Nowadays, when people hear Bluetooth, they imagine the technology that allows them to connect their speakers to a phone or home theater. However, Bluetooth technology has undergone a number of changes over the past few years. The latest version of Bluetooth Low Energy also known as Bluetooth Smart is so efficient that it is now possible to create industrial sensors that can last up to several years on a single battery.
What are the advantages?
In addition to long battery life (some sensors last up to 18 years), which means minimal maintenance, these sensors are able to communicate wirelessly with devices up to 500 meters away. It is therefore possible to place these sensors in various places and then connect them to any IoT gateway that supports this technology, eg R2110. This eliminates the need to have a gate placed near the sensor and so a much larger area can be covered. At the same time, the sensor can send several types of data, including the status of its battery, so the technician knows when to replace the battery or sensor.
As mentioned earlier, BLE is based on the Bluetooth standard. This means it’s supported by Android, iOS, Windows, Linux, OSx and more. It is also possible to detect the device using your phone or tablet and get the sensor data this way.
Where is this technology used?
As a basic example we can use food condition monitoring during transport in refrigerated vehicles. Bluetooth temperature sensors are placed in different parts of the vehicle where they monitor the temperature and humidity. The gateway is located near the driver, where it receives data wirelessly from these sensors. As soon as the temperature drops, the gateway informs the server or personal via SMS.
Source: Teltonika
Furthermore, these sensors can be used for various applications in healthcare, warehouses, security systems, monitoring expensive equipment, detecting hazardous substances, and more.
