Internet of Things (IoT)

What the IoT means for you

Is the Internet of Things (IoT) just the latest buzzword or will it make a difference to how you do business? This section explains the importance of high quality location-based information in IoT applications.

Definition

The IoT refers to the M2M (machine to machine) concept that every machine, device, system and platform will be connected through embedded or wearable devices. These will be used to collect and communicate with other machines and devices to analyse, optimise and improve processes so that individual’s lives will be improved and the communities, businesses and governments will be more efficient.

Examples

“IoT” is not just a buzzword. There are examples of successful IoT applications all over the world. For example, Mapmechanics has been providing m2m solutions including exception reporting for the telematics sector for many years. Other examples include clothes that know how many times you’ve washed them or lamp-posts that switch on as you walk past or soap and toilet paper dispensers that have embedded sensors monitoring supply levels and reordering automatically, saving the company warehouse space and logistics costs as deliveries can be more efficiently planned. At same time, the customer benefits from a better service, as there is always soap or printing paper whenever they need it.

The importance of location-based data to the IoT

What’s common in many of these examples is the need to know the location of the sensor that detects a change and, through the IoT, determines that there is a resultant demand. Where is that demand generated? At the same place as the sensor or elsewhere? Where is the nearest engineer when your system fails? Where are the customers that are low on stock? How can we efficiently route deliveries or repairs when sensors communicate that these are needed?

How allmapdata enhances IoT solutions

allmapdata has a vast selection of detailed locational information to geocode devices to optimise routes or territories and to provide comparative data so your machines can calculate intelligent responses and trigger efficient appropriate actions. We are focussing on ensuring our mapping, geocoding, road speed and journey time matrixes are ready to implement within our customer’s IoT solutions. They need to be:

• Accurate and precise – it may be that no human ever handles the information so the geocoding locations need to be as correct as possible.
• Realistic journey time estimates – a machine may not question how achievable results are, so using more accurate time and distance matrices to improve the reliability of time slot allocations is increasingly important
• Appropriately detailed mapping for geofencing applications that enable devices to determine where a vehicle, device or person is in relation to their expected or planned location.

Contact us to discuss your IoT plans and we will help source the most appropriate data for your application.