OK, so we don't have a flying car yet, but this is possibly even better: The Internet of Beer
- Reference: 1619198349
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/04/23/internet_of_beer/
- Source link:
The keg-tracking tech has arrived as the UK's publicans have been given the green light to open up their outdoor spaces and brewers look forward to sating the thirst of drinkers, bottled up at home these past few months.
The lifting of beer kegs (even when empty) by miscreants is a problem for the industry. Even a keg drained dry by drinkers can be worth £50 or more and the supplier of the tech, [1]Smarter Technologies , highlighted the [2]recent theft of more than £2,000 worth from Arundel Brewery.
[3]
The theft represented a third of the brewers' kegs and came on the eve of the easing of lockdown restrictions.
A shame – Arundel Brewery is not a million miles from this writer, and the company's beers are delightful. The thought of pubs potentially running dry for want of some keg-tracking technology is horrifying indeed.
To be fair, the tech itself is not exactly revolutionary. Smart trackers have turned up in all manner of industries over the years, from being stashed in shipments of medication that must be maintained at a certain temperature to being attached to crates of fish, freshly trawled from the sea.
Why is IoT locked in 'proof-of-concept hell'? Stakeholders don't talk to each other, and return on investment is hazy [4]READ MORE
While there has been the a bit of flirtation with the likes of RFID in kegs ( [5]Keg Hounds being an example of the breed) and the odd [6]crowdfunder , the integrated tech on offer is intriguing.
"The device and software provide real time location, temperature, humidity, tilt," a spokesperson told The Register , although we'd have to add the proviso that Smarter Technologies' web site says its tags report every two minutes when static and every 30 seconds when in motion.
The batteries powering the devices should last 10 years, according to the spokesperson and data is taken care of by the [7]Orion Data Network , a long-range, low-power asset tracking network. "It's the world's first fully end-to-end Internet of Things (IoT) low-power radio network solution," enthused the spokesperson, "with coverage up to ten miles. Comparative technologies, such as Bluetooth (10 metres)
and
Wi-Fi (100 metres) don’t get quite stack up."[8]
We've seen tracking solutions that make use of cellular networks for data pings, as well as triangulation (when GPS is not available) and onboard storage where connectivity is weak. However, such devices tend to carry somewhat of price premium when compared to the £50 or so cost of an empty keg.
"The benefit to businesses," added the spokesperson, "is that it could save you up to 75 per cent compared to the cost of comparative technologies."
Exactly what those costs are was not disclosed.
Still, the asset trackers themselves are apparently built into the keg and "distinctly difficult to identify or remove."
[9]
"An alert is triggered if tampered with," added the spokesperson.
The IoT hype wagon continues to rumble on. However, we can take some small crumb of comfort as we look forward to a well-earned Friday pint: its delivery might be secured thanks to the Internet of Beer.
And, at the end of the day, what more can one ask of our industry? ®
Get our [10]Tech Resources
[1] https://smartertechnologies.com/smarter-solutions/asset-tracking/
[2] https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/19222456.thieves-steal-beer-kegs-arundel-brewery/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/edgeiot&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YINDdq9k7Faytm9IpiDhAAAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/10/09/iot_proof_of_concept_hell/
[5] https://keghounds.com/
[6] https://www.crowdcube.com/companies/the-smart-container-company-ltd/pitches/Z5nB3b
[7] https://smartertechnologies.com/smarter-products/the-orion-data-network/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/edgeiot&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YINDdq9k7Faytm9IpiDhAAAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/edgeiot&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YINDdq9k7Faytm9IpiDhAAAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: empty keg value
So you imply that the police do not enforce the law , they are the law - that's why they shoot people in the US.
Re: empty keg value
I'm implying nothing, I'm simply relating the story and speculating as to the reasoning of the officers.
You may be inferring that I'm condoning or endorsing the actions, that's dependent upon your reading of the post.
I grew up in a college town
Drunken frat boys would throw the kegs in the yard of Animal House, we picked a few. Once at the liquor store, we needed a name... Just mentioned the 3 letter frat... profit! End of an era!
Re: I grew up in a college town
I'm not entirely sure how far I could throw a standard (for some values thereof) British pub empty beer keg/barrel. My guess is "not very far".
I remember an outfit that was stealing them and melting them down for scrap. I don't think the tracker would help with that. The cheeky bit was that the forensic lab started out as a wing of an industrial lab and they were bringing the ingots in to the industrial side to get an analysis to show when they were sold on.
OK, so we don't have a flying car yet ...
As I looked out of the window today, at the bright cloudless skies of London, it occurred to me that some part of the Future *was* here. After all, a little way down river, in the vicinity of Tilbury, this was true:
“The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.”
That is, bright blue :-)
That’s one big battery
I suspect you have read too much in to the “10 year battery life” and the 2min tracking mentioned on their web site. To marry those two up is going to take one big battery!
Also given the way I have seen publicans handle the barrels they have paid for, never mind the handling they will get by the people stealing them, it needs to be quite a robust package!
Re: That’s one big battery
...not only that, but the barrels I've seen in the UK are metal (aluminium?) which no doubts makes for a very good Faraday cage...
So, one assumes the "tracking device" must be external to the main metal barrel and perhaps could be easily identified (and hence the thieves could choose to nick a different non-trackable barrel) or they could be armed with a "lump hammer" to bash the "tracking" section and make off with it anyways.
OTOH, the maker(s) of the barrels could use a more "cost effective" solution and just put a large label on it saying "GPS Tracker Installed" and hope that this puts off the "crims" and they select something else to nick?
IoT?
Internet of Taps?
empty keg value
So if you buy a keg, the price also includes a deposit on the keg itself, which you get back when you return the empty one.
Kegs are sometimes the source of beer at underage parties held in remote outdoor locations. According to and old college roommate, the sheriffs near his hometown had a unique way to deal with breaking up underage parties: shoot the keg. Literally, they'd use their sidearm to blast a hole in the keg.
I suppose they couldn't just leave it there, and siezing it was more trouble than it's worth. Shooting it means nobody can sneak back to drink, plus the lawbreakers lose their deposit.