Unfailing connectivity for the snowmaking industry

As part of our case study, we will be highlighting the challenge faced by a company that specializes in the sale of snowmaking equipment.

The challenge was finding a remote control and monitoring solution that was both effective and affordable, and could work well in complex environments. After exploring various options such as wired and cellular, the company ultimately chose the solution offered by Smartrek Technologies, due to its SpiderMesh radio communication protocol.

Our study will showcase how Smartrek helped the company overcome this challenge by providing the ability to control, acquire, store, visualize, and analyze data in real-time, even in extreme conditions such as the mountains, forests, and freezing temperatures.

Our real-time monitoring solution proved to be crucial in allowing the company to stand out from its competitors in a highly competitive market.

What was the company’s process prior to using Smartrek products?

Prior to implementing the Smartrek project, the company’s operations and maintenance team relied solely on conventional wired solutions to control and acquire real-time data to monitor their snowmaking system. This involved deploying long communication cables, which were expensive and fragile to install in mountainous conditions and sometimes impossible in remote locations away from main roads.

Although cellular connectivity was considered, it was not financially feasible due to the high number of systems to monitor and coverage limitations in isolated environments.

This situation made it extremely difficult for managers to optimize the use of snow cannons, as they could not make informed decisions to increase the efficiency of deploying their product at a lower cost and reduce downtime and maintenance costs.

Let’s start by looking at our SpiderMesh innovation and how it differs from other communication protocols.

In simple terms, SpiderMesh is a proprietary radio mesh protocol that enables us to create customized sensor networks based on your specific needs and terrain configuration. This guarantees that you receive high-quality data in your industry sector, which is particularly effective in mountainous regions.

With SpiderMesh, you become independent from third-party connectivity providers, taking control of your infrastructure and avoiding recurring costs and technology obsolescence.

Now that we understand how Smartrek sets itself apart from other companies, let’s take a closer look at the advantages it offers to snowmaking system manufacturers. With Smartrek, these companies can remotely monitor and control all of their systems in real-time, allowing for quick and informed action when required. This information is crucial for ensuring the efficient operation of snowmaking systems, which are subject to extreme environmental conditions.

In addition, Smartrek can be deployed in hard-to-reach areas and is more cost-effective than wired systems.

Why can Smartrek solve a problem that other companies can’t?

Many of the monitoring solutions currently available in the market are not effective when it comes to managing a large number of monitoring points. Ski resorts require a very high number of snowmaking systems, and this requirement may become even more crucial with the changing climate. This is where Smartrek stands out, as the more monitoring points there are, the more robust and efficient the network becomes. In fact, each sensor communicates with others to transmit the data to the gateway, which acts as the network coordinator.

In the case studied, energy consumption was not a problem. Each snowmaking system was powered by electricity. It is worth noting that it is much easier to power a system than to effectively communicate with a large number of systems in a coordinated manner.

This is where Smartrek shines by offering an innovative and effective solution for data management, something that other companies tend to struggle with.