A critical factor of managing heavy industrial equipment is monitoring oil use — not just oil use but oil quality. One way to do this is to change the oil on a regular schedule, but doing so creates machine downtime to change oil that often still has useful life.

Fluid Intelligence, founded in 2016 by Mika Perttula, meets this monitoring challenge head-on. Perttula wanted to change the way that oil is used so that large engineering plants can drive operational efficiency and reduce waste. Fluid Intelligence developed a cloud-based technology platform powered by the Arduino MKR GSM 1400 (3G/2G connectivity). The platform performs different tests that proactively monitor oil performance, using the MKR NB 1500 (NBioT and CATM1 board) alongside sensors, nodes and gateways. Machine operators receive test results, enabling them to make informed decisions about oil performance.

Perttula, CEO of Fluid Intelligence, explained, “We realized that a simple lack of visibility [into oil performance] meant that a high number of oil changes were required to meet safety standards, so with support from Arduino we developed a technology platform that allow engineers to prolong the life of oil through proactive maintenance.”

And the results have been impressive, enabling engineering plants to avoid gearbox failures and to work with an energy plant to significantly reduce the number of oil changes. In fact, Fluid Intelligence has managed to halve the amount of operational waste for the customers they serve.

Fluid Intelligence works their magic across a number of sectors including energy, manufacturing, paper and pulp, logistics and chemical, reducing the operational burden of reactive maintenance by harnessing the power of single-board computing technology.

Andrea Richetta, head of Arduino professional and IoT services, said, “The collaboration with Fluid Intelligence is really fruitful [and demonstrates] how it is powerful, fast and easy to deploy professional solutions based on the Arduino technology. For companies, this means a quicker time to market and an even faster ROI.”

Explore how OKdo and Arduino can help find the right single-board computer solution for a host of applications. Get in touch today with designtheworld@okdo.com to solve any number of business challenges. Also check out www.OKdo.com to read more inspirational stories and business solutions.