Agricultural sensors are typically used to monitor the humidity in the soil. They decide how and when irrigation systems are used, but also other environmental measures such as temperature, sunlight and various gases are monitored. The monitored area can range from large outdoor fields, where long-range communications transmission is key, to small indoor greenhouses. The sensors need to be battery operated, as cabling is typically not an option. Battery operation is best achieved with a star network such as Wireless M-Bus or RC232. Mesh networking is typically more power hungry as the nodes need to be active and always in listening mode. The longest range is supported with the lowest possible frequency, combined with High Power and Ultra-Narrowband, available in the Radiocrafts RC12xx and RC17xx platforms.

Industrial alarm systems continuously monitor an environment to alert employees or authorities about hazardous conditions, including high temperatures, smoke, fire, high pressure, high water, etc. Often these alarm sensors are located far from the “mains” supply lines. An additional challenge is that they are used infrequently, yet they must reliably send off an alarm on short notice when triggered. A robust radio with highest industry standard security is recommended for such applications. Robustness is achieved with Ultra-Narrowband radios which is available in the Radiocrafts RC12xx and RC17xx platforms. Ultra-Narrowband means that the radio is only open for a very narrow frequency spectrum, which means that receiver noise is minimized. Security in the Radiocrafts modules is achieved with AES-128 encryption, the most used industry standard encryption protocol for secure communication

Arenas use numerous lights that need to be repositioned for every event. The lights are often located in places where cabling is a challenge, especially in arenas where the lighting was not installed as part of the original construction. The distance between each node is typically short, but the distance from the control unit to some remote units can be very large. What’s needed is a mesh network where long distances are possible via individual nodes such as a TinyMesh network on a sub-gig frequency such as 169 MHz, 433 MHz, 868 MHz and 915 MHz. Keep in mind that the lower the frequency, the longer the reach. Radiocrafts modules at 169 MHz offer a few kilometers reach in real urban environments.

Asset tracking in warehouses or during transportation ensures that the location of each asset is known at all times. Additional data can also be wirelessly communicated via RF — such as temperature or humidity — so the asset’s environment can be controlled; for example, to help preserve food or medicine. Battery operated sensors communicating wirelessly are ideal for this. The specific requirement of the wireless link is determined by the geographical location, required range, the radio environment and data-rate needed. Wireless M-Bus on the right frequency is ideal for many applications as it is robust, secure with low power, and can handle many nodes. Radiocrafts has a large portfolio of modules where an ideal solution is readily available.

Blinds and shutters (aka “louvres”) in buildings are used to control sunlight and airflow from windows. Sensors gather the input data needed for the system and control signals are sent to the motors that drive the blinds and shutters to open and close. An intelligent master is in charge to determine when to open or shut the blind and shutters to provide for a cost efficient and comfortable climate in the building. Wireless communication is often used as the blind and shutters are located in the periphery of the building which makes cabling expensive. Key parameters for selecting the radio technology is range and power, but also predictable latency. This is best supported by a low frequency radio in a star network operation. Products from Radiocrafts include the transparent RC232 family or the Wireless M-Bus, but also the TinyMesh if the Mesh structure remains at low complexity to avoid network congestion.

Car parking occupancy systems use magnetic or IR sensors to determine if a specific space is in use or if it’s available. Providing cable connections to each parking spot is prohibitively expensive, so battery-powered Radiocrafts Wireless RF networks are used instead. This drives a need for low power, reliable, long-range wireless connection. The networking can be quite complex, so a robust star network is ideal. The Radiocrafts Wireless M-Bus are developed for gas and water metering sharing many of the same requirements. Wireless M-Bus has been field tested in large volumes, ensuring that the protocol is very robust and reliable, while supporting low power applications.

Indoor climate sensors are used in a variety of applications to control temperature, humidity, light, carbon dioxide, etc. The applications range from museums — where ancient artifacts need precisely controlled atmospheres — all the way to saunas and ice-bars, where we enjoy extreme temperatures that need to be, nevertheless, kept comfortable and safe. Many of the sensors are put in remote locations driving a need for low power dissipation for battery operation and radio technology with long range. Radiocrafts modules support both those criteria with modules based on TinyMesh, Wireless M-Bus and RC232 RF protocols.

Wireless temperature sensors can be used in a grocery store to monitor refrigeration units and ensure safety of the food products as well as any related cold chain compliance. Retailers that maintain warehouses can measure the heat index on loading docks using wireless temperature and humidity sensors to make sure that conditions are safe for employees. These sensors can also detect cooling system failures during warm summer months or heat failures in the winter at remote locations. In both cases, wireless temperature sensors can help retailers proactively avoid environmental issues that may damage merchandise. Many of the sensors are put in remote locations driving a need for low power dissipation for battery operation and radio technology with long range. Radiocrafts modules support both those criteria with modules based on TinyMesh, Wireless M-Bus and RC232 RF protocols.

Radiocrafts RF technologies can be ideal for Industrial Control applications when:

a)  The controlled equipment is remote
b)  Cabling is not an option
c)  Predictable latency is acceptable

Typical applications include turning on or off equipment, or controlling slow-moving devices such as an overhead crane or pump-operated valve. These applications demand highly reliable communications — over long distances and penetrating through common objects — which makes Radiocraft’s Ultra Narrowband devices an excellent choice as they are very robust in noisy environments. Data security is supported with AES-128 encryption, the industry standard for secure communication. Predictable latency is best supported from star networks such as RC232 or Wireless M-Bus, but also a low complexity mesh implemented with TinyMesh can be used.

When retrofitting the lighting of large buildings, a major challenge can be adding several new lighting control locations (or expanded lighting control capacities for new or different areas) where wiring hasn’t been previously installed. A mesh network of RF modules with sensors achieves long range, while allowing dynamic configuration, while a star network will require less power. A key criterion is range where a low frequency sub-gig on 169 MHz, 433 MHz, 868 MHz or 915 MHz give good range advantage compared to 2.4GHz. Low frequencies always give better range than higher frequencies.

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) is the technology of indoor environmental comfort. Temperature and gas sensors needed to control the indoor environment are frequently installed in locations where fixed cables are not possible, particularly in older buildings where cabling was not put in place at the time the building was constructed. A great solution for retrofitting is wireless connectivity. Radiocrafts has several options for efficient wireless RF solution that are easy to implement in indoor HVAC environmental sensors. Radio technology in buildings can be challenging due to reach. A sub-gig solution based on RF modules from Radiocrafts will provide that extra range needed to get good coverage.

Networked street lighting is gaining significant traction in Smart Cities and is a great way for cities and utilities to improve safety and cut costs for their customers. A networked street lighting system incorporates a cluster of street lamps that can communicate with each other and provide lighting data to a local concentrator. The concentrator manages and transmits the relevant data, via a wireless RF module, to a secure server that captures the data and presents it in a dashboard interface.

A smart street lighting system also allows facility managers to remotely control street lights while keeping track of electrical power consumption in the lamps. The lamp status is constantly monitored meaning scheduling maintenance becomes more efficient and cost-effective. Additionally, in case a lamp falls, the problematic lamp can be pin-pointed remotely and fixed. Another example of what can be done with smart street lighting includes brightening and dimming lights depending on the weather conditions.

The requirements on the Wireless Sensor network is that it can support long range and cover long “pearl of strings” networks, and can be deployed quickly while requiring low maintenance.

Radiocrafts has various product lines that are suitable for smart street lighting: RIIM, Tinymesh, and RIIoT.

RIIM by Radiocrafts is a great low power mesh solution as the RIIM network is a 100% automatic self-healing, self-optimizing solution which supports IP connectivity to the sensor/cloud, 2-way symmetric communication, and 29 hops which allows you to cover an area of about 40 by 40 km squared. The RIIM module contains all key components required to make a complete wireless IP mesh in the matter of weeks.

Tinymesh is a powerful multi-hop mesh protocol with 2-way symmetrical communication for control and monitoring of individual nodes. The compact modules provide a self-configuring and self-healing mesh network, giving large area coverage for your street lighting application. Radiocrafts has deployed several Tinymesh based street lighting networks around the world.

If you are looking for a very long range star solution, RIIoT by Radiocrafts is a good option as it is has a range of up to 2 km is urban environments, a 2-way symmetric, very low power, long range, and reliable dense network which was designed to meet tough industrial requirements; RIIoT has very low packet losses primarily due the supported Listen-Before-Talk and Ack/Retry features. The RIIoT SPR and GPR modules contain all key components required to make a complete wireless Industrial IoT network in the matter of weeks.

Understanding the flow of traffic is key to optimizing transportation in crowded cities. Additional traffic management factors include the occupancy of parking lots and the traffic in bottleneck areas (e.g., bridges, construction zones, detours, etc.). Some of these information needs are temporary (construction zones, detours), so both traffic and occupancy sensors need to be moveable, precluding the use of fixed cables. A mesh network on sub-gig frequencies, such as a TinyMesh network, allows for long range between nodes and at the same time the network flexibility provided by the mesh structure. If a very low power solution is needed, then Wireless M-Bus is an alternative that provides for a robust low power solution.

Cities can optimize their waste collection by using an effective smart waste management model. The idea behind the model is that each waste bin in a city can be accessed individually by Wireless Sensor Networks. Sensors and actuators can then be used to monitor the amount of waste in a bin and lock the bin shut if it has reached its maximum capacity. Wireless Sensor Networks can then be used to transfer this data through the infrastructure. GPS is incorporated in the collection trucks. The GPS data is used for dynamic scheduling of the trucks route, to choose the exact time where a truck should begin it’s collection route. This can be done in real time for dynamic routing including changes to the pre-defined collection route. All in order to improve waste management efficiency.

The requirements on the Wireless Sensor network is that it is low power (battery driven), can support long range, is reliable and secure and requires low maintenance.

Radiocrafts has three new product lines that are suitable for waste collection networks, Wize, RIIoT and RIIM.

The Radiocrafts Wize module is ideal for this as Wize operates in the 169 MHz band which allows it to connect to hard-to-reach objects and to ensure deployments on a territory-wide scale for a city use case due to the long range.

RIIoT by Radiocrafts is another good solution as it is a very low power, long range, and reliable dense network which was designed to meet tough industrial requirements; RIIoT has very low packet losses primarily due the supported Listen-Before-Talk and Ack/Retry features.

If you are looking for a mesh solution then RIIM by Radiocrafts is a great low power solution as the RIIM network is a 100% automatic self-healing, self-optimizing solution which supports IP connectivity to the sensor/cloud and 29 hops which allows you cover an area of about 20 by 20 km squared.

Data Loggers typically record sensor data over a given time or location at a fairly low sample rate. They are often used to record harsh environmental conditions, so they must be highly reliable, even in inhospitable locations. Radiocrafts modules combine both robust design and low power consumption, making them ideal for data logging applications. The Ultra-Narrowband platforms, RC12xx and RC17xx are ideal for data-loggers, with their robustness in noisy environment. The security of the radio signal is ensured with AES-128 encryption available in the Radiocrafts modules. Low power is supported by an application that utilizes the sleep mode available in the Radiocrafts module to its maximum.