Satellite communications use artificial satellites placed in the Earth's orbit to transfer information to different points across the globe, but how do they actually work?
Insight | Satellite IoT: the future of networking
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the enabler of “smart” in today’s world, and this technology is having an impact on nearly all facets of society. Usually when referring to IoT, we think of technology designed for consumer convenience; smart speakers, smart light bulbs, smart thermostats andeven home security. However, IoT is much more than just a collection of smart devices that help us with our domestic lives, it also covers the rapidly expanding ways that businesses are using the technology.
An illustration highlighting the various applications IoT technology and satellite networks deliver to people and businesses across land, sea and air.
Businesses across most industries, such as Agriculture, Energy & Utilities, Aviation and Maritime have either embraced or are embracing Industrial IoT (IIoT) technologies to help improve operations, efficiency and enhance productivity. One of the challenges when you take IoT out of the home, and indeed out of the city, is connectivity becomes more problematic. With roughly 10% of the world's landmass connected by cellular or fibre connectivity, satellite becomes a critical connectivity method for enabling Industrial IoT.
By using satellite connectivity to connect IoT technology, new complex capabilities and solutions become available to business and industry.
At its core, IoT refers to a network of physical devices, vehicles, appliances and other objects embedded with sensors, software and connectivity that enables them to collect and exchange data. Because these devices are all connected through the internet, they can communicate and interact with each other without the need for human intervention. The emergence of IoT can be attributed to the convergence of several key factors, including:
The development of high-speed internet connectivity, along with wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 4G/5G, has provided the foundation for connecting a vast array of IoT devices.
Cloud and edge computing technologies have facilitated the storage and analysis of enormous amounts of data generated by IoT devices, enabling real-time insights and decision making.
Cloud and edge computing technologies have facilitated the storage and analysis of enormous amounts of data generated by IoT devices, enabling real-time insights and decision making.
Today’s sensors are often very small, which makes them more affordable to produce while still maintaining or increasing the ability to capture and transmit data
These factors have paved the way for the rapid growth of IIoT as part of industry 4.0.
IIoT simply refers to the integration of IoT devices and technologies such as interconnected sensors, devices, machines and systems in an industrial environment, for the collection, analysis and exchange of data.
Organisations can go on to use this data-driven approach to enable real-time monitoring, automation, data analytics and much more to streamline processes, reduce downtime, improve overall productivity and unlock new opportunities.
Satellite IoT refers to the integration of satellite networks and IoT devices to enable seamless connectivity and data exchange.
Here's a simplified breakdown of how it works:
A simplified diagram of how satellite communications operates with IoT technologies for various industrial applications.
Firstly, IoT enabled devices such as sensors, trackers and monitoring devices need to be equipped with satellite communication terminals. This allows the given device to be directly connected with a satellite in space, bypassing the need for a complete terrestrial infrastructure.
The IoT device then collects data from their surroundings, such as environmental conditions, equipment performance, or asset tracking. This is then processed and packaged for transmission.
Using selected frequencies and protocols, the device transmits the packaged data to the satellites above. Once received by the satellite, this data is then relayed back down to ground stations located on Earth and then forwarded to the intended recipient such as farmers, energy operators or fleet managers to be processed, analysed and visualised through cloud-based or local systems.
Agriculture is facing a number of challenges globally – a rapidly growing population, unpredictable climates, international conflicts and supply chain issues to name a few.
The way in which we cultivate land and supply food across the world needs to change, which is where the integration of satellite communications and IIoT can support the industry in meeting those challenges head on.
By combining these technologies, farmers and agricultural companies can achieve unprecedented levels of precision, efficiency and sustainability in their practices in real-time, especially across large farms and plantations where it can be difficult to constantly monitor crops over hectares of land in remote locations.
The IoT devices farmers use are equipped with sensors that can collect data on environmental factors such as soil moisture, temperature, humidity and other crucial parameters.
This ability to monitor crops with remarkable accuracy allows farmers to optimise resource allocation, reduce waste, improve crop yield, minimise environmental impact and ultimately maximise profitability.
With the emergence of wearable IoT devices, farmers can monitor the location, health and behavior of livestock in real-time, tracking loose livestock, their vital health signs, detect anomalies and provide early warnings of potential diseases.
With satellite connectivity, farmers can remotely monitor their livestock’s well-being, optimise feed management, and ensure timely intervention when necessary. As a result, livestock health is enhanced, productivity is increased and operational costs are reduced.
With global production and supply challenges, along with an international push to become more sustainable, energy companies need to reassess how energy output and consumption can be efficient, green and economical.
The energy industry has embraced satellite communications and IoT to change the way energy is generated, transmitted and consumed. This integration can bring forth numerous benefits, including enhanced operational efficiency, grid management and renewable energy integration.
Assets such as solar farms, wind turbines and oil rigs can be effectively monitored remotely through satellite connected IoT technology, collating data on equipment performance, energy output and environmental conditions as well as controlling these assets from a central operational base.
With utilities companies increasingly moving towards smart grids, where electricity distribution and consumption can be effectively managed, companies are looking to monitor and automate reclosers, manage advanced metering infrastructure and address other aspects of the smart grid. Satellite connectivity can power this as well as aid workforce safety.
Connecting remote workers’ wearable smart cameras with reliable and secure satellite communications, optimises performance and safety of the workforce in the field. For security surveillance, video over satellite can validate any alarms that are triggered and provide additional information via better high-quality video.
It also empowers energy providers to manage and monitor their grids more effectively. Real-time visibility into energy consumption patterns, voltage levels and demand fluctuations allow energy providers to balance supply and demand, detect faults or outages and improve energy distribution.
The transport industry is undergoing a transformative shift with the adoption of satellite communications and IoT, redefining logistics, fleet management and passenger safety to make transportation more efficient, secure and sustainable.
Real-time visibility significantly enhances safety and fleet management by accurately identifying where transport assets are at any time, understanding fuel usage and providing feedback on whether drivers are adhering to safety procedures, as well as broader driver behaviour.
With an increasingly complex global supply chain, the extra visibility IoT offers – tracking items in real time – allows organisations to understand and manage optimal transport conditions so quality can be assured for even the most perishable items such as foodstuffs or medicine cold chains.
Safety is the number one priority for many public modes of transport and satellite connectivity allows for enhanced safety measures, such as remote monitoring of vehicle conditions, driver behaviour analysis and emergency response systems.
Some of the most valuable data points are in the most hard-to-reach places.
Satellite communications can truly knit together every need of an IoT deployment by ensuring resilient, low latency connectivity with high bandwidth to almost any location on the planet. It is the only real way to augment fragmented 3G and 4G cellular network coverage, address the enormous gaps in 5G coverage and provide long distance, high bandwidth, low latency backhauls to LPWANs (Low-powered wide-area network).
