A while ago, I would have only known what the letters stand for and not what it actually is, and I don’t think I’m alone on this. However, the IoT is all around us and will continue to grow. I have been on a steep learning curve and thinking about this made me wonder about what we think we know and what are the common misconceptions about IoT? I have created my top five list of what I believe are the main misconceptions about IoT and here I will try and debunk them (in a non-techie way!) for you.
Wearables such as wristbands, smart fridges or thermostats are of course examples of IoT applications which are well known, ask most of the public for examples and this would be it. However, there are so many more examples of IoT in the business environment away from the more obvious ones. For example, within urban environments IoT can monitor air quality, provide adaptive traffic control and environmental monitoring. On construction sites, IoT can monitor PPE usage and provide predictive maintenance. IoT can be found in all industries, for more information drop me a line and I will provide you with further examples.
The reason many solutions are only implemented by bigger business is because they pay large consultancies to demonstrate the economics; find the right supplier and this should come as part of the package, therefore making it much more viable for a SME to evaluate and implement.
There are many solutions that are simple to install and have business impact that any businesses can deploy to start their IoT journey, for example:
Security has to be one of the key points and I would strongly advise anyone interested in IoT to talk with their security advisor about. It is most definitely not a straightforward one line answer, the reality is that almost any system has vulnerabilities, so it is about designing the solution so that these potential vulnerabilities become impotent.
For instance, it may be possible to intercept the data from a parking sensor, however by ensuring there is no pathway from this device back into the cloud, network security is maintained, and any potential data interception is entirely meaningless.
Security should be like an onion with many layers, each layer providing a different type and level of protection because hacking a system should not be as easy as knowing a password or IP address.
It is certainly possible to blow the budget on high end systems, however unless the system is being deployed for ecological benefit (which is priceless) the general purpose of using IoT in a busines environment is to generate savings, gains or increase output. All of which result in a return on investment and therefore are not an additional cost burden to a business. With Capex and Opex options commonly available, cashflow doesn’t need to be negatively impacted either.
The technology adoption curve dictates that as IoT becomes mainstream prices will decrease and therefore utilisation increases. A real-world example of technology adoption in industry is the car industry, where Formula 1 drives innovation that filters down into the cars that you and I drive at an affordable price.
People have always feared technical change, the most obvious example are the luddites, a secret oath-based organisation of textile workers in the 19th century, they were well known for destroying textile machinery in protest, which stemmed from the fear of losing their jobs to machinery. Jobs were lost but others grew and what was gained was a better quality of life, better health, and the creation of less harmful and dangerous jobs. There will be some job losses, Gartner predicts that 1.8M jobs will be eliminated but more positively 2.3M jobs will be created with AI. There will be new economies and new businesses developing. Our lives will be changed but we can’t replace humanity, for example would you be happy with a robot cutting your hair?
This is just the tip of the iceberg regarding misconceptions and questions around the IoT. It’s interesting to look beneath the fears and drill down on the possibilities of IoT.
We enjoy questions and would be more than happy to answer any concerns or dispel any myths that you may have heard around the IoT in a user-friendly non-techie way. Please contact us if you have queries, which are not in my top 5 and we will be happy to help you.
2020 was a record-breaking year, but some of the reasons went unnoticed because of preoccupation with the pandemic. 2020 had the sunniest April and May on record and the third-hottest day ever recorded in August. It also had the wettest February on record with the highest number of flood warnings ever issued, as well as the wettest single day ever in October. It was warm, wet and windy.
The Met Office predict ever hotter drier summers and wetter warmer winters. With sea-levels also rising we need proactive solutions quickly.
Surprisingly, the UK has no single body responsible for flood control. The Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is regarded as “the policy lead” in England. However, actual decisions depend on district and borough councils, the Cabinet Office, the Department for Communities, the Highways Authority, water and sewerage companies, independent Internal Drainage Boards, coastal protection agencies and a variety of other bodies. Even though water flows without regard to political boundaries, areas that fall inside Wales and Scotland have been delegated to their respective regional assemblies, further impeding a unified response.
Although DEFRA specifically advocates a “free flow of information” between all these agencies, it is inevitably fragmented. Knowing what is happening at any given moment is further complicated by pumps and sluices under the control of landowners, and construction activities that change the flow of surface and subterranean water. Widespread housing developments on flood plains also change the risks. What is missing is the ability to gather instant, highly detailed information on complete water systems.
Measuring water levels is not new: you can see old-style gauge boards beside many big rivers. DEFRA and other agencies rely on electronic measuring devices which are able to communicate with remote measuring stations. They provide an API which allows any interested party to access their data ( http://environment.data.gov.uk/flood-monitoring/doc/reference) but that data is limited.
The imminent water level in one location is often less determined by height readings in that location than by flow-rates upstream, plus other factors. Water momentum, wind direction, the saturation of flood plains and the quantity of rain falling in any particular location are all hard to measure. Air humidity, temperature, soil condition, the water table, plant growth on riverbanks and debris in sewers all contribute to creating a complex picture.
Current systems don’t capture enough information, but they are also limited by how the data is used. Most water monitoring systems do little more than trigger an alert if the river level is high. This isn’t much better than a weather report telling you it is raining when you can look out of the window.
Alerts are often too inaccurate, imprecise or late for those affected to act. By using more sensors and better analysis we might achieve two things, earlier and more precise predictions and proactive flood prevention.
Some good news is the explosion in sensor devices that communicate via the Internet of Things. This means that more types of sensor can be deployed over larger areas cost-effectively. They require no independent wired or wireless networks and there is no reason for agencies to hold information silos. Local stakeholders can deploy and extract the information they require and easily share it with regional and national interests.
Many different kinds of sensor are available. For water level monitoring alone there are radar devices, electrical switches, gas bubbler pressure gauges, flowmeters, submersible pressure transducers. Especially interesting are ultrasonic devices such as the Wilsen sonic level [1].
IoT devices of this type use little power so they can function for years unattended, yet still connect with internet gateways 15km away, for example the LoRaWAN® system. This means it is feasible to deploy them over larger areas, such as tributaries, drainage ditches, fields, forests and culverts.
The other potential advance depends on AI. Not only can an AI-powered system extract better flood predictions from larger data sources, but it could also be applied to prevent flooding. By truly centralising all water management related information, AI can identify the systemic patterns that lead to loss of control over water. Solutions that could minimise flood disasters may be deployed far from the locations they devastate, replacing flood alerts with avoidance policies.
AI and IoT approaches to flood prevention are already being explored by Fujitsu in Japan, Google in Patna India, the Lassonde School of Engineering in Canada and in the town of Cary in North Carolina using the SAS Viya AI analytics platform and Microsoft Azure.[1] https://www.pepperl-fuchs.com/great_britain/en/WILSEN-system.htm
Artificial intelligence is the beginning of a revolution, but in one way it is just like every other revolution: It can be abused. Whether or not you already use any AI, you need to understand two things; that AI is cranking up the severity of security threats, but it can also offer improved security.
AI systems are fast and dynamic, meaning they learn from experience instead of relying on pre-programmed assumptions. AI-powered malware doesn’t require the hacker to know anything about you in advance. However, an AI-powered defence system needn’t depend on fixed definitions of who to trust and who not, or how they gain access. It can learn to recognise suspicious activity.
AI will power more advanced intrusion attempts into systems that are themselves more powerful. End users need to understand that the sophistication of AI-powered tools does not mean they are secure. For example, facial recognition systems powered by AI can potentially be spoofed by another AI, providing building access to criminals, or framing innocent people with forged video footage.
A report from Forrester “Using AI for Evil” says “mainstream AI-powered hacking is just a matter of time” and Ciaran Martin, of the National Cyber Security Centre, said it’s a matter of “when not if” [there will be a major attack on the UK].
Using “bot manipulation”, malware can use AI to adapt its appearance so that antivirus software doesn’t recognise it. It can also use AI to sample normal network activity and use it as camouflage, known as “generative networks”. When the target is itself an AI system, a malicious actor can feed “poisoned” data to the engine in order to bypass filters or simply cause damage. AI can also learn to impersonate a legitimate person or company in order to launch a social engineering attack.
The ability of AI to react quickly and adjust its responses as situations evolve also makes it ideal for defenders. An AI security system gives defenders the edge by providing early warnings and rapid incident response, so attack vectors can be closed down before any real harm can be done. Darktrace is one such tool.
Behaviour analytics is another important defence tool. Detecting unusual activity allows the AI to close access to key resources while a deeper examination is undertaken, for example, using Varonis. Mastercard’s director of cyber and intelligence solutions in South Africa, says AI is saving $20 billion per annum by detecting fraud in this way. Embedded malware code can be detected using a similar method.
AI-powered solutions also help by improving activity logging; centralising it in a single place and providing tools to zoom in on significant trails. The logs collected by Azure and other Cloud platforms provide a good basis for an effective SIEM system. These tools also enable you to create and evaluate your alert response workflows.
Once in the Cloud you have access to specialist security products and expertise that few enterprises can deliver in-house. Specialist companies constantly monitor the global situation to stay aware of threats emerging in particular sectors or locations. An ideal SIEM integrates this digital intelligence with your standard procedures such as logs, asset inventory, AI pattern detection and automated incident responses, and makes it easy to demonstrate your statutory compliance.
Unfortunately, we can’t wait for someone else to solve our cybercrime problems. The very people we should be able to trust to protect us, the NSA and GCHQ, created the EternalBlue tool used in recent ransomware attacks such as WannaCry, NotPetya and BadRabbit. They also left exploitable flaws in Windows and implanted backdoors into server and router firmware. Although this is similar to the warnings against Huawei, the NSA have placed similar backdoor access into products from Cisco, Juniper and Fortinet.
The problem with creating these weapons is that everyone else soon uses them; innocent companies are the victims. According to Wikileaks on 7th March, the CIA regularly listens in on Samsung televisions and iPhones and can take control of numerous IoT devices and car computers. When they do it, others will soon follow.
For businesses the goal is clear, keep spyware and vulnerabilities out of your software and hardware. That means taking a keen interest in where your IT products come from and investing in good security. There are limits to what is practical, but an integrated security system powered by AI is the best possible solution
5G has suffered bad press from both detractors and supporters. Spoof stories about it spreading coronavirus were soon dismissed, but banal predictions of refrigerators ordering milk and shoppers wearing headsets to receive advertising were even more likely to blunt our interest. 5G undoubtedly creates the groundwork for an enormous technical revolution but adjusting the central heating with our smartphone or watching B-movies in higher resolution is not the point. Manufacturing and logistics industries will lead the real 5G revolution.
Although the public 5G network will take some time to get up to speed, local area networks can implement true 5G more quickly. This will enable factories, ports, universities, farms and airports to have their own industrial IoT systems (IIOT) today. Numerous factories are already claiming the ‘first’ 5G production lines, including a Nokia factory in Oulu Finland, Worcester Bosch in the UK, Mercedes Benz in Sindelfingen Germany and General Motors in Michigan.
Speed is often mentioned as a key advantage of 5G, but it helps if we break down the meaning of ‘speed’. 5G radio waves don’t move more quickly than 4G ones, rather the entire system has been optimised for faster data transfer. 5G can reduce latency to as little as a millisecond, enabling machinery to respond to sensors almost instantly.
Consider how quickly a driverless car must respond in order to operate safely and you will understand the value of low latency. In a similar way, 5G will enable a whole new generation of robots and automated machinery to radically improve dexterity, quality control and safety. Ericsson’s vice-president Åsa Tamsons explains:
"With one millisecond latency, you can sense whether there is a deviation in the process before the tool even hits the blade and you can stop the machine before the error happens".
‘Edge’ responses in today’s driverless cars are achieved by mounting the control device directly on the vehicle. 5G cars will achieve similar response times but with all the benefits of environmental network connectivity too.
5G also has far broader channels so that more devices can be connected simultaneously. It is said that 5G will soon be able to connect a million devices per square kilometre. Imagine what an engineer could do with ten thousand eyes and ten thousand hands. All the extra data feeding into AI enabled machinery would provide a precise real-time grasp of complex distributed systems and emergent situations with many industrial applications.
Not all 5G systems need to be this fast, but a typical industrial 5G LAN will match a good Ethernet one. A huge disadvantage of Ethernet is the wires, they are expensive to install, prone to breakages and need regular maintenance. In contrast, once setup a wireless 5G system is easy to maintain and reliable (99.9999% or ‘six nines’ reliability).
One reason for hard-wiring a system rather than using ‘wi-fi’ is because most types of wireless connection can fail to penetrate walls and metal obstructions. However, 5G is relayed between multiple small nodes and can re-route itself instantly if a passing tanker or crane blocks any particular path between devices. The technology is called ‘coordinated multi-point’ (CoMP).
Finally, 5G provides much improved network control, including the ability to subdivide the network. Known as ‘network slicing’, this means each virtual sub-net can be customised and optimised for multiple different purposes.
Whether public or private, 5G networks have applications everywhere. By planting sensors in the ground, farmers will know precisely how much water or fertiliser their crops need and when, or query weather satellites and predict their ideal harvest time and yield. Driverless machinery will often deliver it. The health of herds can be monitored remotely and assets tracked across the farm and supply chains.
The IoT has already demonstrated multiple applications in health and fitness. We are beginning to use proximity sensors and temperature sensitive cameras to track disease outbreaks. In the future 5G may be able to stop a public health threat in its tracks. Augmented reality may also facilitate remote examinations, benefitting people in isolation and the NHS system.
5G supports three rather different kinds of technology; smartphone broadband, large-scale IoT and critical ‘edge’ operations. Because smartphone makers need to sell handsets to pay for the public network, some of the more frivolous ‘benefits’ have been hyped. Many people will receive a Samsung S20 this Christmas and wonder what to do with it. However, the real revolution will be quieter and more impressive: few enterprises will be able to ignore 5G and still remain competitive.
Like sonar, ultrasonic transducers can detect detailed qualities of surfaces by bouncing sound waves off them. Today’s sensors are cheap, compact and have a vast range of applications.
The simplest ultrasound detectors in use are passive microphones but the majority of applications use a transducer - a device that combines a sound emitter and echo receiver. They are tuned to frequencies above 18 kHz, therefore inaudible to the human ear. Sound can be generated in a variety of ways but the most common methods are piezoelectric and capacitive (creating an electrostatic field between a back-plate and a diaphragm).
The vast majority operate in a straightforward way: they measure the time lapse between the signal generation and the arrival of its reflection. This simple principle can be tuned and adapted to achieve an impressive variety of functions. Sensors can detect and record speed, weather, size, material levels, numbers of items, condensation, contours and profiles, distance or proximity. Their targets can be large or tiny, near or distant, stationary or moving. When fitted in mobile vehicles and containers, geolocation reporting is often incorporated onto the same devices.
Some of the uses of proximity sensors are familiar - such as reversing vehicles and intruder alarms - but they have far more potential. Detectors can calculate accurate distances to the intercepted surface. The basic formula is simple: L = 1/2 × T × C - (L being the distance, T the time between transmission and reception, and C the speed of sound). Variations in the speed of sound can be allowed for as required and many sensors can work underwater or within other fluids where sound propagates differently. Detected surfaces can be irregular or diffuse, such as wire mesh, yet the sensors are resistant to interference from mist or dust.
This principle allows sensors to monitor the level of material in tanks and silos, highly valuable for any business reliant on continuous feedlines or just-in-time reordering. Ultrasound sensors can be set to detect a concise point or to average a broad irregular field of objects such as those in municipal recycling bins. Despite irregular contents, ultrasound sensors can issue automated alerts to the collection or refilling company, ensuring perfect logistical efficiency.
Sensors are also being deployed to monitor water levels in rivers and reservoirs, facilitating river management, water supplies, flood control and protecting natural habitats. Similarly, they can monitor levels when filling boxes and bottles or the cups in a drink dispenser.
Speed cameras use infra-red but discrete ultrasonic transducers can apply the same principle to estimate the speed and direction of moving objects. There are a variety of ways to implement this; sensors can emit a series of pulses, calculating the change in distance over a given time, multiple sensors can triangulate in several dimensions, and (in principle) a Doppler effect could be calculated from pitch modulations.
Engine and motor speeds can also be safely monitored using discrete acoustic sensors.
A basic requirement on many production lines, acoustic sensors have no difficulty calculating the exact number of items that pass through an acoustic signal. Sensors can also sort boxes of different sizes, providing independent counts; useful for economic packing into delivery vehicles.
Some of the applications are surprising, for example linking a sensor to a rotating anemometer and/or weather vane can transmit constant information about wind speed and direction for meteorological purposes. Locating them at entry and exit points can ensure car park or building occupancy is not exceeded or that all personnel have been evacuated.
Medical ultrasound scanners are familiar, but profile sensing is now highly versatile and affordable. It can be implemented into semi-automated or robotic assembly lines, or to support shaping and finishing processes. A simple, but vital, application is to monitor stacking. They can also accurately monitor roll diameters and coil winding and unwinding operations.
The possibilities for acoustic sensing are vastly extended by transmitting the output from smart sensors across the “internet of things”. Multiple outputs can then be combined in a single sophisticated web-based interface and monitored in real time from any convenient location. Smart sensors can then be easily interfaced with microcontrollers and actuators to provide sophisticated remote control and record details into enterprise management software.
Many businesses have yet to realise the wealth of opportunities that come from linking smart sensors to the IoT. Off-the-shelf devices are cheap and unobtrusive. For more demanding applications, bespoke algorithms can be implemented in the device firmware or in software at the collection point.
Many businesses, not just factories, can benefit from sensors. They can monitor doors, count products, maintain temperatures, control production lines, automate stock records and optimise a host of other functions from the most simple to the most complex. They are cheaper and more capable than ever before: if you aren’t using them already you should be exploring the possibilities, but how you connect them is a key consideration.
Arguably, a door-bell is a simple wired sensor but a door bell can also be wireless. Even in the case of door bells, the best solution may be deployment-specific. Here are some of the key advantages and disadvantages to consider when deciding how to connect your sensors.
Quick, and therefore cheap, installation is often a decisive advantage in favour of wireless sensor systems. Wireless is frequently the only sensible solution in listed buildings or on sites already crowded with infrastructure. It is usually more viable when the site is split between several locations. Wireless connection easily causes less disruption to ongoing operations and less damage to plaster and floorboards.
In contrast, once you have paid for the equipment and installation, running costs should favour wired networks that do not need to lease bandwidth. Nevertheless, wireless IoT solutions are usually cheaper overall - as are future modifications, equipment relocations and network extensions.
A downside to connectivity is always the potential for intrusion or data corruption. IoT and Cloud solutions offer a range of protections and many come free - relieving you of a significant IT burden. Wired networks keep more points of vulnerability in-house, but are only more secure if you have personnel who know how to protect them. New security enhancements - such as SDN - can provide signal encryption and dynamic routing with minimal IT overheads.
Wired Ethernet networks are often a sound decision when all of your infrastructure is reachable. Wireless solutions have an obvious advantage if you need to connect remote equipment. If you are a utility operator, a farmer with multiple scattered assets, or a transportation company whose assets are moving, other options make little sense.
When your assets are in exposed locations, even inside a factory, remember that not all wired switches, routers and hubs are robust when subjected to extreme temperatures, moisture, grit, or power spikes. Wifi is therefore more reliable in harsh environments.
Wireless sensors are easy to replace or relocate without rewiring anything. You can also easily extend the network to incorporate additional operations, even when they are in a different building. Wired networks often require IT engineers to keep them running properly.
In contrast, wireless networks rarely require attention - they communicate over the Internet, which is maintained for you. Wireless technology makes it easier to benefit from upgrades and patches, or new Cloud software as it comes along.
By linking your devices using the IoT, your wireless network and Cloud resources can become scalable to fluctuating demands. If your production scales down, so does your consumption of bandwidth. If it scales up, extra capacity should be available on demand. With the right contracts in place, your sensor-control infrastructure can become a fixed and predictable percentage of your operating overheads. By comparison, a physical network always costs money to expand and returns nothing when it contracts.
Some wireless sensors rely on batteries. The advantage of batteries is that your wireless devices stay on and connected even in a power failure. The downside of batteries is that changing them usually takes a sensor offline (although this can be avoided using capacitive power storage). Conversely, wired sensors will always fail if their whole network fails or has to be powered down for maintenance.
Even in a total blackout, battery-powered wireless sensors continue sending your data to the Cloud via the IoT and you can continue monitoring them with your smartphone.
Any network issue could interrupt wireless services, so if 100% continuity is vital to your operations, a fall-back plan is important. However, wired networks are also susceptible to power failures and other interruptions, so backup plans could be needed anyway.
Electromagnetic interference from power lines is unlikely to affect physically wired equipment but sometimes causes a problem for wireless sensors. There are usually workarounds or shielding solutions for these local problems.
The choice between wired and wireless need not be either/or. A good IoT development team will help you to integrate wireless sensors with wired ones according to the issues in different locations - and enjoy the benefits of both.
It is natural to find legionella bacteria in freshwater lakes and ponds. Some inevitably gets into domestic supplies and in very small quantities it is harmless. It is when it manages to breed and multiply inside our plumbing systems that it becomes dangerous. The lungs are particularly susceptible. Most people think of a pneumonia-like illness when you say legionella, but it can also cause a variety of problems including “Pontiac fever”, “Lochgoilhead” fever, septic shock and organ failure. Legionella is a killer.
Buildings locked-up or powered-down during the Covid-19 lockdown are now at increased risk because legionella prefers stagnant non-moving water and lukewarm temperatures.
A legionella infection is more likely in a large building such as an office block, public space, large factory or retail premises, but that does not mean there is zero risk in smaller buildings. In fact, even small landlords are bound by law to protect their tenants.
Big or small - the landlords, employers and managers of public buildings are responsible under a range of legislation. The main three are the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. the Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, and the Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1999 (COSHH). Legionella precautions are also required or implied by numerous codes of practice, including HSE Approved Code of Practice ACOP L8 and HSE HSG274, DoE Health Technical Memoranda HTM 04-01 and HTM 01-05 (healthcare and dentistry), and in BS 7592 and BS 8580.
The greatest risks are usually associated with HVAC cooling towers, evaporative condensers, adiabatic coolers and all the associated pumps, tanks and pipework. However, premises of all sizes must comply with the same standards - including domestic landlords and letting agents. In small flats, cheap combi boilers that fail to deliver water at a stable hot temperature are a legionella hazard. High risks also come from stagnant water in shower outlets and clumsily capped pipework spurs.
The regulations apply to showers, vehicle washes, wet floor scrubbers, indoor water features, air washers, humidifiers, water softeners, chillers, spa pools, swimming pools, industrial quenchers, and to all hot and cold water supplies.
If a building occupant or visitor falls sick due to a legionella infection the consequences can be severe; evacuation, rehousing, lost income, new equipment, laboratory testing and compensation. Prevention really is better than the cure!
Begin by checking your basic system and identifying any problem points. It helps to have a schematic for a large building. In a small one, eliminate unused pipework and ensure the boiler/shower delivers a constant flow of hot water (without thermostats tripping on/off). The single most important factor in legionella prevention is to keep your cold water below 20 degrees centigrade, and your hot water close to 60 degrees centigrade or better.
You cannot guarantee compliance with those temperature requirements if you can’t monitor the temperatures throughout the system. To show compliance, you should document all your temperature readings and all your work on the system.
Regular readings and documentation could be a major headache, however there is a smart solution. Fitting wireless temperature sensors on pipes and at other key locations in the system can enable you to collect temperatures almost constantly and log them automatically. Today there are a range of inexpensive sensors - many so unobtrusive you will hardly know they are there. Most can be fitted externally with negligible inconvenience. Some incorporate accelerometers that also monitor the flow rates.
Smart sensors communicate using the IoT - the internet of things. You can then monitor what is happening via a Cloud dashboard from any computer or mobile phone at any time. If an issue is detected, the system will send you an alert by SMS or email so you don't have to sit there staring at it! Installing smart valves or smart thermostats into your plumbing system adds the ability to remote control the flow rates and temperature settings. In the long run, the opportunity to make water and fuel savings could pay for the system.
The L8 Approved Code of Practice suggests the entire water system should be reviewed every 1-2 years, but sooner when there are relevant changes. Those changes include plumbing work (because dirt can enter the pipework), periods of vacancy (because of stagnation), or temperature fluctuations (tripping thermostats). The presence of anyone at increased risk (with kidney disease, immune system impairment, the elderly and so forth) also constitutes a change meriting more frequent monitoring. If you install a smart connected system, inspections and reviews require very little work at all.
The Environment Protection Agency recently declared that “Air pollution has a devastating impact on the UK population, shortening lives, causing early deaths and ill health. It is a bigger global killer than smoking. It costs the UK economy over £20 billion a year.” ( https://www.environmental-protection.org.uk/policy-areas/air-quality/air-pollution-law-and-policy/air-pollution-laws/.)
Common pollutants include ozone, sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, dioxins, polycyclic aromatics, carbon monoxide, ozone, particulates, ammonia, methane, hydrogen sulphide, chlorine, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen cyanide, phosphine and ethylene oxide. The consequences range from debilitating fatigue, headaches, hay-fever, skin disorders and eye irritation up to fatal illnesses including lung cancer, emphysema, asthma, COPD, bronchiolitis and cardio-vascular diseases. Polluted air has also been linked to mental illness, behaviour disorders, mental retardation and miscarriage.
The EU accused the UK of failing to comply with EU air quality regulations in 2017 ( http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-238_en.htm) and the UK government declared air pollution a national health emergency the following year ( https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvfru/433/433.pdf). A post-Brexit Environment Act is in the pipeline but it is unclear whether it will have any more effect than previous failed legislation.
Outdoors, traffic fumes overtook factory chimneys as the leading problem long ago, despite which many proposals for the new Environment Act still focus on “factory emissions” as did the last Clean Air Act in 1993. The proposals also largely ignore indoor sources of air pollution.
According to a study by the US EPA, indoor air quality is often 5 times worse than the air outside ( https://www.epa.gov/report-environment/indoor-air-quality). The main offenders are synthetic materials such as composite wood furnishings (which leech formaldehyde), synthetic carpeting, cosmetics, pesticides, office printers, photocopiers, asbestos-laden roof tiles, faulty aircon systems, domestic cleaning products, and (ironically) “air fresheners”.
Whether the new legislation addresses these problems or not, it is clear that employers, industrial facilities, office managers, local government and the public at large should be looking for solutions. We all breathe the same air and it is a significant hidden burden on our communities and productivity.
Most cities and towns have a few air monitoring stations, but their coverage is poor. They are also fixed in location (often the wrong ones) and the public have little access to their readings. As such they leave us a lot of guesswork.
Most people assume that pollutants rarefy as you get further from the source. That is not always the case - many roll into low-lying areas or form invisible clouds overhead that descend to ground level when the air temperature changes (for example at dusk). Air quality in specific areas can be substantially worse than thinly sprinkled monitors reveal. In short, to understand our air pollution problems and correct them, we need more monitors. That is equally true inside our homes and places of work, and outside in our city streets and countryside.
Before the IoT, better monitoring was impractical, but a wide range of air-quality sensors are now available. The IoT makes it easy to collect and monitor their data from almost anywhere. Detectors in fixed locations help us understand how conditions change over time, but we can also use mobile detectors to greatly extend our geographical coverage. If every council vehicle carried a monitor, blackspots would be discovered quickly and dealt with.
High-end devices are capable of establishing the parts-per-billion of a wide range of pollutants. Others focus on particular known hazards, such as nitrogen oxides or aromatics. At the cheaper end of the range, suitable for many domestic and industrial uses, sensors can provide a simple “red-amber-green” warning system about air particulates. They are increasingly popular with urban cyclists, and alert you to don a face mask.
The most common method for connecting an air quality sensor is a simple 3G or 4G SIM card. However, there are many systems for collecting transmissions. In some parts of the British Isles, notably Scotland so far, LoRa wireless networks are available. No matter how much sophistication you require in your sensors, the vast majority of systems report to a Cloud service where the data is accessible through a simple website interface.
Understanding the data you collect is made easy by proven off-the-peg tools such as the Tableau analytics platform. Visualisation tools make it easy to understand the results of your monitoring devices at a glance. If necessary, you can then cross-reference your readings with factors such as weather information.
The Breathlife2030 organisation has declared September 7th 2020 as the first “International Day of Clean Air for Blues Skies”. There is no better time to be looking at IoT air quality tools than today.
Commercial theft is not only growing, but for markets contracting after Covid-19, it is even more damaging. The majority of serious thefts are conducted by career criminals, but the Covid-19 lockdown affected them too, closing access to their markets and making them conspicuous on the roads. Now the lockdown is lifting, they will be as eager as anyone to make up for lost time.
Research from the Allianz Cornhill Insurance group reveals that claims arising from plant theft grew steadily between 2013 and 2017 and are believed to have continued rising since. Agricultural, construction and manufacturing sectors are all hit hard by the loss of major items of equipment: not only are the items themselves expensive, but their loss entails downtime, leasing replacement equipment and higher insurance premiums. Unwary victims have been known to make quick purchases of replacement vehicles only to discover that they too are stolen, leased or still on HP.
Break-ins also cause substantial collateral damage to gates, fences and garage doors. Just before Christmas 2017, a stolen Manitou digger was used to smash an ATM out of a station wall in Haslemere, leaving the station building unsafe. In many cases, the damage done by thieves seems to be purely senseless.
Most thieves are not nice people as evidenced by the 80,000 face masks and other medical PPE stolen from a Salford warehouse in May. The haul, valued at £166,000, was on its way to NHS hospitals and old people’s homes in West Yorkshire, an area with high Covid-19 fatalities among patients and medical staff. To reach the PPE, the thieves cut a hole in expensive steel security doors, probably with stolen cutting equipment.
Popular targets range from small electrical tools up to tractors, trailers, excavators and bulldozers. Fuel tanks, metals, roofing materials, aggregates and livestock are also popular. Immobilising vehicles only provides partial defence; some are simply stripped of valuable spares where they stand.
Different kinds of theft present farms, factories, storage depots and building firms with a range of different problems. CCTV, intrusion systems, impregnable fencing and human security patrols are all highly expensive and none are fool-proof against specialist criminals. Drones are now popular on large farms, but even more expensive than the drone is the labour of its human operator. The rising rate of theft demonstrates that most technological solutions have been ineffective so far, and once stolen the chances of recovering machinery are less than 10%.
The first step all farmers, building contractors, plant managers and fleet owners should take is to register their Industrial vehicles and large static machinery on national databases such as TER (The Equipment Register [1]) or CESAR (The Construction & Agricultural Equipment Security and Registration Scheme [2]). Rather than relying solely on the equipment’s VRN or serial number, which thieves will try to erase, apply and record your own unique and discrete security markings.
The main point of registration is to recover property, but it also helps to trap and convict the thieves. Registration is also a deterrent. Many thieves will think twice about taking items that are dangerous to sell on, so display a warning.
Another strategy that works very well for both registered vehicles and shipments of bulk materials is tracking them with a new generation of smart devices.
Today, almost any electrical or battery-powered item can be connected wirelessly to the internet. Once connected, you can communicate with it from any smart-phone or convenient computer. Tracking is a simple application, but you can also use the IoT to monitor or control your devices remotely. A connected device can also be designed to send you an alert if it is moved or disturbed in a way that it shouldn’t be.
The most common targets for thieves are portable tools such as chainsaws and grinders, levels, theodolites, BIM and GPS equipment. Favourite vehicles include breakers, diggers and excavators, generators and compressors. Farmers need to remember their trailers, horseboxes and quadbikes. There are ways to connect almost all of these items into the IoT. You can also tag your cargoes with discrete recoverable connected devices that will report their movements in real-time as they are moved around the country, or even if they are shipped abroad.
The imminent introduction of 5G connections will greatly accelerate the rollout of cheap sophisticated IoT devices, so this is a great time to review your security strategy.
[1] https://www.ter-europe.org/
[2] https://www.cesarscheme.org
Although there were plenty of warnings, Covid-19 still came as a shock - the kind that changes history. Economic policies will change, culture will change and businesses have to change too. The first challenge for everyone is to quash the current epidemic, but the second is to embrace permanent change.
The first step in controlling an infectious disease is detection, but the government’s phone tracking proposals only scratch the surface of what is possible and what is needed.
Mass tracking is only needed when earlier opportunities to detect and contain outbreaks have failed. Thermal cameras deployed at ports, airports and railway stations could detect signs of fever, corroborate information with other cameras using the IoT, and provide a much faster alert than the one that eventually came from China about Covid-19.
Thermal cameras, and other health checking devices, can also be deployed in particular buildings and business premises. Employers can provide them to monitor the health of their staff and visitors. Most will welcome the opportunity, and appreciate the protection the company is providing. Eventually we think such equipment will be commonplace, and even in normal times it will help to reduce workforce sick leave.
Indiscriminate phone tracking is a panic reaction. Mobile phones can’t tell you if their owner is harbouring a virus, or whether the virus passed to any of the hundreds of people they may have encountered during its incubation period. The best IoT solution is prevention - and that’s far better than the cure.
The public knows our healthcare workers are doing a great job in a high-risk environment. Despite shortages, capacity wasn’t overrun and emergency hospitals have remained empty. However, behind the headlines there is a darker picture - the healthcare sector was the main vector by which the virus spread. The toll on nursing home residents and staff is out of all proportion to the toll in society at large. Without a range of new protections, hospitals and care homes could become the problem instead of the solution.
In the US, the FCC quickly made changes to its Rural Health Care program to enable Medicare to provide remote consultations. In the UK, doctors have traditionally resisted innovations such as remote consultations and expert diagnostic systems for fear it will erode their status and budgets. In times of epidemic, the dangers of contagion and cross-contagion between staff and patients outweigh those concerns. The NHS, and other healthcare providers, should quickly scale up their ability to diagnose and monitor patients remotely.
Remote patient monitoring (RPM) using IoT connected sensors and instruments can improve greatly on a monthly doctor’s appointment. Health conditions can be monitored continually, and medication adjusted immediately changes are detected. Smart medical sensors are already becoming more common, but in times of epidemic, they are more important than ever, freeing up beds and staff, reducing costs, and accelerating treatment delivery. In the event of a problem, they can automatically summon a doctor or ambulance.
The majority of the world’s businesses have made adjustments to allow home-working during the lockdown. Having discovered the enormous savings (rent, electricity, travel) many will shift permanently toward it. Cloud software and Zoom conferencing are enough for some, but there are IoT solutions for all kinds of remote and mobile equipment too.
Essentially, any equipment used in the course of an activity can be engineered to provide real-time information back to the cloud, where it can be analysed, monitored, adjusted or automated - either by senior personnel or by artificial intelligence. This means many operations, or entire factories, can be automated and safely monitored from afar.
A great weakness of modern buildings is their air conditioning systems. Green legislation and energy prices encourage us to rely on HVAC systems that circulate and recirculate air instead of expelling it. While it makes economic sense, it isn’t very reassuring in an epidemic. While most have filters, few are good enough to remove or destroy viruses.
In the war against Covid-19, not to mention influenza and “sick building syndrome”, a huge contribution can be made by smarter HVAC installations, especially in supermarkets and office blocks. Rather than making shoppers queue for an hour, the air quality inside a building might be a better guide as to how many people to admit or turn away.
A fully IoT connected HVAC system can drastically improve the safety of the air inside our buildings. Sensors can detect CO2 levels, viral loads, spores and other micro-organisms, adjusting air-flow and other conditions accordingly. At the same time, they can ensure your system delivers the best possible value-for-money, switching off unnecessary functions when they aren’t actually needed.
In these and a host of other ways, the IoT can help your business back to work, while also protecting your workers and margins from a range of other threats - both new and old.
