Picking Up Where We Left Off: Cold Chain Management!
In our last blog post (Sept 2024), we took a deep dive into the power of Plotly Dash and how it is integrated into our IoT and digital service recipe. We even left you with a little teaser on the topic of Cold Chain Management, a high-stakes customer use case that intersects the need of remote real-time data monitoring to ensure and secure temperature critical payload while on the move.
So, having heavily invested in the Espressif Systems ESP32 chip in the development our proprietary IoT firmware, we naturally set out to look for an adequate product to act as a gateway to our infrastructure while putting our codebase to good use. And we hit pay dirt!
Now, peeling back the curtain, we can reveal how the Freematics ONE+ Model B, QuestDB, AWS IoT Core, and Plotly Dash work together to build a seamless, data-driven cold chain monitoring system that keeps things cool.
Exploring Vehicle Telematics in IoT Applications
The Freematics ONE+ Model B is an advanced, Arduino-programmable telematics device that plugs directly into a vehicle's OBD2 port, enabling real-time data collection and transmission but also bringing connectivity options beyond that of vehicle telemetry.
Designed for both hobbyists and professionals, it constitutes an attractive option for tailored IoT applications and extensions. Seeking a nice complement of customization capability with generalization potential, we saw a relatively low-effort pathway to bringing this project to life without rewiring the wheel. No pun intended.
How is AEDDIX leveraging Freematics in its IoT solutions?
First, access to the OBD2 port comes in very handy for customers with distributed high value assets. Monitoring the asset itself, using the vehicle telematics, is of course beneficial but beyond that our goal was not to only offer tracking capability but more importantly to offer sensor meshing capability to monitor its critical payload.
Enabling many sensors in the form of Multi-Master/Multi-Slave Mesh (MMMS) network through the Freematics devices was a compelling objective to pursue in order to expand our ability to support our customers' stringent requirements, a challenging feat welcomed by the team!
With our mind set on enabling both tracking of vehicle telemetry and the temperature of medical devices (refrigerators, coolers, ambiant environment), we concocted a package that quickly deployed in the field.
For this particular customer, a PCB was purposely designed to allow for multiple temperature probes to be meshed across a dedicated controller, acting as both a GPS and a gateway to AEDDIX’s infrastructure.
Six Reasons to Choose the Freematics
1. Key Features of Freematics ONE+ Model B
The device is powered by an Espressif ESP32 dual-core processor with 16MB Flash and 8MB PSRAM, ensuring efficient data processing and multitasking capabilities.
2. Integrated Connectivity
Multiple secure connectivity modes to both act as a gateway and a connectivity node.
- ESP Now: A wireless communication protocol that has a quick response, ultra-low energy, long distance and multi-hop capability.
- Cellular Network: The integrated SIM7070G LTE CAT-M module supports global LTE and GSM networks, ensuring reliable data transmission over cellular networks.
As Wi-Fi availability or reliability can sometimes be a challenge, we have expanded our connectivity toolbox to rely heavily on LTE cellular networks to maximize uptime and connection success rate, as well as minimizing latency and throughput.
3. Accurate Geolocation
The u-blox M10 GNSS module provides high-update-rate and high-accuracy geolocation data, essential for precise vehicle tracking.
4. Comprehensive Vehicle Data Access
The device allows access to all standard OBD2 PIDs, diagnostic trouble codes (DTC), and vehicle identification numbers (VIN) from the vehicle's ECU. It also supports CAN bus data sniffing, enabling deeper insights into vehicle performance.
This helps diagnose various aspects of engine performance, ensuring proper maintenance while also tracking battery performance. To prevent excessive battery drain from our devices, we have introduced deep sleep functions in our firmware, significantly improving energy conservation.
5. Motion Detection
An integrated ICM-42627 motion sensor enables G-force measurement and motion detection, making it useful for applications like driver behavior analysis. This sensor also detects long periods of vehicle inactivity, allowing our system to switch the Freematics device into power-saving mode.
6. Data Storage
Supports microSD cards up to 32GB, allowing for extensive data logging capabilities.
Conclusion
The combination of AEDDIX’s open-source ecosystem with the Freematics ONE+ Model B has further reinforced our belief in building highly modular technology and frameworks, that can in a minimum amount of effort, be deployed to new use cases. With a robust and versatile tool for vehicle telemetry, offering extensive features that cater to the evolving needs of SMEs in the IoT landscape is a no-brainer for many customer applications.
As we continue to push the boundaries of IoT applications, stay tuned for more insights on how our cold chain management system is revolutionizing logistics, ensuring temperature-sensitive goods reach their destinations safely and efficiently!
