Partnership Sends Sensor Data into the Cloud

BinCom is an IIoT system that includes sensors as well as the cloud-based software for data management and analytics.

Rob Spiegel

April 27, 2016

3 Min Read
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BinMaster and Device Solutions have put together an end-to-end remote monitoring system for sensor-based networks that is designed to automate data collection, dissemination, and reporting. Called BinCom, the system was created to help users monitor and manage data from all types of sensors, including level, temperature, moisture, humidity, and flow. Users can be alerted when pre-determined thresholds are met. Other system features include the ability to track assets and automatically optimize routes for delivery vehicles.

While each company was providing a portion of the IIoT picture, the combination of the sensors and software allowed the companies to create a complete package. “We were looking for a system that could get data from our sensors into a cloud. But we’re not a software company, so we sought a partner,” Scott Hudson, VP of marketing at BinMaster, told Design News. “This system brings it all together and let’s us get all the data in to our customers in the way they need it.”

The backbone of the system is a wireless communication device based upon the Cellio IIoT platform developed by Device Solutions. Transceivers and gateways send data from sensors to cloud-based application software. The system will offer a variety of models compatible with Cellular CDMA, Cellular GSM, WiFi, or Ethernet communication platforms. Remote data monitoring can be done via a PC, tablet, or Smart Phone and it can be set up to send automated alerts via email or SMS text.

Since the companies serve markets where users are often out in the field, BinCom was designed to be accessed on the run when necessary. “The data is available on any mobile device, iPhone or Android. It’s a native application that is not just accessed on a website,” Bob Witter, CEO of Device Solutions, told us. The system was also designed with an eye to efficiency. “We concentrate on long battery life on the sensor life and very low data to keep the costs low, both for the initial cost and for the ongoing costs".

The standard BinCom interfaces include both Analog and Digital and support 0-5V DC, 4-20 mA, dry contacts, Modbus, and RS-485 outputs. The BinCom data monitoring and asset tracking system is a complete system that includes sensors, BinCom transceivers, gateways and asset trackers, cloud-based services, and other options such as local monitoring consoles.

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The goal of the partnership was to create an affordable, scalable, and reliable system with end-to-end data collection and analytics that would work for a wide range of applications. “The analytics can range from change in level or range that creates an alert –- an indication on a dashboard to more sophisticated analytics like truck routing,” said Witter. “One of the first applications was using this in a large mill where they were trying to determine the level of grain in a bin.”

BinCom was designed for customers who are not interested in cobbling together a system for a variety of vendors. “A lot of our clients were looking for a whole system, not just the parts of a system. So we created a one-stop package that offers everything they need to collect the data and use it on the backend,” said Witter. “This is an off-the-shelf product that provides the entire eco system in one stop.”

[images via BinCom]

Rob Spiegel has covered automation and control for 15 years, 12 of them for Design News. Other topics he has covered include supply chain technology, alternative energy, and cyber security. For 10 years he was owner and publisher of the food magazine Chile Pepper.

About the Author

Rob Spiegel

Rob Spiegel serves as a senior editor for Design News. He started with Design News in 2002 as a freelancer covering sustainability issues, including the transistion in electronic components to RoHS compliance. Rob was hired by Design News as senior editor in 2011 to cover automation, manufacturing, 3D printing, robotics, AI, and more.

Prior to his work with Design News, Rob worked as a senior editor for Electronic News and Ecommerce Business. He served as contributing editolr to Automation World for eight years, and he has contributed to Supply Chain Management Review, Logistics Management, Ecommerce Times, and many other trade publications. He is the author of six books on small business and internet commerce, inclluding Net Strategy: Charting the Digital Course for Your Company's Growth.

He has been published in magazines that range from Rolling Stone to True Confessions.

Rob has won a number of awards for his technolloghy coverage, including a Maggy Award for a Design News article on the Jeep Cherokee hacking, and a Launch Team award for Ecommerce Business. Rob has also won awards for his leadership postions in the American Marketing Association and SouthWest Writers.

Before covering technology, Rob spent 10 years as publisher and owner of Chile Pepper Magazine, a national consumer food publication. He has published hundreds of poems and scores of short stories in national publications.

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