. IROLLER: A Reusable Liquid Free Touchscreen Cleaner for Smartphones and Tablets We are SURE every developer has this problem and, no surprise, we have the low-cost answer. Just roll this little stick over the touchscreen of your smartphone or tablet and instantly remove fingerprints, smudges, and smears. Your screen will look better, and you can stop spending money on wipes and sprays. LED Fiber Optic Men’s Jacket Yes, it’s incredible: This lightweight jacket includes 3/4 miles of fiber optic cables and LEDs! It’s the coolest jacket we’ve ever seen, and if your developer has to go to a conference or company party, this will be the must-pack item. Switch between four colors and keep it on for eight hours on a single charge! Solar Phone Charger As long as the sun is around (so another 5 billion years) you’ll never run out of battery for your phone again. This high-tech charger works anywhere and is the perfect useful tech gadget for your Developers next epic adventure. All of these gifts are fantastic but if you want to get your special app developer something a little more meaningful, and by meaningful we mean home-made, try hitting up a thrift store or a yard sale for any spare computer parts. Making Items like floppy disk coasters or keyboard key paper clips/push-pins are sure to be a hit but not to your wallet. No matter the size of your budget, we hope this gives you some fun and useful ideas for the app developer or techie in your life!
IoT News Roundup: Where is IoT headed?
The holiday season is fast-approaching and it seems there’s always a never-ending list of tasks that need to be completed every year. Just like the holiday checklist, tech in the IoT space seems to be ever-changing and expanding. As tech leaders and innovators we understand that life is hectic and unpredictable, but to make sure you don’t miss a beat, check out this week’s line-up for news in the IoT industry. Previously, we explored “How IoT is Saving Lives” when two massive natural disasters struck the U.S. In this post, we’ll ask the question, what’s next for the world of IoT/IIoT? Take a look at some of the top stories from the past couple of weeks: Forrester predicts what’s next for IoT In this recent post from @NetworkWorld about Forrester Research’s predictions post, Fredric Paul, @TheFreditor, asks the question on many people’s minds: Where is IoT headed? Among many points Paul makes in his article, one points out how IoT is likely to become more specialized in the coming year, moving away from generic hardware and software into platforms designed for specific industries. So-called “design and operate scenarios” will let IoT developers focus on the attributes that matter most to their own industries and use cases. Smart networks must evolve for mission-critical environments From @embedded_comp, Michael Ulch explains how the IoT industry has been flooded with advances in smart home automation, self-monitoring appliances, and connected security systems. All of these facets are important for the IoT existence but Ulch asks the same question as other reporters: what is next for IoT? Ulch believes that some of the greatest potential of the IoT is in the industrial and manufacturing realm, where Industrial IoT (IIoT) has the promise to monitor systems for preventative maintenance and boost energy efficiency and workplace productivity. However, Ulch says, successfully scaling from the smart home to the smart factory will require overcoming a number of technical challenges. How manufacturers are benefitting from the IoT revolution In this @NetworkWorld article by Majid Ahmed, it’s made clear that few people stand to benefit more from the IoT revolution than today’s manufacturers. Ahmed states in his article that whether it’s harnessing the power of data and metadata to make wiser decisions, or developing new and more efficient technologies capable of saving energy cost, the IoT is fundamentally reshaping how manufacturers produce the goods we use in our everyday lives. Businesses not aware of IoT issues This article from @techradar by @maxcooter briefly starts off by referencing an article from January, 10 surprising trends in the IoT for 2017, then Cooter continues, stating that Cradlepoint survey finds lots of interest in technology deployment but lack of security awareness. Cooter points out that, from these findings, IoT-using companies should be prepared to have a thorough overhaul of its infrastructure before deploying the technology. Despite the serious concerns about security, most are not having a second thought about rolling out IoT. Will this security breach take down most companies? Time will tell. The Industrial Internet of Things is Here to Stay In this article from @cbronline (Computer Business Review), author David Stain discusses how manufacturers are welcoming in a new era of productivity by enhancing Industry 4.0. The IIoT is at the heart of this transformation. Stain explores how a company’s success is often linked to its efficiency, hence visibility, across the plant floor, and how extending into the supply chain is a necessity. To keep pace with this competitive environment and the ever-increasing customer demands, every stage of the manufacturing process is facing the digital revolution. Final Thoughts: Virtually all industries and workers are benefitting from the technological revolution brought about by the inception and ensuring growth of IoT. Every industry does need to be cautious of the security threats that IoT comes with. Knowing this, we will still continue to see the growth for IoT especially in the manufacturing and Industrial industries. Be sure to stay tuned to our blog for the latest industry news and to read more about our own insights into some of these major trends.
Four Ways to Optimize Your Operations for IIoT
The phrase, “the future is here,” is overused and has evolved into a catchphrase for companies struggling to position themselves in times of technological or digital transformations. Still, the sentiment is understood, especially in times like today, where the Internet of Things is quite literally changing the way we think about hardware and software. We’d like to offer an addendum to the phrase: “The future is here more quickly than we thought it would be.” Digital transformation, increased computing ability, smart hardware and the growth of connectivity capabilities created a perfect storm of accelerated industry, and many were left scrambling to sift through the large amounts of information and solutions available. With that in mind, we wanted to provide some advice for companies across the industrial sector for the best ways to optimize operations for the Industrial IoT. 1) Upgrade your network and throughput capabilities. Nothing can kill the ROI of automated processes more quickly than the literal inability to function. It’s important to understand that as you upgrade machinery and invest in the software to run it all, those systems demand greater bandwidth in order to effectively utilize the big data and analytics capabilities. Several options exist, but for most companies some combination of industrial-strength broadband (WiFi), narrow-band, cellular and RF communications will create the most effective network for the needs. 2) Invest in smart hardware. This may seem like a no-brainer, and really, in the not-too-distant future, you may not even have a choice, but the shift toward Fog Computing is gaining momentum and being able to run decentralized computing between hardware and the Cloud can not only create greater operational efficiency, but it can also allow your data transmission to run more smoothly as well. The beauty of a Fog Computing system is that it allows a greater number of devices to transmit smaller data packets, which frees up bandwidth and speeds real-time data analytics. The core of this lies in the smart hardware. 3) Be proactive about application development. Smart hardware means that it has the ability to host applications designed specifically for your needs. Previously, many companies shied away from app development because it required highly skilled developers and devices capable of hosting those apps – a combination that wasn’t readily available. Today, the scene has changed. With the rise of Node-RED, it is much easier today to create proprietary applications without a computer engineering degree, and any company serious about leveraging IIoT technology needs to be able to to use the full scope of its data. 4) Secure your communications. There isn’t much more to be said about the importance of cybersecurity. If the last few years of massive data breaches haven’t rung alarm bells, then you aren’t paying attention. Cybersecurity today is a multi-layered need. Most companies building smart hardware are beginning to build encryption directly into the devices. But, since many companies use Cloud applications for computing and analytics, it is important to invest in strong security measures at that level as well. Unfortunately, the sophistication of cyber-attacks are only going to increase, along with the increase in importance of the data needing to be protected. It pays to be paranoid and act accordingly.
FreeWave Blog Series: The Intelligent Edge
Part 1: Novice App Dev – A Q&A with Greg Corey from FreeWave The Internet of Things (IoT) has changed the consumer world in ways no one ever imagined. By placing intelligence in the IoT network, the “Thing” can do whatever we want it to do. Now Industrial companies are seeking to take advantage of this edge-deployed intelligence in order to maximize profits, improve safety and streamline operations. In addition to the challenges IoT technology had to overcome such as cybersecurity, scalability and interoperability, Industrial IoT (IIoT) must also focus on reliability, ruggedness and more. FreeWave is uniquely positioned to understand and address all of these challenges. We have delivered world class IIoT platforms for almost 25 years to thousands of industrial and unmanned systems customers. With that experience, we’re now leading the charge to deploy intelligent applications at the edge of industrial networks and unmanned systems. In the second installment of “The Intelligent Edge,” we sat down with Greg Corey, FreeWave systems engineer, to talk about his new app – ZumDash – and the future of app development of the Internet of Things. FreeWave: Can you talk about how you got involved in IoT app development and what that means from an Industrial IoT perspective? Greg: I got involved with IoT app development when we [FreeWave] started the ZumIQ project. IoT app development revolves around developing software to interconnect devices, and there’s a huge need for that in the industrial space known as the IIoT. So, I started working with some graphical JavaScript-based environments like Node-RED, and I realized that this quickly allowed me to solve problems that were facing our customers. FreeWave: Are Node-RED and JavaScript the primary languages being used right now to develop those apps? Greg: Yes, mostly you’ll see a lot of Python stuff, a lot of Java, and hence JavaScript, and then you’ll see some stuff written in C as well, but, really, the web-based languages have taken off. People write apps in Java and PHP for the most part. And then Node-RED is a graphical frontend for JavaScript. FreeWave: Can you talk a little bit about the app that you developed for FreeWave – ZumDash – and where it resides within an IIoT network? Greg: So, FreeWave has traditionally made radio products where you just put data in and out of the system and that’s all it does. It’s just a complicated replacement for a physical cable. With the new ZumIQ platform, it allows us to add a lot of intelligence at the Edge of these networks where a radio is functioning much more than just a radio. It’s actually an application development environment. It’s an application platform. So, the app that I developed, I wanted to showcase the radio’s capabilities at the Edge of the network, and specifically, there’s a few other things I wanted to show. I wanted to show data storage: so, actually, it’s recording data on the radio itself. I wanted to show the display of that data in a dashboard format. I wanted to show communication, so the radio can still act as a radio and then you can have email alerts and other alerts based on data points. And then I wanted to show logic as well: If This Then That. So, to be able to read a sensor value and if it’s within a certain range to then take action on it. So, the app that I built was really meant to showcase those four things: data storage, dashboard, communication, and logic. FreeWave: So, for the storage part, how often are people trying to actually store data on those Edge devices as opposed to having them just be conduits for the data transmission? Is that a different way of approaching it? Greg: Yeah, it’s a different way of approaching it, and what it allows you to do is free up network capacity. So, if you’re continuously sending and receiving data from the field to a central source, you’re using throughput and bandwidth on that network. With some of these Edge networks, it could be in something that’s moving on the ground and there’s not a very high antenna height; it could be a really noisy environment; there could be a lot of metal obstructions in the way. Sometimes, in the industrial realm, the networks aren’t as rock solid as you would want them to be, or there’s limited capacity for connectivity. So, by moving some data storage operation to the Edge, we can then free up our network capacity for other resources. FreeWave: So then from there are you able to run analytics on that Edge device to filter out some of the data that you don’t need? Greg: Yeah. Iin ZumDash there’s a frontend on it that I use. Using the frontend, you can remotely log into the radio, you can examine every piece of data the radio has recorded, and you can do that graphically. Then, you can build charts based upon that data, and then you can also export to Excel. So, all the data that resides on the radio in the MySQL database is available for analytics remotely, on demand. FreeWave: Does this have a dual track function where you can store data and look at it later, but you can also get the data in real-time if you need it? Greg: Yes, and also, how often the app records data to the database is configurable. You can look at configured intervals. The quickest time I can do at the moment is five seconds. So, every five seconds it’ll record data from six different sensors. FreeWave: Why was the dashboard display an important part of this app? Greg: It allows easy access to data. Let’s say there’s a problem and you want check on the status of a device. I don’t want to have to look through logs or something like that. I want that data easily displayable. So, adding the dashboard allows anybody to be able to log in and
IIoT Edge Applications: Small SCADA
In a small SCADA environment, remote monitoring and automation are important tools for creating operational efficiency and ensuring cost-effective solution deployment. Real-time data in small SCADA environments enable programmable radios to act upon data at physical locations of the sensor or device. As such, processes can be remotely monitored and controlled without the Cloud. You still can send data to the Cloud, but only the data you need, when you need it. This frees up network bandwidth and minimizes latency significantly. In industries where even milliseconds count, this kind of Edge intelligence can mean the difference between ops in the red or ops in the black. We recently announced the release of our ZumDash application, which is hosted on our ZumIQ App Server, and can function agnostically across different I/O systems and networks. In a small SCADA environment, the ZumDash is ideal for real-time data aggregation and transmission. It is capable of running both at the Edge on hardware, as well as the Cloud, ensuring uninterrupted functionality. In an oil and gas setting, ZumDash can empower field operations managers via the intuitive dashboard display that can be customized to fit individual needs. Additionally, the app itself is powered by Node-RED programming, making it easy to configure on the fly, along with the ability receive real-time alerts for any operational needs like inspection, parts replacement, or troubleshooting. Essentially, having a remote monitoring and automation system powered by programmable Edge radios that can host proprietary third-party apps like ZumDash enable companies to more effectively deploy resources, saving time and money across the board. For any companies in the Industrial IoT space – or companies that rely on dispersed assets and asset management – intelligence at the Edge can be the true difference maker for your organization. For more information about the ZumDash Small SCADA application, please visit: https://www.freewave.com/zumiq-remote-access-control/ To learn more about the full ZumIQ solution, read case studies or download solutions briefs, please visit: https://www.freewave.com/zumiq/
FreeWave Blog Series: The Intelligent Edge
A Blog Series Dedicated to IIoT, Application Development, and Intelligence at the Edge The Internet of Things (IoT) has changed the consumer world in ways no one ever imagined. By placing intelligence in the IoT network, the “Thing” can do whatever we want it to do. Now Industrial companies are seeking to take advantage of this edge-deployed intelligence in order to maximize profits, improve safety and streamline operations. In addition to the challenges IoT technology had to overcome such as cybersecurity, scalability and interoperability, Industrial IoT (IIoT) must also focus on reliability, ruggedness and more. FreeWave is uniquely positioned to understand and address all of these challenges. We have delivered world class IIoT platforms for almost 25 years to thousands of industrial and unmanned systems customers. With that experience, we’re now leading the charge to deploy intelligent applications at the edge of industrial networks and unmanned systems. In the first edition of “The Intelligent Edge,” we’re sitting down with Jesse Steiner, FreeWave systems engineer, to discuss how he is helping industrial customers understand the power of deploying intelligent applications in an industrial network. FreeWave: We’re starting this blog series to interview people who are contributing new applications and ideas for IIoT environments. You have an interesting story to tell around that — can you share that with us? Steiner: Sure — so I started getting involved with IoT apps once we released ZumIQ, the App Server Software platform that is deployed on our ZumLink 900 Series radios. I don’t have a whole lot of programming experience — I’ve used a handful of different languages at a pretty novice level over the years. The first thing I used it for was to write a simple app to monitor the level in the water tank out at a remote ranch location that wasn’t often manned. It was the second property for the ranch owner. He had this big water tank, 22,000 gallons, that he needed to keep an eye on the level because it provided irrigation water, drinking water, bathing water, all that. He’d had issues in the past where the circuit breaker on the pump tripped, or had a leak, and he went out to his second property to find he had no water to use. So we took a ZumLink 900 Series radio with ZumIQ, wrote an application for it that would pull a sensor for the level in the tank, it would format that data, and then send it over the radio network to the internet and to the cloud, and then to the ranch owner so he could look at his water tank anywhere. It was really done as proof of concept, and as a learning exercise for me, but it’s been deployed for a month, month and half maybe, and it’s already proven very useful on multiple occasions FreeWave: So how did you write the app? Steiner: I don’t want to call it a programming language, but I used a programming environment called Node-RED. It’s basically a graphical interface to Node.js. It’s a graphical thing where you lay these function blocks down and connect lines but you’ve also got the ability to write your own Javascript code that gets inserted and run in that environment. From there, it got sent to a cloud hosting service called dweet.io, which is really good for very beginner use — it doesn’t require any advanced IT knowledge or programming knowledge and you can get data in there and store it really quickly. And for actually viewing it, I used a service that’s owned by the same company as dweet called freeboard.io. You basically build a dashboard and point it towards the data you have stored in dweet, and it will pull that out and display it in a graphical way. FreeWave: What other applications could the tank level monitoring be used for? Steiner: That application caught the eye of the company who installed the pump and tank system out at that property in the first place, and they’ve since reached out us and said, “Hey, we’re interested in this. We’d like to see if we could develop it further.” As FreeWave, we’re not selling the software or any of the service. But we did provided the radios and pretty much the same code that we had used before to this company, so they can develop something that would be more than proof of concept — really, a marketable software product where you could choose the number of tanks, monitor multiple tanks of different sizes, keep an eye on pump status, potentially control the status of pumps and valves — really for a whole monitoring and control system when it comes to remote irrigation. What that comes down to is intelligence, monitoring and control in remote locations, where is kind of where FreeWave has been used for 20 years out in the oilfields. FreeWave: Any sort of learnings you took away from going through the process of writing the application? Steiner: For a non-developer, the Node-RED environment is a very useful, powerful tool. It’s great for getting simple projects up and running very quickly without vast programming knowledge. The projects I’ve worked on since then have become a bit more complicated, so more and more I wasn’t just using pre-made blocks in these applications, it was just more code in the traditional since. So Node-RED is a great platform for getting going — and I still use it, I just rely less and less on its built-in features and I’m kind of adding my own. Once we got in a situation where we needed to make things truly available anywhere, basically once I grew out of the freeboard.io dashboard, I started making things from scratch in Javascript and HTML, but it was really a good springboard to get me introduced. In terms of tips for somebody that would be just starting, really the biggest tip is don’t be intimidated. Don’t think you need to be an expert coder to put together
International IIoT Perspectives: Fog Computing On a Global Scale
Fog Computing is a slippery concept. It combines two critical components of data computing today, Edge and Cloud computing, into a system that leverages the strength – and necessity – of both. This idea of local computing (the Edge) combined with more complicated analytics engines (the Cloud) opens up a world of possibilities for data communications. Fog Computing & Emergency Response Earlier this fall, researchers at Georgia Tech looked at the application of Fog Computing in areas struck by natural disasters. In these areas, traditional means of internet connection are often knocked out of commission, leaving rescuers and victims unable to communicate with one another, even though there are many apps designed to help facilitate rescue. Where Fog Computing comes in is that rather than relying on a direct connection to the internet, different Fog nodes can be leveraged to create an ad hoc network that can still send basic messages: However, one important advantage of a fog system is that messages can be distributed between a broad network of computers through temporary ad hoc connections, even without live internet connections. The geo-distributed network of fog nodes, which could be phones, tablets or any device part of the Internet of Things, could generate communication channels in areas where there were none before, allowing the creation of population density maps in flooded areas. Another application would allow users to check the fog network to see if their family members are safe after a crisis event. Fog Computing applied in this setting is applicable around the world, as we are reminded daily of both the ubiquity and fragility of wireless communications against the whims of nature. Smart Grids Need Fog Computing Across the globe, more and more countries are jumping into smart grid deployments. The good side is that smart energy tools are critical to managing resources. The bad side is that most are not sufficiently developed with the necessary security infrastructure in place. When considering the rapid development of smart grid tech, Fog Computing quickly comes up as a viable tool for ensuring reliable data communication and information transfer between consumers, grid operators and larger energy providers. The Open Fog Consortium, a global Fog Computing group comprised of technology and academic thought leaders, has formed Resilient Information Architecture Platform for Smart Grid (RIAPS), a project aimed at developing software for Fog Computing platforms: RIAPS is very different from conventional platforms as it was designed for inherently distributed and decentralized applications. An application is composed of interconnected real-time software components (similar to micro-services) that can be event- and/or time-triggered and that interact via well-defined communication patterns, including publish/subscribe and synchronous and asynchronous service invocations. Such components are location transparent and agnostic about the underlying messaging framework. Although the project is based out of Vanderbilt University, in the United States, the repercussions will be felt throughout the world. Is Fog Computing the Final Answer? While Fog Computing has yet to be standardized and applied across the wide range of IoT technologies out in the field today, its ability to combine both local and Cloud data analytics is something that can have an impact in both the consumer and the Industrial IoT. However, the first adapters, companies that play in IIoT settings, will be largely responsible for driving the growth of this concept moving forward into the future.
Transforming SCADA As We Know It Through App Dev
Small- and mid-sized industrial organizations that are reliant upon Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems — like those in oil and gas, energy, utilities, and agriculture — are facing new pressures to meet market demands. In these environments, agility and operational efficiency are no longer “nice to have” but are now essential to survival. Operations managers at these smaller businesses constantly face demands to incorporate modern technology that requires increased connectivity across networks in order to automate, monitor and control the processes that optimize operational success (and limit risk/downtime). The challenge for many of these small- and mid-sized businesses is that they need to find solutions rugged enough to operate in harsh and remote field locations, while reliably monitoring data, executing logic locally and enabling visibility globally – all with limited resources. In many instances, a traditional SCADA system is hard on the pocket books and ROI is something that might only be achieved in the distant future. The good news is that technology providers have been listening and working to craft solutions for these businesses to ease the cost burden on the front end and expedite the ROI process. App Server Software Available Today Freshly available (as of today), App Server Software technology combines proven, industrially hardened 900 MHz wireless telemetry with the ability to program and host third-party applications, similar to a Linux-based Raspberry Pi embedded in an industrial Ethernet radio. Within the app server software solution, Industrial IoT (IIoT) developers have the ability to program with any language that is compatible with a Linux kernel, including: Python, Java, C++, Node-RED and Node.js development environments. The App Server software that FreeWave now offers comes pre-loaded with Node-RED, Python and MQTT for easy industrial IoT app development on multiple ZumLink 900 Series radio models. App-Based SCADA Systems With the app server software came the opportunity to transform SCADA. In order to support the small- and mid-sized businesses that face the costs of Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) type hardware and monthly recurring fees, the engineers at FreeWave have successfully built a prototype ZumDash Small SCADA app in Node-RED that is enabled by a ZumLink programmable radio. The prototype app is available at a fraction of the cost of traditional SCADA. The Small SCADA app enables reliable data collection; monitoring, and remote command and control functionality through triggers, alarms and actions. It supports analog, digital and HART data through a Modbus interface. It also provides a “dashboard” with user-defined status updates and data trend visualization from any web-based device. Essentially, the new app serves as a small SCADA replacement. A Sample ZumDash Dashboard App Development Opportunities The Small SCADA app is only the beginning. Developers have a big opportunity to help transform operations across many industries through app dev at the edge. FreeWave wants to enable these developers through its pilot program. Participants will receive a complimentary hardware/software dev kit to write their own industrial IoT applications with easy-to-use developer tools. Learn more about the app-based SCADA system here: FreeWave Unveils ZumIQ App Server Software to Power IoT Programmability at the Edge
