Improved Yields With Less Money and Less Time: the Agtech Revolution
Agtech makes agriculture smarter, and that’s a win for farmers, our planet, and people. Farming and agriculture have always relied on technology and innovation to improve resource allocation and increase yields. For example, handheld tools were the norm until the cotton gin’s introduction in 1793, and chemical fertilizers, grain elevators, and the gas-powered tractor revolutionized farming and agriculture in the 1800s. In the 1990s, farmers started using satellite imagery to plan their work. Today farmers have begun to embrace the IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) – arguably the most significant agricultural innovation of the last decade. Smart agriculture is now common among farmers, and precision agriculture is becoming the norm, thanks to sensors and automation. Still, there are many miles to go before agtech can more broadly address global food insecurity and combat our climate and sustainability challenges; we will get there. “The key to sustainable agricultural growth is a more efficient use of land, labor, and other inputs through technological progress, social innovation, and new business models. For agriculture and aquaculture to respond to future challenges, innovation will need to improve the efficiency with which inputs are turned into outputs and conserve scarce natural resources and reduce waste.” —The Future of Food and Agriculture: Trends and Challenges, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Keep reading to learn how agtech helps farmers improve processes and save money, while also meeting the food needs of a growing global population. Precision Farming and Smart Agriculture Many farmers have already adopted high-tech farming technologies and techniques to improve day-to-day efficiency and increase profits. Field sensors allow farmers to gather detailed topographic and resource maps and helps them carefully measure and monitor soil acidity and temperatures. Precision farming and smart agriculture technologies also help farmers predict upcoming weather patterns. Farmers who embrace agtech can monitor equipment, livestock, and crops from mobile devices, and gather real-time produce and livestock feeding data. Technology, like ours, even helps farmers access information to forecast future yield and livestock needs. Sensors and monitoring tools give farmers far-reaching information to drive field management decision-making that enables better resource allocation, increases yields and saves money. For example, real-time data can help farmers identify areas that need more water or fertilizer or find places where crops receive too much water or fertilizer. More agtech use-cases: Automated Irrigation and Compliance Agtech enables farmers to schedule irrigation at off-peak hours and save up to $30,000 per year in energy costs. And with agtech, farmers can automate water consumption reporting processes to ensure regulatory compliance. Grain Bin Level Monitoring and Control Precision farming technologies give farmers real-time visibility into storage conditions and use automation to ensure blowers only operate during off-peak electrical hours, saving up to 50% in overall energy costs. Herd Health Tracking Agtech helps farmers monitor feed intake to deliver accurate rations to improve livestock health and mitigate feed shrink. Self-Driving and Autonomous Tractors Real-time kinetics (RTK) in precision agriculture improves steering and guidance accuracy up to 100x compared to traditional GPS. Smart Weed Control IIoT powers high-accuracy robotic weeders to reduce herbicide consumption by as much as 20%. Using agtech to address food insecurity. By addressing factors like soil health and food waste, agtech can help ensure food is grown as sustainably and efficiently as possible and maximize each bite’s caloric benefit. Agtech revolutionizes virtually every step of the process. And it’s about more than ensuring a bountiful harvest and limiting food waste; it’s also about connecting rural farmers and the world-at-large, uncovering new food distribution channels in remote areas, and introducing alternative cultivation methods in rugged and unforgiving environments. Technology and innovation are a deciding factor in eliminating global hunger. Precision agriculture helps farmers become more efficient, profitable, safer, and environmentally friendly. “Farms and agricultural operations will have to be run very differently, primarily due to advancements in technology such as sensors, devices, machines, and information technology. Future agriculture will use sophisticated technologies such as robots, temperature and moisture sensors, aerial images, and GPS technology. These advanced devices and precision agriculture and robotic systems will allow farms to be more profitable, efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly.” —Agriculture 4.0: The Future of Farming Technology, World Government Summit As agtech adoption expands and farms become more connected, productivity and efficiency will increase in the coming years. We anticipate that millions of agriculture-specific IIoT devices will be in action by the end of 2020. And in the coming decades, the average farm will generate more actionable data than anything imaginable today. Other industries are fearful of technology that replaces humans with sensors and robots, but farmers, always in need of more human power and resources, dream of technologies that increase yields and save money with less time and effort. Is your farm Smart? Find out today – get in touch for complimentary FreeWave Smart farm assessment.
IIoT and Work-Life Balance: A Healthy and Productive Relationship
This article was authored by Kirk Byles, FreeWave CEO The Industrial Internet of Things can improve productivity and promote a healthy work-life balance. Here’s how. “There is no such thing as work-life balance anymore. You’ve got to integrate them. Otherwise, you will fail miserably at one of them.” – Benjamin Laker, Forbes Because of COVID-19, the boundaries between our work and home lives continue to blur. I often find myself doing chores while on a conference call or listening to a webinar while cooking at my barbeque. And I’m becoming more interested in who is at the office, now that we’ve opened part-time (I use the key card application on my phone to monitor access). It’s not my intention to be Big Brother – working from the FreeWave office is voluntary. Rather, I want to gauge how folks are feeling. I took the same action to monitor my kid’s activities at home when I was still working from the office, to see whether or not they crank the heat or A/C when they get home from school. These are typical IoT-related activities we take for granted. Like most people, I’ve tried to strike the perfect balance between my life at work and my life at home. Since I’ve worked remotely for most of my professional life, I’m fairly disciplined when it comes to shutting off work at the appropriate time. Still, like so many people, I’ve recently found myself working extended hours. Experts criticize the concept of work-life balance because it suggests life and work are in opposition. And the pursuit of balance is exhausting. Some researchers suggest it’s better to embrace imbalance than strive to achieve a state of work-life nirvana. And I tend to agree with them. Of course, you have to schedule aspects of your work-from-home time, just like you’d plan family activities. Still, there’s nothing wrong with blocking out personal time during the day if you can spend a few hours hiking with your kids or friends during the afternoon. Even if you’ll be working at 10 PM as a result. This balancing act is new to quite a few folks, and it’s difficult. But, if you have the right solutions at your fingertips, it gives you peace of mind and helps you become more efficient. I mentioned mobile apps for my home and office, but what about tools for people working in industries that need to go beyond looking at cameras or names on a screen? Many people work in oilfields, on manufacturing floors, water sanitation sites, farms, or cities. And for most of their careers, they’ve been able to pull data from remote locations, view pressure gauges, monitor flow rates, check on pick and place machines for errors, and in some cases, manipulate those machines remotely (assuming they have the necessary skills). How does this work get done when you have to work from home? The right technology makes it possible. By placing edge computers with industrial applications where the action is happening, people can see the apps at work and relax, knowing they’ll be notified if there is a problem. This helps remote employees see what might be happening, and it also helps them know what is actually happening and how automatic changes improve systems. With edge computers, application-specific software, and communications technologies, folks working from home don’t have to stress about what’s happening on-site. And they don’t have to try to fix issues. The software corrects the issue before you know there’s a problem, so you can cook for the kids and rest easy knowing you’ve had zero downtime and machinery is running at absolute efficiency. The IIoT helps Mom, the field services director for a major utility, work from home, and be 10x more productive because of remote applications at the edge that make sure everything runs as it should. She can spend more time with the kids, and address aspects of her work she couldn’t get to before implementing this technology. It’s about creating efficiencies and solving problems before you even know there is one. An imbalance between work and home life is okay as long as you’re doing all you can to ensure work gets done and your home life isn’t neglected. The Industrial Internet of Things can make this possible for all of us.
The Smart Businesses Guide to Intelligence at the Edge and IIOT
Technology that enables business continuity and agility in every condition is essential today and into the future. Remote processes that enable agility in changing conditions are critical, given our current circumstances. And while today’s drastic measures aren’t permanent, it’s never been more crucial to optimize remote operations for business continuity. To that end, tools that limit on-site personnel without compromising integrity are essential. The right Edge computing and IIOT (Industrial Internet of Things) strategies and solutions, not only transform industrial environments and help a business maintain operations under every circumstance, but they also enhance overall efficiency and performance, regardless of factors outside your control. Edge computing and connected devices can give countless critical industries transformative insights into their remote operations. What is IIOT? Before getting too far down the rabbit hole of in-depth technical explanations, we should touch on the basics of IIOT (forgive us if you already know). In simple terms, connected assets and Edge devices send information to data communications infrastructures and turn the insights into actionable info. Engineers can use this data over time to uncover patterns that help identify more significant issues and their root causes. The gathered information can also drive meaningful business decisions, improve processes, and save money. As digitization becomes a critical business priority, the Industrial Internet of Things (sometimes called the Industrial Internet) is increasingly becoming pervasive. But technology is not without its faults. We won’t paint a rosy portrait without transparency around potential challenges. IIOT-specific challenges. Before your business adopts IIOT and Edge computing technologies, you need to take a hard look at security. Any technology that makes business-critical data and information available through the Internet can leave you exposed. The added expense of employee education and training and advanced network security sometimes offset the cost benefits associated with IIOT. If you’re looking at implementing these technologies, you need to be realistic with your expectations around ROI – at least in the beginning. There can also be standardization challenges when implementing IIOT and Edge intelligence technologies. Integrating your industrial environment to the IoT is more complicated than using the standard machine to machine and connected devices. You’ll need to upgrade legacy devices and infrastructures and, at the same time, implement new IIOT and Edge technologies to allow for seamless communication between connected devices, operating systems, connectivity frameworks, and protocol standards. IIOT and Edge computing benefits. Still, the benefits of IIOT and Edge computing technologies far outweigh their challenges and the initial up-front cost. We’ll give you a short run-down of those benefits, starting with overall efficiency. When you have complete visibility into every aspect of your business, from field operations to internal resources and applications, nothing is missed or wasted. FreeWave customers in varying industries have implemented IIOT and Edge technologies across all their businesses to achieve operational intelligence. Intelligence enables them to gain end-to-end visibility to increase productivity, reduce operational risks, mitigate costs, and, most importantly, keep employees and essential on-site personnel safe. IIOT and Edge technologies allow your teams to remotely monitor operations in real-time without putting them at risk – essential, considering today’s circumstances. These technologies also enhance your overall security posture and not just cybersecurity. It’s never been more crucial to track personnel and on-site visitors in the field. We’re not saying that you don’t, or shouldn’t trust your employees, but the reality is people are the biggest threat to your business. Tools that allow you to remotely track and monitor activities in the field keep your business safe – and operational. These technologies also help to maximize production and output and allow you to make real-time adjustments with real-time data, something virtually impossible just a decade ago. So, where do you start? We’ve got an in-depth discovery and implementation process when working with new FreeWave customers, but here’s a simple breakdown of the general procedure for implementing your new IIOT and Edge Intelligence project. You first need to define your overall goals for the IIOT project. Second, you’ll want to identify how you plan to measure success. Third, it’s essential that you document your execution plan to shore-up loose ends and consider every detail. Fourth, and this is the most critical component – you need organizational buy-in to move forward. And last but not least, it’s time for work on the initial implementation. The time is now. Your business needs data visibility to transform digitally. But that’s only half the battle. You also need to ensure that all relevant stakeholders can access, assess, and act on that data. FreeWave gives you the power to do it all in a complete and cloud-enabled Edge ecosystem. Our IQ platform provides immediate and expandable capabilities for high fidelity industrial data capture, analysis, control, and automation. And it’s designed for future growth or to build upon your existing infrastructure. Readily expandable as your Edge computing needs evolve, our products give you a future-ready solution to solve today’s operational challenges and to capitalize on the future opportunities that come with a smart edge. Enabling business continuity and agility is essential today. 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FreeWave Announces the Release of their New Online Training Portal
Take your FreeWave experience to the next level with our new online learning center. FreeWave is primarily a supplier of hardware for the industrial space, which means that our products aren’t as simple to use as hardware designed for the consumer market. The specificity of FreeWave equipment makes training and certifications crucial. We’ve always offered training, but in the past, the sessions were conducted in-person. And while our team enjoys interacting with customers in a live setting, there are obvious drawbacks to on-site education. The value of hands-on training is undeniable, but it requires expensive travel, often for both the FreeWave team and our customers, and the system isn’t available on-demand, nor is it scalable. Understanding the importance of high-quality training, as well as the budgetary and scaling issues inherent to in-person instruction, we set out to create a different solution. Our team worked tirelessly to build the all-new FreeWave online training portal – a video-based learning platform designed specifically to train and certify FreeWave hardware customers. FreeWave’s team of tenured educators built the learning platform to address known customer challenges. We are one of the first in our hardware niche to provide a video-based online learning center. The training portal is a differentiator for us and you. What makes the FreeWave online training portal valuable? The FreeWave online training portal allows customers and partners to learn at their own pace. There are assessments after each chapter that allows users to test their knowledge. The learning center is specific enough to help customers and partners with their unique applications but broad enough to apply to every FreeWave customer regardless of industry (industry-neutral). The education center operates in real-time and will continue to evolve. Customers or partners will have up-to-date information about product releases, as well as notices and advisories specific to FreeWave hardware. The learning center is an excellent resource for notifications about products our customers might already use. Each course has a corresponding message board. Trainees can ask questions and receive follow-up responses from an instructor. The complimentary platform is immediately available to FreeWave customers. Public and private sector organizations with restrictive budgets aren’t always able to justify sending employees for training. Many learning courses with certifications cost up to $2,000 per ticket to attend, and the average group-size for in-person training ranges from 12 to 15 people. The ease of access and affordability of our new learning platform combined with on-demand features and real-time updates make it an invaluable resource. What are early adopters saying? “FreeWave did an excellent job on the videos, and I learned a lot! I especially like that the videos are broken into bite-sized chunks. I took notes throughout and nearly went through an entire pad of paper.” – FreeWave customer “I started the online course, and I love it!!!” – FreeWave customer A mini-case study: A newly-onboarded customer conducted a successful field test and sold FreeWave hardware the day following his training and certification. A learning process that in the past would have required on-site training conducted by a FreeWave educator, and hands-on assistance in the field test and sales process, was achieved within 24hrs and at no cost to either the customer or FreeWave. It’s important to note that the customer attempted to use a competitor’s hardware last year for the same purpose and was unsuccessful. The online training portal is designed for both resellers and end-users of FreeWave hardware. Our initial launch includes one certification and roughly seven hours of educational video content to get you started. Additional certifications and training videos will be added throughout the year. Are you an existing customer or partner? Click here to register for the FreeWave online training portal! New to Freewave products? Contact Us.
FreeWave Technologies Expands Global Footprint and Has Record Growth
FreeWave Technologies Welcomes New Decade with Expanding Global Footprint and Record Growth BOULDER (February 11, 2020) – FreeWave Technologies, a leader in industrial edge computing and long-range industrial wireless connectivity expanded its global footprint and continued its record growth trajectory in 2019 thanks to gains in the smart agriculture, UAV, oil and gas and municipal water/wastewater verticals. With 2019 revenue growth up more than 10 percent, international growth up 50 percent and EBITDA up 38 percent over 2018, the company is well-positioned to meet the growing global demand for Edge Cloud and Virtualized Edge platforms that deliver true Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) benefits to new and existing markets. “These are dynamic and exciting times at FreeWave and in the industry in general,” said FreeWave Technologies CEO Kirk Byles. “We’ve been connecting the industrial edge for decades. However, our strategy to shift the business toward integrated edge connectivity and computing solutions has had an immediate impact on our bottom line. Delivering high-fidelity data capture capabilities for analysis, control and automation via a single, scalable IIoT platform is certainly on point. We see this proven out by our continued performance and growing demand,” said Byles. “By building a strong and diversified ecosystem of partners, we believe we can provide customers with effective solutions to address network challenges and optimize algorithms to capitalize on IIoT opportunities today and into the future.” Since 2017, FreeWave has steadily and strategically expanded its portfolio beyond SCADA to include investments in its Zumlink™ industrial products and ZumIQ™ EDGE compute platform. Recent updates have added improved processing power and memory, as well as additional ports for USB and Ethernet connectivity. Here’s a quick snapshot of key 2019 business milestones: Announced an agreement to team with MachineShop to provide a turn-key edge computing solution that seamlessly extends Amazon Web Services (AWS) computing to the edge, transforming how edge computing is deployed, managed, and connected with AWS IoT Greengrass and related services. Invested and grew international sales by 50 percent by executing agreements with partners and customers in Latin America, APAC, MEA, & EU. These partnerships will allow FreeWave to continue to diversify and scale its solutions globally. Announced strategic partnerships with Inductive Automation and AUTOSOL to deliver a fully integrated Edge solution that optimizes real-time data acquisition via a MQTT publish/subscribe SCADA architecture. Established new Board of Directors comprised of highly accomplished executives in the IIOT, software, product development and professional infrastructure services industries to support its IIoT solution evolution. Continued to align with various edge and cloud software tool and solutions providers to simplify the adoption of IIoT. IIoT is rapidly becoming more important to industrial enterprises as they look to evolve their operations. The emergence of OT Cloud capabilities also promises to be a powerful asset. The proliferation of sensors and devices being implemented brings new demands for computing power at the edge as well. FreeWave has taken its rugged OT products, designed for low-power operation across wide temperature ranges, and infused them with open IQ intelligence. By connecting them to a smarter platform, they can reliably address the data-intensive realities of IIoT, create data transparency, foster interoperability to enrich existing infrastructure and enable new business models. “It’s about moving organizations from reactive models to predictive optimization enriched by real-time IoT insights,” said Byles. “We look forward to helping customers solve all their problems in all the industries we serve through IIoT transformation.” For more information on FreeWave Technologies’ and its Intelligent Edge solutions, visit www.freewave.com. About FreeWave Technologies With deployments in over 32 countries, FreeWave’s products are leveraged by industrial end users and OEMs alike to connect, control and optimize remote machines and processes to impact smarter decision-making, improve operational efficiencies and drive cost savings. Throughout our 26-year history, Freewave’s IIoT Connectivity and EDGE Solutions have solved thousands of customers’ problems in government/defense, energy, agriculture, and municipalities – achieve reliable connectivity for data telemetry and command and control in some of the most challenging, remote and rugged environments in the world. Today, we are transforming the extreme edge of operations – and the proliferation of smart devices within it – into a connected part of the enterprise with our IQ edge computing platform and ecosystem of solutions evolved for IIoT. Are you ready to transform your operation? Visit freewave.com to get started. Media Contacts: Lisa DiBenedetto Corporate Communications lisa@ldbcomm.biz 630-338-2208 Renea Sloan Director, Channel Marketing rsloan@freewave.com
The Intelligent Edge: A Deep Dive into Edge Computing with Robert Reid
The industrial data landscape is rapidly evolving because of emerging communications and processing technologies that allow organizations to more efficiently collect data and act upon it in real-time at the device and sensor level– something we at FreeWave like to call ‘Edge Computing.’ The money, time and resource-conserving possibilities are endless with Edge Computing, and industrial organizations are quickly looking to adapt this technology to stay ahead. For the ninth installment in our series “The Intelligent Edge,” we caught up with Senior Software Engineer Bob Reid to discuss his expertise in developing emerging Edge technology – like ZumIQ – at the ‘nuts and bolts’ level. His experience in developing new technology and taking it to the very edge (literally) is vast. FreeWave: Tell us more about yourself. How did you get started in software engineering? Bob Reid: I started writing software at a young age on Apple II computers, but my background is in space science. I have degrees in astronomy and planetary sciences and got involved with a couple Mars missions in the late ‘90s during my time at the University of Arizona. FreeWave: What did you do for the Mars missions? What was it like? Bob Reid: Our team built the cameras for the landers, and I was responsible for image calibration software. During landed operations, we had to follow the Mars day, which is 24 hours and 37 minutes long. There would be times where my work day would start at 8am and then about a week later it would start in the afternoon. There were times where my day would start at 1am – it was an experience. After my work with Mars, I went on to work for the Army developing software for soldier training. I helped develop tools for data collection, analysis, and review of data generated by sensors on equipment and personnel. It really expanded my ability as a professional software developer before coming to FreeWave. FreeWave: What is your focus at FreeWave primarily? Bob Reid: Recently I’ve been focused on ZumIQ on both our App Server and ZumLink radios. I’ve written applications and supported customers on this platform. I also support our Windows-based radio management utility, Tool Suite. I’ve been here long enough to get into a little bit of everything. FreeWave: What programming languages do you work with the most? Bob Reid: In the past year, I’ve worked with JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Lua, C#, Java, and Node-RED. During my work with the ZumIQ platform, I’ve been able to learn a lot of new languages. It’s really allowed me to explore the space. If it will run on Linux it will run on ZumIQ. FreeWave: What is the ZumIQ? Tell us a little more about it. Bob Reid: ZumIQ is an embedded system – in the same class as a Raspberry Pi in capability – but it’s ruggedized. It can operate anywhere our current radios do, and it allows our customers to develop their own custom applications or implement third-party applications at the edge to solve problems. ZumIQ is a wide-open platform – we haven’t placed a lot of restrictions on it. The hardware is capable of withstanding rugged and remote locations with extreme weather that other products may not be able to survive in. FreeWave: Can you share some real-world examples of how ZumIQ is used? Bob Reid: Sure thing. In oil & gas, companies can install ZumIQ at its well sites to collect more data at a higher resolution and analyze the data at the site. Companies can also use ZumIQ to send back the data that matters, or all the data, back to the cloud for analysis, or the software can make decisions right at the edge. The benefit here is that if your central network goes down, you can still continue to function at the edge with ZumIQ’s capabilities. At these well sites, companies can use ZumIQ to monitor their status and take action if necessary with predictive analysis. An application can find trends within all the data it collects and analyzes, such as if a tank level falls by a certain threshold – companies can then send out a technician out in case something is failing. That’s just one example – there are so many ways ZumIQ can be used across many industries. FreeWave: What are you looking forward to in the future for ZumIQ? Bob Reid: I’m really looking forward to integrating all the components of ZumIQ and creating a one-for-all platform. Taking the Application Server, Application Environment, ZumLink technologies and more, and packaging it all up so companies only need one product to meet all their future needs. That’s what I’m excited to see in the future. FreeWave: Before we let you go, what has been your most memorable problem you’ve helped solve? Bob Reid: There have been so many problems I’ve helped solve, so it’s hard to say. One does stand out – back when I was calibrating images for Mars. It wasn’t just about taking a single picture. We would take image of rocks in several different wavelengths to generate a reflectance spectrum. From that, we were able to do remote sensing to figure out the composition objects on Mars by comparing to reflectance spectra of know materials in a lab. But to figure that out, we had to correct for the Solar illumination, atmospheric illumination, the angle of the rock face, camera sensitivity at different wavelengths, data compression, etc. That was my first professional software project, and I have fond memories of it. ______________________________ Enjoyed learning about what our line of talented experts have to say? Stay tuned for the next Intelligent Edge conversation! In the meantime, catch up on all the blogs in our series here.
What’s new from FreeWave? The ZumIQ App Server
Introducing the first programmable ZumIQ™ App Server network appliance to deliver ruggedized edge intelligence for Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and sensor ecosystems. Industrial users want to harness the power of edge intelligence by deploying applications in their wired and wireless networks. Our customers tell us they are developing software applications on developer platforms and require a rugged C1D2 device, like the ZumIQ App Server, for application This programmable network appliance provides a secure home for applications relying on sensor or device data to deliver industrial process intelligence. Utilizing the same ZumIQ Application Environment as FreeWave’s ZumLink 900 Mhz Industrial Radios, the product works with either custom or third-party applications and can execute multiple applications. Key benefits of the ZumIQ App Server include: Versatile App Development and Deployment utilizing any Linux-compatible language. App Deployment to Wired or Wireless Networks in combination with FreeWave ZumLink 900 MHz Industrial Radios or other wired or wireless devices. Edge Intelligence in Harsh Outdoor Conditions with a rugged C1D2 designed to withstand extreme weather conditions and can last for years in the field. Low Power Consumption ideal for remote deployments requiring batteries, fuel cells, solar, wind turbines or DC non-grid power sources. Enclosed and Board-level Versions which provide enclosure and deployment flexibility. Want to learn more? Click here.
The Intelligent Edge: Navigating the Transformative IIoT Landscape with Renee Garcia (Part 2)
The Intelligent Edge blog series continues with its eighth installment, bringing bring back Product Line Manager, Renee Garcia. In our previous blog, Renee spoke with us regarding the adaptation and transformation within the industry and how she’s experienced it throughout her career. In this installment, our conversation carries on as Renee provides additional insight on the benefits of edge computing versus solely the cloud, the impact of IIoT and FreeWave on the industry and the advice she’d give her younger self. FreeWave: As discussed last time, there’s a lot of digital transformation contributing to the IIoT. How has networking evolved to significantly impact the industry? Renee Garcia: It’s safe to say the cloud isn’t fast enough for crucial IIoT data to be transmitted efficiently. There’s a delay; it inherently has points in which things can break down. The issue with the cloud is its day-to-day latency. It’s always a tradeoff between the balance of power and data frequency. By the time a company gets their crucial data that may, for example, present an anomaly, the alarm to signal it may be delayed due to transmission frequency or system latency. Our model is to bring process awareness to customers as quickly as possible using edge computing instead of solely relying on the cloud. FreeWave: Where specifically does edge computing fit into this? Renee: We believe if you have mission-critical infrastructure, you have to have redundancy. There is always the potential for failure if you use just one method – like the cloud – for transmitting data. That’s why the edge is exciting – it allows access to data in real time, at the local level. The benefit of being able to do analytics locally has a significant impact because you can make changes quickly and prevent dangerous events from occurring. FreeWave: What’s been the most rewarding experience of working in the industry so far? What has been most beneficial to the industry? Renee: I’ve enjoyed talking to customers and listening to their stories about where they’re thinking of applying our technology. I like to think of FreeWave as a technology enabler; it’s enlightening from the perspective of creating a roadmap for their business. Listening to customers talk about what we offer, what we could offer and what they want to achieve can get philosophical at times. For example, I was in a discussion with an OEM looking at bringing edge computing to agriculture. The conversation ventured into population growth and the pressures on the world’s food production system. Will this evolve into something cool for the world? Probably. This is just one example of conversations that are exciting to me. We provide the platform for these conversations to evolve and grow into something real. FreeWave: After working in the industry and knowing what you do now, what advice would you give your younger self? Renee: My career has been more organic than I originally planned; I expected it to be more structured. My advice to my younger self would be to keep your eyes open, look for opportunities, consider new technologies and analyze the impact they’ll have on your life. There’s no need to worry about following a prescribed path. Learn what excites and motivates you and let that guide you to your future. Know that everyone is different; very inherent to personality and individual, remember to look internally. _________________________________ Enjoy learning about what our line of talented experts have to say? Stay tuned for the next Intelligent Edge conversation! In the meantime, catch up on all the blogs in our series here.
The Intelligent Edge: Navigating the Transformative IIoT Landscape with Renee Garcia (Part 1)
Today’s world is undergoing rapid digital transformation, from the technologies that shape it, business practices and strategies shifting in response and the workforce adapting to stay up-to-date. It’s nearly impossible to predict what’s next for the IoT and IIoT industries. It’s up to the businesses shaping the landscape to know how and when to adapt through innovative technologies and processes. It’s also up to individuals in the field to recognize the value of developing diverse skill sets. For the seventh blog in our series “The Intelligent Edge,” we sat down with Product Line Manager Renee Garcia to discuss her expertise with this adaptation and transformation, all of which she’s experienced through her roles in industry and academia. FreeWave: Tell us a little about your background. How did you end up doing what you do today? Renee Garcia: I started out as a mechanical engineer working in medical designs and diagnostics and learned what it took to develop and deploy products in regulated environments. I was really in the weeds addressing technical problems, but quickly realized I wanted a role with a broader impact on the world – one that I could directly participate in. So, I went back to school full time and got my MBA, concentrating on product management. My first job following that was down the road in Loveland with a water sensor manufacturer. After 10 years, I decided to try something a little bit different, so I joined the University of Colorado Boulder’s Office of Industry Collaboration, where I focused on connecting technology and biotech businesses with the school. I eventually decided I missed industry and being involved in product development. I’ve been with FreeWave since last August. FreeWave: Across your past roles, what’s been one of the most interesting changes you’ve seen in the IoT industry? Renee: At that water sensor manufacturer, I supported a wastewater flow meter that was deployed into collection systems. Wireless IoT technologies were adopted early in this space to consolidate data across the wastewater system. During my five years supporting that product, I saw the IoT revolution make a large impact on capabilities that were brought to the market due to the increased prevalence of cellular communications and cloud-based software. It was fantastic from a product development standpoint to be a part of this transition showing how technology is impacting the IoT. FreeWave: What about your time at CU Boulder? What drew you to the collaboration between universities and businesses? Renee: CU Boulder had formed a new office to better bridge industry and the university. They were looking for program managers with product development experience who could speak both languages. I was very interested in helping fulfill that mission and to improve the industry-university relationship. It’s a two-way relationship; you have masters and PhD-level experts from the school and specialists from a company like FreeWave that can teach each other something new. FreeWave: How exactly can that benefit each party? Renee: Future engineers need to think outside their discipline and not follow some kind of prescribed path. Having students work with businesses grounds a lot of the theoretical classes they take and prepares them for real-world applications. So, when it comes time for them to graduate, students have already developed different skill sets and are familiar with how the industry works. From the business perspective, it’s all about having students interact with a company’s technology. It’s great to see excitement and validation around it, like we saw with our hardware during our time at CU Boulder’s hackathon, HackCU. We received wonderful, instant feedback from this new generation of developers, scientists and engineers. Think of it this way – a beta test typically takes a month at minimum. Feedback during HackCU took only 24 hours. _____ Interested in more insights from Renee? Stay tuned for our continued conversation in the next Intelligent Edge blog!
The Intelligent Edge: Bringing Transparency to the Factory with Lee Jaderborg (Part 2)
We’re back with our sixth installment of The Intelligent Edge, continuing our conversation with manufacturing engineering manager and quality manager, Lee Jaderborg. Didn’t get a chance to read Part 1? Catch up here! In our previous post, we connected with Lee to discuss his work on the ZumIQ application environment and the purpose of intelligent monitoring. In Part 2, he continues the ZumIQ conversation on its applications, and noting what’s next for FreeWave and the IIoT industry. FreeWave: You previously told us about how ZumIQ can help capture data and translate it visually. Why is this important? Lee Jaderborg: This gives a view of the manufacturing floor you can’t get by looking down the production line. It determines the collective state and efficiency of each part in the system. We’ve been trying this out on a few of our SMT, or pick-and-place, machines. We looked at the historical data on the machines’ part usage to see what parts and reels could be adjusted or replaced for increased efficiency and production capacity. We had perceptions, but didn’t have any data points for how much change this would result in. And it’s difficult to act on a perception because you don’t know how accurate you are. We realized by taking an in-depth look at the data output throughout the day, the machines weren’t running to their full potential. By changing the way SMTs operated, we saw a 10% increase in initial capacity, but without the data we wouldn’t have reached the benefits. FreeWave: What’s the “perfect storm” situation in which ZumIQ’s capabilities could be utilized fully? Lee: It could apply to any place where things go wrong and have a severe impact on people. Nuclear power plants, wastewater treatment plants and the water supply coming out of that, oil and gas refineries. Especially for oil and gas, you need sensors to detect leaks. You see disasters caused by natural gas and find out there was no sensor to detect a methane leak. Companies need to introduce networks of sensors that can relay data to an app environment like ZumIQ to monitor and track things like leak pressures, so in case something goes wrong, it can send out alerts and auto shutdown systems before anything bad happens. FreeWave: What excites you about the future of FreeWave Lee: There’s a lot of opportunity and paths we can take with our new products we’re developing. We have a lot of work ahead of us, especially as we look to upgrade our networks and existing technology to adapt to the future of IIoT. It’s exciting because we’ll be working on our newest innovations alongside our legacy products and seeing where gaps may exist. That’s the biggest puzzle to solve – we’re dealing with technology with new capabilities and parts, like radio-frequency identification on chips, compared to older technology which in some instances required tuning to get the correct signal. FreeWave: What about the Industrial Internet of Things as a whole? Lee: I think the promise of sensors and the data they transmit is exciting. If you think about it, there’s a piece of equipment in every place in the world – highways, oil and gas, utilities, etc. – that’s measuring something. A lot of major companies are starting to head in the direction of wanting to get data sooner than later to be analyzed and acted upon. Increasingly bringing intelligence to the edge of the network lets you decide and modify in real time; it lets you make important decisions. FreeWave: Any final words of wisdom? Lee: Our operations director likes to say, “Just because something’s the way it is doesn’t mean that’s the way it should be”. I think that can be highly applied not only in business and technology, but also in one’s personal life. You have to continue learning and innovating or else you’ll fall behind. ______ Interested in what our other experts have to say? Read the first, second, third and fourth installments of The Intelligent Edge. We’ll be back later this month with more insights and interviews with our team!