Irena Ilieva: The food industry is increasingly turning its attention to the “Internet of Things”

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Irena Ilieva: The food industry is increasingly turning its attention to the “Internet of Things”

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We offer manufacturers and distributors the opportunity to optimize process control through remote and dynamic data management and protect their goods from spoilage through an IoT based solution .

Irena Ilieva – Commercial Director in Loren Networks

During  FOOD EXPO 2021 Irena answers to Martin Ivanov questions. See the full interview:

» Ms. Ilieva, can you tell us more about your company? When did you start and why did you focus on developing and offering IoT solutions?

Our company started its activity as a system integrator. This experience helped us grow the Internet of Things (IoT) business. We entered about year and a half ago. We have developed our own software platform in order to enter the market and also the specifics of food industry. We have a purpose-built sensor device that measures temperature and humidity in various food rooms, warehouses, silos, and more, which is widely used. It measures in the range of minus 30 to plus 50 degrees. Now, owners can monitor their data remotely and directly through their phone. This helps to receive advance information about the level of humidity or temperature, taking preventive measures in case the temperature drops below certain degrees to prevent food damage or to notify when occurrence of force majeure events, such as fire or flood. Our IoT platform makes it possible to receive this information 24/7 without the need to be physically present on the premises, and this is our main advantage.

» Are these sensors  applicable for refrigerated trucks that transport different types of food?!

Definitely. One of the devices we offer has an additional sensor that could be placed in mobile objects and it can measure temperature in moving vehicles. Very often, large chains require information when stock is delivered, distributors to prove certain temperature measures during the transportations. Our system provide such reports that confirm temperature levels at which a certain type of food was transported from the producer to the store, reporting the data every 10 min.

» Where is the data collected using the sensors stored?

Our platform, with the trade name ANGIE, collects data in a cloud infrastructure and guaranteeing high levels of security. In fact, the services we offer Angie Monitor and Angie Locator, and more recently Angie Agro, are completely cloud-based. The system is also integrated with a GPS devices that shows location of the observed assets. Installation of our devices is completely facilitated by the fact that they are mobile and each of them has a battery that ensures power autonomy.

» What is the battery life?

Angie Monitor has a device with a battery life of up to two years, using a brand new and innovative network for our market. This long battery life is due to the LoRa Network, which stands for Low Range, whose main advantage is low-power data transmission. It allows to save battery and use it longer. Angie Locator uses a standard cellular network to transmit location data and recharges every three to five days depending on how much the devices are used. With LoRa-based sensor devices doesn’t have to always be attached to a power supply. This is their advantage compared to the classic GPS that we have in cars for example.

» Do you have other applications of your services?

We now have an Angie Locator app to track farm animals that get lost very often. This device is simply strung on their leashes, and so the owners can monitor where the animal is and if it gets lost it gets easier to find. Angie Monitor includes a device for monitoring temperature and humidity levels in various administrative buildings, offices, municipal buildings, schools, gardens, libraries and museums.

» What was your reason for moving to the Internet of Things?

We were driven by the fact that IoT field is innovative and we’ve heard from customers that they want to receive their data remotely. We were wondering if there are devices that can provide similar information without the need of human presence. The market guided us. We put just enough initiative to seek out and adapt devices. Not only that, but we integrate them into our platform and develop additional functionalities, such as statistics extraction, trace mapping, data history, sensor devices can be grouped by type. Last but not least, it is important to note that we give each user the opportunity to define rules for notifications. We don’t need to readjust the parameters. Everyone can set when and where to receive the information they need. in the form of notifications.

» When did you launch the app for the food industry and is there any interest here at the show?

It was only six months. Not only here at the exhibition, but also before that, our colleagues have made contacts with some producers, and we already have customers among meat processors and milk processors. Winemakers also look to us to install sensor devices in their cellars to control temperature and humidity. In addition, we offer our sensors in a variant for measuring these soil indicators, in which case information is also collected on air indicators, and this immediately puts farmers in focus as well.

» Is it possible to combine this special soil device with weather stations?

Our devices are kind of alternative to the weather stations, which read the parameters locally at one fixed place. The device is equipped with two spikes which stuck into the soil and it collects information in a range of up to 20 square meters from the place where it is positioned. However, its advantage is that it is mobile and can be moved anywhere without the need for additional installation.

Greenhouses are particularly suitable for this type of sensor device, given that the microclimate that forms in them is decisive for the harvest. In addition to the ambient temperature and humidity the degree of illumination is also measured, since the artificial lamps that are used are also important for the quality of the production.

» Have you done research on the market of these “Internet of Things” technologies in our country and what do you think about its development?

We have prepared an analysis of the market to establish what the competition is and the technological solutions developed so far. Whenever you start doing something new, you need such an analyse to study how competitive the business environment is. There are similar products on the market, but they largely differ from ours. For example, they are not specifically aimed at the food industry, or we see such sensors performing measurements on smart electricity and water meters. These are larger solutions that serve rather large infrastructure operators. We have focused specifically on offering a solution to businesses, not only warehouses but it can also be applied in the field of pharmaceuticals, wineries, courier companies and more. Locator, can be attached to a given shipment and customer can monitor the location real time. In fact, all these data are concentrated on the same application, ANGIE. This allows to use a variety of sensors and to see all these active parameters on the same screen, which greatly facilitates the management of the processes.

» Is the application available for all recognizable mobile platforms and operating systems, such as Android or IOS?

There are no restrictions, neither in the type of operating system, nor in the type of devices. Our platform has menu in Bulgarian and English. When some unusual event occurs, such as a temperature change, we send a notification and email to users.

» Is there an option to allow the user to set when to turn the sensors on and off?

Yes, this is part of the so-called rules which we already mentioned. It is even possible to set the intervals of sending notifications – during working hours or outside working hours. Power outages or generator breakdowns may occur outside of working hours and this may also cause material damage to grocers if not responded in time.

» When we mentioned the markets for IoT based solutions what is your observation as to whether the coronavirus pandemic that we’re in has given a bigger boost to those markets?

I would say not only the pandemic, but especially the need to optimize processes in processing plants and farms so that physical presence can be reduced to a minimum. The pandemic may have caused this to happen at a greater pace, but this process began much further back in time. Perhaps the need for the introduction of such IoT solutions was not so realized. The pandemic unlocked exactly this kind of  thinking, and recently businesses are interested in exactly such solutions.