A small UK manufacturer with a big footprint in Global industrial IoT; David Cameron says it’s a Transformative Technology!
Since 2008 Caption Data have been developing a leading position in remote monitoring by connecting people and organisations with their sensors, assets, remote sites and structures and other “things” since before the Internet of Things (IoT) was a common phrase.
Over the last three years we have invested over £1/3m into research and development of IoT technology, and at the time of writing have several thousand systems providing business critical data to clients in 15 countries.
In a review commissioned by the Prime Minister and written by the government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, David Cameron stated that, “The Internet of Things is a transformative development. Technologies that could allow literally billions of every day objects to communicate with each other over the Internet have enormous potential to change all of our lives.
“These technologies are a way of boosting productivity, of keeping us healthier, making transport more efficient, reducing energy needs and making our homes more comfortable.”
(Read the full review The Internet of Things: making the most of the Second Digital Revolution)
Continue reading to find a range of examples that further illustrate the benefits of a connected world.
Smart industries
The industries Caption Data have found themselves working in and supporting couldn’t be more different but some of the fundamental challenges they faced have been similar.
These challenges include remote locations, harsh environments, temporary locations, the need to operate autonomously (no power or LAN), the need for wireless networks for multiple sensor locations, extreme simplicity at the point of use with sophistication in data security and analysis. The industries with these needs include the water industry, environmental industry, construction industry, structural industry, instrumentation, facilities management, asset management, mobile plant and equipment, and building conservation, to name a few.
A smarter construction industry
Over the last year a specialist vibration monitoring consultancy have been conducting vibration monitoring on a demolition site in central London using the RDL//Vibe by Caption Data.
A key challenge faced throughout the project was in the low mobile phone network signal due to the densely populated neighbourhood. The RDL//Vibe with it’s built-in modem and roaming SIM was quickly able to find a mobile phone network with good signal and has been working well ever since, protecting adjacent properties by alerting site operators to the vibrations they were creating
Read our latest case study: Continuous vibration monitoring of a demolition site in central London
A smarter water industry
Caption Data partnered with a leading provider of sensor equipment to the water industry, and have telemetry installed with virtually all the major water companies to provide real time monitoring of turbidity in water supply networks.
The portable turbidity monitoring kits are left underground in manholes which means they have to be self-sufficient, in terms of power and be able to communicate through the manholes that contained them. The NephNet by ATi with an on board RDL//nano by Caption Data has exceeded expectations.
Read our latest case study: A continuous flow of turbidity data for UK water companies
A smarter Structural Monitoring Industry
Caption Data were contacted by a research team at Plymouth University’s School of Marine Science and Engineering, the team wanted to characterise the environmental loads on the granite structure of Eddystone Lighthouse.
Eddystone Lighthouse which is based on a treacherous rocky reef at sea, 13 miles south-west of Plymouth presented a challenged not too dissimilar to those seen in the construction and water industries, with one key difference. While there is also a lack of mobile phone network coverage, no IT infrastructure and just enough power from the generator to power the lighthouse’s key function, the only mode of transport to and from the Lighthouse is by helicopter.
By using the RDL//Vibe, the team at Plymouth University have been able to perform groundbreaking research. In 3 months over the winter of 13/14 over 3090 wave strike “events” were logged by the remote monitoring system. Typical data from a series of “events” is shown on our live data page at https://www.captiondata.com/live-shock-vibration-data
Read our latest case study: Structural monitoring at iconic Eddystone Lighthouse
A smarter building conservation Industry
The oldest building in the Parliamentary Estate, Westminster Hall, was recently equipped with our environmental monitoring equipment. We installed an RDL//1000 system with 27 sensors, measuring timber moisture levels, temperature and humidity, taking up to 216 measurements every hour. The RDL//1000 autonomously takes regular measurements and transmits the data to our secure data servers, the data and the systems are managed and monitored using the CDLSmartHub.
The equipment is specifically being using to monitoring the magnificent timber roof at Westminster Hall. As the largest medieval timber roof in Northern Europe, measuring 21m by 73m (68ft by 240ft) and some 30m tall, there is a great deal of pressure to ensure it is preserved for many years to come.
Read our latest case study: Environmental monitoring at Westminster Hall
