With services spanning multiple business sectors and covering everything from tracking containerised or palleted consignments, through to monitoring mission-critical operational equipment for highly complex military use cases, Smarter Technologies discuss the IoT data network “Orion” – a unique low power ultra-narrow band 433 MHz UHF radio system, enabling SIM-free, wireless military asset-tracking and smart-building solutions.
As leading British providers of end-to-end enterprise-level Internet-of-Things (IoT) solutions Smarter Technologies bring market-leading expertise in edge hardware, SaaS, network communications and data capture, management and exploitation to transform clients’ organisations.
Orion, The Real-Time Data Network™ is a strategic enabler for this IoT capability. Orion is a unique and innovative low-power radio network, to which edge devices connect, including smart meters, trackers, sensors and actuators. The real-time data provides insight for strategic corporate choices, and to support everyday operational decisions, including ones that are automated.
The Limitations of Wireless Communications
We have all experienced poor wireless communications in our professional or personal lives. In days of old, car radios would turn to static; nowadays, DAB cuts in and out. Our mobile phone connection is prone to dead spots and we groan when our WiFi drops or we move out of Bluetooth range. Whatever the connection, it will have strengths and weaknesses.
A recent trend has been toward ever higher frequencies to gain bandwidth and satisfy ever-increasing demands for data speeds, to stream HD video, downloading movies, conduct live video conference calls and streaming TV services. The downside has been less range and signal penetration, forcing a need for more broadcasting devices and greater power output.
The Orion Data Network is uniquely optimised for its role, with maximum range, signal penetration and power efficiency, ideal for tracking and monitoring assets or utilities on large or complex estates and in remote or austere settings.
Why the Orion IoT Data Network
The Smarter Technologies Orion Data Network offers a powerful wireless IoT network that is independent of a customer’s own broadband, immune to WiFi dead-spots or Bluetooth range limitations and avoids most GSM data costs. It presents a simple, fast, scalable, easily configured, evergreen and affordable route to smart building implementation and asset-tracking.
Orion is a unique low power ultra-narrow band 433 MHz UHF radio system. For smart meters and asset trackers, Orion complements, and is a significant advance upon, GSM, LoRaWAN, Zigbee HAN or Sigfox technology.
Orion connects edge devices to create key advantages over alternative solutions:
- Orion’s low frequency gives it far greater range (over 5km in ideal conditions) and better penetration in buildings (up to several floors) and underground spaces; unrivalled power efficiency enables device batteries to last 2-10 years.
- Orion’s channel availability and efficient duty cycle results in lower traffic congestion, negligible packet loss and more reliable transmission of near real-time data; signals are less prone to jamming, interception or interference.
- Orion is wireless, with substantially lower installation costs than hardwired systems; the virtual network is more easily reconfigured, scaled, or iterated as requirements evolve or new capabilities emerge.
- Orion gateways can be mobile or static, and are mains, battery or solar powered.
Edge hardware can be retrofitted or integrated into other equipment. Indeed, Orion has been incorporated into a growing range of smart meters, by their manufacturers, as a workaround for the known shortcomings of other systems.
Smart Solutions Enabled by the Orion Data Network
With Orion as the backbone of an organisation’s IoT architecture, the potential to implement smart solutions becomes almost limitless, the key benefits of which are proven. Empirical data supports more intelligent energy use and improved building management, in response to persistently high energy prices and in support of environmental targets.
IoT asset-tracking provides real-time visibility to improve operational efficiency, asset and inventory management and mission assurance. A shared version of the truth makes for better, easier and more collaborative contract oversight. Independent trials and historical operating data vividly demonstrate the unique advantages of using Smarter Technologies and the Orion Network:
- Excellent rural and urban range and penetration, including large areas, concrete buildings, underground bunkers, and congested areas, such as container ports.
- ISO 27001 compliant and UK government approved for full integration with MODNET, thereby minimising ancillary IT capital costs; diverse RF approvals.
- 32% reduction in labour hours spent looking for mission-critical support equipment; 65% savings in tracking Government Furnished Equipment.
- Smart data to validate ESG performance and credentials, and to identify efficiencies.
- Detect and correct 3-phase power imbalances, resulting in 10-60% savings.
- Monitor peak demand & consumption patterns by type or zone, resulting in up to 30% savings.
- Smart device monitoring helps pre-empt system failures, facilitates just-in-time maintenance and avoids unnecessary repair costs.
Many opportunities exist for Government departments, commercial enterprises, the private sector and Defence to improve their asset management and tracking, to increase the energy performance of their complex infrastructure, to meet ESG targets and other commitments, and to increase operational efficiency.
Smarter Technologies and the unique Orion data network are key enablers to meeting this challenge.
