M2M : Machine 2 Machine

Came across this company that uses rudimentary technology to enable remote monitoring. The beauty lies in its simplicity. The company creates a box that plugs into your asset. The black box has a built in pager that responds to pages that it receives. Based on the page that it received it performs an action – turn of the power supply, turn on the power supply, turn the motor on etc. I am sure they must have built in some sort of security mechanism – could not find any information on that on the website.

System like this that are simple are much more likely to succeed in the short term than sophisticated mesh systems. The reason for this type of set up to succeed more than other M2M applications is that it is an incremental evolution in the existing infrastructure. Customers get it, Minimal changes to their operations and you are able to see the benefits at a much lower price point. They offer solutions for telecoms, Utility companies and Amber alert systems.

Update from  NightHawk Systems on the security aspect of the product – ” There is a security mechanism built-in.  The user must enter an access code and then a command to tell the device whether to turn something on, off, or cycle power.  Thanks for writing about our product.”

Quote – The NH100 allows a user to remotely control power to any device that can be plugged into a standard household outlet. Simply page the unit just as you would an ordinary pager—it’s completely wireless, no phone line is required. The NH100’s smaller size makes it perfect for rebooting and simple on/off applications. Convenient installation options include an audible alarm and serial data port allowing for printed messages which makes it a popular choice for emergency notification applications.

M2M, Automation, Telemetry, Remote Monitoring, LBS

This is not truly related to M2M but the concept of using your thoughts to control a network of assets remotely sounds so good. As I am commuting to work my thoughts are transmitted to my M2M Application – Replenish the consumables on all printers before 9:00 AM, Issue commands to run self diagnostics on machines that are reporting failure etc etc ..

Duke researchers on the other hand have more practical uses for this – Using the brain signals to control weapons in nearby locations. Here is the patent that Duke recently acquired
“In “Apparatus for acquiring and transmitting neural signals and related methods,” researchers at Duke University are laying claim to a device that can use the brain’s thoughts to control an array of mechanical and electrical devices, up to and including weapons:“

As with any project there are multiple stages

1. Is the M2M project feasible for my company?
1. Technical Challenges
2. Environmental Challenges
3. Political Challenges
4. Customer Sensitivity
5. and More
2. Implementation of a M2M project
1. New Product/Service development Challenges
3. Getting Benefits out of your M2M Investment
4. Growing your M2M business Organically.

Lets assume you overcome the first 2 hurdles, and now you need to plan for how are you going to generate returns on your M2M investment?

Some M2M revenue generation ideas

• Sell Remote monitoring service as a product
• Pay per use based model to sell your product
• Automate Consumable Replenishment
• Usage based service of the equipment
• Condition based self Service
• IP Benefits to you – Build your knowledge repository of machine operation parameters from data int eh field
• Mean Time between Failure
• Yield Maximization : Use Collected information to Increase the yield from you Machines.
• Access to new Markets – M2M allows you to provide Remote Support in new Markets in Asia/ Africa/ Latin America at a lower cost than traditional support systems.
• Cost Saver – Remote Trouble Shooting (Operator Error’s, Training, Equipment configuration, etc)
• Cost Saver – Remote Software Update delivery
• Cost Saver – Warranty enforcement
• Let your appliance do the talking and more ideas will flow …

And More ..
Will add more suggestions under Ideas as they come to me…

What will M2M mean in 5 years?

Came across a report that predicts growth of wireless enabled devices which in turn will spur growth in M2M ( You can use any other acronym that suites you needs) Applications. One trouble I have with frequent reports like this is – There is no question that connected devices are going to grow – Who is asking for connected devices and what do they want their connected devices to do? A report that answers this questions would surely sell. Anybody listening??