I have an application where I there may be several automatic pedestrian doors (the sliding and swinging doors you see in airports, supermarkets, department stores, etc.).
Each installation shall be able to communicate to some gateway/logger/concentrator/router, whatever you call it, whether it be via CAN, RS232, and one day, even wireless, to the gateway. This gateway then will communicate certain alarms and status announcements to a remote workstation, whether it be via GSM/cellular, broadband, website, fax, dialup, e-mail, pager, you name it.
I know such an app is technically feasible, but... For those who have such remote monitoring applications, what are the challenges in getting your customer to adopt it? For example, I don't think a customer would always be willing to give you access to their intranet/internet to get the messages across.
Also, say I go the GSM/cellular route -- is there a subscription service meant for such applications?
Is the gateway best to be its own standalone device with a web server and capable of its own communications? Or better to keep it simple, and just let the gateway/logger talk to a PC, which then assumes the actual gateway functions to the outside world. I'm sure a customer would not want to buy his/her own PC dedicated solely for my remote monitoring solution.
The only places I see such solutions are in ESP magazine - I have yet to see vending machines, washing machines, etc. adopt a remote monitoring solution. Who knows, maybe because of privacy issues? Costs?
Anyone with opinions or experiences in remote monitoring of embedded devices, please chime in.
Thanks, Mike