The initial brief aimed to provide a remote monitoring system for temperature, humidity, and external doors in a residential building in Sweden, covering the five-year warranty period applicable to all new buildings of this type. Advantech and Trell Technologies engaged with the client in the early stages, collaborating with the building owner to identify the most effective way to deliver a solution that could be scaled and expanded in the future, for example, by implementing additional functionality and monitoring services.
The system created by Advantech is completely vendor-independent, allowing customers to test different sensors and providing flexibility and scalability for any type of building. Temperature and humidity detection is implemented through Advantech's perimeter intelligence gateways, which provide a private local LoRaWAN network and transmit data via cellular network connection to the cloud.
In this project, the sensor nodes were also sourced from a third-party manufacturer that provided consumer-grade LoRaWAN sensors, selected by the client based on aesthetics. All sensors were easily integrated into the hardware system implemented by Advantech. This flexibility was crucial, as multiple sensors were connected in each apartment, making the sensors' appearance just as important as their functionality.
The door monitor cables were connected locally to the physical lock, providing updates for four possible states (open, closed, locked, and unlocked). This information is collected via an Advantech I/O module that sends data to the repository based on state changes, eliminating unnecessary data updates.
This proof-of-concept implementation utilizes Advantech's WISE-PaaS cloud platform, although there is no exclusive dependency, and for this specific application, there are future plans to migrate to the client's own Microsoft Azure cloud service. This is possible because Advantech's software modules can be deployed anywhere, providing the most suitable solution for the client based on the individual needs of each project.
“This is an example of a fully scalable and flexible solution—values that form the foundation of what Advantech offers its customers,” said Bobby Vale, head of IoT platforms and ecosystems at Advantech. “We collaborate with our partners to provide the best possible solution for our customers, not for Advantech, and this application highlights how technology enables the creation of smart buildings that are more efficient and sustainable for the building owner, while allowing residents to enjoy peace of mind and a comfortable place to live.”.
