Toronto based LPWA challenger BehrTech has released a new wireless smart sensor for environmental monitoring in industrial IoT setups under its MYTHINGS brand.
As with all its MYTHINGS family, the new sensor uses telegram-splitting ultra-narrowband (TS-UNB) technology for low-power wide-area (LPWA) connectivity in industrial IoT networks. It goes up against cellular and non-cellular LPWA equivalents, variously using NB-IoT, LoRaWAN, and Sigfox based networks.
The new product, called simply ‘MYTHINGS Smart Sensor’, measures acceleration, temperature, humidity, vibration, pressure, and shock and supports mobile data communication up to 120km/hr whether its attached to a moving object or transmitting data to a moving base station, according to BehrTech.
Built with an open serial interface, the sensor can connect to existing equipment for simplified deployment in brownfield environments, and more flexibility in defining application data. It utilises the ETSI-specified TS-UNB technology, commercialised as MIOTY, which was originally developed by the Fraunhofer Institute and is licensed by BehrTech.
It works for production quality and control, equipment health monitoring, off-road fleet management, cold chain monitoring and energy management. The integrated GPS unit also facilitates asset tracking and can be used to establish a real-world wireless coverage map.
Wolfgang Thieme, chief product officer at BehrTech, said: “Our goal is to deliver highly integrable and interoperable wireless connectivity. The MYTHINGS Smart Sensor is built with an open serial interface so our customers can connect to their existing equipment for simplified deployment in brownfield environments and more flexibility in defining application data.”
BehrTech is offering reference design including schematics, layouts, firmware, and relevant documentation. The new sensor is available via distributors Applied IoT, PixelMechanics, and CGF.
BehrTech claims its MIOTY technology is better than any of the cellular or non-cellular LPWA offerings currently available for industrial applications. It has made a comparison that takes aim at LoRaWAN, specifically, on the grounds its technology is more robust in “real-world industrial environments” with high levels of interference from other systems and devices.
