Sharp

Supporting seasonal operations with IoT

Sharp developed an application called Sumokoco to improve event management by tracking assets and personnel in real time. By inserting Soracom Air SIM cards into smartphones, Sharp could transmit GPS data to the cloud and display object locations instantly on a map. This gave event organizers visibility into the movement of vehicles, staff, and other resources during large-scale operations.

The system proved particularly valuable for managing safety and logistics, where real-time situational awareness can reduce response times and improve coordination. For example, cars, motorbikes, and even individual staff members could be tracked across wide event spaces, ensuring operations ran smoothly and efficiently.

Since events are often short in duration and happen only a few times a year, Sharp needed a way to make this system affordable without requiring a permanent investment in infrastructure. That’s where Soracom’s flexible connectivity model played a critical role.

The Connectivity Challenge: Managing seasonal demand at scale

Unlike continuous industrial deployments, event monitoring has unique operational patterns. Sharp faced a challenge in sourcing a connectivity provider that could support high-bandwidth data during events while remaining cost-efficient during off-peak months when no activity was required.

Traditional cellular contracts often require ongoing payments, even when devices sit idle. For Sharp, this meant they risked paying for unused capacity between seasonal events. Such a model would make IoT-powered event management prohibitively expensive.

The solution required not only reliable cellular performance during active use but also a way to manage costs by suspending or reducing connectivity charges outside event periods. Without this flexibility, scaling Sumokoco across multiple events would not be sustainable.

Building Sumokoco with Soracom: Turning IoT into a cost-effective service

Sharp partnered with Soracom to bring Sumokoco to life. Using Soracom Air, they were able to transmit real-time location data from smartphones to the cloud with low latency and high reliability. Because Soracom’s connectivity leverages existing mobile networks, Sharp didn’t need to invest in new infrastructure, lowering upfront costs.

Perhaps more importantly, Soracom allowed Sharp to activate communication only when needed, during development, testing, and live events. Once an event concluded, data transmission could be suspended, eliminating unnecessary charges. This “on-demand” approach gave Sharp the flexibility they needed while ensuring their IoT solution remained competitive.

By combining affordability, scalability, and ease of deployment, Soracom enabled Sharp to deliver a professional-grade monitoring service that could adapt to seasonal usage patterns without financial strain.

Why Soracom?: Flexibility and control built into the platform

Soracom’s approach to IoT connectivity fit perfectly with Sharp’s seasonal use case. By enabling devices to send data only during active periods, Sharp avoided unnecessary costs and gained precise control over their connectivity spend.

Additionally, Soracom’s global reach means that Sharp can deploy Sumokoco across different regions without worrying about network compatibility or negotiating local carrier agreements. This helps expand the potential scope of their solution beyond domestic events.

In the future, Sharp also plans to integrate Soracom Beam into Sumokoco. By shifting encryption and protocol conversion from the device to the cloud, Beam will reduce the processing load on terminals, conserving battery life and extending device usability during long events.

Future Plans: Improving efficiency and extending battery life

Sharp is committed to continuously enhancing Sumokoco’s performance and usability. A key focus is reducing the battery consumption associated with transmitting data using MQTT and HTTP protocols. By offloading encryption and authentication to the Soracom platform via Soracom Beam, devices will consume less power while maintaining secure data transmission.

These improvements will extend the operating time of smartphones and IoT terminals during long events, making Sumokoco even more reliable for field staff and organizers. With battery life extended, event managers can focus on operations rather than device management.

Looking ahead, Sharp plans to scale Sumokoco to support larger and more complex event environments, further demonstrating how IoT can transform real-time monitoring and logistics management. With Soracom as a partner, they are well-positioned to expand both functionality and reach.