Send data through 3G hardware device onto ftp site?

Question

(Note: I am NOT talking about an iphone/phone.)

I'm planning to get developed an independent hardware device which will be located in locations with just a power connection and 3G connectivity. These devices will monitor certain environment variables and SHOULD upload the data file generated (its a file) onto an ftp site.

The device itself will have a "subscriber identity module (SIM) card" placed in it and a valid phone connection/subscription...

I'm trying to understand how this would work and/or if it would work. Technical specifications which I can use to instruct the hardware developer would be most helpful.

I'm doing this as a research project in a univeristy.

Answer 1

Yes this is definitely possible and in fact is quite common practice. It is often referred to as Machine to Machine communication and a good resource for you to look at would be: http://m2m.com/index.jspa

If this is for a university project then it might be possible to just use a regular computing platform (e.g. a laptop running linux) with a connected GSM modem to simulate the behavior (depending on the purpose of the project).

If you really want a dedicated device then there should be lots of existing ones to look at to get some ideas - again the link above would be a good place to start looking.