The Samsara IG41 is an industrial gateway that speaks a broad array of plant-floor protocols and can be equipped with local input/output modules. It also can consolidate data from distant assets over LoRaWAN, and its dual-SIM LTE modem automatically switches to the strongest carrier signal based on local conditions for cloud communications.
For industrial machine builders, end-users and service providers alike, visibility into the status and performance of remote assets was—and still is—the original “killer app” of the Industrial IoT era. Compelling value propositions range from predictive diagnostics that head off unscheduled downtime to incremental digital services that can transform the business models of OEMs.
But a funny thing happened on the way to Industry 4.0. Establishing the necessary communications between remote assets and home base turned out to be harder than many expected, with issues ranging from lengthy deployments to complicated integrations. As a result, many have struggled to gain the visibility they need. One of the biggest challenges is the sheer number of point solutions required to get equipment connected—communication networks, hardware, service contracts, server infrastructure—the list goes on. This often leads to large, time-consuming infrastructure projects, difficult troubleshooting, and a high likelihood of failure and compatibility issues over time.
