Cellular Router Applications

[freddaniel]

Anyone interested in starting a thread covering the possible applications using these Cellular Routers with the really inexpensive network fees for M2M or IofT concepts. There are loads of Land Mobile shops looking for new business, but many are unfamiliar with the markets created by CHEAP cellular networking. Some applications are propane tank monitoring, next bus arrival display, meter reading, vending machine inventory monitoring, traffic monitoring, environmental monitoring, remote signage, freeze alerts, commercial freezer monitoring, watercraft intrusion monitoring and the list goes on.

 

[speedway_navigator]

A sensor showing a train stopped on a crossing would help our FD, we have a track running east to west through the middle of town. If the engine or medic gets blocked they have to do a U and go to the next cross street and try again.
Our HOA has 27 water meters, having those with a way to report long flow times to indicate a leak would save us lots of money on our aging system.

 

[Firebuff880]

A sensor showing a train stopped on a crossing would help our FD, we have a track running east to west through the middle of town. If the engine or medic gets blocked they have to do a U and go to the next cross street and try again.
Our HOA has 27 water meters, having those with a way to report long flow times to indicate a leak would save us lots of money on our aging system.

Do A LoraWAN. Your crossing blocked is no more difficult than a Garage door safety-style sensor. Water meter solutions abound for this and a gateway device is fairly easily placed at a municipal building -

ACW-ILB30 - Outdoor Barrier Motion Sensor | Device Repository for LoRaWAN

ACW-ILB (Infrared Light Barrier) infrared presence detection when a person passes between the barriers.This wireless barrier has 4 active infrared beams and is intended for outdoor use over a range of 100 m. It is waterproof IP65, autonomous for several years and connected. The alerts and...

www.thethingsnetwork.org

 

[Firebuff880]

@speedway

Also, look at something like this --

Dragino MDS200-LB Microwave Radar Sensor - myDevices

mydevices.com

 

[speedway_navigator]

that's interesting, thanks.
I know about the water meters, been trying to convince my fellow HOA board members to invest in them instead of wasting water with our aging sprinkler system. But that would mean change and admitting I out smarted them, again.

 

[BinaryMode]

Cellular technology is great, but I believe in redundancy for critical systems. Especially - ESPECIALLY since a cell tower and/or its backhaul can go down. In your example with propane tanks, this to me would be a critical system.

I personally think there might be something to say about mesh systems using LoRa. LoRa Alliance - Homepage - LoRa Alliance®

You can of course spin up your own mesh LoRa system with Meshtastic and whatnot.

A sensor showing a train stopped on a crossing would help our FD, we have a track running east to west through the middle of town. If the engine or medic gets blocked they have to do a U and go to the next cross street and try again.
Our HOA has 27 water meters, having those with a way to report long flow times to indicate a leak would save us lots of money on our aging system.

As an inventor I'm very intrigued by your predicament because I had this very thought several years ago and I think I know of a fantastic way to achieve it. And as an inventor I know that if I can think of it at least 1 BILLION other people have as well. Which is scary when I think of it because I have some pretty gnarly and far out ideas in terms of military applications and whatnot. In one example, lets just say that if I'm right the world's eye sore of electrical transmission lines will be a thing of the past...

I thought about your very scenario because there are tracks that run right though the middle of town, and I often hear emergency responders report to dispatch they were stopped by a train and there would be a delay.

Edit-


About vending machines. While at the hospital I had to laugh at the fact I could use a debt/credit card. That was the first time I experienced that because I don't hardly use vending machines. Or at least I'm never really around them to care. Especially since I don't carry but $10 in cash on me at any time. So it was nice that the vending machines at the hospital offered the cashless option because it was an all day affair waiting for a family member's surgery. It was one trip after another to the vending machine. What was really cool is that a particular machine didn't vend and I was able to e-mail or call a number posted on the machine and get my money back just like that. It may have been a QR code. Fantastic technological time we live in today - pocket-sized computers that can make phone calls and cashless vending machines. LOL! What's next? Vending machines that can dispense drugs?! Oh wait...

Boy, would I like to have that guy's vending machine Biz at hospitals... Drop as little as $100 at Sams Club or Costco and make quadruple or more in profit.

 

[vagrant]

@BinaryMode - Two decades ago while visiting/living in Japan, I purchased a card (Suica) I could top up that allowed me to use it for train/subway payment, or to purchase goods at many vending machines and stores using near field tech. The vending machines used cellular. I am unsure if the stores used cellular or a wired Internet connection.

At least a decade ago, many vending machines using cellular could/would be triggered to dispense goods for free during a disaster in an affected area. No card/cash needed. Also, for those that do not know, Japan has significantly more vending machines than the U.S. and various European countries. I used vending machines almost every day. They were ubiquitous and often had hot and cold drinks, or fresh food.

 

[BinaryMode]

Very cool! I would love to visit Japan one day. I'd like to visit Tokyo and the older country. Hopefully the food is good... I'm too "American." LOL


I only visit countries and other places in the U.S via Google Street View. I love that thing! When I'd fly in Flight Simulator and landed I would then head on over to Google Street View and check the place out. Sometimes I'd read about the airport on Wikipedia. As Johnny Cash once said, "I've been everywhere, man, man..."