IoT keeps tabs on IT gear at robotics manufacturer

Bossa Nova Robotics is using Cisco Meraki MT sensors to monitor temperature, humidity, water, and door status (open/closed) in its data center and other locations housing IT equipment cucm cisco.

"We are watching for temperatures or humidity that's out of our equipment's operating guidelines," says Todd Shipway, director of IT at the San Francisco-based robotics manufacturer. The sensors are located in IT closets, data center racks, and key "hotspots" around the company's facilities, he says.

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"We also monitor the status of access doors to all IT areas," Shipway says. "This allows for easy access to information on whether a door is open or closed, when it was last opened, etc. We know when doors are expected to be opened or IT areas accessed. If an issue arises, we have quick access in a single dashboard."

Bossa Nove began using the IoT technology in 2019, when it needed a way to monitor key details of its IT assets across offices and manufacturing facilities.

"Cooling and airflow were a large concern, as we had previously experienced temperature-related issues [with] our IT equipment," Shipway says. That included heat-induced hardware failures, particularly during the summer months when temperature and humidity levels rose significantly.

When the pandemic hit, the ability to remotely monitor IT assets became even more vital.

"We went from 90 percent on-site workforce to less than one percent onsite," Shipways says. "We still had IT services and equipment that needed to stay up and running for remote workers to utilize and work on. This created a need to have access to all of our IoT sensor data remotely, without a need to have a human on site to alert the IT staff of a potential environmental issue within the office."

While the technology was easy to set up and deploy, the biggest challenges have involved how to best use the data that's collected and add automation capabilities, Shipway says. For example, IT wanted to have the ability to automatically adjust air conditioning fan speed or temperature settings if the air temperature in a location is above a certain threshold.

"The ability to add automation to our environmental systems has given us peace of mind, knowing that our critical infrastructure and assets will be protected in the event of HVAC system failures, leaky pipes, severe weather events, and other adverse environmental conditions," Shipway says.

By eliminating issues such as overheated equipment, the company has avoided costs of more than $30,000 in hardware replacement as well as the cost of temporarily halting operations and losing productivity.

In addition to ensuring that critical systems remain functioning at all times, and helping to maximize network uptime and equipment lifespan, the IoT sensors are vital for protecting the company's robotics products. "If we didn't have a way to monitor the temperature, we could easily lose one or more robots, and at upwards of $100,000 each, that's obviously a significant cost hit for the business," Shipway says.