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All mobile assets under control on the Internet

Escrito por Redacción TNI el 26/02/2018 a las 19:51:42
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Asset tracking, i.e. the management and tracking of moving assets, is playing an increasingly important role in the Internet of Things (IoT) as well as in the current industry. For regulatory compliance reasons, companies sometimes have to know where mobile resources are located at all times. At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018, RugGear®, on of the world’s leading manufacturers of rugged mobile devices, is presenting the RG-AT1, the world's first solar-powered, intelligent 4G asset tracker. The only 72 x 72 x 15 mm (L x W x H) small asset tracker is equipped with solar cells and practically never needs to be charged in daylight. The Qualcomm® MDM9206 LTE IoT modem from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., which supports eMTC/Cat-M1, NB-IoT/Cat—NB1 and E-GPRS, along with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 LE as well as LTE (Nano SIM Card Slot), is designed to provide active feedback of important location or movement data and OTA (Over the Air) software and configuration updates. The integrated GNSS module (GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou and Galileo) enables a precise positioning of mobile objects, whether, indoors or in shielded areas, the exact positioning of the assets is carried out by either WLAN, cellular or Bluetooth. Thanks to an open API (application programming interface), the RugGear RG-AT1 can be easily integrated into existing asset tracking solutions. The IP67-certified RG-AT1 is made of tough polycarbonate.

 

The RugGear RG-AT1 enables companies to continuously track mobile assets and to document work performed using the movement patterns of construction machinery, for example. Other areas of application for the 4G Asset Tracker include inventory management on construction sites or in hospitals, as well as supplying logistics and maintenance services that reduce costs and improve availability. The location of an object is determined by GNSS module and transmitted mobile. For certain applications, it is sufficient to transmit the current position at longer intervals. In other cases - as with fleet management - the position must be continuously determined by checking the direction of movement and speed using the 6-axis acceleration and gyro sensors of the RG-AT1.

 

The simplest way is to combine GNSS modules with the worldwide available mobile radio standards from 2G to 4G, i. e. GPRS, LTE Advanced and the respective intermediate steps. The 2G and 4G modules are used in applications where asset tracking is not the only issue, but where numerous other tasks are carried simultaneously. On vehicles, for example, the monitoring of various conditions in order to enable predictive maintenance and the equipping of the driver with suitable communication channels, which cover, for example, loading documents, route information and such.

 

On the basis of the position and movement data, which is displayed in the form of heat maps and diagrams, the disposition of certain equipment or work processes can be better optimized in order to avoid bottlenecks and thus idle times.

 

Position determination in interiors - Theft prevention

Indoor position determination of objects such as goods, tools or vehicles is becoming increasingly important for today’s industry. For example, a hospital would like to know where an expensive mobile X-ray machine is located at any time. By means of geofencing, an alarm can be triggered when the device leaves a certain area (theft prevention). Thanks to the open API, the 4G Asset Tracker can be integrated into a wide range of other applications, as it is almost self-sufficient and maintenance-free:

 

·         Detection of forklifts, industrial trucks, robots and other working equipment

·         Locating mobile goods such as pallets, production parts and containers

·         Real-time information on dynamic locations of implements and goods including visualization in the site plan

·         Location of mobile medical technology such as portable X-ray equipment,

·         Hospital beds, gas bottles, etc.

·         Notification of the control system in case of unauthorized goods movements (theft protection)

·         Analysis of tracks and related process optimizations

 

Asset tracking for security applications

In large industrial plants, such as harbors, chemical complexes, mines and steelworks, hazardous situations can occur that require evacuation of the entire site. The RG-AT1 can be used to determine the position of objects and vehicles to determine whether and where employees are still in hazardous areas.

 

“RugGear's asset tracker RG-AT1 integrates seamlessly into any existing mobile phone or WLAN network and does not require the protracted and expensive expansion of a proprietary infrastructure to determine the location of mobile assets," explains Oliver Schulte, CEO of RugGear. "By supporting diverse mobile technologies and the open API, the RG-AT1 is suitable for a wide range of IoT and industry 4.0 scenarios."