IoT geolocation is one of the most powerful and fast-growing IoT applications, and Market Insight Reports that the market for the “Internet of Things with geolocation” is expected to grow from $40 billion today to $74 billion by 2025.
This article explores the significant benefits of location-based IoT geolocation capabilities for tracking high-value assets.
IoT geolocation can be loss prevention
The National Cargo Security Council estimates that the global financial cost of lost cargo exceeds $50 billion annually. On a smaller scale, according to a recent survey of 1,000 American adults, the average American loses $5,591 of their belongings over the course of their lifetime.
An effective solution to the fraudulent theft and loss of important items is location technology, which is already in widespread use around the world because it can record and track assets.
IoT-based asset tracking and management by IoT geolocation
Many industries, such as transportation, logistics, healthcare, and foodservice, have chosen to use geo-location-based asset management solutions to replace private legacy systems to locate, track and monitor physical assets, such as equipment, products, vehicles, and people.
By adopting a connected solution, businesses can use IoT-based asset management solutions to replace inefficient and tasking manual management processes.
IoT Geolocation-equipped devices can help optimize asset management operations, check whether assets are stationary or in motion, and provide new capabilities such as loss prevention and damage prevention for goods.
IoT Geolocation in every device can significantly reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) and is ideal for enterprises, smart buildings, campuses, and smart cities where sensors and trackers need to be deployed.
The challenge of IoT geolocation
With the ability to track IoT devices so effectively, why not equip and utilize IoT geolocation for every connected device?
This is because traditional GPS technology, which has enabled geolocation in the past, is costly, faces technical challenges to its successful deployment, and requires high power consumption to operate.
The following factors are among the challenges faced by many IoT industries in the widespread adoption of IoT geolocation technology to track assets.
Battery life
Traditional GPS trackers have a high power consumption and therefore require multiple battery changes per year. In some cases, asset trackers are installed in locations that are difficult to maintain, such as gas stations or filling stations, or in vehicle fleets.
Such deployments result in high battery replacement costs, especially when thousands of trackers are deployed in the field.
Installation
It is easy to make mistakes when deploying the IoT. When installing sensors in buildings, for example, the manual registration process is prone to human error. It is also possible for trackers to move from one location to the next without manually updating the tracking log.
Maintenance
As these devices can have a lifespan of 5, 10, or even 20 years, technicians need to be dispatched to service and maintain the equipment during this time. However, asset trackers can often be ‘lost’ due to the inability to send notifications due to battery drainage, or changes in business ownership.
High costs
How often does a solution need to capture the location of equipment? One time a minute, Or one time a day?
The frequency of device location acquisition is directly related to cost and battery life; in many cases, traditional GPS technology does not meet the user’s needs in these two areas.
Affordable, simple, and efficient IoT asset management, with LoRa-based IoT solutions, these challenges can be solved.
Essentially, companies must offer their customers a solution that provides IoT geolocation services on any type of connected device with a battery life that far exceeds that of existing cellular solutions.
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