How VOLO Delivered a Workplace Fatigue Monitoring Solution for Integrated Human Factors (IHF)

Executive Summary

Client: Integrated Human Factors (IHF) - Baseline NC

Industry: HealthTech | Industrial SaaS

Engagement: Mobile Development & System Integration

Country: United Kingdom

Project at a Glance

IHF’s Baseline division provides human factors technology that helps prevent fatigue-related incidents in high-risk industries. Their wearable device monitors early signs of fatigue, hydration, and alertness for professionals such as train drivers and heavy equipment operators.

Initially, the wearable relied on a dedicated hardware HUB to send data to the cloud. VOLO was engaged to remove that dependency by developing a native mobile app that connects the wearable directly to a smartphone via BLE. This new approach simplified the system, reduced costs, and delivered a more user-friendly experience in just four months.

About the Client

Baseline NC is part of IHF, a global leader in human performance and safety technology. IHF’s solutions are used across transportation, manufacturing, and energy sectors where human error can lead to critical incidents.

Baseline NC’s wearable device helps organizations monitor fatigue and cognitive performance using AI-driven analytics. Previously, the device relied on a dedicated hardware HUB for data transmission to the cloud, which increased operational costs and limited deployment flexibility.

To scale the product and remove hardware-related constraints, Baseline NC set out to modernize the system by shifting from a hardware-dependent architecture to a mobile-first model. This change enabled a simpler, more accessible experience for end users, and allowed the business to scale with zero field installations or on-site hardware setup, since every user already carries a mobile phone.

The Challenge

The original setup used a wearable device and a separate hardware HUB to send biometric data to the cloud.

The HUB acted as an intermediary but brought several issues: high production cost, power dependence, and limited user interaction.

Baseline NC needed a scalable, user-friendly, and cost-effective alternative. They aimed to connect the wearable directly to a smartphone via BLE, removing the HUB entirely.

The new mobile app had to match the HUB’s performance, sending biometric data every few seconds for AI processing without losing accuracy or speed.

Key Challenges

Replace the HUB with a mobile app without losing functionality.
Maintain real-time data streaming to the cloud every 2–3 seconds.
Ensure Bluetooth stability and energy efficiency for continuous data transfer.
Coordinate with external firmware and cloud teams under parallel development.
Deliver within a fixed four-month timeline.

Baseline NC needed to replace its costly HUB with a BLE mobile app that could stream biometric data to the cloud every 2–3 seconds, reliably, efficiently, and within four months.

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Our Solution

VOLO designed and delivered a mobile-first architecture that fully replaced the hardware HUB with a native mobile application capable of connecting directly to the wearable via BLE. This eliminated the HUB’s cost and power dependency while preserving end-to-end functionality and real-time performance. The scope covered full UI/UX design, native mobile development, and seamless integration with IHF’s cloud infrastructure and AI processing pipeline.

Mobile Application and Core Architecture 

The app allows users to view live metrics, receive fatigue and hydration alerts, log self-reported data, and track performance trends through intuitive charts. It is built with native mobile technologies (Kotlin for Android and Swift for iOS), with shared business logic extracted into a Kotlin Multiplatform (KMM) library. This shared core significantly reduces development cost and build time while keeping each platform fully native.

After receiving the real-time biometric data stream from the connected wearable, the app forwards aggregated data to the cloud every few seconds for fatigue analysis. All core functions are implemented in modular components, so BLE connectivity, the user interface, and data layers can be updated independently without large-scale code changes. This architecture supports long-term scalability and smooth integration with IHF’s evolving platform.

Real-Time Data Handling and Cloud Sync 

Data is securely transmitted via MQTT (HiveMQ client) for real-time cloud syncing. The system handles data sampling rates as high as one reading every 80 milliseconds, with intelligent buffering to prevent loss or lag.  Using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) through the Nordic library, the app ensures stable, continuous data transfer. The wearable generates new readings every 80 milliseconds, so VOLO built an efficient buffering system to handle the load. Data streams to the cloud via MQTT (HiveMQ) every few seconds. During the first two months, without live firmware or APIs, the team developed against documentation, enabling quick integration once components became available. 

The Impact

Replacing the hardware HUB with a mobile app significantly reduced cost, improved usability, and made the solution more scalable. Users now interact directly with their data, receiving fatigue alerts and insights in real time through an intuitive interface.

For the client, this shift simplified production, eliminated hardware logistics, and opened opportunities for new features. This includes richer visualizations, user feedback logs, and mobile notifications.

Delivered on schedule, the project demonstrated how targeted software innovation can replace costly hardware while maintaining reliability and performance in safety-critical environments.

month delivery timeline

98%

biometric data accuracy

100%

functional replacement of hardware hub

80 ms

interval for cloud streaming

Key Takeaways

Cost Reduction and Easier Operations

By replacing the hardware HUB with a mobile app, the team removed a full hardware layer. This cut production and maintenance costs and simplified deployments for future rollouts. 

Shared Core Logic Accelerates Future Growth

Using Kotlin Multiplatform (KMM) for shared core logic proved effective for keeping Android fully native today while keeping the door open for fast iOS development later. 

Real-Time Performance Is Achievable on Mobile

The project showed that mobile devices can reliably handle high-frequency biometric streaming to the cloud while maintaining stable, real-time performance. 