With the increasing development of IoT projects, the management of so different kinds of devices connected to the Internet represents one of the most complex challenges to meet. A satisfying solution seems to be the cloud-based platform approach. ESB reveals its cloud platform for connected e-bikes management.  

The Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG) gives one of the most original definitions of IoT: ‘Iot is simply the point in time when more “things or objects” were connected to the Internet than people’.

This idea is supported by data and figures providing evidence that in 2003 there were around 0.8 connected devices for every person while, in 2010, after the explosive growth of smartphones and tablets, this number reached 1.84 devices per person. Moreover, considering that only 2 billion people can use the Internet actually, the number of connected devices per person jumps to 6.25 instead of 1.84.

Today, with this increasing number of connected devices and with a more and more rooted attitude to turn to the Internet to improve the way people learn, work, or entertain themselves, the use and development of IoT applications is rapidly growing.

In the same way, the variety of devices used to connect people and/or things to the Internet is also raising the need to manage different networks and systems at the same time. The best solution to meet this challenge seems to be the creation of a cloud-based platform.

A couple of very interesting articles issued on the IoTNow Magazine (September/October edition) focus on the cloud platform-based approach, that consists in synchronizing a multiplicity of devices (with different protocols) up on a single application platform. In particular, Cloud Platforms allow achieving the real-time retrieving of data from the devices as well as the access to information both in real time and by remote from a cloud server.

Among the advantages of Cloud Platforms, there are the speed and security of data access, but also the possibility for enterprises to handle IoT challenges by reducing time and costs.

By adopting this practical approach, ESB integrates e-bikes, mobile and cloud computing technology in one single system. In particular, ESB has developed a complete cloud-based platform known as ESB.service that manages all data collected from the e-bikes embedding the ESB connectivity system.

This Cloud Service is a complete Bike Management System available via web or dedicated App (called Retailer App) and accessible only to enabled professional users (e-bike manufacturers, retailers, repairers). It interprets the data from the e-bike, combines them with usage statistics and sends real-time and remote diagnostic information of the entire vehicle; in this way, retailers can provide a personalized maintenance and/or customer support, and manufacturers can use this information in order to design their e-bike or components models.

Discover more here.