Key Takeaways
- Emergent Connext and Microsoft are expanding LoRaWAN technology on US farms to enhance data collection in areas with limited internet access.
- PLAATO, in collaboration with Telenor IoT, is enabling breweries to monitor production through a unified dashboard, improving efficiency without replacing existing equipment.
- Both initiatives emphasize practical IoT applications tailored to specific environments, focusing on user control over data while meeting real-world challenges.
Advancing IoT in Diverse Industries
IoT technology is evolving beyond smart homes and urban infrastructures, finding new applications in niche markets such as agriculture and brewing. Recent initiatives illustrate how IoT is adapting to serve these environments effectively while addressing foundational connectivity challenges.
In rural America, Emergent Connext is collaborating with Microsoft’s Airband initiative to extend LoRaWAN coverage for farms in California, Ohio, and the Mississippi Delta. These regions often lack reliable internet, complicating the use of essential tools such as irrigation monitors and livestock trackers. LoRaWAN, a low-power, long-range wireless protocol, is ideal for these expansive areas where power and bandwidth are limited. This partnership aims to provide farmers with stable and affordable access to data networks. The network enables real-time data collection on metrics like soil moisture and temperature without depending on costly mobile coverage. By targeting farmers, this project supports the adoption of agritech in areas lacking infrastructure.
Simultaneously, breweries face their own connectivity hurdles. PLAATO, a startup dedicated to the fermentation industry, is partnering with Telenor IoT to streamline production monitoring. Breweries typically rely on programmable logic controllers (PLCs), which standardize production equipment but differ by brand and setup. PLAATO’s platform aggregates data from these systems into a single dashboard, allowing brewers to manage fermentation and recipes efficiently. Telenor IoT provides a managed service that unifies data from various IoT devices, helping brewers avoid the significant costs of custom systems.
These examples underscore the essence of IoT: it isn’t solely about high-end technology or AI; it’s about the application of the right tools in suitable contexts. LoRaWAN excels in rural areas, while PLC-based systems are effective in the structured environments of breweries. In both fields, the emphasis is on optimizing existing infrastructure rather than investing in new, complex systems.
Market projections indicate sustained growth in these sectors, with the beer brewing production system market expected to reach approximately $3.4 billion by 2025, growing at about 4.5% annually. Meanwhile, the global agriculture IoT market is steadily advancing as farmers seek to enhance productivity and reduce waste. These trends highlight a demand for practical, user-friendly tools that operate under real-world constraints.
As deployments increase, concerns around data ownership and access are becoming more pressing. In agriculture, many farmers hesitate to share data with external platforms due to potential misuse, with some opting for local data storage to maintain control. Similarly, breweries are wary of the privacy implications of cloud services. Both Emergent Connext and PLAATO advocate for transparency in data management, aiming to empower users with control over their information.
Although both initiatives commenced on a smaller scale, they are designed to expand. Emergent Connext plans to broaden its network beyond initial farming zones, while PLAATO is continuously enhancing its features to support diverse fermentation processes. The progress of these projects illustrates that effective IoT solutions can begin modestly, prioritizing functionality and relevancy to specific environments, all while tackling existing operational issues without aggressive complexity.
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