Problem:

Our client is in the business of renting out batteries to movie production sets which replace diesel generators - a green energy initiative - reducing air and noise pollution. The client approached us to develop a simple and innovative cloud solution to help manage, charge, monitor and replace the batteries remotely without compromising on their user privacy. The solution should be able to send notifications of charge status in real-time and coordinate management and charging using the cloud - thereby helping create safer and more efficient workflows for the field workers by building efficient ways to manage and monitor power distribution.

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Solution:

The objective was to build a cloud based device management and notification solution that will provide customers with software bundles that can be installed in an off the shelf hardware computer. The system will interact with the customer's Battery Management System to fetch data and push it to the cloud, making it easier to manage users and devices on the platform. The solution consists of an admin dashboard view which captures the details of all the batteries that are rented out, respective client details and the health status of the batteries. The messaging infrastructure will help provide the clients with information about the batteries health status information, such as percentage of charge left, time left till nil charge etc, bringing in more reliability and efficiency in managing the batteries in the field. 

 

The software system includes web application (UI), system backend, cloud, APIs, and a cell phone messaging system.

 

Impact

• 100% increase in trust in batteries from customer surveys

• 30% increase in clients who trusted the battery with our solution integrated. 

• Average number of batteries rented by our customers went from 1 per month to 6 per month based on new orders. 

• One existing customer increased their order size by 200% with a year-long rental commitment.

• 24 minutes - average time saved - Vs using a traditional battery. Clients saved more time by walking less to the battery location.

• Additional CO2 saved per generator  -68.4 lbs

• Reduction in generator run time - 3.7 hours / day - as compared to other batteries with our solution.

• Surveys showed an increase in likelihood to recommend, trust, and rent the batteries, while time studies showed a reduction in trips to check on battery status and generators. 

 

Technology - IoT, Embedded systems, Python, AWS, React JS, AWS Lambda, Next JS, Balena, MQTT