One study found that on top of their commute, Americans spend on average an extra 42 hours a year, either waiting for public transporter sitting ideally during massive traffic jams. The transportation industry is one with a huge potential for IoT devices to play an impactful role. The applications for a network of connected devices in this market are endless—from traffic management to monitoring road conditions, fleet telematics, proactive maintenance, and more. For both private and public transportation, there are many ways that connected devices can help improve the efficiency and experience of transportation.

In this article, we are going to explore, how IoT can be of significant value in various modes of transport. From Airports to Shipping and from Railways to private cars, the opportunities for IoT in transportation are endless.

Airports

Airports are increasingly adopting the use of IoT. With the help of their smartphone, savvy travelers can easily make their way from drop off to their airplane seat, ensuring that their luggage goes where it needs to be along the way. Nearly a third of all airports have installed sensors at key locations in their facility. These sensors provide insights involving traffic flow, congestion, and performance. Analyzing this information enables airport management to improve the experience of travelers.

Benefits of airport IoT integration:

• Cut down on congestion—measuring the flow of traffic can help identify areas that need improvement.
• Fewer maintenance delays—use smart sensors and analytics for asset health monitoring, allowing for the remote inspection of airplanes.
• Shorter lines—measuring and predicting crowding in busy areas can let management know when more staff is needed.  
• Prevent lost luggage—sensors on luggage can transmit location information.

Viaanix IoT airport applications:

• Develop a location-aware app that guides passengers through the airport to their gate.
• Design wearable technology for employees for tracking and allowing access to restricted areas.
• Enable passengers to check in using their smartphone.

Connect passengers with airport vendors via an app that lists available vendors and provides special offers based on location.

Private Cars

There are many applications for IoT based automotive products. Devices installed on vehicles can track location, miles travelled, maintenance diagnostics, and more. With the rise of smart cars, the flow of traffic becomes more efficient as cars use sensors to communicate with the cars around it. Companies that use cars to deliver products and services can utilize fleet telematics to manage their vehicles. Smart technology is helping to make both cars and roads safer and more efficient modes of transportation.

‍

Benefits of IoT automotive integration:

• Safer road conditions—gather weather information and other data to predict unsafe road conditions and alert drivers before any incident occurs.
• Decreased traffic congestion—gather information from sensors, cameras, and other cars to analyze and decrease congestion patterns.
• Smart route mapping—GPS devices and guidance apps gather data to provide the route with the least congestion.
• Maintain vehicle health—access diagnostic information remotely and receive alerts for necessary maintenance actions.  

Viaanix Automotive IoT applications

• Smart cars use sensors to prevent stop-and-go traffic and cut down on congestion or to match the speed of the car ahead of them, which eases the stress of driving in traffic.  
• Geo-fencing sends alerts when a delivery driver deviates from a prescribed route.
• Plug an adapter into your onboard diagnostic port to access engine health and other diagnostic information from your smartphone.
• Manage your company’s fleet remotely by tracking the route of your drivers and the condition of your vehicles

Heavy Vehicles

IoT technologies are transforming the trucking/heavy vehicles business. From monitoring the vehicle, driver, and inventory, analytics from a connected fleet can make the entire process of transporting goods more efficient. Machine-to-machine communication can automatically report information to a dispatcher, reducing the need for manual reports from the driver. Gathering this real-time information can help managers direct the operations of their fleet services.

Useful trucking analytics:

• Fuel efficiency—evaluate speed and route information to determine the most fuel-efficient speed of travel for the truck.
• Driver behavior—monitor information regarding driver quality, such as compliance with speed regulations, braking behavior, and route compliance.  
• Time spent driving, loading and unloading—measure the time drivers spend completing tasks to identify any inefficiencies.
• Areas of congestion—drivers can report high-traffic areas so that other drivers can take a different route.

Viaanix IoT trucking applications:

• Use sensors to measure the capacity of each load and determine if there is spare capacity.
• Send an alert when the temperature of refrigerated truck goes beyond certain parameters.
• Remotely monitor the truck’s performance and utilize predictive/preventative maintenance.
• Load and unload faster at locations installed with RFID, NFC or Bluetooth low energy devices.
• Use smart tags on inventory to provide supply chain visibility from dock to dock.

Marines

From small pleasure crafts to passenger liners to cargo ships, IoT can help with the management and coordination of marine crafts. Interconnected devices have made driving and managing boats easier than ever with devices that communicate directly with the boat’s engine and systems. As more and more devices are developed to work within the ecosystem of a vessel, whether you are managing a fleet or a single craft, mariners will wonder how they ever got by without the help of connected devices.

Challenge and the IoT solution:

Problem: passengers on a cruise ship do not have a cell phone signal while over the ocean. This makes it difficult for groups travelling together to find one another while on the ship.
‍Solution: BLE beacons can be installed throughout the ship. Passengers are given wristbands that use BLE/LoRa to transmit location information to an on-site cloud system. This allows them to find one another using an app connected to the ship’s Wi-Fi.

Viaanix Marine IoT applications:

• Run ship diagnostics from your tablet or smartphone or send diagnostic reports directly to mechanics.
• Track the physical location of a fleet of ships, jet skis, or other marine crafts.
• Use devices that aid in trimming engines, controlling the trim in conjunction with boat speed and RPM.
• Utilize a GPS enabled device to precision anchor your boat and hold your position.

Railways

Globally, passenger rail traffic is expected to double by 2022. Railways are much more than just the train itself—it is a complicated system of interconnected parts which must work in harmony with one another. This system includes switching yards, rails, terminals, cargo, crossings, and all the challenges that come with them. With the help of connected devices, managing this system becomes a lot easier. From optimized maintenance practices to advanced analytics, IoT is helping railway systems give passengers a superior commute.

IoT railway integration benefits:

• Optimized maintenance—track the health of trains and tracks to utilize predictive and preventative maintenance.
• Safety—sensors monitoring performance on breaks, wheels, engines and other parts of the train make for a safer ride.
• Reliability—optimized maintenance practices translate to fewer delays.  
• Comfort—monitor air temperatures and other comforts for passengers.
• Viaanix Applications for railway connected devices:
• Monitor track stress levels.
• Measure track temperature levels, which has predictive value for maintenance teams.
• Use video analysis to spot issues on tracks and trains.
• Monitor the flow of passengers waiting for trains or in each train car.
• Use geolocation to track trains across networks and analyze this data for more efficient train operations.

Public Transportation

Public transportation includes city buses, trolleys, trams, passenger trains, airlines, trains, rapid transit, subway, and ferries. This can be a complicated system of vehicles, equipment, and waiting areas. Installing a system of connected devices can aid in public transportation fleet management. IoT can also help passengers connect with public transportation on their smart phone or tablet.

Public transportation IoT problem & solution:

Problem: buses are scheduled to arrive at each stop at certain times, but conditions cause the time of arrivals to vary. This can make it difficult for passengers to know when to expect buses to arrive.

‍Solution: BLE beacons at each bus stop can communicate location IDs with gateways installed onto each bus, which can then transmit location information to a cloud service provider. Passengers can access this accurate arrival time information using their smartphones or by looking at a bus stop terminal.

Viaanix IoT public transportation applications:

• Track unoccupied seats to optimize route efficiency.
• Scan electronic tickets on smart phones.
• Use sensors to monitor the health of vehicles, utilizing predictive and preventative maintenance.
• Measure fuel efficiency by measuring fuel levels and distance travelled.