If we have limited budget constraints, how do we implement IoT? But what if we have an unlimited amount of budget (which is very rare)? Should we start with a simple IoT project or be very ambitious?
It all depends on your resources, the readiness of the users, and the complexity of the project involve.
But as a guideline, there are four levels or phases of IoT maturity.
(1) Monitor
It is the simplest form of IoT, having a sensor that can monitor the asset’s condition. It can be as simple as a temperature or humidity sensor of a warehouse.
A web dashboard or mobile application can display the data historically or in real-time.
For example, in a vehicle monitoring application, we can install a GPS and quickly locate the vehicle on an app. Fleet monitoring application is an excellent example of managing organizations’ fleet of cars.
(2) Control
You can control the device remotely or automatically trigger an alert that sends a command to the actuators.
For example, in-vehicle tracking service providers have an extended service that can control or immobilize the car from a remote in case the vehicle is stolen. When the immobilizer is activated, then the car engine will not start.
(3) Optimize
In the vehicle business, what if we can collect enough data about the car’s condition and predict when the time for the next service is? We can do it by using devices such as OBD-II, which collects the data diagnostics data from the vehicle.
Driver’s behavior data can be collected, such as their good or wrong driving pattern, by acquiring data about their acceleration, braking, cornering, and speed. It’s good for usage-based insurance to rate the drivers and charge their insurance.
(4) Autonomous
It is the highest level of IoT maturity when the device can operate autonomously without any human intervention.
Autonomous cars have many sensors such as lidar (light detection and ranging), also known as 3D laser scanning, which is a tool that self-driving vehicles use to scan their environments with lasers.
Other sensors can be radar, sonars, cameras, accelerometers, gyroscopes, GPS – all of these will help the car drive by itself.
Which level or phase you want to implement also depends on the problems you want to solve. It can also become a product that can create new business models or revenue streams.
