Cellular IoT farm storage tank level monitor

The battery-powered monitor lasts for 10 years and is said to pay for itself within a single saved unnecessary truck delivery.

Nordic Semiconductor tells us that it’s multi-mode NB-IoT / LTE-M nRF9160 System-in-Package (SiP) sits at the heart of a proprietary farm storage tank level monitor and asset tracker that completely eliminates the all-too-common problem of farms running out of fuel or fertilizer.

Developed and manufactured in the U.S. by Arizona-based scalable hardware design & manufacturing specialist CoreKinect, the CoreKinect TankTrack is built using proprietary hardware that can apparently be further customized if required. In operation, a small battery-powered wireless gauge reader is securely attached to any storage tank using four permanent magnets with both tank level & GPS location readings sent via LTE-M to a cloud display platform accessible from any smartphone, tablet, or computer.

“Nordic and CoreKinect have formed a strategic relationship that focuses on the unique strengths that each company brings to the IoT marketplace,” says Ali Kozlica, Executive Chairman at CoreKinect. “While this problem is nothing new in farming, before the advent of cellular IoT technology there did not exist a commercially viable way to remotely monitor levels in fuel storage tanks. Lack of coverage and power requirements made such a solution cost prohibitive. With the Nordic nRF9160 SiP, all the major barriers are broken, and the rules have changed.”

CoreKinect estimates that the cost of avoiding a single unnecessary fuel or fertilizer truck delivery would cover the entire purchase cost of its solution. CoreKinect also claims its solution is so simple and easy to install that it can be done in under 60 seconds.

“What’s often missed about cellular IoT is that its range far exceeds traditional cellular voice and data signals used by smartphones,” continues Kozlica. “We aim to install over 1.3 Million TankTrack monitors over the coming years in the U.S. and would welcome enquiries from businesses that supply fuel and fertilizer to farms worldwide.”