Data is aggregated from various Rice Electronics smart devices across an entire work site and forwarded to the cloud via an Intel Atom® processor-based gateway.

HOUSTON, TX, June 13, 2017 — Rice Electronics today announced the launch of a Connected Worker Solution with Intel® IoT technology. Designed to improve the safety and productivity of field workers in industrial environments, the end-to-end IoT solution using Rice Electronics smart devices along with Intel-based IoT gateways provides robust communication, near-real-time insight based on holistic analytics, and ease of use to support, protect, and optimize industrial workloads.

Data is aggregated from various Rice Electronics smart devices across an entire work site and forwarded to the cloud via an Intel Atom® processor-based gateway. The gateway also filters data based on defined rules and conducts local edge analytics and visualization using Intel software. The solution also supports multiple connectivity protocols, including Wi-Fi and 3G.

"The Connected Worker solution was initially developed for clients that wanted to monitor the safety of their teams working in hazardous environments. Collaborating with Intel and integrating their IoT technology has allowed us to enhance the Connected Worker solution to interact and collect sensory data at the edge while improving safety in the workplace, in a simple and easy to use kit," said Jason Celaya, vice president of IoT for Rice Electronics.

Customers such as Phonoscope Global, a Texas telecommunications utility company, are already realizing the real business value of the Connected Worker solution. Phonoscope Global wanted to improve service delivery capabilities while tracking the safety of its line crews with a solution that was easy to use by both its field and management teams. Rice Electronics and Intel met with Phonoscope leadership to illustrate the ease of use and other benefits of the Connected Worker solution by outfitting technicians in the field with wearable smart devices and an Intel-IoT gateway on their service trucks.

"Rice Electronics and Intel approached us with their Connected Worker solution and after seeing how our team embraced the technology, it was evident how this would allow us to improve operational efficiency between dispatch, logistics, and field support teams, not to mention help improve safety," said Jerome DeCuir, vice president of operations for Phonoscope.

The Rice Electronics Connected Worker Solution meets the needs of industrial companies
Rapidly evolving technological, economic, and social forces are creating business mandates to improve worker safety, accelerate productivity and efficiency, and lower costs. Rice Electronics' solution is designed specifically to address these needs for the industrial sector, including: Manufacturing companies, including steel, automotive, and chemical manufacturing plants; energy, including oil, gas, and utility companies; field service technicians; construction; warehousing; and public safety. Key supported use cases include man-down scenarios; geo-fencing of workers; predicting imminent weather; detection of toxic gases; indoor and outdoor location tracking of workers; and near-real-time communication of workers with a remote command center.

Expanding the ecosystem collaboration
Rice Electronics continues to expand its global IoT presence by collaborating with Intel to provide packaged IoT solutions that enable productivity and safety for our customers. One of these collaborations with Intel IoT technology is the integration of Spectrum Communications' rugged and intrinsically safe phones. Others include IoT software platform designers, and sensor manufacturers.

About Rice Electronics
Rice Electronics, a land mobile and marine electronics company having its origin date back to 1957, has become a leading systems integrator of industrial IOT solutions. From operational efficiency to risk mitigation, Rice Electronics has been developing IOT solutions before it was called IOT.