Internet of Things and Data Analytics Handbook

29 IoT AND SMART INFRASTRUCTURE

GEORGE LU AND Y.J. YANG

goodXense, Inc., Edison, NJ, USA

29.1 INTRODUCTION

There is an increasing recognition that our aging infrastructure needs to be monitored using the nascent Internet of Things (IoT) technology. By infrastructure we are talking about our bridges, roadways, railways, pipelines, radio and transmission towers, and so on. Infrastructure monitoring could mean monitoring the health of the structures or the many machines, such as motors and compressors, working alongside.

Let’s say you have been asked to develop a system to monitor a critical asset, be it a structure or a machine. At its core, the task could be as simple as measuring and transmitting states or conditions of the asset to a remote host on Internet. This chapter walks you through the engineering decisions to realize such a system.

System design is an iterative process. It is common to start with a demonstration of the core functionality, possibly prototyped with readily available parts, to solicit support for development. It is essential to gather a comprehensive list of requirements so that they could be addressed early in the design process.

The scope of the requirements could cover aspects such as:

• Operating environment
• Power supply
• Connectivity options
• Data acquisition methodologies
• How to service/update after field deployment
• Using specific hardware or software component or interface to reduce production or operating cost
• Dates to achieve specific milestones ...