The science of telemetry, which involves the remote collection of sensor data with transmission to a central point for further processing, has been around for over 250 years, and virtually every industry has adopted its use, from process manufacturing to energy transmission, water management, space exploration and military intelligence. The first implementations based on a simple one-to-one design (single sensor to one collection point) gave rise to many-to-one constructs (utilizing sensor arrays) and ultimately many-to-many networks with the advent of machine-to-machine technology (M2M).
Intel’s M2M Ecosystem of Smart Services, pictured in the image above, illustrates the expansion from what was once an industrial domain to now encompass both commercial and residential landscapes. How big is this technology revolution? According to Kevin Johnson, director of embedded connected devices at Intel, industry analysts are predicting there may be 150 million M2M connections by 2014, and as many as 50 billion connected devices in operation by 2020.
This radical transformation in computing architecture is being driven by a number of diverse factors, most notably the proliferation of inexpensive intelligent devices, the rapid development of modern sensor applications, and the pervasive nature of wireless networks connected to cloud computing.
Creating a More Efficient Economy
So what’s the true practical implication of this boom in machine-to-machine communication capability? The energy industry is often mentioned, as a wide range of efficiencies have been identified within the exploration, production & transmission processes, as well as energy usage patterns in both home and industrial environments. What’s different today is the increased level of measurement, immediacy of both data collection and analysis, and the abilty to make changes in real time.
“In this Internet of Things, devices, systems, and machines don’t only communicate with humans; they also communicate with each other. And they can generate an enormous volume of data about all kinds of things: temperature, GPS position, speed, humidity, vibration, altitude, and so on.” – from Brian Vezza, director of M2M solutions, Wind River
Trenton’s continued development of advanced board level products and configured systems, such as our JXM7031 dual processor MicroATX embedded motherboard, TRC2004 2U rackmount computer or TSC3600 shelfmount computer, facilitates this new computing paradigm by providing our customers with high quality, long-life solutions designed for critical government & defense, telecommunication, industrial automation and energy industry applications.
