A system, product, and method of automatic reading any flow metering device, including generating a first image of the device associated and secured with a mobile device with a camera, recognizing a type of device according to a database of metering's, generating a mask for any following image based on the mobile device and the first image, based on any following image, analyzing it to extract information based on the image recognition related to the type of device, and validating the extracted information with location, timestamp, and the mask.

A method includes listening, at a mobile collector, for beacons from a plurality of nodes to locate and communicate with a targeted node, each beacon comprising a utility device identification (ID) and communication channel information; receiving, by the mobile collector, the beacon from the targeted node of the plurality of nodes; and determining, by the mobile collector, that the beacon was received from the targeted node based on the utility device ID included in the beacon.

A system, product, and method of automatic reading any flow metering device, including generating a first image of the device associated and secured with a mobile device with a camera, recognizing a type of device according to a database of metering's, generating a mask for any following image based on the mobile device and the first image, based on any following image, analyzing it to extract information based on the image recognition related to the type of device, and validating the extracted information with location, timestamp, and the mask.

A method includes sending, by a node, a beacon at a regular time interval, the beacon comprising at least an associated utility device identification (ID) and communication channel information; receiving, at the node, a message from a network device on the communication channel beginning within a time window after a defined delay after the beacon was sent; determining, by the node, if the message comprises the associated utility device ID; and initiating, by the node, temporary two-way communication by sending a response to the network device.