It’s undeniable: 2014 was the year when the electronics industry decidedly and collectively moved forward to push the Internet of Things (IoT). In year 2015 IoT markets will continue to grow. I think we’re going to see some critical mass on corralling the IoT in 2015. IoT is a young market – no one seems to be clearly leading. Communications are the key here. Over the last 10 years the world has done a remarkably good job of connecting the global wireless world. The last decade has radically changed the way we live. The smartphone and its cousin, the tablet, was the final link to ubiquitous wireless coverage, globally. The fantasy of the IoT is quite grand: everything on the planet can be smart and communicate. The idea is both powerful and impractical.
IoT is entering peak of inflated expectations: The Internet of Things is at that stage when the efforts of various companies involved in it, along with research, are proving to have a lot of promise. At this stage, the Internet of Things should not have too many difficulties attracting developers and researchers into the fold. As we turn to 2015 and beyond, however, wearables becomes an explosive hardware design opportunity. Tie the common threads of IoT and wearables together, and an unstoppable market movement emerges. There seems to be a lack of public appreciation of the extent to which the Internet of Things is going to fundamentally change how people interact with the world around them.
On the other hand, the Internet of Things is getting poised to enter the trough of disillusionment, which means that there is more room for failure now. There are issues of security, privacy, and sharing of information across vertical implementations that still need to be worked out. Until they are, the IoT will not be able to fulfill all its promises.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is beginning to grow significantly, as consumers, businesses, and governments recognize the benefit of connecting inert devices to the internet. The ‘Internet of Things’ Will Be The World’s Most Massive Device Market And Save Companies Billions Of Dollars in few years. BI Intelligence expects that the IoT will result in $1.7 trillion in value added to the global economy in 2019. This includes hardware, software, installation costs, management services, and economic value added from realized IoT efficiencies. The main benefit of growth in the IoT will be increased efficiency and lower costs: increased efficiency within the home, city, and workplace. The enterprise sector will lead the IoT, accounting for 46% of device shipments this year, but that share will decline as the government and home sectors gain momentum. I expect that home, government, and enterprise sectors use the IoT differently.
The IoT is only enabled because of two things: the ability of networks to reach countless nodes, and the availability of cost-effective embedded processors to attach to a multitude of devices. The prices for components and devices continues to decline while the skyrocketing global demand for 24/7 Internet access grows exponentially. The Internet of Things growth will benefit mostly from the autonomous machine-to-machine (M2M) connectivity that will make up the bulk of the objects of the IoT. This is the main driver for double-digit growth across verticals in the electronics, and especially the semiconductor industry well into the next decade. The IoT will connect places, such as manufacturing platforms, energy grids, health-care facilities, transportation systems, retail outlets, sports and music venues, and countless other entities to the Internet.
Internet of Things can become Engineering for Everyone. The emergence of open-source development platforms, developed and maintained by dedicated volunteers, has effectively raised the level of abstraction to a point where nonexperts can now use these platforms. The availability of open-source software and, more recently, hardware targeting embedded applications means that access to high-quality engineering resources has never been greater. This has effectively raised the level of abstraction to a point where nonexperts can now use these platforms to turn their own abstract concepts into real products. With the potential to launch a successful commercial venture off the back of tinkering with some low-cost hardware in your spare time, it’s no wonder that open-source hardware is fuelling an entirely new movement. A new generation of manufacturer is embracing the open-source ethos and actually allowing customers to modify the product post-sale.
Exact size predictions for IoT market next few years vary greatly, but all of the firms making these predictions agree on one thing—it’s going to be very big.
In year 2014 very many chip vendors and sensor algorithm companies also jumped on the IoT bandwagon, in hopes of laying the groundwork for more useful and cost-effective IoT devices. Sensors, MCUs, and wireless connectivity are three obvious building blocks for IoT end-node devices. Wireless connectivity and software (algorithms) are the two most sought-after technologies. Brimming with excitement, and with Europe already ahead of the pack, a maturing semiconductor industry looks expectantly to the Internet of Things (IoT) for yet another facelift. The IC sales generated by the connectivity and sensor subsystems to enabled this IoT will amount $57.7 billion in 2015.
Chips for IoT market to grow 36% in 2015, says Gartner as automotive V2X, LED lighting and smart domestic objects are set to drive semiconductor market growth through the year 2020, according to market analysis firm Gartner. The move to create billions of smart, autonomously communicating objects known as the Internet of Things (IoT) is driving the need for low-power sensors, processors and communications chips. By 2018, the market value of IoT subsystems in equipment and Internet-connected things is projected to reach $103.6 billion worldwide, which represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.0 percent from $39.8 billion in 2013.
BI Intelligence expects that by 2019 IoT market will be more than double the size of the smartphone, PC, tablet, connected car, and the wearable market combined. A new report by Yole Developpement pegs the market size in the $70 billion range by 2018, with the next five years presenting a golden opportunity for device makers as the IoT enters the growth stage. Device shipments will reach 6.7 billion in 2019 for a five-year CAGR of 61%.
Number of connected devices is expected to to reach 36 billion units by 2020, cautions that “all of this new market opportunity is under threat.” Other estimate according to market research firm Radiant Insights of San Francisco is that the number of Internet connections will grow from 9 billion devices in 2014 to 100 billion by 2020 (twice as many as the estimate from Cisco Systems Inc). IC Insights forecasts that web-connected things will account for 85 percent of 29.5 billion Internet connections worldwide by 2020. Currently fragmented market, the number of cellular M2M connections could rise from 478 million today to 639 million in 2020.
By 2024, the report predicts that overall market value for components will exceed of $400 billion, of which more than 10% will come from hardware alone. Revenue from hardware sales will be only $50 billion or 8% of the total revenue from IoT-specific efforts, as software makers and infrastructure companies will earn the lion’s share. As the Internet of Things grows to a projected 212 billion items by 2020, the question of regulation looms increasingly large.
The growth of the IoT will present some very interesting issues in a variety of areas. You will see some very fast activity because unless it gets resolved there will be no IoT as it is envisioned.
General consensus is that the interconnect protocol of the IoT will be IP (Internet Protocol). As it stands today, the deployment of the billions of IoT objects can’t happen, simply because there just aren’t enough IP addresses with IPv4. While there is still some discussion about how to connect the IoT, most are in agreement that the IoT protocol will be IPv6. The first step will be to convert all proprietary networks to an IP-base. Then, the implementation of IPv6 can begin. Because direct interoperability between IPv4 and iPv6 protocols is not possible, this will add some some complications to the development, resulting in a bit of obfuscation to the transition for IPv6.
Is There Any Way to Avoid Standards Wars in the Emerging Internet of Things? I don’t see that possible. IoT will be in serious protocol war in 2015. There is a wide selection of protocols, but no clear set of winners at the moment. The real IoT standardization is just starting – There are currently few standards (or regulations) for what is needed to run an IoT device. There is no single standard for connecting devices on the Internet of Thing, instead are a handful of competing standards run by different coalitions of companies: The Thread Group (Qualcomm, The Linux Foundation, Microsoft, Panasonic), The Industrial Internet Consortium (Intel, Cisco, AT&T, IBM, Microsoft), Open Interconnect Consortium (Samsung, Intel, Dell), Physical Web (Google), AllSeen Alliance (Samsung, Intel, Dell) and huge number of smaller non-standardized protocols in use. Each of the standards vary how they do things.
Anyone who tries to build a physical layer and drive a software stack based on it all the way up to the application layer is a fool. But many companies try to do it this year. Today Zigbee is the most cost effective, but tomorrow WiFi will figure it out. On networking field in every few years there’s a new management protocol – what will happen in IoT, it will keep moving, and people will need open APIs.
Currently the IoT lacks a common set of standards and technologies that would allow for compatibility and ease-of-use. The IoT needs a set of open APIs and protocols that work with a variety of physical-layer networks. The IP and network layer should have nothing to do with the media. The fundamental issue here is that at the moment the Internet of Things will not have a standard set of open APIs for consumers. IoT, it will keep moving, and people will need open APIs. I suspect that at some point, after the first wave of the Internet of Things, open APIs and root access will become a selling point.
It is not just technical protocol details that are problem: One problem with IoT is that it is a vague definition. Do we simply mean ‘connected devices? Or something else? One of the main issues, which will only get worse as the IoT evolves, is how are we going to categorize all the different objects.
Early in 2015, the Industrial Internet Consortium plans to wrap up work on a broad reference architecture for the Internet of Things, ramp up three test beds, and start identifying gaps where new standards may be needed. The group, formed by AT&T, Cisco, GE, IBM, and Intel, now has about 115 members and aims to make it easier to build commercial IoT systems. The IIC hopes to finish a first draft of its reference architecture by the end of January and have it ratified by March. It will define functional areas and the technologies and standards for them, from sensors to data analytics and business applications. The framework includes versions for vertical markets including aerospace, healthcare, manufacturing, smart cities, and transportation. A breakout section on security also is in the works. Hopefully the reference architecture could be used to help people construct industrial IoT systems quickly and easily.
With the emergence of the Internet of Things, smart cars are beginning to garner more attention. Smart cars are different than connected cars, which are simply smartphones on wheels. Even though the technology has been on the evolutionary fast track, integration has been slow. For car manufacturers, it is a little tricky to accept driverless cars because it disrupts their fundamental business model: Private resources will evolve to shared resources, centrally controlled, since autonomous vehicles can be controlled remotely.
Over the next few years, we’ll see a torrent of new devices emerge that are connected to the Internet and each other through a wide range of different wireless networking protocols. As a result, there’s a race on, not just to get those devices connected, but also to provide the network infrastructure necessary to managing all of them at scale. WiFi, Bluetooth, and cellular networks are nowadays widely used, nut new alternatives are coming to solve applications were those technologies are not most suitable. There are different plans for wide area wireless networks that use licensed or unlicensed wireless bandwidth to transmit small amounts of data from various connected device – this could create its own connection to them in a cost effective manner without relying on existing cellular or WiFi networks.
Recently we have developed a pressing need, or desire to put our refrigerators, and everything we have access to while mobile, on the net, morphing the brave new world of the Internet of Things, into the Internet of Everything (IoE). And that will make that last 100 meters—that final frontier of interconnect—a reality. Today, only about 10% of the last 100 meter devices that will make up the IoT are connected. As the IoT evolves, other small cells such as businesses, city centers, malls, theaters, stadiums, event centers, and the like, will connect much of what they have on premise (soda or popcorn machines, vending machines, restaurants, parking garages, ticket kiosks, seat assignments, and a very long list of others). And, there are a very large number of devices that are short-range in all of these various cells. What was once the last mile for connectivity is now the last 100 meters.
Plenty of people and companies in the technology world tend to come at the Internet of Things by dwelling on the “Internet.” But what if, instead, we started with the “Things?” Knowing intimately what “things” are supposed to do and how they think and behave will be the key to solving one of the IoT’s most pressing issues: application layers. Over the past 18 months, the industry has launched numerous consortia, from Qualcomm’s AllSeen and Intel’s Open Interconnect Consortium to Apple’s HomeKit and Google’s Thread. Every entity says it’s targeting the “interoperability” of things at home, but each is obviously concentrating primarily on its own interests, and making their “layer” specifications slightly different from those pursued by others.
It seems that no industry consortium is particularly interested in defining — in gory detail — the specific functions of, say, what a door lock is supposed to do. The library of commands for each function already exists, but someone, or some group, has to translate those already determined commands into an IP-friendly format. One of the standards organizations will take up the challenge in 2015. This will be the first step to “knock barriers down for IoT” in 2015.
Missing today in the IoT are reliability and robustness. Consumers expect their light switched and other gadgets to be infinitely reliable. In many today’s products we seem to be far from reliable and robust operation. Today’s routers can relay traffic between networks, but they have no idea how to translate what functions each device attached to them wants to do, and how to communicate that to other devices. The network needs to be able to discover who else is on the network. Devices connected to network need to be able to discover what resources are available and what new devices are being added. The network needs to be extensible.
Despite the oft-mocked naming scheme, the Internet of Things (IoT) has an incredibly practical goal: connecting classically “dumb” objects—toasters, doorknobs, light switches—to the Internet, thereby unlocking a world of potential. Imagine what it means to interact with your home the same way you would a website, accessing it without geographic restriction. But there is one missing piece of the smart home revolution: smart home operating system. So what will be the system that capitalizes on the smart home in the same way, the enabler of all the applications and actions we want our homes to run and do? There are no ready answers for that yet. And there might not be a singular, cohesive operating system for your home, that this stuff isn’t one-size-fits-all. It might be that the real potential for home automation lies not in local software running on a home device but in the cloud. I think that the cloud is going to be more important over time, but there will always be also need for some local functionality in case the connection to cloud is lost. Right now the Internet of Things is rather disjointed compared to Internet and computers.
When everything will be connected, how about security? In the path to IoT, the issue of data and device security looms large. Security for the ‘Internet of Things’ will be talked about very much in 2015 for a good reason. As Internet of Thigs becomes more and more used, it will be more hacked. Thus security of Internet of Things will be more and more talked about. Virtually anything connected to the Internet has the potential of being hacked, no matter how unlikely. Internet of Things devices often lack systematic protections against viruses or spam. Nowadays most security breaches are software-based, when an application can be compromised. Counter-measures for such attacks range from basic antivirus scanning software, to embedded hypervisors to hardware-bound secure applications tying their execution to uniquely identifiable hardware. There is emerging customer demand for silicon authentication. But the threats extend way beyond software and some hackers will put a lot of effort into compromising a system’s security at silicon-level. Individual devices can get hacked, but all systems should have some way of self-checking and redundancy. Those IoT systems can be very complex at device and system level. The problem with complexity is that you create more attack points and make it easier for hackers to find flaws.
Experts recommend far more layers of cyberprotection than manufacturers have thought necessary. Because many of the devices will often be practically inaccessible, the “patch and pray” strategy used for many desktop software packages is unlikely to be an effective strategy for many forms of IoT devices. Right now, there are hundreds of companies churning out “Internet of Things” (IoT) devices as fast as they can, without thinking too much on the security issues they can cause in the future. The imperative is clear: Do your homework on the specific security features of any IoT device you might consider bringing into the home. What steps are IoT companies taking to keep us safe from others online, and what constitutes a truly “safe” smart appliance?
What we’re opening up is a whole new subject not just of security but of safety. That safety depends on devices to be constantly connected to the Internet the same way they’re connected to the power grid. That’s a whole new area that deserves its own consideration. Keep in mind that IoT is one field where cyber security flaws can kill in the worst case. Connecting unrelated devices in the IoT means many more pieces now affect reliability and security. More devices are now considered critical, such as a connected baby monitor or a smart smoke detector, because wrong information can injure or kill people. The Internet of Things is coming no matter what happens. The people in charge of keeping the public safe and the industry healthy need to be ready.
The European Police Office (Europol) said governments are ill-equipped to counter the menace of “injury and possible deaths” spurred by hacking attacks on critical safety equipment. There are many potential dangers are in transportation: many new cars are Internet connected and potentially vulnerable, SCADA Systems in Railways Vulnerable to Attack and Airline bosses ignore cyber security concerns at their peril. With industrial control systems becoming network-connected, security risks rise and will need a long-term solution. In light of the trend toward the Industrial Internet of Things, development teams must start thinking hard about network security and planning for its long-term viability.
You have to accept the fact that at each point in the IoT there are vulnerabilities to malicious attacks and interception of vital information. Soon, almost every network will soon have some IoT-hacking in it. IDC predicts that in two years from 90 per cent of the global IT networks have met IoT data theft. In a report, cybersecurity firm Fortinet expects greater threats from “denial of service attacks on assembly line, factory, industrial control systems, and healthcare and building management…resulting in revenue losses and reputation damages for organizations globally.” This opens new doors of risks in the areas of corporate extortion, altering of corporate business operations, and the extension of cyberattacks to include physical threats of harm to civilians.
There are lessons to be learned to keep the cyber security in control in the IoT era. There will be lessons to be learned for all the parties of the IoT ecosystem. The companies that figure out how to make security available on multi-stakeholder platforms will be the most successful ones. Figuring out a secure platform is important, but having different levels of security is still important. Different uses have different bars. Security is a self-regulating system to some extent because it is supply and demand. That is the Holy Grail for technology right now, which is how to build systems with enough security—not 100% protection right now—from a unified platform point of view for multiple applications.
The data generated by the Internet of Things has the potential to reveal far more about users than any technology in history: These devices can make our lives much easier … The Internet of Things however, can also reveal intimate details about the doings and goings of their owners through the sensors they contain. As the Internet of Things grows to a projected 212 billion items by 2020, the question of regulation looms increasingly large. There is a lot of effort is going today at the government level. They’re not thinking about whether the Internet goes down. They’re worried about what happens if the Internet gets compromised.
When we have devices on the field, there is question how to analyze the data coming from them. This is easily a “big data” problem because of the huge amount of data that comes from very large number of sensors. Being able to monitor and use the data that comes from the Internet of Things is a huge potential challenge with different providers using different architectures and approaches, and different chip and equipment vendors teaming up in a range of different ways. Many large and smaller companies are active on the field: Intel, IBM, Lantronix+Google, Microchip+Amazon, Freescale+Oracle, Xively, Jasper, Keen.io, Eurotech, and many other.
The huge increase of data is coming. Radiant predicts that wireless sensor networks will be used to monitor and control very many domestic, urban, and industrial systems. This promises to produce an explosion of data, much of which will be discarded as users are overwhelmed by the volume. As a result, analysis of the data within the wireless sensor network will become necessary so that alerts and meaningful information are generated at the leaf nodes. This year has seen the software at the very highest point in the Internet of Things stack — analytics — becoming tightly coupled with the embedded devices at the edge of the network, leading to many different approaches and providers.
Integrating data from one IoT cloud to another will have it’s challenges. Automation services make big steps by cutting corners. Sites like IFTTT, Zapier, bip.io, CloudWork, and elastic.io allow users to connect applications with links that go beyond a simple synch. Check what is happening with integration and related services like IFTTT, ItDuzzit, Amazon Lambda. For example IFTTT is quietly becoming a smart home powerhouse.
Most important sources of information for this article:
With $16M In Funding, Helium Wants To Provide The Connective Tissue For The Internet Of Things
IFTTT, other automation services make big steps by cutting corners
Internet of Things: Engineering for Everyone
IoT in Protocol War, Says Startup – Zigbee fortunes dim in building control
Analysts Predict CES Hotspots – Corralling the Internet of Things
What’s Holding Back The IoT – Device market opportunities will explode, but only after some fundamental changes
Apps Layer: ’800lb Gorilla’ in IoT Nobody Talks About
Analysts Predict CES Hotspots – IoT, robots, 4K to dominate CES
10 Reasons Why Analytics Are Vital to the Internet of Things
Tech More: Mobile Internet of Things BI Intelligence Consumer Electronics – Most Massive Device Market
Wearables make hardware the new software
Zigbee Opens Umbrella 3.0 Spec
IoT Will Give ‘Embedded’ a Shot in the Arm - Connected cities to be largest IoT market
Chips for IoT market to grow 36% in 2015, says Gartner
Apps Layer: ’800lb Gorilla’ in IoT Nobody Talks About
Short-Range, Low-Power Sensors – once the last mile for connectivity is now the last 100 meters
The one problem the Internet of Things hasn’t solved
Plan Long Term for Industrial Internet Security
To Foil Cyberattacks, Connected Cars Need Overlapping Shields
IoT cybersecurity: is EDA ready to deliver?
More Things Are Critical Systems
Silicon, Security, and the Internet of Things
The missing piece of the smart home revolution
Hackers will soon be targeting your refrigerator
10 Reasons Why Analytics Are Vital to the Internet of Things
1,316 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Microcontroller Market Plagued by Price Erosion
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1327470&
Microcontroller shipments are growing tremendously as electronics companies roll out new products for the Internet of Things (IoT), but unprecedented price erosion means MCU vendors are seeing only a slight increase in sales, according to market research firm IC Insights.
According to the latest update to IC Insights’ McClean report, microcontroller shipments are on pace to increase by a whopping $25.4 billion in 2015, thanks to a huge upsurge in units for smartcards and 32-bit applications, many of which are aimed at the IoT. But total revenue from microcontrollers is expected to grow by just 4% to a record $16.6 billion, according to the report.
Rob Lineback, a senior market research analyst at IC Insights, said in an email exchange that microcontroller average selling prices (ASPs) are being driven down the most in the 32-bit segment, as suppliers battle each other and attempt to hit low price points needed for emerging IoT applications.
“The pressure is on suppliers to dramatically lower ASPs on 32-bit for Internet of Things applications that need $3 to $4 total semiconductor cost for IoT connectivity functions and handling web-attached sensors,” Lineback said. “Wearables, wireless sensor nodes, and other embedded IoT functions are pushing down ASPs.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
“Your IoT” Design Contest Winners
http://www.eeweb.com/company-news/digikey/your-iot-design-contest-winners/
Digi-Key and Silicon Labs announces the winners of the “Your IoT Connected World” design contest. The winners will be supplied with $10 000 worth of Silicon Labs components which they can use to bring their prize winning IoT ideas to the market. The three “Your IoT” design contest winners are Christian Kiemetsson, Hoang Nhu, and Ekawahyu Susilo.
“The IoT is the engine driving the growth and future of electronic component usage,” said David Sandys, director of technical marketing for Digi-Key. “Digi-Key could not be happier with the level of participation in the contest and being able to partner with Silicon Labs. The excitement really begins now, when we get to see where the winners will take their designs.”
The three “Your IoT” design contest winners include Christian Klemetsson, Hoang Nhu and Ekawahyu Susilo.
Christian Klemetsson designed his “DeviceRadio” industrial automation solution to connect the real world to applications through virtual wires specifically within the industrial automation market. The goal of this product design is to deliver a custom IoT device on a solderless breadboard and controlled through the Internet in three minutes or less.
Hoang Nhu developed a platform for extending the IoT through all parts of the home, from medication reminders to smart power plugs. The Apple HomeKit SmartHome and Wellness IoT Development Platform monitors home environments/energy consumption and daily activities to optimize home appliance settings as well as make recommendations and reminders for optimal wellness.
Ekawahyu Susilo rounded out the winners with “Snappy,” a modular robotics platform designed to help teachers engage students through science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. Snappy can be used for a variety of science project applications such as determining altitude with water bottle rockets, measuring collision impact in physics experiments, and building a simple local/Internet-connected weather station with humidity and temperature sensors.
All entries for “Your IoT Connected World Contest” can be viewed at http://www.youriotcontest.com.
Tomi Engdahl says:
When big data crashes against small problems
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/power-points/4440156/When-Big-Data-Crashes-Against-Small-Problems?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20150819&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20150819&elq=ccfbff5cca934d46b7db97e5c65a40e6&elqCampaignId=24438&elqaid=27614&elqat=1&elqTrackId=23c3661f94bd422281969858698b1f43
Along with IoT and the cloud, “big data” is a hot topic these days. By applying sophisticated algorithms and computing power to large sets of accumulated data, the idea is that useful patterns will emerge and be recognized, so that companies can take appropriate or even anticipatory action.
Maybe this will amount to something or maybe it’s mostly hype and hope; I don’t know how the big-data scenario will unfold. I do know that in order for all this data to be acquired in a usable way, it has to fit into a standardized template and format so that it can be analyzed with consistency. As I found out recently, this may mean that direct, common-sense action may have to be sacrificed to the large big-data imperative of “make it fit our form.” While this type of bureaucratic dictate is not new, I think it’s getting worse.
My tally on this: over two hours of my time, two hours with first-level customer service, and 30 minutes with the supervisor — all for a $30 item that was clearly defective. If common sense rather than big data’s mandates had been defining the interaction, we could have saved a lot of time.
You may wonder why I wasted so much of my time for such a modest return. There were several reasons: I was curious about how “customer service” is structured in the era of big data
My concern is that in order to realize the potential benefits of big data, minor issues will increasingly have to fit its data-collection model. We’re already seeing this in medicine, where doctors now spend more of their time typing than they do actually talking to their patients. I saw a doctor a few months ago and was very impressed: She could type at least 50 words per minute as she verbally sprinted through the many questions of the standardized patient form, and didn’t need to make any eye contact with me!
Bureaucratic requirements and mandates which are contrary to common sense are not new, of course, but I fear the demands of big data will make them worse.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Linux boss Torvalds: Don’t talk to me about containers and other buzzwords
Just wants to get through next 6 months
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/08/19/linuxcon_torvalds_qa/
Similarly, while the industry is abuzz about the so-called Internet of Things, the Finnish coder takes a somewhat pessimistic view about Linux’s ultimate role in it.
The chief hurdle for running Linux on really tiny devices, he said, is that the kernel itself has grown considerably since its early days. Where once it fit in under a megabyte, these days it’s tens of megabytes in size, and that’s not likely to change much in the future.
“It’s always really hard to get rid of unnecessary fat. As every developer in this room knows, things tend to grow,”
And when it comes to security, the Linux main man doesn’t think it’s likely that systems running Linux will ever be completely hardened and bulletproof – at least, not to the satisfaction of the security community, which Torvalds admitted to occasionally being at odds with.
“Security is bugs,” he said. “Most of the security issues we’ve had in the kernel – and happily they haven’t been that big, or some of them are pretty big but they don’t happen that often – most of them have been just completely stupid bugs that nobody really would have thought of as security issues normally, except for the fact that some clever person comes around and takes advantage of it. And the thing is, you’re never going to get rid of bugs.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Power of ZigBee 3.0 – All about the new and improved ZigBee 3.0
http://www.edn.com/design/analog/4440177/The-Power-of-ZigBee-3-0—All-about-the-new-and-improved-ZigBee-3-0-?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_analog_20150820&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_analog_20150820&&elq=50c7956843dc4f64a2989c292257fb22&elqCampaignId=24455&elqaid=27634&elqat=1&elqTrackId=07f443a9b05e424483e84101810e7819
As the IoT market accelerates and becomes more of a reality, the hype surrounding it becomes more intense and more confusing. It is time for a reality check to take inventory of where things really stand, and to make some assessment of where things are going. Some confusion has bee
Two years ago there was a lot of discussion about the different radio technologies that would be useful for the IoT. Some companies advocated that WiFi and Bluetooth would be sufficient, while other companies were starting to push IEEE 802.15.4 (the underlying radio technology for ZigBee and Thread). Actually, the majority of today’s networking technology decision makers are now comfortable with and fully understand that the IoT will use all three technologies for different applications.
To address the weakness of WiFi (compared to ZigBee) an activity was started to standardize low-power WiFi (IEEE 802.11ah). Although activities in this area are still proceeding and may lead to a standard, the worldwide acceptance will be very doubtful. This standard is not universal, because we will have different specs and flavors in different regions in the world.
Bluetooth, as an IoT standard, has a critical weakness – it was designed as a point-to-point cable replacement technology – not a networking technology. To address this weakness, some companies have started to work on a network layer for Bluetooth (‘Bluetooth Mesh’) but they face serious challenges.
So, bottom line, the worldwide wireless market has accepted three core IoT radio technologies, IEEE/802.11/WiFi for content distribution as we are all familiar with today, IEEE 802.15.4/ZigBee for sentroller networks like Smart Homes and Bluetooth, including Bluetooth Low Energy, for connectivity, personal area networks (around the smart phone) and wearables. The first two connect devices in your home to the internet, the last one mainly uses the smart phone for internet connection.
A variety of cross-over radio products are already available from multiple suppliers: WiFi/Bluetooth, ZigBee/Bluetooth and WiFi/ZigBee/Bluetooth. They all may not be at the right price point yet, but the underlying message is clear: there are three large open worldwide uniform radio communication standards that are the cornerstones for the IoT. That is the good news.
Networking technologies
Over a decade ago, after the competing radio technology conflicts ended with WiFi becoming the winner (and HomeRF and several other technologies disappearing), a new technology war erupted around the networking and application layers. Today everyone is familiar with TCP/IP – and even if you have never heard of this technology, you are using it to communicate via the web and local networks.
Frankly speaking, that is what is happening today in the IoT and Smart Home spaces. Again. Apparently, many of our industry leading companies have not learned the lesson that standards wars harm and slow down the adoption of new technologies. Apple HomeKit, Google Brillo, Qualcomm Alljoyn, Intel IoTivity and most recently: Huawei LiteOS, from the Chinese side of the house. All of these emerging application frameworks are now competing to get industry mindshare and to become the “leader in the IoT”, expecting the world to follow suit.
There is one more layer of confusion. Next to the application framework layer, there is a battle going on at the networking level. The clear contender is ZigBee 3.0 with Thread as the challenger
ZigBee 3.0 has incorporated years of experience in many application domains (lighting control, home automation, building automation, retail, etc.). With ZigBee, a very solid certification program is already up and running, test houses are signed up, and more than 1,000 ZigBee products have been certified. ZigBee has clearly become the technology of choice for many of the world’s IoT and Smart Home system makers. ZigBee also offers powerful ease-of-use features and strong security protocols. This is a major challenge to implement as sensors and edge devices usually do not have keyboards to enter security codes.
On top of that, ZigBee 3.0 supports an application library that has lived through multiple iterations of maturation. Therefore, it is no surprise that the Thread Group is seriously looking at adopting this ZigBee application library to run over Thread as well.
ZigBee RF4CE was initially developed in the consumer electronics space to replace the Infra-Red (IR) remote controls with radio-based remote controls, so that aim and click would no longer be required.
ZigBee RF4CE continues to provide full backward compatibility with the legacy IR space.
In addition to ultra-low power requirements (comparable to Bluetooth Low Energy, but with much better range), the key value add of ZigBee RF4CE is its low latency.
ZigBee 3.0 IP compatibility
ZigBee 3.0 is also fully IP compatible. ZigBee devices, just like WiFi devices, are usually connected to the internet via a router, gateway or set-top box, and as such can be immediately controllable by any other device that is connected to the internet, from PC, to tablet or smart phone app, and from any place in the world. Because ZigBee is fully WiFi and IP compatible, there is no need to have a ZigBee chip in the phone itself in order to find and control ZigBee connected Smart Home and IoT devices. It all happens through any web-connected hub (router, set-top box, gateway), which means that connected PC’s and smart phones (via WiFi or cellular) can function as dashboards, as they can find and communicate with any ZigBee devices without a problem.
ZigBee 3.0 will be the low-power WiFi for many of our future IoT sense and control networks and applications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
DDS Can Move Industrial IoT Data End-to-End
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1327480&
Real Time Innovations has augmented its Connext DDS software to meet the needs of management IT as well as factory systems.
One of the first markets for the Internet of Things (IoT) that analysts expect to gain real traction is the industrial sector. The opportunities for predictive maintenance and increased production efficiency that instrumenting production equipment will provide have great promise for offering significant ROI on IoT deployment. But to be most effective, these industrial IoT systems will need to integrate with existing factory and management IT networks, which have completely different needs. It appears, however, that new DDS (data distribution service) technology may be able to bridge these networks with a common protocol.
Factory networks typically produce and use continuous streaming data as part of their operational technology focus. The data comes at the speed of physical processes, gets routed to many points in the system, and requires a real-time response. The compute resources available in these networks are relatively fixed, without an ability to quickly bring new resources to bear.
The management IT networks, on the other hand, are designed for transaction processing. Data comes in batches and processing is periodic.
Handle industrial IoT data end-to-end
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/eye-on-iot-/4440162/Handle-industrial-IoT-data-end-to-end
One of the first markets for the Internet of Things (IoT) that analysts expect to gain real traction is the industrial sector. The opportunities for predictive maintenance and increased production efficiency that instrumenting production equipment will provide have great promise for offering significant ROI on IoT deployment. But to be most effective, these industrial IoT systems will need to integrate with existing factory and management IT networks, which have completely different needs. It appears, however, that new DDS (data distribution service) technology may be able to bridge these networks with a common protocol.
Factory networks typically produce and use continuous streaming data as part of their operational technology focus. The data comes at the speed of physical processes, gets routed to many points in the system, and requires a real-time response. The compute resources available in these networks are relatively fixed, without an ability to quickly bring new resources to bear.
Existing networks in industrial settings use differing connectivity products and standards. At the edge the factory equipment might use DDS or a proprietary, industry-specific protocol. Linking from the edge to the cloud, DDS, MQTT, HTTP, or SMPP might be involved. Within the management IT network, messaging protocols like ESB (enterprise service bus), AMQP (advanced message queuing protocol) or other message-oriented middleware (MOM) are at work. These protocols typically move data from point to point within the network through a queue.
There hasn’t been one single protocol that can handle data end-to-end, from the edge to the IT system. Instead, bridging these disparate network needs has typically required the use of gateways and such to translate protocols and to package and move data. As the solutions tend to be application-specific, with different APIs, it is difficult to share or move applications across an industry.
But that may be changing. Real-Time Innovations (RTI) has recently released new version 5.2 of its Connext DDS software that it claims will allow edge-to-cloud connectivity, providing a single communications mechanism that will meet both industrial and IT network needs. The publish-subscribe method of DDS already handles the edge needs and can provide the link to the cloud.
A useful addition to the toolkit supporting Connext DDS is the ability to observe the data flowing through the system. The toolkit already had the ability to provide system-level visualization of the dataflow paths. This addition also allows developers to see the actual data being moved, for debug and control purposes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Autonomous Cars In, Big Data Out In Gartner Hype Cycle
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1327475&
Gartner’s annual Hype Cycle is out, and IoT and autonomous cars are in this year. Big data, however, is losing some of its luster.
Just two years ago, big data was at this peak of the hype cycle. It was replaced last year by the Internet of Things, a ranking that IoT still holds in this report. Indeed, big data is nowhere to be found on the current Garter Hype Cycle.
Additionally, the absence of any specific cybersecurity technologies from the Hype Cycle is puzzling, although “digital security” and “software-defined security” are mentioned as pre-peak areas.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IEEE 802.11ah: Wi-Fi below 1 GHz
http://www.edn.com/design/test-and-measurement/4440147/IEEE-802-11ah–Wi-Fi-below-1-GHz?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_weekly_20150820&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_weekly_20150820&elq=5f53db4ce5b84888a7f42133b14a1d32&elqCampaignId=24462&elqaid=27641&elqat=1&elqTrackId=e4104e5464704fb7a217542d22b29df8
The IEEE 802.11 working group is defining a new standard called 802.11ah. It operates in sub 1 GHz license-exempt bands, providing a much improved transmission range and can also be used for large scale sensor networks with low power consumption targeting for billions of IoT (Internet of Things) or M2M (Machine-to-Machine) device connections. 802.11ah is based on down-clocking of the 802.11ac standard and adds some enhancements in PHY and MAC layers such as power saving, large number of station support, better coverage, and mobile reception. This standard is still in the draft status, with a final version expected in 2016. The Wi-Fi Alliance has also begun to define certification programs based on 802.11ah.
IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is mainly operated in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands. However, these high-frequency bands limit the transmission range of 802.11n and 802.11ac for outdoor environments. Learn the basics of 802.11ah and about some of the test challenges.
Use Cases
In general, there are three use case categories for 802.11ah: sensor networks, backhaul networks for sensors and meter data, and Wi-Fi extended range networks. Large coverage, low power consumption, native IP support and large numbers of device support are the main advantages for 802.11ah. It’s characteristics include:
Sponsor video, mouseover for sound
802.11ah can extend the range with 1 MHz and 2 MHz mandatory modes.
There are some enhancements in 802.11ah PHY and MAC layers designed to achieve ultra-low power consumption and multi-year battery life for large scale sensor networks, optimized for small packet size and long sleep time.
802.11ah sensor is native IP support.
Up to 8,191 devices associated with an AP (access point) through a hierarchical identifier structure.
As an extended range Wi-Fi, 802.11ah can be used in homes, campuses, stadiums, shopping malls, and other locations. It provides a wider coverage range to reach garages, backyards, and basements than legacy WLAN technologies that operate at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. For example, a campus WLAN solution utilizes tri-band APs (2.4 GHz/5 GHz/ 900 MHz), so wireless access is provided everywhere on campus.
IEEE 802.11ah, energy efficiency, extended battery life for wireless devices
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/ieee-80211ah-energy-efficiency-extended-battery-life-for-wireless-devices/c8db5d0e51388cf4c0deae66f1efbb07.html
Wireless tutorial: The addition of power saving algorithms to the IEEE 802.11ah standard is designed to allow associated devices to run for weeks or even years without a battery replacement. The standard specifies traffic information map (TIM) and non-TIM as two modes of power saving.
Many devices that fall under the IEEE 802.11ah standard are anticipated to be battery powered. The addition of power saving algorithms to the standard is designed to allow associated devices to run for weeks or even years without a battery replacement. The standard specifies two modes of power saving: traffic information map (TIM) and non-TIM. TIM stations are always on and ready to receive data. TIM stations continually monitor the wireless medium. Non-TIM stations will enter an offline “doze” state and will be unable to receive data; data is buffered at the access point (AP) and transmitted to the device when it becomes active and requests download.
Because a large number of stations are expected on these networks, new methods of medium contention and access have been implemented, particularly for non-TIM stations. Suppose several hundred stations “wake up” at the same time and try to download buffered data. This would create excessive delays and collisions as these stations attempt to acquire the medium.
A technique called group sectorization, which is similar to RAW, is used to group stations based upon the station’s position. A beamformed beacon broadcasts the AIDs of stations in a particular sector; if the station does not belong to that sector, it is not allowed to access the medium.
IEEE 802.11ah holds great promise in being able to facilitate large, wide area networks of independent, low-power devices without relying upon wired infrastructure, which would render this type of connectivity impractical. The propagation characteristics of the 900 MHz spectrum allow for much larger networks than would be possible with conventional Wi-Fi networks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Okay, Google. Start the Jeep!
http://hackaday.com/2015/08/21/okay-google-start-the-jeep/
When [wizardpc] bought his Jeep, it came with an Avital 3100L car alarm system; but after it started going on the fritz, he needed to replace it. So he opted for a new alarm system with the same harness type — and then he decided to hack it.
When installing the new alarm system, an Avital 5103L combo unit, he realized there was an extra wire that when grounded, starts the vehicle — Avital had included the hardware upgrade before the software came out on this specific model. Score.
From there it was a pretty easy hack. All he needed was a Raspberry Pi 2, a relay board, and a few dirt simple lines of code. On the mobile end of things is a collection of hacks; he’s using Tasker with his Android phone to add a special command to Google Now. He tells Google to ‘Start the Jeep’ and after a few seconds, she turns right on.
Okay, Google. Start the Jeep!
http://gunscarstech.com/2015/08/15/okay-google-start-the-jeep/
Here is the entirety of the code that I wrote for this project:
system ( “gpio -g mode 4 out && gpio -g write 4 1″);
system ( “gpio -g write 4 0″);
sleep ( 1 );
system ( “gpio -g write 4 1″);
That’s saved as RemoteStart.PHP.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smart-Thermostat for Win 10 IoT Core RP2
Open Framework for implementing automated Thermostat rulesets and data-logging.
https://hackaday.io/project/6227-smart-thermostat-for-win-10-iot-core-rp2
A Smart-Thermostat for the home designed around the Windows 10 IoT Core operating system for Raspberry Pi 2. The thermostat receives data from remote temperature, humidity, and motion sensors. An AVR daughterboard was designed for interfacing the remote sensors and Furnace/AC to Windows 10 Core. The thermostat requires one primary remote-control module and may optionally use up to 3 additional remote sensing modules.
Node.js is running on Windows 10 IoT Core and serves an AngularJS single page applet as the default route. The Node.js state-machine sends data to an online data aggregator.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hackaday Prize Entry: Twitter Goes To The Dogs With Raspberry Pi Hack
http://hackaday.com/2015/08/21/twitter-goes-to-the-dogs-with-raspberry-pi-hack/
Dogs are remarkable creatures. Anybody who has lived with one will know that they are very vocal beasts, with barks that range from noting the presence of a squirrel in the yard to the warning whine that says “I am about to pee on your shoes if you don’t take me outside.” [Henry Conklin] decided to computerize the analysis of these noises, putting his dog [Oliver Twitch] on Twitter so he could hear what he was saying while he was at work. [Henry] that is: [Oliver] stays at home.
He did this using a Raspberry Pi, which is set to record sound above a certain volume. With the system sitting by [Oliver’s] favorite window, this records his barks. The recordings are then analyzed using PyAudioAnalysis, a library that analyzes sounds, compares them to reference ones and classifies them. The Raspberry Pi then posts the results onto twitter using Python-twitter.
https://hackaday.io/project/7316-a-twitter-account-for-my-dog
Tomi Engdahl says:
Chris Davies / SlashGear:
Amazon’s new Alexa Lighting API opens up Echo voice control for smart lighting to developers — Amazon gives smart bulb devs the keys to Alexa’s voice — Amazon is further opening up its Alexa voice-control system, the engine at the heart of the Echo speaker, to smart lighting companies.
Amazon gives smart bulb devs the keys to Alexa’s voice
http://www.slashgear.com/amazon-gives-smart-bulb-devs-the-keys-to-alexas-voice-21398620/
Amazon is further opening up its Alexa voice-control system, the engine at the heart of the Echo speaker, to smart lighting companies. The Alexa Skills Kit was launched back in June, breaking the cloud-based digital assistant out of Echo and allowing it to be embedded in new devices and taught third-party skills. Now, with a new Alexa Lighting API, those skills are expanding to deal with more complex sets of wireless bulbs.
For instance, in addition to giving the “turn on” and “turn off” commands, users can now say things like “Alexa, brighten the bedroom light,” or “Alexa, dim the kitchen light.” There’s also support for more granular settings, like asking for 50-percent brightness.
The API supports Java and JavaScript, which Amazon says should make for relatively easy integration. Meanwhile, the heavy lifting for things like voice recognition are all done on Amazon’s side.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Follow Me: Making Servos Track Hand Motion with Leap
http://hackaday.com/2015/08/22/follow-me-making-servos-track-hand-motion-with-leap/
The Leap controller is one of those gadgets that is probably better for its cool factor rather than its practicality. The time of flight sensor reads gestures, but it is hardly a substitute for a mouse in many cases. It seems like the best uses for it we’ve seen are dedicated systems that need to know where your hands are. [Justin Platz] and [Kurt Clothier], for example, have an interesting demo that uses a Leap to control a Raspberry Pi. The Pi commands servo motors that move LED blocks to track your hand motion. Their code is available on GitHub.
The demo shows off the low latency possible with PubNub which is yet another Internet of Things broker (everyone wants to be the one thing that rules them all, apparently).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Connecting Your Car to the Internet
http://hackaday.com/2015/08/23/connecting-your-car-to-the-internet/
Internet of Things? What about the Internet of Cars? It’s actually rather surprising how slow the auto industry is in developing all new vehicles to be connected to the net from the get go. Well if you can’t wait, you can always hack. [John Reimers] shows us how to use an Electric Imp combined with OBD-II to remotely monitor your vehicle.
Using the ever venerable OBD-II port on your vehicle (think USB for cars if you’re not familiar), you can pull all kinds of information off of your vehicle’s engine. Fuel economy, temperatures, load, timing, error codes, etc.
[John] is using an Electric Imp Amy breakout board to interface between a GPS module, the OBD-II connection, and an accelerometer. It can then combine engine data with a GPS signal to be tracked in real-time online. Unfortunately, that does mean you either need a dedicated WiFi hotspot in your vehicle, or must use your phone.
Internet of Cars with Electric Imp and OBD-II
https://hackaday.io/project/7358-internet-of-cars-with-electric-imp-and-obd-ii
Connect your car to the internet with the Electric Imp and the STN1110 OBD interface. Add GPS and Google Earth for a real time car tracker.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Make Your Own Remote Control LED Light
http://hackaday.com/2015/08/23/make-your-own-remote-control-led-light/
Want to control the colors in your home? Sure, you could just buy a Philips Hue bulb, but where’s the hacking fun in that? [Dario] agrees: he has written a tutorial on building an Arduino-controlled RGB light system that plugs into a standard light socket.
[Dario] is using a bulb from Automethion in Italy, an Arduino, and an ESP8266 shield that sends signals to the bulb.
At the moment, Automethion is the only company selling this light, but I hope that others will sell similar products soon.
Build your DIY Arduino compatible Philips Hue like LED Bulb, using LYT and Souliss
http://souliss.github.io/media/diy-your-philips-hue-led-bulb/
Recently a lot of RF light bulbs with smartphone enabled control has been on the market, the most known and expencive is the Philips Hue, but other cheaper solution like the Mi-Light has been out for a while. All offer a smartphone app to control remotely the brightness and the color, but none is Arduino compatible.
The shield is the piece of hardware that you are really looking for, is from that one that you can send radio commands to the lamps and get feedback. There are two radio, an ESP8266 WiFi SoC and a PL1167 2.4 GHz radio, the former is used to connect your Arduino with the home router and the latter is to control the bulbs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fight Frost with an Internet of Things Fridge Alarm
http://hackaday.com/2015/08/23/fight-frost-with-an-internet-of-things-fridge-alarm/
The WiFi-enabled fridge alarm he built to fight this is a pretty neat hack with lots of potential for expansion.
Based on a Sparkfun ESP8266 Thing and home-brew door sensors built from copper tape, the alarm is rigged to sound after 120 seconds of the door being open. From the description it seems like the on-board buzzer provides a periodic reminder pip while the door is open before going into constant alarm and sending an SMS message or email; that’s a nice touch, and having the local alarm in addition to the text or email is good practice.
Internet Enabled Fridge: A First Foray into Internet of Things
http://www.instructables.com/id/Internet-Enabled-Fridge-A-First-Foray-into-Interne/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smart-Meter ICs on Rise, Predicts Report
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1327494&
The global market for smart meters is going to be 132 million units in 2015 rising to 150 million units in 2019 — i.e., a compound annual growth rate of 3.2% — providing significant growth opportunities for ICs, according to research firm IHS,
Global revenues for semiconductors used in water, gas and electric meters reached $1.2 billion in 2014, with a year-over-year growth of 11% and a five-year compound annual growth rate of 8%, the market research firm claims. The average cost of chips used in two-way meters was approximately $11 in 2014, IHS estimates. About two thirds of that semiconductor revenue comes from microcontroller and analog components, said IHS.
Unusually, even though volumes and competition will increase over time, average selling prices (ASPs) are expected to increase rather than fall. This is because the industry will be transitioning from low-cost 8-bit microcontrollers to more expensive 32-bit MCUs with additional memory requirements and system-on-chip components with increased security.
“The semiconductor industry for electric meters is moving toward a single-chip solution for measuring and communicating with the grid station, which is an important industry trend to watch,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
DDS Can Move Industrial IoT Data End-to-End
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1327480&
Real Time Innovations has augmented its Connext DDS software to meet the needs of management IT as well as factory systems.
One of the first markets for the Internet of Things (IoT) that analysts expect to gain real traction is the industrial sector. The opportunities for predictive maintenance and increased production efficiency that instrumenting production equipment will provide have great promise for offering significant ROI on IoT deployment. But to be most effective, these industrial IoT systems will need to integrate with existing factory and management IT networks, which have completely different needs. It appears, however, that new DDS (data distribution service) technology may be able to bridge these networks with a common protocol.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smart Trailers Monitor Themselves & More
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1327498&
One of the coolest places we are seeing IoT/M2M technology may be in the logistics areas. Smart trailers are making the whole supply chain smarter.
We’re hearing a lot today about the “smart home.” As part of the Internet of Things (IoT) concept of machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, smart homes let you monitor temperatures, door locks, lighting, and a lot more.
Like a number of my customers, you might be wondering if the smart home idea could practically transfer to a “smart trailer” concept, which would allow you to monitor what’s going on inside and outside your trailers at all times.
Well, glad you asked, because this is precisely where our industry is heading. According to a recent Forrester Study, 96% of transportation and logistics professionals say that IoT is the most strategic initiative they’ve seen in a decade.
Smart trailers will be able to communicate a wealth of invaluable information over standard Wi-Fi networks and Wide Area Networks (WANs) at the point of origin, en route or at the warehouse and distribution center.
Smart Trailers Monitor Themselves & More
http://www.ebnonline.com/author.asp?section_id=3805&doc_id=278489&
The proactive trailer
The more we know about trailers and trailer loads, the better. Smart trailers will be able to communicate a wealth of invaluable information over standard Wi-Fi networks and Wide Area Networks (WANs) at the point of origin, en route or at the warehouse and distribution center. They will also be able to function whether tethered to a cab, or untethered in a yard, using modular power sources such as solar, rechargeable batteries, power line or wireless connectivity. And that’s just the beginning.
What will they do for you?
Smart trailers make use of trailer tags that can sense trailer location separate from cab location, in case a trailer becomes lost or is stolen. They’ll monitor and measure interior conditions ranging from temperature to humidity to movement and load shifting. They’ll read smart labels on packages, proactively reporting up-to-the-minute data to ensure load integrity, whether you’re transporting electronic components, strawberries, pharmaceutical products, or diapers. They will also report on trailer performance metrics and maintenance needs.
On the dock
On the loading dock and throughout the hub, smart trailers will automate previously manual actions. These include providing unique dock door, loader and unloader IDs to make sure the trailer is at the right dock at the right time.
On the road
On the inside of the trailer, automated sensor technology keeps you up-to-date on load dynamics during transport. Smart trailers will instantly report load shifts and provide real-time temperature monitoring to make sure refrigerated loads are being maintained within specified ranges. They also use a global positioning system (GPS) to tell you their exact location at any given time.
n the yard
In typical freight yards, hundreds of trailers can be standing idle, waiting to be attended to. Smart trailer technology gives you crucial data on these trailers automatically, eliminating the need to send a worker to check each unit manually.
The sharpest trailers in the fleet
Smart trailers help customers gain invaluable information and insights on trailer and load status from one end of the supply chain to the other.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Zebra Technologies’ Commissioned Study Finds Internet of Things Vital to Future of Transportation and Logistics Industry
https://www.zebra.com/us/en/about-zebra/newsroom/press-releases/2015/zebra-technologies-commissioned-study-finds-internet-of-things-v.html
96 percent of survey respondents in T&L industry believe IoT is most significant technology initiative of decade
More than half of respondents expect IoT to improve regulatory compliance (51 percent) and delivery processes (51 percent). More than four in ten expect IoT to help their companies improve safety (45 percent), recognize cost efficiencies (44 percent) or improve their supply chain visibility (44 percent).
Wi-Fi, security sensors, near field communications (NFC) and RTLS were cited as the most important technologies for enabling IoT implementations.
Nearly 40 percent of respondents listed privacy and security concerns as the largest challenge for IoT implementations, while 38 percent mentioned implementation complexity.
Zebra released global findings on IoT adoption across many verticals and industries, surveying IT and business decision makers from nearly 600 global firms.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu Core Gets Support For Raspberry Pi 2 GPIO and I2C
http://build.slashdot.org/story/15/08/22/2214256/ubuntu-core-gets-support-for-raspberry-pi-2-gpio-and-i2c
Ubuntu Core is a tiny Ubuntu distribution aimed at the Internet of Things, using a new transactional packaging format called Snappy rather than the venerable Debian packaging format. It recently gained support for I2C and GPIO on the Raspberry Pi 2
https://developer.ubuntu.com/en/snappy/
Snappy apps and Ubuntu Core itself can be upgraded atomically and rolled back if needed — a bulletproof approach that is perfect for deployments where predictability and reliability are paramount. It’s called “transactional” or “image-based” systems management, and we’re delighted to make it available on every Ubuntu certified cloud.
Tomi Engdahl says:
18 Views of #IDF15
Intel amps up the energy level
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1327493&
BMX bikes instrumented with Intel Curie modules entertained attendees.
Jelena Jovanovic (above), co-founder of Nixie Labs, shows the wearable drone that won $500,000 in Intel’s 2014 “Make It Wearable” design contest. Users toss it into the air and an onboard camera takes a selfie before it sails back to the user like a boomerang.
In a data center mega-session, Intel announced Discovery Peak (above), an open source analytics platform based on Hadoop and Spark that it has been quietly working on for three years. The project is a follow on to a streaming SQL open source project Intel developed which is now in use by China’s JD.com which claims to be the world’s second largest retailer.
Intel announced a set of services that ride on top of the Trusted Computing Group’s hardware root of trust. Enhanced Privacy ID (EPID) enables secure groups including members who can remain anonymous, such as patients in a clinical trial.
Atmel and Microchip licensed the technology which requires the equivalent of a Trusted Platform Module.
In a keynote segment devoted to IoT, Intel showed the Nabi smart clip for a baby seat (above) that links to a parent’s smartphone via Bluetooth. “Don’t ever share the stage with a cute baby,” quipped CEO Krzanich.
He also showed the Memomi MemoryMirror (below) that uses Intel’s RealSense depth camera to let shoppers virtually try out clothes and connect over social networks
The Android tablet (above) is based on an Intel Atom x3 SoC aka Sofia that helps drive the cost of the device down as low as $50.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Torvalds: Linux is not suitable for the Internet of Things
Internet of Things, internet of things, IoT. According to the current hottest technology has many names. But Linus Torvalds does not believe that servers and smartphones conquered linux suitable for IoT devices. – Very small devices worth a look other options, Torvalds said LinuxCon event in Seattle.
The main reason Torvalds in the argument is the fact that over the years, Linux has grown to be too high. Sometimes the core fit-megabyte space, but now it takes up space in dozens of megabytes.
- Unnecessary fat is difficult to get rid of. Every developer knows that the code has a tendency to swell. We can get the kernel smaller, but we did not get any of that format, where we were 20 years ago.
- Most of the kernel security issues – fortunately they have not been very serious – have been just a stupid code errors, which no one has thought of a security risk. Then comes someone clever guy and take advantage of this mistake.
- The truth is that these bugs will never get rid of, Torvalds stressed.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3218:torvalds-linux-ei-sovi-esineiden-internetiin&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Two-pin EEPROM is parasitically powered
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4440175/Two-pin-EEPROM-is-parasitically-powered?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20150824&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20150824&elq=7360f93c3be04491b33c2e4b90dad867&elqCampaignId=24504&elqaid=27698&elqat=1&elqTrackId=516e1af6f3a2480e945c2855a5701e30
Atmel has launched the AT21CS01/11, a single-wire serial EEPROM that needs only a data pin and a ground pin for operation. The self-powered device eliminates the need for a power source or VCC pin by using a parasitic power scheme over the data pin. Organized as 128×8 bits, the 1-kbit memory offers a security register with a 64-bit factory-programmed serial number and an extra 16 bytes of user programmable and permanently lockable storage.
These features make the AT21CS01/11 well-suited for IoT, wearables, consumable, battery, and cable identification markets.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Multi-sensor measuring future IoT networks located in a place where independent power is nothing short of essential. Cypress Semiconductor is with this in mind developed the world’s power consuming power management circuit. For example, the sensor can be electrifying sized square centimeter solar cell.
Cypress offers a train hardware manufacturers ready for developing a module is a programmable S6AE101A-power control circuit, module Bluetooth LE (low energy) implementation of the connection. The whole package costs only $ 49.
Wireless sensor circuits are expected to be sold over five billion units by 2020. It is clear that the power supply will be a central part of the reduction in the cost of implementations and facilitate network maintenance.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3222:auringosta-virtaa-anturiin&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
The IoT, the MinnowBoard, and How They Fit Into the Universe (Video)
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/15/08/24/1856256/the-iot-the-minnowboard-and-how-they-fit-into-the-universe-video
The IoT is becoming more pervasive partly because processor costs are dropping. So are bandwidth costs, even if your ISP isn’t sharing those savings with you. Today’s interviewee, Mark Skarpness, is “the Director of Embedded Software in the Open Source Technology Center at Intel Corporation,” which is an amazing mouthful of a title. What it means is that he works to extend Intel’s reach into Open Source communities, and is also aware of how hardware and software price drops — and bandwidth price drops at the “wholesale” level — mean that if you add a dash of IPV6, even lowly flip-flops might have their own IPs one day.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Life With the Dash Button: Good Design For Amazon, Bad For Everyone Else
http://devices.slashdot.org/story/15/08/25/1413239/life-with-the-dash-button-good-design-for-amazon-bad-for-everyone-else?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29
A scathing review published on Fast Company describes Amazon’s Dash Button, the “Buy Now” button brought into the physical world as “the latest symptom of Amazon’s slowly spreading disease”, “an unabashed attempt to disconnect customers from the amount of money we’re spending.” The author criticism focus on Amazon’s lack of focus on customer experience
Life With The Dash Button: Good Design For Amazon, Bad Design For Everyone Else
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3050044/life-with-the-dash-button-good-design-for-amazon-bad-design-for-everyone-else
I lived with an Amazon Dash button for every room. The future never looked so futile.
Tomi Engdahl says:
OpenZwave
http://www.openzwave.com/
Our goal is to create free software library that interfaces with selected Z-Wave PC controllers, allowing anyone to create applications that manipulate and respond to devices on a Z-Wave network, without requiring in-depth knowledge of the Z-Wave protocol.
This software is currently aimed at Application Developers who wish to incorporate Z-Wave functionality into their applications.
If you are a looking for applications to control your Z-Wave devices, please consult this page which lists applications that utilize OpenZWav
Tomi Engdahl says:
Handle industrial IoT data end-to-end
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/eye-on-iot-/4440162/Handle-industrial-IoT-data-end-to-end?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20150825&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20150825&elq=ad8531cbe6f444cf8cf1a5098f9843ee&elqCampaignId=24508&elqaid=27702&elqat=1&elqTrackId=b4ea6d047b104ae39bd44592ab09f06d
One of the first markets for the Internet of Things (IoT) that analysts expect to gain real traction is the industrial sector. The opportunities for predictive maintenance and increased production efficiency that instrumenting production equipment will provide have great promise for offering significant ROI on IoT deployment. But to be most effective, these industrial IoT systems will need to integrate with existing factory and management IT networks, which have completely different needs. It appears, however, that new DDS (data distribution service) technology may be able to bridge these networks with a common protocol.
Factory networks typically produce and use continuous streaming data as part of their operational technology focus. The data comes at the speed of physical processes, gets routed to many points in the system, and requires a real-time response. The compute resources available in these networks are relatively fixed, without an ability to quickly bring new resources to bear.
The management IT networks, on the other hand, are designed for transaction processing.
Existing networks in industrial settings use differing connectivity products and standards. At the edge the factory equipment might use DDS or a proprietary, industry-specific protocol. Linking from the edge to the cloud, DDS, MQTT, HTTP, or SMPP might be involved. Within the management IT network, messaging protocols like ESB (enterprise service bus), AMQP (advanced message queuing protocol) or other message-oriented middleware (MOM) are at work. These protocols typically move data from point to point within the network through a queue.
There hasn’t been one single protocol that can handle data end-to-end, from the edge to the IT system. Instead, bridging these disparate network needs has typically required the use of gateways and such to translate protocols and to package and move data. As the solutions tend to be application-specific, with different APIs, it is difficult to share or move applications across an industry.
But that may be changing. Real-Time Innovations (RTI) has recently released new version 5.2 of its Connext DDS software that it claims will allow edge-to-cloud connectivity, providing a single communications mechanism that will meet both industrial and IT network needs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Prevalence of IoT may leave networks vulnerable to attacks
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/prevalence-of-iot-may-leave-networks-vulnerable-to-attacks/b165aa3784947f73184c2604e08aa048.html
Devices that use the Internet of Things (IoT) are prevalent in highly regulated industries and the infrastructure supporting those devices is vulnerable to security flaws, according to a recent study.
IoT devices are connecting to corporate networks, but are not up to the same security standards as other connections, according to “The 2015 Internet of Things in the Enterprise Report,” a global data-driven security assessment of IoT devices and infrastructure found in businesses from OpenDNS. Using data from the billions of Internet requests routed through OpenDNS’s global network daily, the report details the scale to which IoT devices are in enterprise environments and uncovers specific security risks associated with those devices.
The report, authored by OpenDNS director of security research Andrew Hay, includes:
IoT devices are actively penetrating some of the world’s most regulated industries including healthcare, energy infrastructure, government, financial services, and retail.
There are three principal risks IoT devices present to the enterprise: IoT devices introduce new avenues for potential remote exploitation of enterprise networks; the infrastructure used to enable IoT devices is beyond the user and IT’s control; and IT’s often casual approach to IoT device management can leave devices unmonitored and unpatched.
Some networks hosting IoT data are susceptible to highly-publicized and patchable vulnerabilities such as FREAK and Heartbleed.
Highly prominent technology vendors are operating their IoT platforms in known “bad Internet neighborhoods,” which places their users at risk.
Consumer devices such as Dropcam Internet video cameras, Fitbit wearable fitness devices, Western Digital “My Cloud” storage devices, various connected medical devices, and Samsung Smart TVs continuously beacon out to servers in the U.S., Asia, and Europe—even when not in use.
Though traditionally thought of as local storage devices, Western Digital cloud-enabled hard drives are now some of the most prevalent IoT endpoints observed. These devices are actively transferring data to insecure cloud servers.
A survey of more than 500 IT and security professionals found 23% of respondents have no mitigating controls in place to prevent someone from connecting unauthorized devices to their company’s networks.
“This report shows conclusively that IoT devices are making their way into our corporate networks, but are not up to the same security standards to which we hold enterprise endpoints or infrastructure,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hortonworks introduces DataFlow, acquires Apache NiFi-backer Onyara
http://www.zdnet.com/article/hortonworks-introduces-dataflow-acquires-apache-nifi-backer-onyara/
Hortonworks is betting big on Apache NiFi, acquiring Onyara, the commercial entity behind it, and releasing DataFlow, a separate subscription alongside the Hadoop-based Hortonworks Data Platform.
Last month I wrote about Apache Ni-Fi, a project borne of (non-shady) work at the US National Security Agency, and now a top-level project at the Apache Software Foundation. NiFi is all about building data flow orchestrations, and features a browser-based “boxes and lines” graphical user interface for getting the work done.
NiFi certainly seemed an interesting project, but it turns out it’s more significant than I thought. Hortonworks is betting big on it: it’s acquiring Onyara, the commercial entity behind NiFi, and releasing its own distribution of NiFi as Hortonworks DataFlow, a separate subscription aside the Hadoop-based Hortonworks Data Platform.
You read that right; Hortonworks is essentially placing NiFi on equal footing with Hadoop, viewing it as its platform for data-in-motion (read: IoT) while now casting Hadoop as its platform for data-at-rest.
It will be interesting indeed to see how Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and Google, each of which has a commercial cloud platform for streaming data (and IoT) respond, or if they need to. Heck, Google’s platform is even called Dataflow, and it went into general availability less than two weeks ago.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Startup Wants Better IoT Radios
IoT SoC will run on energy harvesters
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1327510&
The Internet of Things needs new lower power radios and a fresh approach to silicon design, said an expert with a startup designing IoT chips.
“I think there’s a growing realization Bluetooth Low Energy and Zigbee are not the right solutions” because they consumer tens of milliwatts, said Benton Calhoun, co-founder of PsiKick (Charlottesville, Virginia). “People are talking about new solutions, but it’s not clear what they are yet,” he told an audience of several hundred silicon designers at the annual Hot Chips event here.
For its part, PsiKick is designing an ultrawideband transceiver into an upcoming IoT node chip geared to consume a total of less than 30 microwatts. But UWB comes with a number of tradeoffs in potential interference, lack of compatibility and relatively low data rates.
“It’s possible transmit 200 Kbits/s at 4 microwatts and Mbit/s at 30 microwatts at one meter with UWB, but there’s no receiver in your phone for it,” Calhoun said. New IoT radio standards “that make more sense than ones used now” will emerge from a range of proprietary radios, he said.
Radios are just one piece of the broad need for lower power chips, said Calhoun who conducts research in the area at the University of Virginia. “Today’s devices won’t get us to trillions of nodes people predict for IoT,” he said.
“Doing 275 million battery changes a day cannot be the solution for a trillion-node IoT network — the answer is energy harvesting,” he said, admitting harvesters will constrain silicon to tens of microwatts.
Today’s ARM cores also consume too much power for IoT, “but the market wants ARM,” Calhoun told EE Times, admitting emerging alternatives such as the open-source RISC-V core consume less power. “System integration is the hardest part of these designs because if you’re not careful about the blocks you use you quickly get back up to tens of milliwatts,” he said.
Another drawback to the ultra-low power target is some things have to be left out such as security hardware. “We know public key encryption consumes too much power for IoT, but we’re waiting to see what [IoT security] standards develop,” he said.
“The most interesting wearables are those that include audio and video in devices that evaluate what to see and hear,” Wu said. But there’s “a 20-fold gap between what’s needed and the power consumption of current devices,” she said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Are you using the cloud as your time capsule?
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/power-points/4440207/Are-you-using-the-cloud-as-your-time-capsule–?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20150825&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20150825&elq=ad8531cbe6f444cf8cf1a5098f9843ee&elqCampaignId=24508&elqaid=27702&elqat=1&elqTrackId=20a6250d8f4843b7a527faff710e5e3a
The electronics industry is not immune to marketing hype or optimism, of course. Right now, our three hot buttons are “IoT,” the “cloud,” and “big data.” When you are not sure what to say, just work one or more of these three phrases into your pitch or response and you should be all set, at least for a while.
While I understand the potential market and even end-application benefits of IoT – although not to the “it will be bigger than everything and solve every problem known” level of hype that IoT-related opportunities are made out to be – I am much more ambivalent about the cloud and, to a lesser degree, big data.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Strong ARM scoops up Sansa to boost IoT security
Chipmaker adds Israeli company’s bolt-on protection to its bulging armoured sack
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/07/30/arm_buys_iot_firm_sansa_security/
Chipmaker ARM has sealed a deal to buy Israeli Internet of Things (IoT) security specialist Sansa Security. Financial terms of the deal, announced Thursday, were not officially disclosed. However, the WSJ previously reported that around $75m-$85m was on the table.
ARM makes the chips that power the majority of the world’s smartphones. The Sansa acquisition will allow it to add hardware and software-based security features, boosting protection for sensitive data and content on any connected device.
Sansa’s technology is already deployed across a range of smart connected devices and enterprise systems. The company was previously known as Discretix, prior to rebranding last October, and specialised in embedded security technologies.
The deal complements the ARM security portfolio, including ARM TrustZone technology and SecurCore processor IP.
“Any connected device could be a target for a malicious attack, so we must embed security at every potential attack point,” said Mike Muller, CTO of ARM in a statement. “Protection against hackers works best when it is multi-layered, so we are extending our security technology capability into hardware subsystems and trusted software. This means our partners will be able to license a comprehensive security suite from a single source.”
Sansa offers a complete hardware subsystem designed to isolate security sensitive operations from the main application processor. Its IoT security platform has a mobile component and a capability to work across cloud-based systems.
Given the well-documented security issues of IoT devices, ARM and Sansa are sowing seeds on fertile ground
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hipster Rotary Dial Adds Bluetooth 4.0
http://hackaday.com/2015/08/27/hipster-rotary-dial-adds-bluetooth-4-0/
We have seen a few projects that convert a rotary dial for use with modern technology, but this one adds a new twist to the mix: it uses Bluetooth 4.0. [Silent] used a Nordic Semiconductor NRF51 DK development board for the project, which was built from the Nordic SDK source code for creating an HID (Human Interface Device). After what he claims was an hour or so of hacking, he was able to get this Arduino-compatible SoC dev board to detect the pulses from the rotary dial, then pass the appropriate number to a connected device as a key press. This means that his design should work with any device that has Bluetooth 4.0 support. It is powered from a big dry cell because, to quote [Silent], “small coin batteries are not hipster enough”.
Tomi Engdahl says:
WiFi is standardized in the IEEE sensor networks
IEEE 802.11 is a technique that we all use in the form of WiFi. Now, however, the IEEE has started standardization work, where the WiFi is bent, for example, sensor networks and connections between machines M2M links. The new standard will take less than a WiFi-gigahertz frequencies.
Current 2,4 and 5 GHz operating in the Wi-Fi networks enable hundreds of megabytes reach data rates, which is great if you download Youtube video in cell phone. The sensor network need not be so quick to contact us.
Instead, the sensor network needs to link that will be able to ulkea outdoors longer distance. Range of home and office WLANs hundred meters it is not enough. Help can be found under the gigahertz frequency, which is standardized by the IEEE 802.11ah new technology. IEEE’s vision, for example, various smart home devices could be combined into the 802.11h router.
Less than gigahertz region are unlicensed slices, which could be used for 802.11ah connections. The widths of the channels will be 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 megahertz. Up to 4×4 channels can be combined into a single MIMO link, if the application has a need for it.
80211ah-link data rate can reach 150 kilobits to 40 megabits per second.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3246:ieee-standardoi-wifia-anturiverkkoihin&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
The study showed: IoT is worth betting
Internet of things is the hottest buzzword and it is surrounded by a lot of hype turhaakin. However, Tata Consulting Services global survey shows that the IoT investment is worthwhile. Four out of five industrial internet able investments managed to increase its net sales.
The main target IoT investment of mobile services, which were used by almost half of the organizations. Participated in the survey companies use an average of $ 86 million IoT projects in 2015 and predict investments to grow to $ 103 million by the end of 2018.
Mobile services are the most important IoT investment destination, but there are large differences between sectors. For example, in the manufacturing industry focus in particular on the sensors.
Nordic countries, a number of IoT projects aimed at the development of automation and operational activities
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3248:tutkimus-osoitti-iot-panostus-kannattaa&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
“Nobody knows what the big data should be done”
Big data now reads the buzz word in an increasing number of company presentation films. It is information that is different sensor systems to collect the enormous amount. However, the equivalent of Intel’s cloud platforms Director Jason Waxman told an investor meeting, no one really knows what the big data should be done.
- This is a really big data dirty little secret. Yes know how to collect data at all and is a big data strategy, but the processing of the useful information from a large number of sensor data is very difficult, Waxman said.
Future sensor networks, a massive amount of data to be handled, stored and analyzed, which requires an effective iron. In practice, the new Intel servers.
This year companies invest big data systems of $ 13 billion. By the year 2018 the sum will grow more than 40 billion dollars, of which more than one billion spent on equipment purchases.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3253:kukaan-ei-tieda-mita-big-datalle-pitaisi-tehda&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
‘Industry 4.0′: How European companies can really benefit
http://www.euractiv.com/sections/innovation-industry/industrie-40-how-european-companies-can-really-benefit-313385
Digitisation could be an opportunity for European countries to wrest back production and manufacturing they have lost to regions such as Asia, writes Reinhold Festge.
You might have heard that the digitalisation of industry – or Industrie 4.0, as we Germans call it – will fundamentally change the way Europeans produce and consume. Politicians regard Industrie 4.0 as a game-changer with potential to re-industrialise the continent. They might be right. At the latest Cebit in Hannover, the IT world made it very clear that digitalisation is coming at an impressive speed.
However, it is not certain that European companies will benefit at large from Industrie 4.0. The concern of the mechanical engineering industry is that Europe will fail to properly set the political framework for the changes ahead, and wastes its opportunity to boost production in the EU.
The idea of how digital production could save European industry is not overly complicated.
Who will equip European manufacturers for digital production? To a great extent, it will be the mechanical engineering industry I represent, a sector shaped by small and medium-sized enterprises with 3 million employees in Europe. For them, developing and producing machines for Industrie 4.0 is a huge opportunity.
But, since the engineering industry is the heart of digital production, we recognise that Europe is not ready yet.
If the single market is not ready in time, the digitalisation of industry will be shaped by companies outside the EU, notably the US.
The second problem is data. When all machines and products communicate – and imagine, we add to the manufacturing process even the logistic process up to the final delivery of the blue sneakers with red laces – a huge amount of data will be created. This is highly valuable information that reveals how companies produce and distribute.
Who owns this data? Who will be allowed to analyse it? The creator of the machine? The owner? The maintenance company? The software developer? We already have a debate about consumer data in Europe. We need a debate about data in industry, and if required, clear rules for their use.
Finally, manufacturers will not trust digital technologies as long as there are doubts over data protection and security.
All this – single market, legal security concerning data, European cloud service – is not achievable in one day. We will need a debate rather than make it a quick shot.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Building a Better Mousetrap With The Raspberry Pi
http://hackaday.com/2015/08/31/building-a-better-mousetrap-with-the-raspberry-pi/
Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door, but what about a smarter mousetrap? [Alain] decided to find out by making a Raspberry Pi-powered, Internet-connected smart trap. The brains of the operation is a Pi running Arch Linux. Connected to that is a IR trigger, a servo to unlatch the sliding door, and a camera to see your new friend.
RaspiTrap V1.0
How to catch a mouse with a Raspberry Pi?
https://hackaday.io/project/7463-raspitrap-v10
RaspiTrap is an animal friendly mousetrap, with photo, video and email function.
You may ask, why somebody would build such a mousetrap?
Why not?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Stuffing Everything on a DIP32 Package
http://hackaday.com/2015/08/30/stuffing-everything-on-a-dip32-package/
Putting an full microcontroller platform in a DIP format is nothing new – the Teensy does it, the Arduino nano does it, and a dozen other boards do it. [Alex] and [Alexey] aren’t content with just a simple microcontroller breakout board so they’re adding a radio, an OLED, an SD card reader, and even more RAM to the basic Arduino platform, all in a small, easy to use package.
The DIPDuino, as [Alex] and [Alexy] are calling it features an ATmega1284 processor. To this, they’re adding a 128×32 pixel OLED, a micro SD slot, and 1Mbit of SRAM. The microcontroller is a variant that includes a 2.4 GHz Zigbee radio that allows for wireless connections to other DIPDuinos.
DIPDuino=(Arduino+ZigBee+OLED+SDCard+SRAM)*DIP32
Arduino compatible, breadboard friendly DIP32 package with ATMega1284RFR2, OLED display, SD card, SRAM and ZigBee on board.
https://hackaday.io/project/7436-dipduinoarduinozigbeeoledsdcardsramdip32
Tomi Engdahl says:
Voice Command with No Echo
http://hackaday.com/2015/08/30/voice-command-with-no-echo/
[Naran] was intrigued with the Amazon Echo’s ability to control home electronics, but decided to roll his own. By using a Raspberry Pi with the beta Prota OS, he managed to control some Phillips Hue bulbs and a homebrew smart outlet.
Prota has a speech application, which made the job simpler.
If you wanted another way to make the Raspberry Pi listen, try Jasper. Or you could always just do it all with–what else–an Arduino and uSpeech.
DIY alternative to Amazon Echo smart home voice control
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-alternative-to-Amazon-Echo-smart-home-voice-co/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hackaday Prize Semifinalist: A Better Smart Plug
http://hackaday.com/2015/08/29/hackaday-prize-semifinalist-a-better-smart-plug/
Walk into any home improvement store, and you’ll find dozens of smart accessories, home automation equipment, and WiFi-connected ephemera. The Belkin WeMo Insight is one of these devices, giving anyone with $60 and a WiFi network the ability to switch lights and appliances on and off over a network. [John] picked up one of these WiFi plugs, but it didn’t work exactly as he would like. Instead of building a smart plug from scratch, [John] replaced the controller board for a WeMo Insight for his Hackaday Prize entry, making it far more useful and a replacement for devices like the Kill-a-Watt.
In its stock form, the WeMo can only be used though the smartphone app provided by Belkin or through a few third-party services like IFFT. All of these solutions have a limited API, and don’t provide advanced power metrics. To solve this problem, [John] replaced the smart controller board inside the Belkin WeMo with one of their own design.
SmartEE the Smart Plug
An Opensource Smart Plug
https://hackaday.io/project/6799-smartee-the-smart-plug
Currently SmartEE is a drop in replacement to upgrade the WeMo (R) Insight into an open source hackable smart plug. An Atmel SAM4S interfaces with the Insight’s solid state meter to measure Vrms, Irms, Watts, Hz, kWh, and more. It logs data over WiFi or to an internal SD card with up to 4 years of storage space. Set up the plug using the USB serial interface, then wirelessly toggle the relay, monitor your power, and set the mood with the RGB LED.
Finally experiment with mains voltage switching safely!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Audi, BWM: soon transferred and Daimler’s ownership of Nokia’s HERE mapping wants to standardize the way vehicles emit positioning sensor data to cloud services. The matter was under discussion already held last week in Berlin forum.
Berlin was accompanied by sixteen car manufacturers, automotive system suppliers and car manufacturers’ subcontractors. The event will discuss the content of data, data security, anonymity, and the accuracy and effectiveness of transmissions.
Modern car collecting huge amounts of data from different sensor which can be used by other vehicles, and the authorities. If the data should be in a standardized format, a variety of cloud services should make it easier to take advantage of it. According to forecasts, the highway moves by the year 2020 already 30 million networked vehicle.
t will be interesting to see how Apple and Google relate to Here initiative.
Source: http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3263:here-haluaa-standardoida-datanlahetyksen&catid=13&Itemid=101
Tomi Engdahl says:
Of 10 IoT-connected home security systems tested, 100% are full of security FAIL
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2881942/of-10-iot-connected-home-security-systems-tested-100-are-full-of-security-fail.html
HP researchers tested 10 of the newest connected home security systems and discovered the Internet of Things-connected security systems are full of security FAIL.
If you jump into the Internet of Things and purchase a home security system to provide security, you may actually be less secure and more vulnerable than before you bought a security system. HP Fortify researchers tested 10 of the newest home security systems and discovered IoT-connected home security systems are full of security fail.
Connected home security systems are connected via the cloud to a mobile device or the web for remote monitoring, and come with a variety of features such as motion detectors, door and window sensors and video cameras with recording capabilities. Although “the intent of these systems is to provide security and remote monitoring to a home owner,” HP researchers said (pdf), “given the vulnerabilities we discovered, the owner of the home security system may not be the only one monitoring the home.”
“The biggest takeaway is the fact that we were able to brute force against all 10 systems, meaning they had the trifecta of fail (enumerable usernames, weak password policy, and no account lockout), meaning we could gather and watch home video remotely,” wrote HP’s Daniel Miessler.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Erin Griffith / Fortune:
Google Here project enabling third parties to send proximity based Maps alerts via beacons was killed due to privacy concerns, doubts about demand
Google shut down a secret Google Maps project called ‘Google Here’
http://fortune.com/2015/08/31/google-here-google-maps/
It would have used beacons and Google Maps to reach smartphone users based on their location.
Google GOOG -3.31% was set to launch a new product that added context to one of its most successful apps, Google Maps. But earlier this year, it was shut down by Alphabet CEO Larry Page, according to people familiar with the project.
But people familiar with the project say it was shut down for two reasons: Google Here was potentially too invasive, and the company wasn’t sure if many retailers would want it. (Not helping matters, Nokia has used the name “Here” for its own mapping service.) A Google spokesman declined to comment.
Google Here worked by sending a notification to a smartphone user’s lock screen within five seconds of their entering a partner’s location. If the user clicked on the notification, a full screen HTLM5 “app” experience would launch. Google Here would know when to send the notification via Google Maps and beacons placed in the stores of participating partners. Google planned to supply the beacons to partners for the launch, according to the document. The experience could also be found by going to the Google Maps app.
The idea was to allow businesses to communicate with people based on their location, even if those people had not downloaded a specific app for that location. Some developers have called this “app-less distribution.”
Developers want app-less distribution because it’s becoming increasingly difficult to reach people on their mobile phones. Smartphone users spend 90% of their mobile time using apps, but they’re not downloading new apps.
Google already monetizes its Maps app with sponsored results that show up in searches.
The problem is, despite prolonged hype around beacons and in-store advertising, only the largest, most tech-savvy retailers have poured resources into making mobile advertising, mobile commerce, and beacons work.
Even though Google Here did not ship, Google has not given up on location-based advertising. The company recently launched Eddystone, a developer project for Bluetooth low energy beacons that competes with Apple’s iBeacon. The company will find a way into location-based advertising because it’s the best way to “close the loop” between online ads and offline purchases.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hackaday Prize Semifinalist: Bendy Solar Bluetooth Tags
http://hackaday.com/2015/09/01/hackaday-prize-semifinalist-bendy-solar-bluetooth-tags/
[DrYerzina]’s Bluetooth tracker is built around an Bluetooth LE module, with a few added passives, LEDs, and other parts glued and soldered onto a double sided, flexible PCB. To this, he’s added a flexible solar cell and a flexible LiPo battery. All of this is stuffed inside an enclosure 3D printed in flexible filament.
While the Hackaday Prize is filled with wearables, [DrYerzina]’s project is at the forefront of hombrew wearable technology.
Sol BLE Tracker
Solar powered Bluetooth Low Energy Tracker with beeper and LED to assist in locating it.
https://hackaday.io/project/6919-sol-ble-tracker
The core of this project is a flexible PCB with a Bluetooth Low Energy radio that acts as a beacon with a beeper and LED to help locate it activated remotely from a cellphone. This circuit board is planned to be packed into 2 forms. The first a collar. Using flexible solar panels and Lithium Ion batteries it can be made to fit into a normal cat collar sized footprint. The battery should last a month without recharge and with only 15 minutes of light a day stay running permanently. Alternately it will be folded into a quarter sized tag that can be hung from a cat collar or keys or some other item to be tracked.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Portable environmental monitor
https://hackaday.io/project/4977-portable-environmental-monitor
A handheld, battery powered, sensor array unit for environmental monitoring focused mostly on air quality using a global infrastructure.
The portable environmental monitor addresses pollution, the kind that we are unable to see but directly affects our health and can cause life threatening diseases. Airborne toxic chemicals, radioactive dust and radioactive radon are correlated with cases of pulmonary cancer and asthma.
Since our biological senses can do little to warn us of such possible dangers, we plan to design the Portable environmental monitor as a first line detection and warning system.
This is not the regular detector: packed with powerful sensors capable of detecting both the chemical and the physical harmful factors, these devices are designed with Internet connectivity thanks to a 802.11B/G wifi module, and will share all readings to the Global uRADMonitor network.
Online data allows us to build graph, stats and send automated notifications when certain thresholds are reached. The infrastructure has been developed for the uRADMonitor project, semifinalist of HaD 2014 http://goo.gl/aoWZmC
Components
1 × atmega128 Microprocessors, Microcontrollers, DSPs / ARM, RISC-Based Microcontrollerst
1 × esp8266 esp-04 WLAN802.11 module
1 × 320×240 ILI9341 TFT LCD with touchscreen colour qvga lcd with touchscreen
1 × WLAN Antenna detachable antenna
1 × Aluminium enclosure rugged compact enclosure
1 × BMP-180 temperature and pressure sensor
1 × LND-712 Alpha, Beta and Gamma Radiation Geiger tube
1 × Sharp GP2Y10 dust sensor photoelectric air dust sensor
1 × MiCS-VZ-89 air quality sensor CO2 and VOCs advanced sensor
1 × Lithium Ion rechargeable battery Internal battery
Tomi Engdahl says:
Are Your Wireless Sensor Nodes Ready to Join the Internet of Things?
http://www.tek.com/blog/are-your-wireless-sensor-nodes-ready-join-internet-things?utm_source=nativead&utm_medium=blogger&utm_content=keithley-instruments&utm_campaign=Q3
Many device designers consider power management the most challenging aspect of sensor node design. Wireless sensor nodes are often located in hard-to-reach places where access to mains power is impractical. To operate reliably for extended periods on a finite amount of battery power, these tiny wireless devices must consume power frugally. Designers need tools that allow them to examine the power consumption associated with a wireless sensor node’s microcontroller and transceiver in a growing range of operational states. Nodes might remain inactive for long periods in between peak periods of activity for sensor data acquisition and wireless transmission. In other words, the power profile consists of long idle periods (characterized by quiescent current as low as tens of nanoamps) interspersed with active peaks (represented by tens of milliamps at maximum transmit or receive power).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Managing the risk of the Internet of Things
http://www.controleng.com/single-article/managing-the-risk-of-the-internet-of-things/f862ceb88986099ed2de7d98b4d6db81.html
The Internet of Things (IoT) is growing rapidly, and more devices are going online. Are industry, consumers, and the companies creating products and services and integrating the technologies ready to deal with the security that goes with protecting the devices and users? Industrial network design and best practices can help. See six steps for IoT risk mitigation.
The Internet of Things (IoT), or variations of the term, has saturated the media with stories of connected vehicles, networked wearables, home automation, and smart meters. With such significant conversation, one would think that this market was invented yesterday, but, in fact, the machine-to-machine communication that typically interfaces with the physical world via communication networks has been with us for a long time. The less flashy devices known as industrial control systems have been running our electric grids, oil pipelines, and manufacturing plants for decades. Like cloud computing, which partly owes its lineage to the mainframe timesharing concepts of the 1960s and 1970s, IoT has been rebranded.
But notwithstanding the hype, the market for connected devices is shifting. Like cloud technology, IoT is massively larger in scale than its earlier generations and is growing fast. What makes it significant, and a little scary, is its sheer ubiquity, touching consumers and businesses alike.
IoT defined
To understand the risk to IoT, definitions are needed. Clearly, IoT is a somewhat fluid term and owes its name more to media hype rather than to a multi-year standards process. Consequently, it has the “know it when you see it” quality. At its most basic level, IoT implies network connectivity, the use of embedded (or limited computing) devices, and, typically, involves some connection to the physical world, such as measuring temperature, blood pressure, or road vibrations. In essence, it implies network connectivity for everyday devices that traditionally were not considered computers; however, nearly every use of IoT also involves some traditional computer usage. For example, these small, embedded devices usually report their status and receive instruction from a traditional computer workstation, server, laptop, or smartphone.
It’s better to think of IoT as less a series of small devices and more of an ecosystem that requires multiple components to work correctly. The supporting components, while appearing to be normal computing devices, still need to be adjusted for the real-time nature of and massive data often associated with IoT.
But fundamentally, IoT is about the core components that interact with the physical world. They typically include sensors to measure things like temperature, wind speed, or presence of an object.
While IoT is still a relatively new concept, core components have had populated industrial networks for decades, and they foretell some of the risks that could potentially be faced. Industrial networks have frequently been the subject of cyber attacks. Unlike traditional information technology components, they are often more vulnerable because many industrial networks were never designed to connect to networks that were linked to a hostile Internet. Instead, those closed networks assumed physical attacks were the threats to guard against.
IoT threats are real
Threats have been executed through IoT.
Nearly two decades ago, a disgruntled former employee used network access to remotely release sewage.
In 2007, researchers demonstrated that a generator could be destroyed by remotely opening and closing circuit breakers rapidly.
In 2014, hackers broke into the industrial network of a German steel mill and prevented a blast furnace from shutting down.
With respect to the more modern IoT devices, a researcher hacked his insulin pump, others managed to compromise smart meters, and, in a segment aired on “60 Minutes,” Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) scientists remotely controlled automobile brakes.
These examples show how securing billions more of IoT devices, deploying them on a wide variety networks, and connecting some of them directly to the Internet will continue to pose great challenges.
Even with better network stacks and more rigorous cyber-security controls, the nature of many of these devices means that the robust controls that exist on typical workstations, laptops, servers, or even smartphones are unlikely to be implemented in the devices’ design. Controls need to be evaluated and implemented in a different way. Moreover, these devices are incredibly diverse in application, location, and architecture. Some rely on centralized control, while others have their own intelligence and often operate autonomously.
Additionally, it is often the data that matters. While the idea of hacking cars to run them off the road or manipulating pacemakers to induce heart attacks may generate the headlines and Hollywood movie plots, the reality is that much of the IoT world exists simply to observe and report. Their job is to generate and forward data.
That data will serve as the foundation by which everything else is built and operated. And few will ever stop and think whether the underlying data is correct.
By manipulating data, hackers could threaten air, water, food supply, and personal safety. For example, the correct data will keep us from dying in car crashes when nearly all vehicles will be self-driving, heavily relying on sensor data to operate correctly. For that reason, the commands issued to IoT devices and the integrity of data received from those devices must be protected.
Bosch Rexroth
Building a risk model
To evaluate IoT risk, first define the use case. How will the devices and the supporting infrastructure be used? While technical descriptions are useful, the focus should be on the relevant business processes and expected outcomes. How exactly will this produce operational, business, or personal value? Given that nearly all projects must be approved with similar justification, this information shouldn’t be hard to find.
Unlike broad-based budgeting that seeks a general goal, but doesn’t touch on the how, these use cases should be very specific and should include details. The kind of data involved should include whether humans will interact directly with these devices in a physical sense (such as health monitoring devices, self-driving vehicles, or control system computer banks), whether the devices will interact with existing technology, and any assumptions that are made about the infrastructure that should already be in place. All business objectives should be noted, because one of the tasks for a risk analysis is to determine the consequences of those objectives not being met due to hacking or some other device failure.
It is also important that a use case be created for each variation. For example, connecting a smart meter that merely measures and reports energy usage has very different implications than one that also supports the ability to remotely disconnect power. The details matter. Deciding how detailed the use case should be is often a judgment call.
Once the use case is settled, companies are safe to analyze potential impacts. As noted, the easiest place to start is looking at the business objectives of the use case and asking what would happen if those objectives were denied in a cyber security attack.
If we’re talking about a pacemaker or an airplane, the consequences could be loss of human lives. In most cases, a device would simply cease to supply data. It’s important to understand the consequences from a variety of perspectives. For example, a device that ceases to function will likely signal the owner that something is wrong, and a repair or replacement likely would occur promptly. However, if a hacker managed to cause the device to send the wrong data, critical business functions could be impacted, leading to potentially worse consequences over time. In either case, it’s helpful to start thinking about the worst possible, but plausible, impact that could result from a cyber attack, including downstream effects such as lost customer revenue.
More importantly, considering what economists call “externalities” is also critical. For example, unless a company is sued, lost customer data doesn’t really hurt it directly, although indirect reputational harm can occur.
Prioritize vulnerabilities
Once impacts are known, the potential vulnerabilities are easier to identify and prioritize. Identification of vulnerabilities usually starts with examining all interfaces and potential attack surfaces, both logical and physical. Because the number is often quite large, it may be necessary to focus on likely and sufficiently impactful threats.
Notably, certain basic cyber security practices should always be implemented, regardless of threat, because devices could always be repurposed, and even bored teenagers can draw upon a huge reservoir of hacking tools and techniques readily available online at no cost. So looking for buffer overflows, assigning appropriate user roles, implementing acceptable user authentication, and applying patches to discovered software flaws, where feasible, are always recommended.
Finally, the exercise goes beyond the standard risk analysis to recognize that IoT will not stand still. By its very nature, it will grow and mutate to satisfy demands. Technologies like road sensors and smart meters are not designed to be replaced frequently, so software updates and network changes will need to use the installed hardware. That also means that considerations like upgradeability and extensibility, while not largely cyber security considerations, become bigger issues with IoT. Consequently, future use and misuse cases should be identified.
Six IoT risk mitigation steps
For those currently involved with IoT, which includes nearly everyone, six basic actions should be taken regardless of the risk involved or the dollar amount being spent on the program.
Beginning right away, IoT owners should identify current IoT implementations that are in place, planned, or anticipated. This may include building management systems for heating and air conditioning or even the mechanisms used to run the elevators if they’re networked.
Next, organizations should identify any security policies or procedures related to IoT. If none exist, companies should at least document some high-level controls that should be in place, such as locking the elevator machine room.
Within three months, organizations should ensure that device owners have applied the risk model described above and reviewed the results with management.
Organizations should also identify mitigation steps and associated costs to achieve the desired state.
And in the next six months, organizations should identify IoT risks that they don’t control, but that affect their organization.
Organizations should also participate in industry groups to encourage development of security standards for the devices that most affect them.