Toshiba’s IoT-enabled Infrastructure Power Systems

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With the advent of newer technologies such as IoT (Internet of Things), urban infrastructure has ascended to a state of higher connectivity and efficiency. IoT technology sets the framework for setting up and connecting a local network of sensors, actuators and intelligence to the World Wide Web, to provide more insight and help governments, businesses and citizens make data-driven decisions. It also throws the doors open for not only monitoring and control, but also for process automation and increasing throughput. Furthermore, IoT shall flourish as 5G connectivity become ubiquitous. As a matter of fact, IoT is already employed in the real estate, transportation, health care, education, safety & security, IT, and waste management industries. This integration with the infrastructure makes room for better efficient process flows, green environment, and reliable critical services. However, in order for these IoT devices to perform their required tasks, a reliable power source is necessary. Without such reliable power, the entire IoT network would come crumbling down.

Problem Statement

As mentioned above, a reliable energy source is necessary for smart cities & systems. Vice versa, reliable power sources which are informed about grid outages, application status upstream of themselves and are connected to cloud-based intelligence, can create for more resilient infrastructure. Hence, an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) forms an indispensable part of the IoT ecosystem. Toshiba has developed a diverse product catalog to support different applications and industries. These UPSs virtually fit in anywhere’ from indoor to outdoor environments, and with the latest IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) and silicon-carbide technology, they are the most efficient, double conversion UPSs on the market.

Toshiba’s Solution

As IoT evolves and cities become smarter and more interconnected, Toshiba continually adapts and improves its communication framework which enables connecting UPSs to the urban infrastructure and allows the proper authorities to remotely monitor the power usage of the devices and take smart actions based on data. City personnel can also remotely monitor the health of the UPSs and can proactively schedule preventative maintenance to increase the longevity of the UPS, reduce downtime, and ensure a higher ROI. Moreover, by remotely monitoring the equipment, city crews can reduce carbon footprint and save time as this would eliminate commuting to and from the several locations across the municipal expanse. This real-time control & monitoring is achieved by means of an integrated intelligent automation system card in the UPS called RemotEye 4.

IoT Data is Key

Toshiba’s UPSs have a multitude of sensors monitoring voltage, current, phase and ground faults, temperature, harmonics, etc. which work synchronously to provide a reliable power output and data readings via the RemotEye 4 for the user to peruse through. Remote real-time monitoring and management of UPSs via RemotEye 4 facilitates comprehensive analytics of the gird power going into and out of the UPS which can be used to enhance efficiency, quality, reliability, safety & security of electric service. Toshiba’s UPSs and RemotEye 4 helps to have uninterrupted power distribution to critical areas where it is mandatory to monitor the power continuously, and it allows to get warnings, faults, and informational status to execute an alternative power supply if needed.

To learn more about Toshiba technologies for IoT and smart cities click here.