Nanolike

Headquartered in the South of France (Toulouse) with sales offices in Germany (Munich), Nanolike is specialized on innovative measurement technologies for feed bins, industrial silos/tanks and IBC containers. As a privileged partner of businesses in the farming, chemical and construction industries in Europe and Canada, Nanolike aims to become a global leader of IoT logistics optimization and supply chain digitalization.

Key features of the Nanolike solutions include real-time monitoring, remote status visualization, inventory forecasts as well as geofencing and alerting. Collecting and processing these key data (level, geolocation and temperature) allows Nanolike to help its customers to streamline their logistics processes, anticipate their customers' needs while guaranteeing greater comfort and safety with a disruptive and non-intrusive solution.

Indeed, Nanolike's sensors stand out for being non-intrusive, installed at ground level, with no cable or physical calibration required and a battery life of at least 5 years. Working with Sigfox's 0G technology since the beginning, Nanolike opens its solution to different technologies and now offers sensors equipped with cellular technology such as 2G/3G/NB-IoT to complete its solutions and overcome potential network issues.

Background

The smart bin sensor is designed to help agricultural businesses (feed suppliers or cooperatives) to monitor all feed stocks remotely. Besides real-time filling levels, the Nanolike solution also provides stock forecasts for the next four days on a unique web platform and mobile application. This provides multiple benefits from the feed manufacturer who can manage stocks remotely and anticipate their customers' needs to the farmer who can keep an eye on levels from their smartphone and place an order in a few clicks. Furthermore, only one sensor per silo is required.   The installation is non-intrusive (which allows to keep the integrity of the tank) and can be done at ground level in less than 30 minutes. The sensor consists of a transmission unit and a mechanical part (a strain gauge) screwed to one of the bins' legs. This strain gauge then measures the micro-strain exerted on the leg according to the remaining quantity in the bin (the type of feed or its shape does not matter). Thus, it makes the system very easy to use and deploy.

Challenge

Simplicity and reliability were the two key elements in the creation of the Nanolike solutions. And that not only refers to the setup of the device, which does not require complex installation on top of the bin or special wiring: The sensor is designed to work independently and without any external power-source. Therefore, Nanolike sought to integrate another reliable radio-transmission technology that is not only energy-efficient but also available anywhere and neither maintenance nor cost-extensive.

1NCE Solution

The 1NCE IoT Lifetime Flat can meet these challenges. For a small one-off payment, it delivers 10 years of connectivity over all available bearer technologies, be it 2G/3G/4G, NB-IoT or LTE-M. It is designed for low-power, low bandwidth connectivity and ideal for remote sensors in the field. The simple cost structure allows hardware developers to calculate very easily the costs for connectivity into the final product. Allowing business cases to scale right from the start.