Over millions of years of human evolution, vision has evolved to become our main sensory source of information. Likewise, the first two features asset networks have came to deliver are asset identification and location. This is a natural automation evolution, using asset attached Smart Agents to automatically identify and report an asset’s location to supply chain and operations management systems.

But, identification and location are not always enough. Like humans, the Smart Agent device has other "senses" we can use to expand the information we log about an asset and the environment it is placed in. By utilizing the Smart Agent’s sensory capabilities, we can monitor an asset’s condition, putting the asset into context.

Asset Networks can be used to monitor the general environment conditions as well, using Smart Agents attached to machines or walls to monitor physical or environmental conditions, such as temperature, sound, vibration, pressure, motion or pollutants, at different locations.
It is a cost-efficient way to avoid refrigerated product going bad, chemical leaks becoming an environmental disaster or a slight machine mistuning developing into a breakdown, stopping a production line; and it can be achieved wirelessly, without the need to run expensive coax cables across the facility or having people walk around with hand-held measurement equipment.

The Smart Agent was built with wireless sensing in mind, offering 11 plug & play sensor interfaces in addition to the motion and temperature sensors delivered with every Agent by default.
The Smart Agent can be programmed to periodically measure sensory inputs, evaluate the results and take action if needed – whether by sending a simple message to the monitoring server reporting a sensor threshold breached or by taking local preventive action – such as stopping a machine before more serious damage occurs.

Wireless sensor networking is an integral part of the Precyse N3 Asset Network and the iLocate solutions.

Customers can benefit from wireless sensor connectivity and off the shelf, low-cost Smart Agent sensor devices using their existing asset network infrastructure and connectivity today.