Applied Technology Review : News

SCADA systems are used by industries to control, monitor, and analyze their processes in real-time. It aids in the establishment of an extensive system for industrialists, allowing them to perform better and generate more cash. Internet of Things is a disruptive technology that consists of sensors, gateways, and interactive dashboards to improve overall business productivity. The existing industrial SCADA system is restricted to factory floors and can only access data retrieved from factory equipment within the facility. IoT can play a significant part in improving data accessibility and operability across industries. As a result, integrating IoT technology with current SCADA systems can undoubtedly empower enterprises with important scalability, interoperability, and better security of overall industrial operations. Interconnected Communication The Internet of Things places a significant emphasis on machine-to-machine Communication, in which industrial equipment is linked together through sensor devices, gateways, and other technological advances. Integrating IoT into current SCADA systems makes it easier for managers to have a real-time record of industrial activities. Furthermore, IoT technology enables instant access through smart gadget connectivity, which shows the user's selected device information. IoT combined with a SCADA system boosts machine-to-machine Communication and transforms how industries work. Acquisition of Data If your industry employs a SCADA system, combining an IoT solution will significantly improve the data collection process. While a SCADA system allows remote human intervention with an industrial process, IoT technology focuses on machine-to-machine connectivity. The obtained data proved successful in providing reports of production and utility sectors within an industry by leveraging the capabilities of the Internet of Things. Data capture is thus one of the essential advantages of integrating IoT with the SCADA system, allowing for better data comprehension and extraction. Enhanced Security Measures Traditional SCADA systems lack systematic security measures effectively addressed by IoT-based remote monitoring, anomaly detection, and safe data transfer. It ensures server and application protection throughout the data center. Thus, incorporating a relevant IoT-based solution decreases the likelihood of data breach and enables managers to keep a live watch of the plant's operation and necessary details. Security is one of the essential parts of data-driven manufacturing, and maintaining such a system necessitates a well-informed infrastructure. Remote Control and Monitoring Consumers and industrialists can configure the entire system, making an IoT SCADA a completely custom-built SCADA system. However, as the amount of data captured grows, asset owners request that predictive algorithms, optimum asset health conditions, and cost savings be combined. As a result, employing IoT solutions for the industrial SCADA system is effective in plant management and close monitoring. ...Read more

The precise indoor location of assets within a building enables the optimization of internal logistic processes and personnel management, making it a vital tool for enhancing efficiency while decreasing expenses. Most people have certainly encountered this situation before: they are within a large structure, such as a retail mall, event center, or underground parking garage, and their navigation system is having difficulty locating people on the map. This is typically caused by the structure's concrete walls degrading GPS signal. Contextual information might be provided by smartphone apps based on location. People can use this information to obtain driving directions, locate a store, or sign up for notifications about nearby deals. These convenient functions are made possible by GPS, which requires exposure to the outside for optimal accuracy. However, they may have difficulties retrieving this information within massive structures due to a weak GPS signal. Accurate indoor positioning systems (IPS), which utilize public sensors and user consent, can deliver some level of location-based information even when the user is not outside. An (IPS) is a network of devices used to identify persons or items in areas where GPS and other satellite technologies are insufficiently precise or fail. This includes multi-story structures, airports, alleys, parking garages, and underground areas. Current IPS solutions are imprecise, particularly in multi-story buildings. This article provides an overview of the currently available intrusion prevention systems (IPS). Some of the indoor positioning technologies are as follows: Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology can determine a person's or object's general location, enabling continuous asset tracking with at least room-level accuracy using BLE sensors/beacons. Calculating position using the Angle of Arrival (AoA) method enables significantly more exact localizations but comes at a considerable expense for sensor infrastructure support and hardware. Due to their low cost and ease of use, Bluetooth Low Energy and Beacons have emerged as the ideal indoor locating technology. WiFi-based systems use WiFi transmitters as tags to communicate with multiple WiFi access points. Information algorithms use these readings to determine the source's location. Eventually, the location data is delivered to a cloud environment. While systems based on WiFi and 'time difference of arrival (TDOA) technologies provide a reasonable level of precision (within 3 to 5 meters), they can be somewhat costly. Through three-dimensional location, Ultra-Wideband (UWB) systems attain incredibly high accuracy. The tremendously wide UWB signal and the capacity to transmit a vast pulse over a GHz spectrum enable continuous, highly accurate asset tracking. Historically, UWB-based systems have attained the highest levels of precision. Despite the low cost of UWB tags, each location must have at least three readers due to the tags' limited range. This dramatically increases the cost of a UWB solution compared to a BLE solution.   ...Read more

Indoor location tracking systems open up new potential for organizations seeking to make more informed and timely decisions. Indoor positioning systems comprise a network of linked devices that provide location tracking services for people and assets that cannot be tracked using conventional technologies such as GPS or satellite. Indoor location tracking is divided into some distinct categories: Acoustic systems: Acoustic systems operate similarly to ultra wide-band (UWB) systems, except that they utilize sound waves rather than radio frequencies. They track their location by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic frequencies. The most precise acoustic systems are sonar-based systems, which are virtually as accurate as UWB systems but are more expensive to operate and are typically utilized in niche applications within the healthcare business. Wi-Fi-based indoor positioning systems: Indoor tracking systems based on Wi-Fi communicate via Wi-Fi transmission tags that send tiny data packets to Wi-Fi access points located around the workplace. Each Wi-Fi access point uses information from the Wi-Fi transmission tags to calculate the tags' position with an accuracy of between 3-5 meters. Indoor tracking systems based on Wi-Fi may be too expensive to operate in businesses without Wi-Fi access points to provide location tracking. Proximity-based systems: Indoor positioning using proximity systems determine the general location of an object of interest within a space, such as a person or an entity. They do not provide the same level of precision as UWB systems. Proximity-based systems operate via a reader or a reference point. Reader-based systems operate via tags, which send their identity continuously to reader devices capable of calculating the position of each tag. Bluetooth low energy (BLE) is used in reference point-based systems to communicate between BLE beacons and particular reference points within a region to identify an object's position. Both proximity-based systems are the least expensive to implement and are widely utilized in healthcare and manufacturing contexts. However, they do not give the level of precision, accuracy, and intelligence provided by UWB systems. Infrared systems: Infrared systems operate similarly to how television remote controls. Each indoor space will be equipped with infrared receivers (IR)  that communicate with IR tags. At the same time, infrared systems are highly accurate in enclosed spaces but cannot provide location tracking services through walls. IR systems are most effective in settings with numerous rooms and well-defined areas but less effective in warehouses and manufacturing complexes. ...Read more