Why monitoring matters on historic ships

Indoor air quality sensors are increasingly used in museums, archives, and heritage sites to safeguard artifacts. Pollutants like CO₂, particulate matter (PM), VOCs, along with temperature and humidity fluctuations, all threaten collections by triggering irreversible damage—such as metal corrosion, wood warping, or mold growth.

In heritage buildings and vessels, maintaining stable conditions is critical: relative humidity swings and poor air quality degrade organic and metallic materials, while corrosion and mold damage can spread silently behind closed panels.

Two gateways, full-ship coverage

Protecting a historic ship can be done, but it has its challenges. Old ships feature watertight compartments—hardly ideal construction for wireless sensors, especially in a steel hull. For one particular vessel that required monitoring in both the bow and stern sections, two AKKR8 gateways were deployed. One gateway in the bow, one in the stern—wirelessly scan for precision air quality sensors that measure PM, CO₂, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), temperature, and humidity. The readings are sent via cellular connection to the cloud, offering holistic monitoring across the ship’s watertight compartments. The data is encrypted to maintain integrity, and all the sensor readings are displayed for the customer, providing real-time insights, historical data, and alarms if values move outside defined thresholds.

This setup ensures control over the environment, yet avoids invasive cabling—ideal for preserving the vessel’s authenticity.

Detecting threats in real time

As with museums and archives, real-time sensing on this ship means environmental risks can be identified before they cause damage. Whether it’s rising humidity in a sealed compartment or elevated CO₂ levels, alerts allow staff to take prompt action.

Historical studies highlight that maintaining temperature within ±2 °C and relative humidity around 50 % ±5 % is vital—especially on vessels where steel and wooden materials behave differently.

Proactive conservation in action

This system supports long-term preservation by:

• · Continuous data logging—supporting trend analysis and preventive maintenance
• · Automated alerts—immediately flagging deviations
• · Non-invasive deployment—respecting compartment integrity
• · Scalable architecture—allowing future expansion to docks or other exhibits

More than preservation

Monitoring extends beyond artifact longevity: it preserves heritage value and strengthens visitor and staff safety. Plus, early environmental control reduces restoration costs and helps maintain condition standards required by museums and insurance bodies.
Next port of call

The system remains fully operational, safeguarding the ship’s legacy. By combining HibouAir precision sensors and AKKR8 gateways, the project demonstrates how real-time air quality data can transform passive display into proactive preservation—keeping history alive on water.

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Unlock IoT´s potential with our new BLE-features

Central to our expanded IoT ecosystem is the AKKR8 gateway, an IoT solution that forms the backbone for countless applications. By adding support for additional wireless sensors in 2024—and with further advancements planned for 2025—the gateway is more versatile than ever. Among the new additions are industrial-grade sensors from ELA Innovation, designed to track assets, monitor storage environments, and ensure precise temperature control in critical processes.

These sensors not only enhance functionality but also maintain the hallmark AKKR8 value of effortless management, minimizing the need for continuous supervision.

The gateway now supports the following ELA Innovation sensors:

• Puck/Coin ID and SLIM ID: Beacons for proximity detection, allowing tracking of assets or individuals.
  The gateway identifies and logs beacon ID and timestamps, offering valuable insights.
• Coin/Puck Move: These sensors detect motion, count events, and enable detailed tracking of asset movements and unusual activity patterns.
• Coin/Puck T: Providing reliable temperature monitoring, these sensors serve diverse applications, from cold storage to sensitive manufacturing.

These devices join an existing suite of wireless sensors—water temperature probes, leak detectors, flush counters, and air quality monitors.
The result? A fully integrated IoT ecosystem capable of addressing complex requirements across industries.

Optimizing IoT Operations with BLE Modes

With recent upgrades, the AKKR8 operates in two distinct BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) modes:

1. Targeted Mode: Detects and monitors pre-configured devices.
2. Discovery Mode: Scans and logs all compatible BLE devices within range, including those from Aguardio, Hibou Air, and ELA Innovation.

This dual-mode capability introduces remarkable flexibility, making it easier for businesses to manage diverse sensor networks without requiring separate solutions or systems.

Flexible Solutions for Industrial IoT

Traditional IoT systems often lock users into narrowly defined solutions that measure one aspect of performance, limiting the overall utility of deployed systems. Expanding sensor support within the AKKR8 gateway avoids this limitation, enabling businesses to mix and match sensors to build multi-purpose systems. Such adaptability not only increases insights but also minimizes the costs and environmental impact of retrofitting or replacing infrastructure.

Unlock Multi-Sensor IoT Power

• Enhancing Asset Tracking and Environmental Monitoring in Manufacturing: Challenges for smaller manufacturers often include locating assets, maintaining air quality, and monitoring production-critical water pumps. With the AKKR8, combining indoor and outdoor sensors provides a comprehensive view, allowing managers to locate outdoor pallets, monitor indoor conditions, and reduce risks, such as frozen pipes in technical facilities.
• Home Elder Care Support: For elderly or ill individuals living alone, IoT sensors can provide peace of mind by tracking daily activities such as faucet use or bed movement.
  Insights on room temperature and water leaks help caregivers respond quickly to potential risks. Integrating BLE beacons adds granularity, tracking when caregivers arrive and leave.
• Smarter Property Heating: Older buildings often lack advanced monitoring systems for heating. Wireless sensors simplify retrofitting, offering data on supply and return water temperatures, potential leaks, and compliance with recommended water heating standards. Real-time data delivers actionable insights, preventing costly inefficiencies without disruptive installations.
• Improving Workplace Air Quality: Indoor air quality impacts productivity and employee satisfaction. IoT sensors from AKKR8 track air quality metrics, such as TVOCs (Total Volatile Organic Compounds), to detect irregularities. During a collaboration with Sankt Kors, sensors identified increased TVOC levels coinciding with the use of harsher cleaning products, enabling corrective action.

Why the AKKR8 Stands Out

The AKKR8 gateway stands at the forefront of sustainable IoT innovation by addressing pain points typical of conventional solutions:

• Avoiding vendor lock-in by supporting diverse, interoperable BLE sensors.
• Simplifying system upgrades and expansions, ensuring long-term flexibility.
• Promoting environmental responsibility with minimal hardware requirements.

By building future-ready IoT systems, businesses can reduce costs, increase operational efficiency, and enhance sustainability.

Whether you’re looking to improve workplace environments, boost production insights, or modernize property monitoring, the Swedish-developed AKKR8 gateway combines cutting-edge performance with scalability and reliability.
IoT innovation doesn’t have to be complex—unlock your business’s potential with Induo’s flexible and sustainable solutions.

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Smart sensors uncover hidden risks

Our sensors revealed that the indoor air quality index (IAQ) increased at the same time every day. This prompted us to investigate further and contact the customer. Although the particle levels and CO2 concentrations in the premises were within normal ranges, a significant increase in TVOC was detected, which can indicate the presence of chemical compounds in the air.

After the customer, in collaboration with their cleaning company, thoroughly examined the situation, it was discovered that stronger cleaning agents, previously used during the pandemic, had inadvertently been applied on a few occasions. Thanks to the insights we provided, the cleaning company acted promptly and reverted to using products better suited to the current post-pandemic work environment.

Improved air quality for staff and sustainability for the future

This adjustment not only improved the air quality for everyone in the building but also enhanced the working environment for the cleaning staff. In addition, procedures were updated to ensure that similar situations can be prevented in other environments.

The result is a safer and more sustainable workplace, where the AKKR8 gateway and HibouAir air quality sensors not only enhance the indoor climate but also contribute to quality assurance processes and ensure a long-term healthy and sustainable work environment.

We are pleased to have contributed to these improvements at Sankt Kors and look forward to continuing our collaboration to further improve indoor environments.

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Continuous innovation, continuous uploads

Version 1.4.3 brings a multitude of new features and improvements, with the standout addition being the continuous upload feature. Our developers’ primary objective was to modify device behavior with the overarching goal: ”Aim to be continuously connected, always ready to send data.”

Once this function is enabled, the device will:

– Initiate startup procedures
– Read sensors once or at configured intervals, thereafter pushing payload(s) to a cloud server

This behavior will be repeated, ensuring the device remains connected to both the network and the cloud throughout the session.

To be continuos

In addition to watchdogs and other features designed to maintain connection stability, the device will reboot after a certain period (configurable, with a default of 24 hours) to ensure long-term stability.

For whom, you may ask? Well, this mode is not suited for those seeking to conserve battery power, as it requires continuous power and thus necessitates a power supply.

Similar to many other function modes within this device, we utilize ”reading triggers” — conditions that must be met for the device to register a payload. Whether you wish to continuously monitor a conveyor belt and only transmit data when a sensor is activated, track temperature and receive alerts when it falls below a certain threshold, or record vibrations beyond a specified level, this device is equipped to meet your needs.

The new feature, named Continuous Sensor Reading, is part of the non-traditional sensor reading schemes we have implemented in the device.

Our aim is to expand the range of use cases beyond battery-driven applications, and we are confident that you are eager to learn more. Please do not hesitate to reach out for further information!

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Unlocking the Power of Smart Sensors

In the ever-evolving world of IoT, one trend stands out prominently: smart sensors. When iot-analytics.com peered into the crystal ball for 2023, it revealed a compelling top trend and smart sensors took centre stage. Why, you ask? Because the benefits are substantial. Transmitting data wirelessly incurs direct and indirect costs that can be significant. These costs range from monetary expenses to escalating subscription fees and expanding storage costs in the cloud or servers. Moreover, they include the unwelcome guest of increased power consumption, a surefire recipe for shorter battery life and more frequent battery replacements.

The Quest for Efficient Energy Consumption

Energy consumption becomes paramount in sensor applications, especially when using a battery-operated device. In many cases, it’s imperative to ensure a device can run for over a decade on battery. The energy consumption factor is the holy grail of large-scale IoT, as it’s the ultimate selling point— ”our device will last ten years on one battery.” This is a bar every solution must meet in the IoT realm. The question arises: how do we get there? The answer lies in techniques like data filtering, intelligent local data storage, and non-real-time data uploads, aligning perfectly with current market trends.

A Three-Step Model for Efficiency

The AKKR8 sensor, an IoT marvel we’ve designed, incorporates a relatively simple yet essential logic at the sensor level. It’s grounded in the understanding that addressing connectivity costs is most efficient when done close to the network’s edges. Our sensor employs data filtering as a core function. After each measurement, it makes a critical decision—discard, store, or upload the measurement value to the server.

Optimizing Battery Life through Network Signal Strength

We all know that a sensor’s battery life is inversely proportional to its coverage, whether LoRaWAN or 4G/5G. In areas with poorer connectivity, the battery life can shrink by a factor of four. To address this, our sensor periodically assesses the signal strength of its connection and reports it. Our central data analysis platform then calculates the optimal frequency for metric transmissions based on the current signal strength.

Customizing Sensor Functionality

But how do we adjust and fine-tune sensor settings remotely? We achieve this by employing MQTT data protocols utilizing MQTT callbacks. These callbacks enable the sensor to re-read updates and implement configuration changes while maintaining a connection. This can include reading measurements from additional sensors, controlling the frequency of updates, and much more. It’s a flexible approach that doesn’t necessitate remote software updates. Standard protocols like MQTT offer this flexibility, and we anticipate even more power-efficient protocols and advanced adaptations. In time, sensors will learn from their environment, adapting to the installation scenario. Imagine a sensor on an electric motor monitoring temperature and vibration. The future sensor will observe and learn, setting alarm limits based on abnormal deviations.

In closing, while more innovative future sensors may be around the corner, our current focus is saving battery power, reducing costs, and preserving the environment. In the grand landscape of IoT, it’s not just about connecting devices; it’s about doing so efficiently, sustainably, and intelligently.

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What is MQTT?

MQTT is a lightweight messaging protocol, there are others, but MQTT serves as the backbone for streamlined communication in many IoT applications. At its core, MQTT operates on a publish-subscribe model. The sensors connect to an MQTT broker and report the sensor readings. But before they detach, they look at specific topics they subscribe to and receive messages published on those topics.

The device subscribes to different topics. These topics can send messages that will change device parameters if you know the correct configuration command. The username, passwords, encryption certificates and all user data are protected, but relatively simple things like:

· reporting interval
· alarm thresholds
· turn on/off specific sensors (to save power)
· turn on/off the LED for diagnostics

can be reprogrammed (the list is quite long, but we can only supply all details to customers that have signed an NDA with us).

The power of callbacks

MQTT callbacks empower any platform we connect to process messages and configure essential things in the device. The superpower is that we only need a single platform to process sensor readings and configuration, and most platforms on the market can handle these functions.

Three strengths of MQTT callbacks are that they execute fast, are easy on the processor, and can handle messages when the device is connected without additional processes or servers running. As we use TLS-encrypted messages with end-to-end encryption, we rest assured that the devices can not be reprogrammed by other individuals or organizations than you.

We can effectively manage MQTT communication and build robust IoT applications by utilising callbacks. In the dynamic landscape of IoT, MQTT callbacks offer a powerful solution for efficient message handling and event-driven programming. By employing callbacks, pros like you can harness the full potential of MQTT, ensuring seamless communication between devices and servers in IoT environments. With MQTT callbacks, the possibilities for optimizing IoT applications are nearly endless.

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Port for possibilities

The GPIO port (General Purpose Input/Output) is a feature-rich component within our AKKR8 sensor. While it boasts multiple ports, the GPIO port stands out as one of the influential ones and also a port that really proves our capabilities. Its capabilities are vast; it can be used for turning on or off external sensors, communicating with daughter boards or break-out boards via I2C or SPI, and acting as a power source for connected devices. This versatility makes the GPIO port an invaluable asset beyond the average applications.

Harnessing the Power of the GPIO Port

One great use case for the GPIO port lies in monitoring diesel tanks in remote Swedish countryside areas. These tanks, which hold substantial diesel fuel and serve local farmers, trucking companies, and construction firms, require periodic refilling. However, monitoring them remotely using battery-operated devices poses a unique challenge.

To tackle this challenge, a sensor with a 4-20 mA output is the ideal solution for measuring the tank’s level. Unfortunately, such sensors consume significant power, making continuous operation impractical. Here’s where the GPIO port comes to the rescue. By leveraging this magical port, we can power up the 4-20 mA sensor only when necessary. The process involves initiating the device, powering up the sensor, allowing it to stabilize, and finally obtaining a stable reading from the analogue input of our device. Once the reading is acquired, the sensor can be powered down, allowing the device to return to sleep mode.

The device also has a motion sensor on the board; we can wake up if someone moves the tank and alert a nearby person by SMS or via the IoT platform of choice.

Unleashing the Magic

The GPIO port uses the potential of the AKKR8 device to transform your IoT dreams into reality. While the sensors onboard AKKR8 may not address every conceivable scenario, combining our firmware’s ”magic wand” feature and the GPIO pin hardware enables users to perform astonishing feats. The magic wand firmware provides access to special functions that allow for precise control over the GPIO pin, including powering it up, introducing delays for sensor stabilization, and subsequently powering it down.

For technically skilled individuals seeking new and innovative applications within IoT, the GPIO port of our AKKR8 sensor is a treasure trove of possibilities. With its ability to power up external sensors, communicate with other boards, and perform various functions using our firmware’s magic wand feature, this port opens the door to limitless creativity. Whether you’re a seasoned IoT enthusiast or a curious individual looking to explore the realm of IoT, the GPIO port will ignite your imagination and propel you towards exciting new horizons. Embrace the magic and let your IoT dreams take flight!

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Data Filtering at the Edge

An Intelligent Approach for IoT Devices? For sure! As you navigate the landscape of IoT device gateways, an essential factor to consider is the volume of data being transmitted. Beyond mere cost savings, curtailing data transmission can significantly diminish overall network traffic. With data consumption often tied to financial outlays, this reduction at the gateway will be suitable for your budget.

Furthermore, the advantages of data reduction extend beyond the balance sheet. Reducing data transmission directly correlates with lowered power consumption, even in a persistently active connection. This practice conserves energy and lends itself to a more ecologically sustainable operational model. This approach represents a dual victory – trimming operating costs and curbing your carbon footprint.

Cloud Storage Optimization

Another compelling rationale for data reduction at the edge revolves around the shrewd management of cloud storage resources. Recognizing that cloud storage capacity is finite, the judicious utilization of this resource becomes imperative. Implementing data filtration at the edge can extend the retention period for pertinent trends, facilitating more in-depth analyses. This strategy empowers you to harness your cloud storage effectively, all without relinquishing valuable insights.

A Practical Implementation

In our AKKR8 sensors, we have implemented data filtration at the edge. Consider, for instance, a room adorned with an array of temperature sensors. Constant temperature readings every minute are superfluous when the ambient conditions remain relatively stable. However, such data gains paramount importance if there’s a sudden and drastic fluctuation. Through intelligent edge logic, extraneous data can be sifted out, reducing the data volume destined for cloud storage.

Beyond the Edge: Optimizing Network Traffic

Storing data at the gateway offers additional strategic advantages. Instead of disseminating minor message batches at frequent intervals, we can consolidate these messages into larger packages, dispatched as a singular unit. This practice not only alleviates network congestion but also allows intermittently disconnecting from the network between transmissions, resulting in notable energy savings.

A Path to Intelligent IoT Deployment

In the intricate web of IoT, optimizing data management at the edge emerges as a strategic, efficient paradigm. The benefits resonate far beyond budgetary considerations, encompassing optimized power utilization and judicious network traffic management. By implementing intelligent data filtration at the edge, we channel only pertinent and invaluable information to the cloud for analysis and storage. Embracing this approach propels our IoT networks toward increased intelligence, sustainability, and financial prudence. Let’s forge ahead, guided by data filtering at the edge, and sculpt a future of streamlined IoT operations and enhanced environmental responsibility.

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