When developing an IoT gadget, weareable, tracker or any other device, there are usually three important factors that will have a big impact in the success or failure of it.
 

• Cost
• Battery duration
• Usability

 
All of them are very closely related. For example:

• If two devices have the same price, but the battery of one of them lasts double than the other one, then it can be said that one is half of the cost compared to the other
• If a device is cheap and very durable, but not usable, then it becomes very expensive.

 
If we are talking about IoT trackers then the usability fact is directly linked to the location accuracy. These are the main methods of how the location is calculated:
 

• GPS location:

This is the most accurate positioning method (5-10 meters). But it has some problems: it only works outdoor. It adds a cost to the device and it consumes a lot of battery, which in the end, becomes a non-lasting expensive solution. (3-5 years)

1. Cost: High
2. Battery duration: up to 5 years
3. Accuracy: 5-10 meters (only outdoor) 

• Wifi sniffing location:

This is a solution in the middle. It is not very accurate (50-100 meters) but it only works where wifi infrastructure has been deployed. In a similar way to GPS it adds a extra cost to the device and this affects the battery duration. In the end, it becomes a non-lasting solution. (5-7 years)

1. Cost: Medium
2. Battery duration: up to 7 years
3. Accuracy: 50-100 meters

• Network triangulation location:

This is the most simple solution but its accuracy is the poorest (1-5 Km). However, there is no need to add an extra chip to the device, so the cost is reduced and therefore, it has the longest battery duration. In the end, it becomes a long-lasting, scalable and cost effective solution. (10-15 years)

1. Cost: Low
2. Battery duration: up to 15 years
3. Accuracy: 1-5 Km (can be reduced to less than 300 m)

 
 
So if you are involved in a real-time asset tracking project, you will probably be wondering how can you have the best accuracy, longest battery duration and lowest cost for a considerable amount of trackers. Well, there is a solution for that:
 
How can the accuracy of option 3 be improved? Well, a gateway antenna can be placed in the facilities or warehouses to reduce the location error from several kilometers to less than 300 meters. By using this configuration, the cost of each tracker is not increased, the battery duration is not reduced and the location accuracy is improved by a factor of ten.
 

During our short but intense market roller coaster startup trip, we have been able to meet with several industrial companies. Each of them had different problems, obviusly. In some cases, when we did not see a clear added value or viability, so we decided not to go for the project. However, for the other cases, we could easily solve their challenges, applying our solutions in different ways.

Here there are some real examples on how we are helping industries to get connected to the IoT Industry 4.0 concept.

• Multinational Industrial Company:
  • Problem: "Our assets to do maintenance operations are expensive and have huge mobility. Sometimes we don't know where they are. Their usage is inefficient."
  • Solution: Coolfox GS trackers were placed in the equipments' cases to keep them tracked in real-time.
  • Benefits: Improve planning, increase asset usage, keep assets secured, avoid misplace and loss.

 

• Chemical & Painting Industry for Automotive Sector:
  • Problem: "Some of our chemical products need to be kept between 0 and 30 ºC for their quality to be guaranteed. The problem appears during hot seasons in summer and cold temperatures in winter"
  • Solution: Coolfox S temperature trackers were placed in the painting packaing with temperature threshold alarms set below 5ºC and above 25ºC so they could react before their product was wasted.
  • Benefits: Ensure product quality across the supply-chain, avoid product wasting, improve customer relationship

 

• Multinational Electrical Company:
  • Problem: "We need to keep the temperature of our motors and generators under control in real-time. We have a solution that works with SIM cards, but they do not transmit from inside a maritime container"
  • Solution: Industrial Coolfox iS was placed attached to the generator to keep its temperature monitored and alarms were set if temperature goes above 30 ºC.
  • Benefits: Keep generator motor safe, predictive maintenance, transmiting inside maritime container.

 

• Multinational Power Manufactuer:
  • Problem: "We must have real-time traceability of the processes of our components. Our products have a complex manufacturing process and we use returnable containers to transport them.
  • Solution: Industrial Coolfox iS attached to the returnable containers and a system that relates which component is in which of the containers was developed.
  • Benefits: Track and traceability of containers, components and processes, to improve quality assurance and efficiency of the supply-chain.

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• Industrial Machine Tooling Manufacturer:
  • Problem: "When we send our machines, they suffer impacts during transportation and we are paying for all the damages when the customer complains"
  • Solution: Industrial Coolfox iAS attached to the machines detect and send real-time notification of the received impact level as an evidence for the insurance or transport company. The real-time location information can be shared with customers to estimate arrival times. 
  • Benefits: Product and customer care. Transportation costs saving and accountability management.

If you have more (similar or different) challenges, we are always happy to listen to problems ;)
We will try our best to help you.

By the way, thank you for reading our blog!

En Stockare, seguimos avanzando, mejorando nuestros productos y adaptándolos a las necesidades reales del mercado.

Por esta razón, participaremos en evento B–Venture 2018 que se celebra en el Palacio Euskalduna durante los días 16 y 17 de Octubre, donde además de conectar con el ecosistema de emprendedores del País Vasco (startups e inversores) realizaremos un "pitch" para dar a conocer nuestra startup.

B–Venture es el mayor evento de emprendimiento del norte de España. En las dos ediciones anteriores han participado más 200 startups, se han seleccionado a concurso 48 y se han invertido más de 2 millones de euros. Entre las empresas de capital riesgo e inversores, asistirán entre otros, Indra, CAF Ventures, Acciona, Microsoft, Iberdrola, Metxa, BStartup, Laboral Kutxa, Plug & Play Spain, Lanzadera o Adara Ventures.

Durante los dos días que dura el evento, dispondremos de un stand donde podréis acercaros para conocer lo que hacemos.
​Os esperamos!

Ayer, el periódico El Correo publicó un artículo sobre Stockare en relación al BVenture 2018 que se celebrará en Octubre en Bilbao.
El BVenture, es un evento que une las startups con potenciales inversores, para ello, las startups reciben una formación previo al evento.
Espero que os guste el artículo y nuestra historia particular.
Aquí podéis acceder al artículo: 
www.elcorreo.com/economia/localizadores-control-almacenes-20180918194659-nt.html