The most inspiring applications of IoT technology address humanity’s most pressing challenges. From monitoring endangered species to tracking the distribution of humanitarian aid, we’re proud to share that Blues customers are deploying connected solutions that make a measurable difference in environmental sustainability, public health, and social equity.
In this blog, we’re showcasing eight organizations that utilize Blues connectivity to power solutions aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, giving you the inspiration and starting blocks to build your own social impact product with Blues.
Airnote: Solar-Powered Air Quality Monitoring
UN SDG: Climate Action (SDG 13), Sustainable Cities (SDG 11)
Developed through a partnership between Blues and Safecast, Airnote brings professional-grade air quality monitoring to any window. This cellular-powered device collects Air Quality Index (AQI) data including particulate matter (1μm, 2.5μm, and 10μm), temperature, and humidity; critical metrics for understanding local environmental conditions.
Blues cellular connectivity eliminates the need for WiFi configuration, though the V3 Airnote supports optional WiFi if desired. The super-low powered design enables the Airnote to operate entirely on solar-powered internal capacitors, achieving true autonomous operation without requiring external power infrastructure, critical for widespread deployment across diverse urban environments.
Governments and non-profit organizations deploy Airnote networks to provide air quality data to local populations, helping residents stay informed about environmental conditions. This democratization of air quality data empowers communities to make informed decisions about outdoor activities, understand pollution patterns, and advocate for environmental improvements.
Arribada: Tracking Humanitarian Aid Distribution
UN SDG: Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10), Zero Hunger (SDG 2)
Arribada’s GeoSeals project transforms humanitarian logistics. Operating across Ethiopia, the system provides aid workers with real-time visibility into emergency nutrition supply distribution, addressing a critical challenge in humanitarian response: knowing when and where supplies are needed most urgently.
GeoHubs installed at distribution point entrances scan RFID-tagged aid boxes as they move through the supply chain. When an RFID seal is broken, the location data is transmitted immediately via cellular or satellite connectivity. This creates a real-time digital map of supply distribution and remaining inventory across the entire distribution network.
Cellular and satellite connectivity eliminates the need for local infrastructure, making the system viable in remote areas where humanitarian aid is most needed.
Beewise: Protecting Pollinators with Robotics
UN SDG: Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Climate Action (SDG 13), Life on Land (SDG 15)
Beewise addresses a critical threat to global food security: declining bee populations. The BeeHome™ is a robotic beehive that remotely monitors and cares for bee colonies, helping beekeepers protect them from extreme weather, disease, and chemical exposure.
The BeeHome™ monitors colonies 24/7 using AI-powered computer vision to detect threats, while a robotic arm automates essential beekeeping tasks. By combining computer vision, robotics, and cellular connectivity, Beewise enables beekeepers to manage more colonies more effectively, making commercial beekeeping economically viable while improving outcomes for bee health.
Beewise reduces the labor required to care for colonies by up to 90%, and while global colony loss rates are around 50%, Beewise see rates below 8%. Dramatically lower operating costs combined with higher colony survival ensures stable bee populations to support food production worldwide.
Byte Lab: Community-Driven Noise Pollution Monitoring
UN SDG: Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), Good Health and Well-Being (SDG 3)
The Ear1 from Byte Lab tackles an urban environmental issue: noise pollution. This cellular-connected device enables everyday citizens to monitor and contribute to noise pollution control in their communities, promoting healthier and more comfortable urban living conditions.
The Ear1 high-sensitivity microphone captures a wide range of sound frequencies, providing data comparable to professional monitoring equipment at a fraction of the cost. Cellular connectivity eliminates complex setup requirements, enabling rapid community-wide deployment.
By distributing monitoring capabilities across neighborhoods, the Ear1 creates comprehensive maps of urban noise pollution. This empowers communities with data to identify problem areas, track changes over time, and advocate for noise mitigation measures to address environmental quality issues that directly affect health, sleep quality, and overall well-being.
Conservation X Labs: AI-Powered Wildlife Protection
UN SDG: Life on Land (SDG 15), Climate Action (SDG 13)
Conservation X Labs‘ Sentinel system represents the cutting edge of wildlife conservation technology. Leveraging AI and real-time edge computing, Sentinel enables early detection and rapid response to wildlife-related threats, fundamentally changing the speed and effectiveness of conservation interventions.
Sentinel’s edge computer vision model uses AI to identify species, monitor behavior, and detect potential threats. When threats are detected, the device immediately sends alerts via cellular to conservation workers, who can respond in real time. This edge processing approach ensures rapid alerts even in areas with limited connectivity.
The system achieves response times up to 1,000 times faster than traditional methods while saving up to 90% of operational costs. This dramatic improvement in both speed and economics makes intensive wildlife monitoring feasible for conservation organizations with limited budgets.
Hello Everyday: Passive Activity Monitoring for Family Peace of Mind
UN SDG: Good Health and Well-Being (SDG 3), Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10)
Hello Everyday checks on loved ones aging in place without compromising their privacy and dignity. The device detects human activity to discreetly notify family and friends of signs of life, providing reassurance without intrusive surveillance.
It passively detects activity up to 20 feet away using motion sensors; no cameras, no audio recording, no location tracking. It delivers a single daily text alert to designated contacts confirming that activity has been detected. This minimal intervention approach maintains users’ privacy while providing family and friends with peace of mind.
Using Blues, Hello Everyday has created a zero-touch deployment device that plugs into power sockets, requiring minimal setup or WiFi configuration. Users can install it themselves with no technical skills.
Meteorologisk Institutt Norway: Arctic Ocean Monitoring
UN SDG: Life Below Water (SDG 14), Climate Action (SDG 13)
Norway’s Meteorological Institute deploys smart ocean monitoring buoys in Norwegian and Arctic waters to collect critical environmental data for forecasting and climate research. These buoys provide wave heights, quantify breaking waves, and temperature measurements at the water’s surface in one of the planet’s most climate-sensitive regions.
The Arctic is warming faster than any other region on Earth, making continuous monitoring essential for understanding global climate change. The institute’s connected buoys provide real-time data from locations that over an area and duration would be impractical or impossible to monitor continuously through traditional ship-based research missions, especially during Arctic winter conditions.
Cellular and satellite connectivity enable continuous data transmission year-round along the harsh Norwegian coast (with waves exceeding 15 meters) and in harsh Arctic conditions. This long-term data collection supports forecasting, climate modeling, ecosystem monitoring, and understanding of how Arctic changes are affected by global climate patterns.
Radnote: Radiation Monitoring in Conflict Zones
UN SDG: Climate Action (SDG 13), Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions (SDG 16)
A partnership between Blues and Safecast, Radnote brings cellular-connected radiation monitoring to areas where radiological hazards pose ongoing risks. The system has been deployed extensively across Ukraine, where damaged nuclear infrastructure and radiological threats require continuous monitoring.
Radnotes are solar-powered and connect via cellular networks, with future plans to include satellite backup, making them resilient to the power outages and infrastructure damage common in conflict zones. This addresses a critical vulnerability in Ukraine’s existing radiation monitoring network, which relies on wired internet connections that have proven unreliable during the ongoing conflict.
Data from Radnote networks creates live radiation maps that communicate safe zones to the general public through accessible web interfaces. This transparency enables residents to make informed decisions about travel and outdoor activities while providing authorities with comprehensive situational awareness for emergency response planning.
Building Your Own IoT for Good Solution
If you’re inspired to develop an IoT solution that addresses environmental, health, or social challenges, consider these principles that unite successful implementations:
- Start with Impact: Define the specific problem you’re solving and how you’ll measure improvement. The most successful projects have clear, measurable outcomes.
- Design for the Environment: Whether deploying in Arctic waters or African distribution centers, your solution must operate reliably in its target conditions without complex technical support.
- Prioritize Simplicity: Especially for solutions deployed by non-technical users or in resource-constrained environments, simplicity in deployment and operation is more valuable than feature complexity.
- Plan for Scale: Solutions that address global challenges need economic models that support wide deployment. Consider how unit economics change at 100, 1,000, and 10,000 devices.
- Leverage Cellular IoT: For applications requiring infrastructure independence, global coverage, or deployment in challenging environments, cellular connectivity often provides the optimal balance of capability, reliability, and economics.
The organizations featured here demonstrate that connectivity is more than a technical capability; it’s an enabler of solutions to some of humanity’s most pressing challenges. From protecting threatened species to monitoring nuclear safety, from improving healthcare access to understanding climate change, cellular IoT is helping build a more sustainable and equitable future.
Interested in developing an IoT solution with social or environmental impact? Visit blues.com to explore how cellular connectivity can power your next project. For technical documentation and getting started guides, check out dev.blues.com.