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Start-up deploys IOT to save precious resources

Admire Moyo
By Admire Moyo, ITWeb's news editor.
Johannesburg, 15 Oct 2018
Brynn Williams, MD of Apex.
Brynn Williams, MD of Apex.

South African start-up company Apex Innovation is making use of the Internet of things (IOT) to resolve the over-consumption of precious resources like water and energy.

The Cape Town-based firm was established in 2017 and involved the collaboration of specialists from the water metering industry, the electronic engineering department of Stellenbosch University, IT and business.

According to Brynn Williams, MD of Apex, the start-up is now moving into a growth phase.

Apex Innovation leverages the power of IOT to accurately measure usage of utilities. Its platform is built on Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud technology. One example is the company's netQ smart utility management system with the Drop consumption engagement app deployed in residential, commercial and industrial properties in SA.

This enables users to get a visual report of their consumption at any given time, directly to their desktop or mobile application, says Williams.

He adds the system contributes to water and energy conservation and supports the strategic goal of sustainability by lowering overall consumption through awareness tools that drive behavioural change.

"Our IOT platform is based purely on AWS infrastructure utilising the latest technologies offered. The platform leverages server-less infrastructure to enable Apex Innovation to concentrate on customer-centric development and operations rather than on infrastructure needs. One major advantage is the ability to up-scale and down-scale dynamically, ensuring high availability to the platform."

Williams explains that IOT connects the physical world to the Internet so that individuals can use data from devices to increase productivity and efficiency.

"Connecting things to the Internet is possible because different connectivity options are widely available, the cost of connecting is declining, and more devices are capturing data. We leverage the AWS cloud infrastructure in order to keep our focus on customer value through our IOT initiatives and software development.

"We collect data from our end-points via various IOT methods and transform that raw data using the tools within the AWS offerings. This data is then processed and analysed to deliver customised value to the end customer.

"Our netQ platform combines technical expertise in measurement instrumentation, data acquisition systems including IOT with dashboards and apps to create value-adding tools for measurement data processing, presentation and analytics."

Williams points out that with the recent drought in Cape Town, there has been increased interest in monitoring water consumption more closely, which led to the development of the Drop consumer engagement app, which is underpinned by AWS cloud.

"Drop gives the consumer an hourly updated water usage indication and alerts the user to usage over the allowable (self-set) daily limit and/or any potential leaks detected, which saves water and cost. It also allows the consumer to understand their consumption through usage profiling that identifies activities or machines/systems that result in high consumption, all presented in an easy to understand way."

Williams says Apex is exploring opportunities in Africa, Middle East and the Americas.

"The platform and communication technology is universal and has the potential to be applied in all markets."

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