autosen

autosen offers a connected sensors solution for industrial automation. autosen’s product io-key enables the networking of IO-Link-capable sensors with the cloud. For this purpose, the company has developed an IoT platform based on Cumulocity, which is operated in the AWS Cloud.  Sensor data can be collected and automatically transmitted to the cloud for review and evaluation on a dashboard. 1NCE offers autosen a cost-effective connectivity solution for its product as well as NB-IoT to reliably connect sensors via the io-key.

Background

autosen connects over 6,000 sensors from more than 200 manufacturers in less than a minute to their cloud. autosen gmbh was founded in Essen, Germany in 2011 to revolutionise the world of sensor procurement and operation. Established as a joint venture with one of the world's leading automation technology manufacturers, autosen has access to more than 40 years of experience in the development and production of pioneering sensor systems. Digital from the start, the company carries more than 100,000 items in stock and is able to ship products on the same day as ordered if the order is received before 2pm. There is no minimum order quantity and the same low price is offered to all customers from the first item they order onwards. Customers can return goods, which have a five-year warranty, within 30 days and have the option of paying conveniently by invoice starting from their very first order.

Challenge

Today, it is very complicated and relatively expensive to monitor sensor data or implement smaller applications. Components that can cost several hundred Euros may have to be procured. In addition, the costs of reliable, pan-European machine-to-machine connectivity are a further burden for sensor network operators, sometimes making deployments unviable. autosen therefore wanted to provide its customers with the same convenience and simplicity in connectivity purchasing that they get when buying sensors and automation equipment from autosen. Its latest offering, the io-key, has been designed to provide a good value option for transmitting sensor data as simply as possible into the cloud, thereby making these data available via the internet. The io-key is a gateway that uses IO-Link technology in order to implement plug and play functionality, enabling simple and rapid commissioning of sensors with IO-Link technology. The sensor data gathered are transmitted into a cloud storage area automatically, where they can be viewed on a customer-specific dashboard.

1NCE Solution

Using the 1NCE IoT Lifetime Flat offering of 500MB of data plus 250 SMS for $10 for ten years with no monthly recurring charges has enabled autosen and the io-key to connect sensors in the simplest way and reduce costs for customers dramatically. In addition, the improved in-building penetration of NB-IoT connectivity enables autosen customers to connect sensors across the shopfloor without issues.