Energy Autonomy Enables More Sustainable IoT Infrastructure

Why deploying a large-scale IoT network takes longer than many would have hoped?

www.eetimes.eu, Sept. 14, 2022 – 

There has been no shortage of spokespeople evangelizing about the internet of things in recent years. They have talked about the huge potential of this technology and the multitude of benefits it can offer to our society – more efficient industrial processes, addressing traffic congestion, boosting crop yields through smart agriculture, improving patients' quality of life via digital health, etc. Though all this sounds positive, it cannot be denied that large-scale IoT network rollout is taking longer than many would have hoped.

There are still several obstacles present here, some relating to the technologies employed and others that are more logistically based. Consequently, the implementations predominantly witnessed so far have been on a relatively small scale. The following article looks at what can be done to overcome these obstacles so that IoT infrastructure, which is streamlined, cost-effective, and sustainable, can be created.

What is currently holding back IoT adoption?

There is a number of reasons for the slower-than-expected progression of IoT implementation. Among the most prominent of these are the following:

• The need to lower associated hardware costs. Most IoT nodes require inclusion of many different components, and this has cost implications. By curbing the upfront financial outlay in infrastructure, willingness to adopt IoT technology is certain to increase. The number of enterprises/municipalities/organizations able to roll out IoT networks would then broaden, leading to a more expansive array of use cases being addressed.
• IoT node size. The large quantity of components needed in IoT hardware raises another issue. As well as the sizable bill-of-materials (BoM) costs, it also means that nodes can be quite bulky. This precludes them from being used in a significant proportion of potential applications in which space constraints must be taken into consideration (such as ones that are body-worn or needing to fit into tight enclosures). Therefore, ways to contract node dimensions need to be found but without limiting these nodes' functional capabilities or shortening their operational lifespan (due to them not having enough energy storage available).
• Minimizing operational expenses. It must be recognized that implementing an IoT network is just the beginning. After this, continuous effort is required to maintain the operation of all the nodes comprised.
• The levels of e-waste the IoT network will be responsible for. This is another important point that cannot be overlooked. As we will see, IoT networks can have a dramatic environmental impact unless appropriate measures to prevent this are taken.

Before embarking on IoT network implementations, it is important that organizations understand the total cost of ownership that a network will represent. The first and third points listed above should be combined to give an accurate estimate of what the overall costs will be over the network's projected lifespan. Only then can it be assessed whether the investment will be justified.

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