On 4 November 2016 České Radiokomunikace held an IoT Hackathon. The event took place at Impact HUB Ostrava, and Railsformers’ development team took part. IoT technology is becoming a priority for us at the moment, and another opportunity in the market.
How did the hackathon go?
The IoT Hackathon was aimed at developers, or teams of developers, who spent the event pitting themselves against fellow enthusiasts — presenting their ideas and building the most interesting prototype of a sensor that communicates over the LoRa network (an Internet of Things network) while being able to transmit useful data and put it to work for specific purposes.
The Railsformers development team finished second and came away with valuable experience and information about IoT.
Why are we focusing on IoT?
IoT — the Internet of Things — means connecting embedded devices to the internet. Wireless connectivity and the largest cloud storage make for ideal conditions to run embedded devices in the Czech Republic.
What are the main advantages of IoT technology?
The main advantage is low power consumption and battery life measured in years. IoT brings continuous supervision, including monitoring, and the option of upgrading sensor firmware remotely. All of it runs on simple, affordable devices. Connectivity can be wireless, which brings the advantage of easy sensor installation.
How can IoT be used in practice?
IoT technology can be used to monitor consumption, performance and other parameters. It’s also a good fit for industry, agriculture and for towns and municipalities. There really are a great many ways to use IoT in practice, so every idea counts.