The Fitbit for Machines: Emerging IoT Technology

There’s always a new health and wellness product being deemed “the next big thing” which causes a craze among the public. Many people tend to strive towards a healthy lifestyle through establishing a specific diet, losing weight, or putting on some serious muscle, and so they opt to collect as many of these products as possible to help them reach their goals. Some work well while others…not so much; we all remember those balance bracelets that claimed to virtually give you superpowers. Then came along the Fitbit, a small device that could track activity such as heart rate, calories burned, and walking distance. To this day, it’s a staple in many people’s health routine. Now, take this concept and use it with machines – Sensor-Works has done just that.

A “Fitbit for Machines”

Sensor-Works is a Scottish start-up focused on manufacturing and predictive maintenance. Through hard work and rigorous testing, they’ve been able to create a cost-efficient method of allowing sensors to report the qualities and state of plant machinery, and they’re calling it “a Fitbit for machines”. Officially named “BluVib”, the lower price point of the sensors allows for SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) to hop on board with this newer technology that would typically only be used by higher end companies due to cost. This aspect alone opens up a ton of opportunity for these smaller companies, but what exactly does this Fitbit-like device do?

Once a sensor has been installed onto the machines, Bluetooth connectivity allows for technicians and analysts to gain an insight on core features of the equipment, mainly being the vibrations and temperature. Through the power of IoT, many different sensors can all function simultaneously and are connected by a main point of control, that being the dedicated app. This data is extremely useful for predictive maintenance, allowing for equipment to be easily monitored from an app on your phone. It simplifies status conditions, rids of any guesswork, and most importantly, provides extremely accurate data that can be transferred to the company’s CMMS. It’s a simple concept yet provides invaluable results. That’s the power of IoT.

Get Your Data Ready

Hearing about this drool-worthy technology may sound tempting, but your maintenance and asset data must be in check before you can use it. Since IoT technology connects different equipment together, having inaccurate data about specific machines may lead to costly discrepancies and incompatibilities within your CMMS. NRX AssetHub allows for you to perfect the accuracy of your data and format it to be used for all the IoT technology you could ever want. Ready to give it a shot? Book a demo with us to see what the power of emerging IoT technology allows you to achieve.