The Italian manufacturer Wi-Next S.r.L. announces the innovative low-power SmartNode for Industrial IoT (Internet of Things) applications. Low-power SmartNode is a unique appliance that is able to monitor in real-time the electrical consumption and the operation of industrial machines, using a Wi-Fi Sensor Mesh Network. The device allows remote definition and control of the maintenance plan of machinery, along with a significant optimization of costs of management and fault prevention. SmartNode demonstrates how Wi-Fi is a major enabling technology of M2M applications and Internet of Things (IoT). The data measured by SmartNode are sent to the cloud control application through a mesh network connected to the Multiprotocol Wi-Fi gateway, Springmole, launched last year by Wi-Next as a Wireless Hub for networks of sensors and actuators.
To protect industrial equipment, the low-power SmartNode can automatically disconnect the machinery in case of overcurrent and also guarantees the control of the power switch via commands sent by third-party cloud applications. The low-power SmartNode includes an STMicroelectronics low-power Wi-Fi module, SPWF01SA.11, which is a high-performance solution for integration of Wi-Fi technology in a wide range of IoT applications.
"We have been working for years to reinvent Wi-Fi through the development of Wi-Fi technologies that allow the optimization of ROI and contribute to the next generation with new revenue opportunities," said Nicola De Carne, CEO of Wi-Next. "The new low-power SmartNode appliance is the first of a series of low-power Wi-Fi equipment designed for the creation of end nodes and peripheral sensors based on 802.11 technology that will make possible to provide sensors networks directly interconnected to network infrastructure with obvious implementation and economic advantages."
