IoT-Based Asset Tracking: Considerations And How To Mitigate Challenges

Special thanks to Paul Schmokel , Rick Cartier, and John Stih for his valuable collaboration?

This is the third article of the series: IoT-Based Asset Tracking.?

Dive in with our experts’ insight, and explore their perspectives, questions, and answers on which considerations should be kept in the back of our heads along with the possible ways to be prepared and tackle the challenges we face when designing for IoT-based asset tracking.??

From a wireless perspective:??

Special thanks to Rick Cartier for his valuable collaboration??

Once we’ve identified the possible challenges, we’ll face on our IoT design journey, it’s time to come up with solutions and plan accordingly. These are some of the considerations for seamless operations highlighted by Rick Cartier during our discussion:???

Redundancy: The Backbone of Reliability??

The word redundancy gets thrown around so frequently in the field that it feels redundant in itself. However, there are few or no scenarios where having that safety net is not the wisest alternative. In this case, counting with alternative solutions to rescue your systems when connectivity falters involve more than just backups, you need to have a full understanding of the causes and consequences of losing connectivity.???

Mapping Every Scenario??

Proper planning is key for successful projects. In the IoT-based asset tracking realm this means anticipating every possible scenario, every possible place, corners and edges if the world your cargo might venture to. For example, if you plan out GPS tracking for a project where the assets might go through a warehouse where there’s poor or no GPS reception, you might lose very important knowledge. This is why it’s important to understand where your project will go and what circumstances that might involve.???

Mandatory Connectivity in Critical Applications???

What happens then when constant connectivity isn’t just a nice-to-have, but a non-negotiable requirement? Think of crucial applications such as organ transportation, where maintaining connection all-around is paramount. For these cases, planning may also involve establishing mandates and limiting operations to areas where cellular network is robust and ready. But even when we’ve planned out every possible scenario… what happens when connectivity is still unavoidably lost, even just temporarily????

Preparing for Data Loss and System Response??

Even when everything is planned for, there might still be some unavoidable mishaps that fall out of our control. For this reason, a crucial aspect of planning is getting ready for failure… or in this case for data loss and how your system could respond if such setbacks happened. What contingency plans can you have in store to manage an unexpected disruption????

Every project starts with a need and an idea followed by endless planning. IoT-based asset tracking is not the exception. Planning for this type of application is not just a phase, it’s an ongoing strategy where the ability to adapt and respond to unforeseen scenarios while keeping the integrity of the operations is the key to success.???

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To get an insight into the Sensors Perspective and the Power Perspective on this topic, click on the following link and read the full article on our website.