CASE STUDY SNAPSHOT
Customer : A multinational building management services companySize : >51-200
Project vertical : Consumer Electronics
Challenge : Monitoring diverse environmental parameters across large, multi-story buildings.
Solution : Design and develop a BLE based wireless indoor air quality monitoring system.
Services & Products Availed : Product engineering services, Embedded Firmware development Embedded Application Development Mobile App Development
Tools and Technologies :
- Key Hardware: Nordic nRF52832 BLE SoC
- Software Development: C, Java
- Frameworks: BLE, Android
- Frameworks: BLE, IAQ, PIR etc
INTRODUCTION
A multinational building management services company, committed to providing optimal workplace environments, sought to elevate their service offerings. They needed a sophisticated, scalable, and wireless indoor environment monitoring system to ensure the health, comfort, and productivity of occupants across their vast and modern facilities, addressing growing concerns about indoor air quality.
CHALLENGE
The client faced the significant challenge of monitoring diverse environmental parameters across large, multi-story buildings. Traditional wired sensor systems were prohibitively expensive, complex to install, and lacked the flexibility needed for dynamic modern workspaces. Key challenges included:
Scalability & Cost: Deploying a wired solution across numerous floors and zones was financially and logistically impractical.
Data Complexity: The system needed to accurately measure multiple parameters simultaneously—including temperature, humidity, pressure, volatile organic compounds (IAQ), light intensity (lux), and occupancy—without interference.
Integration: The client lacked in-house expertise to integrate wireless hardware with a centralized cloud platform and user-friendly mobile applications, making them hesitant to adopt a wireless solution.
Power & Maintenance: The devices needed to be self-sufficient with a multi-year battery life to minimize maintenance overhead and disruption in a busy corporate environment.
SOLUTION
Embien's End-to-End IoT Implementation
Embien engineered a comprehensive, custom wireless indoor environment monitoring system, transforming the client's challenge into a technological advantage. Our solution encompassed custom hardware design, firmware development, and cloud and mobile application integration.
1.Custom Hardware Design: The Wireless Sensor Node
At the core of our solution is a bespoke, self-powered wireless sensor device. Understanding the need for accuracy and low power consumption, we designed the device around the powerful and efficient Nordic Semiconductor nRF52832 BLE SoC. This choice provided a robust Bluetooth Low Energy backbone for local communication.
Each compact node was equipped with a suite of high-precision sensors:
Wireless Sensor Node
Integrated Environmental Sensor: To measure temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) by detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
PIR Sensor: For reliable occupancy and motion detection, enabling smart energy management.
Lux Sensor: To monitor ambient light intensity, ensuring optimal lighting conditions for employee comfort and productivity.
A critical aspect of the design was power optimization. Through intelligent firmware that managed sensor polling intervals and sleep cycles, we engineered the device to operate for over 1.5 years on three standard AAA batteries. The system also actively monitored and reported battery levels, allowing for proactive maintenance scheduling.
2. A Dual-Pronged Connectivity Strategy
Embien developed a flexible connectivity architecture to provide both localized and centralized data access:
Local Access via BLE and Android App: We developed a custom Android application that allows facility managers to connect directly to any nearby sensor node via Bluetooth Low Energy. This provides immediate, real-time access to environmental data, which is crucial for on-the-spot checks and diagnostics. The app features an intuitive dashboard for visualizing all monitored parameters from a single device.
Centralized Cloud Monitoring via a Custom Gateway: To bridge the gap between the distributed sensor nodes and the cloud, Embien designed a multi-purpose gateway. This device, powered by an ARM Cortex-M4 MCU and an nRF52832 SoC, acts as a central data aggregator. It scans for and collects data packets from all nearby sensor nodes. For ultimate reliability, the gateway was equipped with both WiFi and GPRS connectivity, ensuring an uninterrupted data stream to the cloud server even if one connection fails. This robust gateway architecture is the key to the system's scalability, allowing hundreds of sensors to report to a single cloud platform.
3. Advanced Firmware and Cloud Platform
The intelligence of the system lies in its software. Embien's team developed sophisticated firmware for both the sensor nodes and the gateway. The firmware is responsible for:
Periodically acquiring raw data from the sensors.
Implementing complex formulas to convert raw values into useful, standardized metrics (e.g., ppm for IAQ, lux for light).
Formatting the data into concise packets for efficient wireless transmission.
The data is sent to a secure cloud server where it is stored, processed, and analyzed. The cloud platform provides the client with a powerful web-based dashboard for visualizing historical trends, comparing data across different zones, and generating comprehensive reports. Furthermore, the platform was configured to send automated alerts via email or SMS when any parameter deviates from a predefined threshold, enabling immediate corrective action to maintain a healthy indoor environment.
By delivering a full-stack solution—from the sensor hardware to the cloud analytics—Embien provided the client with a seamless, powerful, and easy-to-manage smart building solution that was both cost-effective and future-proof.
Benefits Delivered
Enhanced Employee Health and Productivity: By continuously monitoring and managing IAQ, temperature, and lighting, the client created a healthier and more comfortable environment, directly combating "Sick Building Syndrome" and boosting employee well-being.
Actionable, Real-Time Data and Alerts: The centralized cloud platform with instant alerts empowered facility managers to move from a reactive to a proactive maintenance model, addressing issues before they impact occupants.
Significant Cost Savings: The wireless infrastructure drastically reduced installation costs and complexity compared to a wired alternative. Power-optimized nodes with long battery life minimized long-term maintenance expenses.
Scalable and Future-Proof Architecture: The system was designed for effortless expansion, allowing the client to add more sensor nodes to new floors or buildings with minimal effort and cost.
Simplified Management with a Unified Platform: The combination of a central cloud dashboard and a local Android app provided a comprehensive yet simple-to-use toolkit for managing the entire building's environment.
Conclusion
Embien successfully delivered a turnkey Wireless Indoor Environment Monitoring System that solved the client's complex challenges with a custom-engineered, scalable, and cost-effective IoT solution. By integrating multi-sensor hardware, robust wireless connectivity, and an intelligent cloud platform, we empowered our client to guarantee a superior workplace environment. This data-driven approach not only improved occupant well-being but also enhanced their operational efficiency and solidified their position as a leader in building management.
