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:
IoT, Web Reshape Design
Flexibility, partners help delight users
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1328408&
he rise of the Internet of Things and Web services is driving new design principles, said a consultant in a keynote at the Designers of Things event here (Thursday, Dec. 3). The new goal is to delight customers with experiences that evolve in flexible ways that show you understand their needs, said Nandini Nayak, global managing director for design strategy at Fjord, a division of Accenture.
“When you think about the value your product provides in a human context, you may change the way you provide that value,” Nayak told attendees. “It’s not just about the sensors, but what they enable and how they are applied,” she said.
Customers have been taught to have what she called “liquid expectations” that transcend the boundaries of any particular company or industry. For example, they have become used to letting payment services from Apple, Google and PayPal supplement what banks offer.
In addition, Web services from companies such as Amazon, Facebook and Uber are setting new standards for user experiences
“People are expecting rich experiences, fun and social interactions… this generation gets bored easily so you need to understand all the dimensions of how to delight them,” Nayak said. “Experiences need to be emotionally correct and speak in the language of your target audience,” she added.
Some brands and services can help automate boring tasks that involve secondary brands.
Designers should think about building their products so they can learn more about their users and be flexible in creating new ways to satisfy them. “Supporting open APIs that connect with various services is good,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Starling: A modular internet connected LED display
https://hackaday.io/project/8502-starling-a-modular-internet-connected-led-display
Hackable wifi enabled modular LED display to showcase messages that matter to makers, hobbyists and everyone else!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Led Shirt – ESP8266 – WS2812B
https://hackaday.io/project/8187-led-shirt-esp8266-ws2812b
Led Panel of ws2812b led’s driven by a esp8266.
With lithium battery’s to make it portable, and an android app to keep it controlled
Tomi Engdahl says:
Windows 10 On A Tiny Board
http://hackaday.com/2015/12/03/windows-10-on-a-tiny-board/
Over the past few months, a number of companies and designers have started picking up the newest Intel SoCs. Intel has to kill ARM somehow, right? The latest of these single board x86 computers is the Lattepanda. It’s a tiny board that can run everything a 5-year-old desktop computer can run, including a full version of Windows 10.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a tiny x86 board in recent months. Last October, an x86 board that takes design cues from the Raspberry Pi 2 hit Kickstarter. These are proper PCs, with the ability to run Windows 10, Linux, and just about every other environment under the sun.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/139108638/lattepanda-a-45-win10-computer-for-everything
LattePanda is featured with quad-core 1.8Ghz, 2/4G RAM, 32/64 GB eMMC, WIFI, Bluetooth 4.0 and USB 3.0, plus onboard Arduino processor!
It includes everything a regular PC has and can do anything that a regular PC does, all at a low price of 69 USD.
LattePanda runs perfectly on the go. Creating documents with Microsoft Office, playing HD videos and running Windows apps on LattePanda is exactly the same experience as using a regular PC.
LattePanda comes pre-installed with a full edition of Windows 10, including powerful tools such as Visual Studio, NodeJS, Java, Processing, and more!
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Internet of Minecraft Things is Born
http://hackaday.com/2015/11/25/the-internet-of-minecraft-things-is-born/
Minecraft has come a long way since [Notch] first thought up the idea that would eventually make him a billionaire. The game can be enjoyed on so many levels and become so engaging that grown adults who should know better spend far more time playing it than working on, say, their backlog of Hackaday posts. As if that weren’t bad enough, now Minecraft threatens to break out of screen with the ability to control a WiFi light bulb from within the game.
http://hashbang.gr/breaking-the-4th-wall-with-minecraft/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Arrow Intelligent Services
Simplifying, Accelerating and Monetizing the Internet of Things
http://iotservices.arrow.com/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Old School Analog Meters Tell you the Weather
http://hackaday.com/2015/12/07/old-school-analog-meters-tell-you-the-weather/
A home weather station is great geek street cred. Buying a commercially available station will get you all the bells and whistles, but the look tends to the utilitarian. And then there’s the trouble of placing the sensor array somewhere. To solve both problems, [GradyHillhouse] built this unique weather station with analog meters.
Based on a Particle Photon pulling weather data from the forecast.io API, values for temperature, pressure and the like are sent to analog IO pins. Each pin has a meter with a trimmer pot for calibration and a custom printed label.
The easiest, most advanced, weather API on the web
https://developer.forecast.io/
The same API that powers Forecast.io and Dark Sky for iOS can provide accurate shortterm and longterm weather predictions to your business, application, or crazy idea
Our simple pricing policy:
You can use the API in both commercial and non-commercial applications.
1. The first thousand API calls you make every day are free, period.
2. Every API call after that costs $0.0001 each.
3. Credit us with a “Powered by Forecast” badge that links to http://forecast.io/ wherever you display data from the API.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Globally Distributed Sensor Net Monitors Air Quality and Radiation
http://hackaday.com/2015/12/07/globally-distributed-sensor-net-monitors-air-quality-and-radiation/
Radu Motisan has been building a global environmental surveillance network which first monitored radiation levels, and since has added the ability to measure air quality. He believes that people need to be more aware of the environment around them in a similar way that society has awakened to issues about personal fitness and health. We can’t do this without a simple and reliable way to measure the environment.
The uRADMonitor was the original hardware which Radu used to develop the network. To the user these are simple devices that need only be plugged into Ethernet and power in order to function. They then enumerate on the network and begin phoning home with background radiation measurements.
With the known location of each node, this data is graphed over time and made available on the website.
With a proven data network and many nodes already in the field, Radu started looking for ways to improve the hardware.
His goal was to leverage the data network with better nodes that are portable, position aware, and with an increased number of sensors. Portability is handled by adding a rechargeable battery and WiFi to replace the hardwired Ethernet connection. The radiation sensor from the previous edition of the hardware is joined by an air particulate sensor, as well as a CO2 and VOC sensor.
The new model also includes a small touchscreen which provides an on-device user interface
Radu shares a couple of very interesting stories about the data collected by his hardware. The addition of particulate, CO2, and VOC sensors were an immediate success. Even in his relatively small city of 300,000 people, the hardware recorded clear pollution changes which correlated with heightened traffic patterns.
uRADMonitor
global environmental surveillance network
http://www.uradmonitor.com/
uRADMonitor is a global array of network-connected monitoring stations, focused on continuous Environmental Surveillance
Tomi Engdahl says:
PwC made a study on German Industry leaders in 235 companies.
The main findings are
• Industrial internet accounts 50% of all capital investments for
next 5 years, i.e. 40 B€ every year in Germany.
• This will increase productivity by 18% in five years
and add revenues 2 – 3% per year.
• Drivers:
1) integration of value chain,
2) digital connected products (IoT)
3) emergence of new business models
Source: http://ties.fi/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Teollinen-internet-Ailisto.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Market augmented reality products VTT expects to be $ 150 billion in 2020. This accounted for optics is estimated at $ 1.5 billion.
Source: http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2015/12/01/alylasit-integroituvat-silmalaseihin/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Health technology requires technical support
Home to one of the imported intelligent health technology can get help with safety, health, coping with everyday life and living at home. Student at University of Applied Sciences in Lapland Jaana Kauppi explained the Bachelor’s thesis work the latest health technology technical support and maintenance needs.
Intelligent health technology refers to patient monitoring, sensor technology and data analysis within the meaning of devices that can be used, for example, to measure the patient’s cardiac function, respiration, blood pressure, blood oxygen content, blood glucose, physical activity or level of consciousness.
In spite of illness a person usually wants to be at home rather than plant health and technology, hospital stays can be reduced by observing the state of health in the home. The patient’s state of health by actively monitoring the timely targeted treatment to those in need, making it possible to prevent complications, morbidity creation, even death.
Imported into the domestic conditions of health technology to be released from the medical resources to those most in need and to reduce the patient and the society in health care costs.
Source: http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2015/12/07/terveysteknologia-vaatii-teknista-tukea/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Humidity sensor with a biodegradable flowerpot
VTT’s brainchild biodegradable flower pot tweets when it is time for irrigation. Personal and professional cultivation of suitable, a pot may in future also be a number of sensors to measure different things, for example, the moisture addition of nutrients.
A moisture sensor placed on the inside bottom of the pot. A sensor in communication with the mobile phone sends the measurement data to the cloud, in which the moisture it may be combined with weather data. The service sends Tweet situation and the need for watering the plant, either for an individual user or group.
Through the Cloud Service can also automatically starts the irrigation system, if that is required.
VTT has over the years been developing printed electronics processes. It is now possible to produce sensors printing technique, although biodegradable substrate, such as paper, and the sensors also can be utilized in the production of biodegradable materials.
Similar technology can be used more widely in other applications, such as sports clothing or care for the elderly.
Source: http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2015/12/01/kosteusanturi-twiittaavaan-kukkaruukkuun/
Tomi Engdahl says:
China Swarms into IoT
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1328437&
Chinese gadget makers are jumping into Internet of Things (IoT) devices to catch an expected new wave of growth led by connected appliances for homes, some of which can use smartphones as remote controls.
The daunting number of wireless technologies competing for a share of the IoT business threatens to stifle growth of the overall market. There’s an alphabet soup of industry organizations and standards, including the Bluetooth SIG, the ZigBee Alliance, the ANT+ Alliance, EnOcean, the IP500 Alliance, KNX RF, the ULE Alliance, Z-Wave and the 6LoWPAN group.
The Chinese government has aimed to unify some of the disparity with a proposed reference architecture for IoT known as ISO/IEC 30141. China will be counting on its domestic industry, which makes about 2.5 billion home appliances annually, to implement local standards.
“A significant market that can reshape and impact the IoT market is China,” says Jagdish Rebello, a senior technology director with market research firm IHS, in a November 23 blog. “China is by far the largest market for many existing and potential IoT applications including industrial automation, smart cities and connected home.”
A Chinese government push for adoption one of two particular standards in the industrial automation market should tip the scales in favor of the adoption of the standards, according to Rebello.
While expectations have been dialed back from the initial euphoria, the IoT market is expected to grow 19 percent this year
Manufacturers in China have been laying foundations. Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is aiming to build an ecosystem of connected devices controlled by its handsets.
Chinese telecom giant Huawei has developed open-source IoT technology rather than building hardware. The company’s Agile IoT platform includes the Lite OS, available to developers free of charge. The software connects IoT devices such as wearables, smart homewear and smart cars.
Huawei is also aiming for the smart cities market with a collaborative cloud service that integrates apps, networks and terminals to make operation of branch offices more efficient and a smart transport system that connects to trains and buses.
The entry of dozens of Chinese manufacturers into smart watches is dropping factory prices of the products to a range of $15 to $55,
The watches, mostly incorporating a MediaTek Aster SoC or dual-core processor to provide 3G calling, run a basic version of Android Wear and simulate the interface of the Apple iWatch, the report said.
MediaTek and Qualcomm are the main suppliers for China’s wearable and home IoT offerings, according to the Credit Suisse report. Qualcomm is targeting new businesses in wearables, control and automation, consumer electronics, machine-to-machine and smart cities, the report said.
China’s Rockchip is diversifying into smartphones for IoT, and with its partner Intel, is promoting the SoFIA 3G-R, integrating a 64-bit Atom quad core, a 600 MHz ARM Mali GPU, a 3G modem and support for WiFi, 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS.
Rockchip has also launched the RK6321 smart watch SoC including customized sensors, Infineon baseband from Intel, low power Bluetooth and WiFi.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bosch Makes Chinese IoT Deal
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1328430&
The Shanghai Industrial Microtechnology Research Institute (SITRI), a business incubator that is constructing a 200mm More-than-Moore wafer fab, and Bosch China have agreed to collaborate on researching the Internet of Things.
The agreement covers such applications as smart home, wearable devices, smart city, industry 4.0 and robotics. The agreement also covers “new paths to market” for products for the Chinese IoT market.
“Bringing together Bosch’s global technology leadership with SITRI’s unique platform for rapid incubation and commercialization of new IoT technologies will enable a fast start on designs that can be commercialized quickly for this fast moving market,” said Charles Yang, president of SITRI, in a statement.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bosch Creates “Smart Home” System and Subsidiary
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1328424&
Bosch Smart Home GmbH has been set up to bring together all the smart home capabilities of parent Robert Bosch GmbH, including software and sensor-systems, with effect from the beginning of 2016.
The subsidiary will offer products and services for connected homes covering security and heating. The company is set to debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (January 6 to 9, 2016). Bosch said that some form of smart home solutions will be in 15 percent of all the world’s households by 2020, a total of 230 million homes.
The Bosch smart-home system is single platform to interconnect the heating, lighting, smoke alarms, and appliances in a home and to allow them to be operated using a smartphone or a tablet computer. The core of the system is the Bosch smart-home controller, a central control unit that connects the components with each other and to the internet.
Tomi Engdahl says:
More ESP32 Info Dribbles Out
http://hackaday.com/2015/12/08/more-esp32-info-dribbles-out/
Espressif turned the IoT game on its head by releasing a chip with WiFi and a decent embedded processor for under $1 in bulk, and costing not much more than that in a module.
They’re looking to repeat the success of the ESP8266 with the ESP32, that should be coming out any time now.
As we get closer to the release date, details start to dribble out. [Alberto], who makes very nice-looking pinout diagrams for a number of our favorite chips and modules, has already made us an ESP32 module pinout diagram.
the new RTOS SDK source is already up on GitHub.
Twin cores, BTLE support, and better DMA are tops on our list of neat features.
The ESP32 is like Christmas: we can’t wait, but at the same time, we don’t want to spoil the delicious surprise.
More information:
http://esp32.de/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Advanced IoT network
Secure world wide network of interconnected devices
https://hackaday.io/project/7342-advanced-iot-network
Network of sensors and other interconnected devices using MQTT protocol. Project offers open source and secure solution for smart homes, data logging or automation.
Goal is to build IoT network of very cheap devices (based on Arduino hardware) which can collect data or can be controlled for some actions. This requires secured network to prevent data leak or allow some unauthorized person to control endpoint devices.
This project is divided in three main parts:
Endpoint devices
Infrastructure
Data processing
Endpoint devices
Ethernet connection
Wi-Fi connection using esp8266 chip
Data ling using nRF24 (lower power consumption than esp2866)
Network is designed to span over many locations, each with its own local MQTT broker.
MQTT implement client authentication based on username/password, but credentials are sent in plaintext only. This is reasonable because small devices, like Arduino, doesn’t have enough resources to implement SSL encryption. For that reason, endpoint devices establish a connection with local broker with no encryption and must be placed in secure perimeter.
Local broker is more powerful device, capable of encrypted connection to central broker. Central broker is used to allow data exchange between multiple local brokers and for collecting and analyzing data.
There are two ways how to establish encrypted bridge connection between local and central broker:
Configure broker to use SSL connection
Use VPN
I decided for VPN
Local broker can be based on any computer.
List of currently supported low-cost devices:
Raspberry Pi
A5-V11 Router (OpenWRT)
Finally, collected data should be processed and analyzed. I created mqspeak software for updating ThingSpeak channels from MQTT publish messages.
MQTT to ThinkSpeak bridge
https://github.com/buben19/mqspeak
Tomi Engdahl says:
Vinduino: Full Irrigation With 25% Less Water
http://hackaday.com/2015/12/11/vinduino-full-irrigation-with-25-less-water/
Irrigation is a fairly crude practice. Sure, there are timers, and rain sensors, but all in all we’re basically dumping water on the ground and guessing at the right amount. [Reinier van der Lee] wanted a better way to ensure the plants in his vineyard are getting the right amount of water.
His solution is the Vinduino project. It’s a set of moisture sensors that work in conjunction with a handheld device to measure the effect of irrigation. Multiple moisture sensors are buried at different depths
Vinduino, a wine grower’s water saving project
Monitoring soil moisture at different depths to determine when to irrigate,
and – more importantly – how much water is needed. Save 25%!
https://hackaday.io/project/6444-vinduino-a-wine-growers-water-saving-project
Provide low cost, easy to build, and rugged components for optimizing agricultural irrigation
DIY calibrated gypsum soil moisture sensors (Watermark SS200 is also supported)
Hand held sensor reader (soil moisture, soil/water salinity, water pressure)
Solar powered remote sensor platform
Options include:
3 electrically separated inputs for soil moisture sensors
Wifi (ESP8266) or Appcon RF module (APC220, APC320, APC340) for long range connectivity (miles)
Irrigation valve control, optional pressure sensor for valve operation feedback
DHT-11 temperature/humidity sensor
By using multiple sensors, located at different depths, you can actually control irrigation to not exceed the active root zone,
and thus save water.
Tomi Engdahl says:
John Brownlee / Co.Design:
Reality Editor, an iOS app developed by MIT researchers, lets you connect smart objects by drawing lines between them via an augmented reality interface
MIT’s Amazing New App Lets You Program Any Object
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3054389/mits-amazing-new-app-lets-you-program-any-object
The Reality Editor is a Minority Report style AR app that makes programming your smart home as easy as connecting the dots.
The end goal of the Internet of Things is to make every object in your life programmable. But our smart objects are still pretty dumb. They don’t talk to each other, and most are only capable of doing one thing; a smart lightbulb for instance can dim and brighten but it can’t tell your TV to change the channel for you. The result of three years of research at MIT’s Fluid Interfaces Lab, Valentin Heun’s Reality Editor aims to address these problems. It’s an augmented reality app that lets you link the smart objects around you together, just by drawing connections with your finger between them.
The Reality Editor is a new kind of tool for empowering you to connect and manipulate the functionality of physical objects. Just point the camera of your smartphone at an object and its invisible capabilities will become visible for you to edit. Drag a virtual line from one object to another and create a new relationship between these objects. With this simplicity, you are able to master the entire scope of connected objects.
The Reality Editor is a result of three years of MIT research. The goal of our research is the creation of technology that grants the user maximum control by leveraging human strength such as spatial coordination, muscle memory and tool-making
http://www.realityeditor.org/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Maker Barn Organizer Creates Makerspace Access Control System
http://hackaday.com/2015/12/13/maker-barn-organizer-creates-makerspace-access-control-system/
MACS or Makerspace Access Control System
A control box, [George] calls them stations, controls the power to a machine. Member badges have an RFID tag that is read when inserted into the station’s reader. If the member is authorized to use the machine, the power is enabled. For safety, the member’s badge must remain in the reader to maintain power. The reader uses a Photon board from Particle with a WiFi link to a Raspberry Pi server.
[Kolja] developed a Pi system to maintain a database of member numbers and the machines they can use.
An Introduction to the MACS – Makerspace Access Control System
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI3xxsBM9SE
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Internet recently caught wind of a satellite modem being sold by Sparkfun. It’s $250 for the module, with a $12/month line rental, and each 340 byte message costs $0.18 to receive. Yes, it’s cool, and yes, it’s expensive. If you ever need to send a message from the north pole, there you go.
Source: http://hackaday.com/2015/12/13/hackaday-links-december-13-2015/
More information:
RockBLOCK Mk2 – Iridium SatComm Module
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13745
The RockBLOCK Mk2 allows you to send and receive short messages from anywhere on Earth with a clear view of the sky and it works far beyond the reach of WiFi and GSM networks. Maybe you want to transmit weather information from mid-ocean? Or use it to control your robot in the middle of the desert? Perhaps you need to communicate in an emergency, when other networks might not be available? RockBLOCK can help you.
At the heart of RockBLOCK is an Iridium 9602 satellite modem. The RockBLOCK provides the 9602 with an antenna and an 0.1″ header with power and data connections. The header includes an FTDI-compatible serial interface that you can connect directly to almost any microcontroller, or via FTDI Basic Breakout to a computer’s USB port.
Note: The RockBLOCK does require a monthly rental service to exchange information with the Iridium satellite network. You only pay for months in which you wish to use the RockBLOCK. No annual contract is required. Line rental costs £8GBP (about $12USD) per month and includes access to The CORE management system for managing your devices
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT can save billions: The power of one percent
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/catching-waves/4440940/IoT-can-save-billions–The-power-of-one-percent?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_review_20151204&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_review_20151204&elq=2276d266d9db442a87165b227fc88375&elqCampaignId=26016&elqaid=29664&elqat=1&elqTrackId=5c2c26ad0c6b47f09a882df88a0854ad
The Internet of Things (IoT) represents a lofty vision that will be realized by fusing the conventional Internet with the cellular network and adding a third layer of billions of wirelessly-connected “things.” These things will comprise the objects we use everyday––washing machines, fridges, coffee machines and even more humble products like pens and spectacles––but instead of today’s dumb products, that operate in glorious isolation, these things will be connected and “smart.”
How will this make life easier? Imagine, for example, an umbrella equipped with a Bluetooth Smart chip connected through the household router to a Cloud server. That umbrella will be constantly fed information about the local weather. The owner looks outside and sees blue skies but the umbrella knows differently. As the umbrella’s wireless chip detects the proximity of its owner’s smartphone it sends a text message reading “take me, otherwise you’re going to get wet!”
Examples of the IoT’s promise such as this make fun reading but miss the bigger picture; the real power of the IoT will be realized in industrial applications.
Doing the math
Peter C. Evans and Marco Annunziata have attempted to calculate the savings an “industrial” IoT will yield. Evans and Annunziata, employees with U.S-based industrial conglomerate General Electric, produced a report[1] which calculated cost saving achieved by connecting industrial assets to the Internet. The authors focused on GE’s business sectors––aviation, power, health care, rail, and oil & gas––and considered the impact of embedding wireless sensors into the array of machines powering these sectors from the very simple to the highly complex.
Huge amount of data from embedded wireless sensors would be sent across the Internet to powerful Cloud servers that use sophisticated algorithms to determine, for example, how to tune the machine to enhance performance, and what the machine’s state of wear is in order to intelligently decide when to perform maintenance and replace parts. Evans and Annunziata estimated the economic significance of connected machines by calculating the savings gained from just a one percent efficiency improvement. For example, if wireless sensors were fitted to the three main rotating parts of each of the world’s 43,000 commercial jet engines the efficiency gains in engine maintenance, fuel consumption, crew allocation, and scheduling would be huge. A one percent cut in fuel consumption across the global commercial aircraft fleet would slash costs by $30 billion over a 15-year period.
Likewise, a one percent efficiency improvement in the global gas-fired power plant capacity could yield a $66 billion savings in fuel consumption over 15 years. The global health care industry could also benefit from the industrial IoT, through a reduction in process inefficiencies: a one percent gain globally could yield more than $63 billion in savings. Freight moved across the world rail networks, if improved by one percent could yield another gain of $27 billion in fuel savings. Finally, noted Evans and Annunziata, a one percent improvement in capital utilization for oil & gas exploration and development could total $90 billion in avoided or deferred capital expenditures.
What’s more, the industrial sectors to which wireless sensors can be applied extend far beyond GE’s focus. The technical innovations of the industrial IoT could find direct application in sectors accounting for more than $32.3 trillion in economic activity, say Evans and Annunziata. As the economy grows and the innovations grow with it, by 2025 they could be applicable to $82 trillion of output or approximately one half of the global economy.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smart IoT mining device wins IPSO Challenge
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/now-hear-this/4440973/Smart-IoT-mining-device-wins-IPSO-Challenge?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_funfriday_20151204&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_funfriday_20151204&elq=6428a80e24a1434cb7c4b5ee3d129e00&elqCampaignId=26019&elqaid=29669&elqat=1&elqTrackId=c5271bbc33cd4a17acf18f4e23cfc337
Before we had the term “IoT,” the IPSO (Internet Protocol for Smart Objects) Alliance was invested in the IoT. This week at the Designers of Things (DoT) conference, IPSO showed off 10 finalists from its annual IPSO Challenge that embraced the promise of an IoT connected world.
IPSO, a global forum that serves as a resource center for industries seeking to establish the Internet Protocol as the basis for IoT and M2M applications, each year challenges entrepreneurs, makers, students, and professionals to show the value of using the Internet Protocol for the networking of smart objects in their designs.
Gold and silver sponsors Google and Atmel, as well as development sponsors ARM, Freescale, Micrium, Sigma Designs, STMicroelectronics, and Texas Instruments, contributed dev kits as well as mentors to work with the finalists.
The Smart Rockbolt is a low-power IoT device for industrial and mining applications that aims to provide a safer working environment for people working in mines than a standard rock bolt used to stabilize rock excavations through online, real-time monitoring. In short, Smart Rockbolt is a standard rock bolt with embedded electronics capable of a multi-year battery lifetime. Hazardous levels of seismicity or load will automatically generate optical alarms using multi-colored high power LEDs, as well as wireless alarms in mine control systems.
The design team employed 6LoWPAN for IP-based wireless communication, IPv6 and IPsec for secure communication, NTP for time synchronization, CoAP for data transfer, OMA LWM2M for device management and metadata, and IPSO Smart Objects as the object model for sensors and actuators, among other technologies.
https://twitter.com/smartrockbolt
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT Security Spartans wanted
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/now-hear-this/4440964/IoT-Security-Spartans-wanted?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_funfriday_20151204&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_funfriday_20151204&elq=6428a80e24a1434cb7c4b5ee3d129e00&elqCampaignId=26019&elqaid=29669&elqat=1&elqTrackId=1bc29108baf8431dac15c1eead550578
There’s a long-running joke in the IT community that white hat hacker Jay Radcliffe shared during his DoT (Designers of Things) keynote Wednesday morning:
The most secure computer is one that has been unplugged and destroyed.
Every joke has some truth to it. Security has been an issue since the days of the first electronic devices. Now, as we move into a world of ever-connected devices through IoT, security has become even more necessary.
Sponsor video, mouseover for sound
Radcliffe told the keynote audience about IoT-enabled Bluetooth toothbrushes that need security patches as an example of how quickly IoT has moved into our daily lives without proper security development, opening itself up to malicious hacking.
“This [IoT] is exceptionally scary. We are going too fast,” said Radcliffe. “Are we opening ourselves up to something we don’t know enough about? Are we doing enough to secure these devices?”
Tomi Engdahl says:
NI Days 2015: The information age is over
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/rowe-s-and-columns/4440896/NI-Days-2015–The-information-age-is-over?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_review_20151204&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_review_20151204&elq=2276d266d9db442a87165b227fc88375&elqCampaignId=26016&elqaid=29664&elqat=1&elqTrackId=b0037dcaba7d46bfaa92e124840e31b2
Joseph Salvo, PhD, Director and Founder of the Industrial Internet Consortium, GE Global Research. Salvo told the audience that the information age has ended and we’re now in the systems age.
“There’s too much information out there that’s available free,” said Salvo. “We need systems to manage the information so we can make decisions. Welcome to the systems age.” According to Salvo, network connectivity is the key. Comparing Internet access to how Thomas Edison (I would argue that it was as much George Westinghouse as Edison) used the electrical grid to build it from a small network in Manhattan to a worldwide utility. The same will occur with connected devices.
Salvo also said that manufacturing companies such as GE are finding out they’re becoming software and data-analytics companies. “Software will be what differentiates products,” he said. With software and 3D printing, Salvo argued that we’ll be able to make custom products to exactly meet people’s needs. “The days of factories mass producing products is coming to a close.”
Salvo didn’t go so far as to say that electronic hardware (and thus hardware engineers) will become a commodity, but you could infer that from his remarks. He did say that 3D printing and the demise of mass production could lead to more manufacturing jobs in the U.S.
Salvo’s talk, about IIoT (industrial internet of things) made sense in that the potential is there for engineers to develop systems that use sensors in connected devices. Of course, industry moves far more slowly than consumer electronics so we won’t know how well Salvo’s predictions bear fruit for perhaps another ten years. In fact, a market study indicates that the massive amount of data to flow in networks will be from industrial and M2M communications rather than from consumer devices.
The whole IoT thing is hyped way out of proportion. For the most part, it’s just the integration of existing technologies. From a test perspective, it’s nothing new. The exception could be in testing networks to see if they can handle the expected increase in traffic. We’ll keep an eye on things, but I don’t see IoT or IIoT as a significant factor for test in 2016.
Market analysis: I’d hate to burst your IoT bubble
http://iotdesign.embedded-computing.com/articles/market-analysis-id-hate-to-burst-your-iot-bubble/
Tech bubble. Overhyped. Confusion. All of these have been used to describe the Internet of Things (IoT) over the past year, and not one of them is a term to use when laying out plans for a board of directors. But amidst all the excitement, doom, and gloom (depending how you see it), it’s important to remember that the IoT is not a monolithic industry, but rather a loosely defined technology architecture that transcends vertical markets to make up an “Internet of everything.”
I’d hate to burst your IoT bubble
I often refer to the IoT as very democratizing, but with an evening of the playing field comes the need for engineers and business entities to get acquainted with new markets and technologies, either through mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, or grassroots methods. This, all in pursuit of platforms that provide a baseline for developing vertically oriented IoT solutions, and we see these now coming to fruition from the likes of ARM, Intel, Renesas, the aforementioned “big” tech companies, and many others.
It’s true that marketing has driven an amount of mania around IoT, on the positive side getting it on the desks of decision makers, and on the negative generating ever-loftier predictions of XX billion connected devices operating harmoniously by 20XX. On a certain level, just writing this piece could be construed as one or the other. But since I’d hate to burst your IoT bubble, I won’t. At least not until we see what’s possible with the development platforms being released today.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Controller promotes industrial IoT
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4440948/Controller-promotes-industrial-IoT?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20151214&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_productsandtools_20151214&elq=bf2ccffe4ad24b5a997365c8dbf878ab&elqCampaignId=26152&elqaid=29899&elqat=1&elqTrackId=7dc04b96182f401dbeba7166df9261ec
A fanless industrial controller, the IC-3173 from National Instruments offers enough processing power and connectivity to build smart machines and intelligent systems for the industrial Internet of Things. The controller is powered by a 2.20-GHz Intel i7 dual-core processor combined with a user-programmable Xilinx Kintex-7 160T FPGA for advanced signal and image processing, customizable digital I/O, and high-speed closed-loop control.
The IC-3173 provides protocol support for EtherCAT master, Ethernet/IP, Modbus serial, Modbus TCP, and RS-232/485 to communicate with other devices, such as programmable logic controllers and operator interfaces.
IC-3173
High-Performance Industrial Controller
http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/fi/nid/213465
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cubic: Personal AI
http://www.appcessories.co.uk/blog/cubic-personal-ai/
Decades ago, depictions of the 21st Century often included robot companions with human-like personalities. The Jetsons had Rosie, Dave Bowman had the HAL 9000, and the inhabitants of Altair IV had Robby the Robot. Soon, you can have Cubic, an artificial intelligence-based personal assistant with which you can genuinely interact.
It can answer your questions, look up information, offer advice and reminders, message your friends, update your Twitter feed, and even order you a pizza.
When you buy the Device, you get an interactive cube for home and a smart phone app, plus a power badge that allows you to talk with Cubic anywhere.
Cubic is still in development and in the midst of what looks to be a successful Indiegogo campaign. In fact, Cubic will never truly be finished, as its open API leaves the door open for developers to integrate more devices, including some that aren’t even on the market yet.
public release is scheduled for early 2016.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nest Cam vs. HomeMonitor: The Best Smart Home Security Camera
http://www.appcessories.co.uk/blog/nest-cam-vs-homemonitor-the-best-smart-security-camera/
1. The Companies Behind the Cameras
Nest is practically a household name these days, thanks to the success of its popular Learning Thermostat and Google’s acquisition of the company in January 2014. In June 2014, Nest bought the well-regarded Dropcam and turned it into the Nest Cam, making small improvements along the way.
As for the HomeMonitor HD, it’s made by the lesser-known Y-Cam, a UK-based company that has been making home security cameras (and only home security cameras) since 2007. Their products have been favourably reviewed by many industry publications, and their singular focus on the home security sector has allowed them to fine tune their cameras over several iterations.
2. Out of the Box Setup
Setting up both the Nest Cam and the HomeMonitor HD is fairly simple. For the Nest Cam, it’s a matter of downloading the app, creating an account (or logging into an existing one), scanning the QR code on the bottom of your device, and entering your wifi password. The whole process shouldn’t take more than a few minutes
Y-Cam, on the other hand, insists that you can set up its HomeMonitor HD in under 60 seconds. That might be a little bit of wishful thinking, but all you need is your wifi network password to get going. It’s maybe slightly faster to set up than the Nest Cam, though they’re both quick and easy.
Both of these security cameras do more or less what you’d expect them to do: record video when you’re not home and send you smartphone alerts when motion is detected. Plus, both the Nest and the HomeMonitor systems can work with multiple cameras on a single account.
At first glance, these two security cameras may seem comparably priced. The Nest Cam retails for £159, and the HomeMonitor HD can be found for around £140 (it retails for $199 USD).
Both the Nest Cam and the HomeMonitor HD have been making waves among tech reviewers and writers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Not objects, but internet services?
IoT through (Internet of Things), which is the Internet of Things is spoken of as one of the world’s miracle. I think the term is a misnomer and directs us in the wrong direction, as the objects themselves do not benefit us, but what services and functions they make it possible to obtain.
What certainly are interested in is how they belie our security and our protection of privacy residues, if any is left after accepting the existing cloud services and appsien unfair, one-sided data collection rights.
The shops are full of a variety of weather stations were connected, but the reason why I took the test NetAtmon device associated it offers a slightly wider range of properties. The device says, inter alia, the CO2 data on the state in which the CPU is located outside of the sensor as well as indoor and ambient air quality index in addition to traditional data. A special sensor also has a Sound level meter, which can evaluate the success of the previous night’s party the next day.
The whole is complemented by the manufacturer allows additional devices, such as web cameras. I have not been very enthusiastic at home on duty 24/7 web cameras, but this promises to save and keep all your essential data on a device in your memory card. On the other hand, because the device, however, allows for remote viewing, can someone else get excited to watch
How does the device serves as an example of IoT to – or Internet services? I get a device via the map view for temperature and other relevant information generated by the outdoor unit of the users also any other similar device. Promptly the metropolitan area estimates can be found in> 150 measuring points, data which produced I can look at this site.
If this data to more efficient use, rain, storm, or the progress of the other front to have a much more accurate information.
What about security and privacy?
As regards the weather station said that the risk in its use at home is quite small. Of course, if someone gets the service management ID and password to find out, he will be able to assess whether anybody at home, because it is easily deduced, for example, carbon dioxide and changes and historical data in dB. Can such a device to break down and take control, make it into a botnet server? It is certainly possible, but I could imagine that the device power considerations are better to be found.
What about the four-copter? So far, physically air space is sufficient space yet. Similarly, the risk that someone captures your control of the chopper is still small, but will definitely be possible over the next few years the development of helicopters and expands the use of objects.
Instead, airplanes pose challenges to the privacy policy, since the devices are easy to describe the different items without much risk of being exposed graph.
These are examples of devices and services, the use of which we are the users, you and I, we respond. Instead, in addition to internet services in this evolving at a rapid pace right Internet of Things, which we do not have any role, but they are usually part of a larger industrial or other automated process. In this case, we will enjoy the outcome, hopefully even better quality products, informative and reliable services, and now even from outside our imagination can be found as new applications of. Hopefully, all this development under way in information and cyber safety and privacy are not left into oblivion …
Source: http://www.tivi.fi/blogit/ei-esineiden-vaan-palveluiden-internet-6237301
Tomi Engdahl says:
Wearables Show New Wrinkles
More conductive yarns, weavers emerge
http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1328393&
The good news for wearables is many new conductive yarns and people weaving with them have emerged in the last 18 months. The bad news is there are no standards for their electronic properties, especially after a few cycles in the washing machine.
“I’m seeing a proliferation of conductive fibers, but I still can’t tell yet which are the best fit because we have no standards,” said Cath Rogan, principal of Smart Garment People, a consulting firm in Lancashire, UK. “I’m going to testing houses to help develop benchmarks because when they say a [conductive yarn] is washable, I ask ‘at what temperature, how many times and does that include a spin cycle,’” she said.
“The level of complexity for clothing is daunting, [adding electronics] is three times the complexity of adopting a new material like Gore-Tex because it’s not just materials but sensors and electronics,” said Davide Vigano, chief executive of Sensoria which makes socks and shirts that track exercise data. “We are the Gore-Tex of wearables, and we hope to show if we can do it, Nike and Adidas can do it, too,” Vigano said.
“The knowledge we are building every day is amazing, and were filing patents on it,” he added.
“Different kinds of conductive yarns are out there now, even conductive inks for printing, so more options are coming,” said Nadia King, chief marketing officer of AIQ Smart Clothing Inc., a new e-textiles division of a 30-year old garment company based in Taiwan.
At the event, AIQ showed sports garments with a packaged version of 316L stainless steel fabrics sewn into their seams.
But a big issue looms on the horizon. No one has a killer app that can be created at a small premium over today’s garments.
“Premium brands are incredibly cost conscious, they are very cost oriented and this is a big challenge,”
“Some of the [clothing] brands right now are in an early adopter and trial phase, but if we don’t bring the costs down it won’t go anywhere,” he added. “Making data useful is key to getting customers to come back, so data analytics companies are critical,” he said.
The potential is huge. An estimated 60 billion garments are sold every year, about a third of them for sports, said Rogan. With annual revenues of about $3.8 trillion, textiles are the world’s third largest industry, growing at about 4% a year, “but it’s fragmented,” said Vigano of Sensoria.
Japan Aviation Electronics Industry Ltd. showed its printed electronics bonded on shirts. The components can bond to textiles using mechanical processes and UV light rather than thermal processes others use that can damage the electronics. “Printed electronics will be big in e-textiles,”
Sensoria puts Bluetooth Low Energy in an ankle-worn transceiver (above) and both BLE and ANT+ in a device worn on a shirt. The socks (below) have flexible pressure sensors woven into the heels.
Tomi Engdahl says:
3GPP Lost its Way in IoT
Fragmentation ahead in cellular standards
http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1328402&
With decades of experience connecting the world and a membership that includes all major technology and service providers, 3GPP should be the default provider of IoT connectivity. But the 3GPP membership is failing the industry by forgetting the fundamentals that made it a success in the first place — providing one universal technology.
3GPP’s spirit of “coop-etition” set the bar for standardized technology. The system benefited from industry-wide cooperation during the evaluation and adoption process, followed by heavy competition during commercialization. They built a global, innovative ecosystem in which everyone can make money.
But in the case of IoT, 3GPP has lost its way. At the moment, there are three major paths being supported by 3GPP for IoT: the machine-type version of LTE (known as LTE-M) and two technologies coming from the Cellular-IoT initiative — NB-IoT and EC-GSM.
LTE-M has been a sustained effort through 2015 and although it has hit a few hiccups along the way there will like be a base standard in 2016. The Cellular-IoT stream was bogged down with no less than five different competing technologies in the first part of 2015.
Huawei seemed to be championing the clear winner with its Narrow Band C-IoT technology, closely followed Qualcomm’s NB-OFDM. At the end of the summer, an Ericsson-led coalition surfaced with an NB-LTE proposal, making the muddied waters even more unclear. But after a series of mergers and compromises, the Cellular-IoT effort seemed coalesce to a new technology named NB-IoT that is barely on its legs and within itself has too many options to offer to be an efficient IoT solution.
The 2G based EC-GSM, (extended coverage GSM) still has some backers that are actively moving forward with standardization as part of GERAN. So here we are with three full standardization efforts in 3GPP for IoT connectivity.
The promise of billions of connected devices leads everyone to assume that there will be plenty of room for multiple technologies. This may be true to some extent, but this betrays the premise of IoT, that a connected world will offer gains through efficiency.
The dollars spent on IoT are not new dollars, but dollars expected through returns on efficiency. These efficiencies must be ingrained in all parts of the ecosystem and will only reach its potential through scalability and standardization.
Businesses will not deploy billions of devices on a patched solution of 3GPP and ISM-based systems. Customers will not embrace IoT if they have to choose between LTE-M and Sigfox-enabled products that may or may not work in all cases.
Spectrum is the next problem for 3GPP and carriers. Licensed mobile spectrum is now scattered from 600Mhz to almost 4GHz. LTE has over 40 bands that need to be supported, causing smartphone manufacturers massive headaches (and costs) in producing and managing region-specific devices.
One of the big reasons GSM was a big winner in the 2G technology wars was because it was globally available in only four bands.
IoT technologies require as little as 200kHz for bandwidth. But if there is no coordinated plan on where that bandwidth is deployed, OEM manufacturers will again bear the cost, managing devices at a regional or possibly national level. Again, we lose efficiency and scale. The cost of wireless connectivity will remain a barrier to entry to IoT.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lightbulb DRM: Philips Locks Purchasers Out of 3rd-Party Bulbs With New Firmware
http://slashdot.org/story/15/12/14/2254205/lightbulb-drm-philips-locks-purchasers-out-of-3rd-party-bulbs-with-new-firmware
Purchasers of the Philips Hue ‘smart’ ambient lighting system are finding out that the new firmware pushed out by the manufacturer has cut off access to previously-supported lightbulbs. Philips contends that this move will help their customers.
Lightbulb DRM: Philips Locks Purchasers Out Of Third-Party Bulbs With Firmware Update
from the Patch-notes:-Adds-’buyer’s-remorse’ dept
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20151214/07452133070/lightbulb-drm-philips-locks-purchasers-out-third-party-bulbs-with-firmware-update.shtml
Purchasers of the Philips Hue “smart” ambient lighting system are finding out that the new firmware pushed out by the manufacturer has cut off access to previously-supported lightbulbs.
ZigBee is the underlying standard that controls these smart lighting systems.
ZigBee is the open, global standard of choice for connected lighting applications providing ease-of-use and low-cost installation and maintenance for both consumers and business.
Philips uses ZigBee, which should mean any bulbs compatible with this standard will work with its Hue fixtures. Not anymore. The firmware update removes this support, limiting this “open, global” standard to Philips’ own bulbs and those it has designated as “Friends of Hue.”
Literally. Philips has just slapped fans like us in the face and kicked interoperability out the door. Without any communication they delivered a new firmware to the system that disables adding products that they don’t approve of. Basically they are banning other Zigbee Light Link products despite the fact that they are a Connected Lighting Alliance member whose mission is to promote interoperability.
Philips only began delivering nonsensical statements about its removal of previously-existent functionality after the complaints began to roll in. And like so many other companies that have wielded this DRM-esque tactic against their own customers, the excuses offered may as well just read “because this makes us more money.”
While technically an open system, we’ve closed it because $$$. These early adopters have already performed the heavy lifting on the compatibility end. They’re the ones who have road-tested ZigBee-compliant bulbs and reported their findings to others. So, when a company removes support (by pushing a firmware update without prior warning) for compatible bulbs and claims the issue is “compatibility,” it’s so blatantly false as to be laughable. Unless you can’t laugh, because you already bought one.
Philips Hue Excludes 3rd Party Bulbs With Firmware Update
http://zatznotfunny.com/2015-12/philips-hue-excludes-3rd-party-bulbs/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Now IoT technologies on hay bales
Newest IoT technology may soon save the farm hay bale fire ravages. Finnish research organization VTT has developed a system that warns of fire danger in good time. The project is currently being commercialized.
Haytech system is based on sensors that measure the temperature of the bales and an alarm when the temperature rises too high. Wireless sensors are installed directly bales, and they convey information about temperature and humidity of bales information system, which alerts the incident.
“The farmer received a notice that the stock had bales, where the temperature had risen to over 70 degrees Celsius from the system. The farmer got overheated bales out of the exercise, so in July warehouse did not catch fire.”
A similar flame retardant system has not previously been available. The system is also quite affordable: VTT estimates that the annual cost of one sensor is about three euros if the sensor lifetime of five years.
Source: http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2015/12/15/nyt-iot-jo-heinapaaleihin/
More information: http://www.haytech.farm/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Digita brought to Helsinki IoT-sensor network
Digita is testing the metropolitan area, together with the network operator Actility IoT solutions tuned Lora-network technology. Digita, this is the first time that Lora network tested in Finland. Espoo Espotel has also developed its own Lora platform.
The experiment is designed to prepare for future IoT pilots. LPWAN technology (Low Power Wide Area Network) relies on the Espoo-based embedded developer Espotel, who introduced last October LoRaWAN technology and new to the base Teknologia15 Fair.
Through Actilityn transmission from the beginning Items can connect and communicate with each other up to a distance of 15 kilometers.
Lora-core network produced is produced with Actility Thing Park Wireless solution.
Network to take advantage of Digita’s high transmission masts (38 masts across Finnish, 15 of which are over 300 meters high).
Actility’s ThingPark Wireless handles network. The company’s Everything Park Cloud, in turn, allows you to store big data sensors and sensor functions through the use of an open API. Platform embedded software and cloud solutions enables devices to connect to applications.
Source: http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2015/12/15/digita-toi-helsinkiin-iot-anturiverkon/
Product store: http://actility.thingpark.com/thingpark-store/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finnish ice hockey this season will be the use of a Bluetooth chip smart ice hokey puck, which makes the data generated by the monitoring of the matches even more attractive and provides the analysis of a new type of game information for research, development and training of the species.
Built ice stadium positioning system using Bluetooth chips provides accurate and real-time information on the location and movements of the reel on the ice.
The first positioning system will be introduced at the beginning of the year in Tampere Tappara and Ilves Hakametsän Ice Arena
System meets IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation’s requirements. Positioning System accuracy is ten cents meters. A response time of 100 milliseconds.
Source: http://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2015/12/14/suomalainen-alykiekko-kayttoon/
Video: http://liiga.fi/videot/2015/12/12/mika-on-jaakiekon-mullistava-alykiekko-taman-jalkeen-olet-viisaampi
Tomi Engdahl says:
LoRa sensor network collects volcanic data
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4440998/LoRa-sensor-network-collects-volcanic-data?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20151214&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_today_20151214&elq=de550d8a51b040df8e8729ce609593e5&elqCampaignId=26138&elqaid=29893&elqat=1&elqTrackId=c566d928186542b0bee6df6c8409a923
Semtech announced that its LoRa-based long-range wireless sensor network will be used to monitor active volcanoes 24/7 in Japan. The data collected by the network is used to provide volcanic forecasts, ranging from alerts of recent volcanic activity to early warnings of potential eruptions and even immediate evacuations of threatened areas. This application of LoRaWAN technology demonstrates the features and flexibility of the open-source platform and the power of the LoRa Alliance to bring together initiatives across the world.
Semtech’s LoRa RF platform teams the company’s SX1272 transceivers with its LoRa concentrator gateway to create networks
A single LoRa base station can be used to connect sensors more than 15 to 30 miles away in rural areas.
The LoRa two-way wireless platform complements M2M cellular infrastructure and provides a low-cost way to connect battery-operated and mobile devices to the network infrastructure.
LoRa® Product Family
http://semtech.com/wireless-rf/lora.html
Semtech’s LoRa RF platform (SX127X product family) is a 2-way wireless solution that complements M2M cellular infrastructure, and provides a low-cost way to connect battery operated and mobile devices to the network infrastructure. By combining our LoRa RF transceiver products with our LoRa concentrator gateway, you can create networks with longer ranges and the capacity to handle millions of devices. You can also improve the battery lifetime of your end-user devices, while minimizing signal interference. The result is a network ideal for Internet of Things (IoT), metering, security, asset tracking, and machine-to-machine (M2M) applications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Philips Says: No Internet of Things for You!
http://hackaday.com/2015/12/15/philips-says-no-internet-of-things-for-you/
The 900-pound gorilla in the corner of the Internet of Things (IoT) hype that everyone is trying to ignore is interoperability. In the Internet of Internets (IoI) everything works on a few standards that are widely accepted: IP and HTML. The discrepancies are in the details and the standards wars are in the past. Websites are largely interoperable. Not so in the wild-west ethos of the IoT.
Philips makes a line of ZigBee-enabled RGB lightbulbs that took the enthusiast community by storm. And initially, Philips was very friendly to other devices — it makes a ZigBee-to-WiFi bridge that would let you control all of your ZigBee-based lights, regardless of their manufacturer, from your phone. Until now.
Philips has just rolled out a “Friends of Hue” certification process, and has since pushed out a firmware update where their Hue bridges stop interoperating with non-certified devices.
Philips Locks Out 3rd Party ZigBee Hardware
The short version is that, ZigBee standards be damned, your future non-Philips lights won’t be allowed to associate with the Philips bridge. Your GE and Osram bulbs aren’t Friends of Hue. DIY RGB strips in your lighting mix? Not Friends of Hue. In fact, you won’t be surprised to know who the “Friends of Hue” are: other Philips products, and Apple. That’s it. If you were used to running a mixed lighting system, those days are over. If you’re not on the friends list, you are an Enemy of Hue.
Their claim is that third party products may display buggy behavior on a Philips network
Of course, they could simply tell people to disable the “other” devices and see how it works
Or they could open up a “developer mode” that made it clear that the user was doing something “innovative”. But neither of these strategies prevent consumers from buying other firms’ bulbs, which cost only 30-50% of Philips’ Hue line.
While Philips is very careful to not couch it as such, the Friends of Hue program really looks like an attempt to shut out their competitors; Philips got an early lead in the RGB LED game and has a large share of the market.
Snark aside, the IoT brings two of the saddest realities of the software world into your home appliances: Where there’s code, there’s vulnerabilities, and when you can’t control the code yourself you aren’t really in control. You may own the lightbulb, but you’re merely licensing the firmware that runs it. The manufacturer can change the rules of the game, or go out of the product line entirely, and you’re high and dry. What can you do? Pull out your JTAG debugger.
There are no easy solutions and no perfect software. The industry is still young and we’ll see a lot of companies staking out their turf as with any new technology. It seems to us that IoT devices leave consumers with even less choice and control than in the past, because they are driven by firmware that’s supposed to be invisible. It’s just a lightbulb, right?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Small-farm Automation Keeps Livestock Safe and Happy
http://hackaday.com/2015/12/15/small-farm-automation-keeps-livestock-safe-and-happy/
A Teensy with an RTC opens and closes the door according to sunrise and sunset times, and temperature and humidity sensors provide feedback on conditions inside the coop. The sheep benefit from a PTZ webcam to keep an eye on their mischief, and the whole thing is controlled by a custom web interface from [Vince]’s smartphone.
Modern Farmer
Chicken coop and sheepfold controler
https://hackaday.io/project/4113-modern-farmer
The goal of the project is to control coop door, T° and H° and survey the sheepfold with an IP cam.
The coop door is driven by the time of sunrise /sunset on a given date.
I add the possiblity to adjust open/close time on dawn and twilight within +/-30mn.
I can also handle the door with up/down switchs.
A PTZ cam and 4 preset positions, I can check the coop and sheepfold, the main door and…. if eggs are available !
You can see the Teensy, RTC, DHT1, the arduino ethershield (later remplaced by enc28j60) and finaly 2 relays to drive…
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bloomberg Business:
IBM to open global headquarters and research lab in Munich for Watson-based IoT apps — IBM Bets on Watson With Global Research Center in Germany — Munich HQ is biggest investment in Europe in two decades — Internet of Things division to play ‘key role’ in growth
IBM Bets on Watson With Global Research Center in Germany
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-15/ibm-bets-on-watson-with-new-global-research-center-in-germany
Bob Dylan may not be impressed with the song-writing abilities of Watson in the advertising campaign IBM is running for its supercomputer that is supposed to understand language and mimic the inductive reasoning of a human brain. But the company is counting on Watson’s creativity, paired with a major push into the Internet of Things, to spark sales in its data-analytics and cloud-computing business.
The Internet of Things division will play a key role in driving revenue and profit within five years, Harriet Green, IBM’s vice president and general manager for Internet of Things and Education, told Bloomberg Television’s Ryan Chilcote in an interview. The company on Tuesday announced the opening of a new global headquarters and research lab in Munich for a division that will build Watson-based applications for Web-connected devices. The facility and eight other global centers are part of a $3 billion investment in the unit set out in March by Armonk, New York-based International Business Machines Corp.
“How this fits into the future of IBM is around profitable growth,” Green said. “We think it has real high growth, profitable growth potential.”
After 14 straight quarters of declining revenue, IBM has been looking for ways to grow as sales of its traditional IT services and software slump. The Internet of Things division, which is less than a year old, currently contributes less than 1 percent of the company’s $93 billion in annual revenue, Green said.
The new global headquarters in Munich is Big Blue’s largest investment in Europe in more than two decades and will eventually house 1,000 data scientists and consultants, half of the total the company has committed to the Internet of Things group, IBM said in a statement.
The Internet of Things refers to the idea of using the Web to gather data from and, in some cases, remotely control devices from home appliances to traffic lights to toothbrushes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
Nuance launches developer platform Mix in beta to bring voice control to apps and IoT devices
Nuance wants to build the power of Siri into every app
And every smart home product, too
http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/15/10124250/nuance-mix-voice-control-in-apps-smart-home-devices
Smartphones let you control a lot using only your voice. Whether you’re on an iPhone or an Android phone, you can ask for directions, perform a search, start a call, or dictate a message. But once you actually open up an app, voice control disappears: for the most part, apps all still work exclusively through touch.
“Mix analyzes speech and translates it into an action”
Nuance wants to change that. Nuance is the company behind the language detection software that powers Samsung’s S Voice and, supposedly, Siri as well. It’s now opening up that technology to all developers — big and small — allowing them to bake it into their apps.
The idea is that someone could say to a social media app, “Update my status,” “Post a new status,” “Change my status,” or even “I want to post something,” and Nuance’s technology will be able to figure out that they’re all the same command. That’s partly because developers are required to prime Mix with 15 to 20 samples of every command, but it’s also because Mix will then generate alternatives on its own and continue to learn based on what people using the app actually end up saying.
Nuance Mix isn’t limited to apps: it can be used on hardware, too, and that’s where it really starts to get interesting. Mix could be used as the primary way for interacting with smart home products or Internet of Things devices. “A lot of these devices don’t necessarily have a screen,” says Kenn Harper, a senior director at Nuance. “So a thermostat may have a tiny screen or a couple of buttons, but if you want to tell if you’re traveling for a couple of days … how would you do that without speech?”
Right now, most smart home devices are controlled through smartphones, and it seems like that’s unlikely to change. But Harper’s vision is appealing. Why shouldn’t you be able to dictate commands directly to a thermostat if you’re in the same room as it? That makes even more sense as you start to consider interactions with devices outside your home, which won’t be connected to your smartphone.
Can Nuance defeat existing voice assistants?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
SoundHound Launches Houndify Platform To Add A Voice Interface To Other Apps And Devices
http://techcrunch.com/2015/12/15/soundhound-launches-houndify/
SoundHound’s Houndify, which promises to “add voice enabled conversational interface to anything,” is officially available to developers today.
SoundHound is best-known as a music recognition app, but over the summer, it announced broader ambitions with the private beta launch of its Hound app and Houndify platform.
The Hound app is similar in some ways to voice-controlled products like Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Echo, but with a focus on quickly answering complex queries.
Mohajer told me yesterday that the response to the private beta has been strong, with more than 300,000 applications to test out the Hound app, and “thousands” of developer applications for Houndify. Those weren’t just small app developers either, he said, but also “very big companies, like consumer electronics companies and car manufacturers.”
SoundHound has also partnered with a number of other companies to make data available through the Houndify platform, including Expedia (hotel and flight data), AccuWeather (local weather), Sportradar (pre-match, live and post-match sports data) and Xignite (stock market).
As more devices become Internet-connected, Mohajer suggested Houndify could help people actually use them: “It’s easy to make your thermostat connected — people don’t talk about how you’re going to interact with them.”
And he suggested that these data partnerships could be useful in that context. Take a “smart” coffee maker: Yes, you’d want to be able to tell it to make coffee with a voice command, “But while your espresso machine is making coffee for you, why not ask, ‘How’s the weather?’”
Houndify is available in both free and paid tiers.
https://www.houndify.com/
Tomi Engdahl says:
An IoT platforms match : Microsoft Azure IoT vs Amazon AWS IoT
https://paolopatierno.wordpress.com/2015/10/13/an-iot-platforms-match-microsoft-azure-iot-vs-amazon-aws-iot/
Overview : IoT reference architecture
A complete IoT solution is made of different parts. First of all, we need to ingest all the events and data sent from devices and it’s a such big problem because in the Internet of Things era we have to think at “scale” with hundreds, thousands, million and … billion of devices. In this scenario, we have to use an ingestion system that is able to scale and handle incoming data very quickly without slowing down the entire process : we talk about “telemetry” pattern.
After acquiring data, the ingestion system must provide them to the business engine (aka back end) of our solution that could have a “hot” path for analyzing data as a stream in real time and a “cold” path for storing data and analyzing them for future analysis : we can consider it a “big data” problem. Both paths could expose these information to the end user that can monitor the devices and what they are “saying” from the real world. The same information are very useful as input for a machine learning system that can help us for predictive analysis to understand how data could evolve in the future based on current incoming values and take preventive actions.
In this scenario, we can’t forget the opposite path from our cloud based system to the devices. In most cases we need to interact with them using the “command” and “notification” patterns; with commands we are able to “speak” to the devices so that they can execute some actions on our behalf and with notifications we can provide some information they need during their lifetime.
A brief introduction : IoT Hub vs AWS IoT
IoT Hub is the new entry in the Microsoft Azure offer; it’s a service that enables bi-directional communication between devices and our business engine (aka back end) in the cloud. The communication channel is reliable and secure and the authentication is per-device using credentials and access control.
Thanks to its bi-directional nature, the messages between devices and cloud travel in both directions along the established channel. Each device has two endpoints to interact with IoT Hub :
D2C (device to cloud) : the device uses this endpoint to send messages to the cloud both as telemetry data, outcome for a received command or request for execution;
C2D (cloud to device) : the device receives commands on this endpoint for executing the requested action. The IoT Hub generates a feedback at application level to confirm that the command is acquired by the device and it’s going to be executed
IoT Hub has an identity registry where it stores all information about provisioned devices. This information aren’t related to devices metadata (they are up to you in your IoT solution that uses IoT Hub, for example manufacturer and firmware/software version info) but are related to identity and authentication. It provides monitoring information like connection status (connected/disconnected) and last activity time; you are also able to enable and disable the devices using this registry. Of course, IoT Hub exposes another endpoint (device identity management) to create, retrieve, update and delete devices.
AWS IoT has the same objectives as IoT Hub but reaches them in a different way.
SDKs : languages and platforms supported
Even if we can access to the IoT Hub using open standard protocols (like HTTP and AMQP as we’ll see in the next chapters), Microsoft provides different SDKs for different languages and platforms. Of course, we have .Net SDK for pure .Net Framework applications and UWP (Universal Windows Platform) applications running on Windows 10 devices (included the IoT version, Windows 10 IoT Core); other SDKs are for Java and NodeJS (JavsScript) developers. The great news is related to the availability of an SDK for C (ANSI C99) for portability and broad platform compatibility; it can be used on very low constrained devices with only C language support.
With .Net SDK we also have the service part used in the back end system to handle identity registry and send messages to the device; only for NodeJS applications there is a dedicated codebase.
All SDKs are open source and available on GitHub.
AWS IoT enables devices to access to the cloud using standard protocols (like HTTP and MQTT) but Amazon provides some SDKs to simplify developers life. First of all, an SDK for embedded C language (ANSI C99) that is cross platform and that can be used on different hardware and operating systems (for low constrained devices with RTOS too). The SDK adds an abstraction layer on top of all actions needed for accessing the message broker that are related to the security of the channel, the MQTT based communication for publishing and subscribing messages to topics and finally all the operations related to thing shadows for updating, retrieving and deleting them. A NodeJS SDK is also available for powerful platforms and finally another SDK just only for Arduino Yun board.
Security and Authentication
The connection established between devices and IoT Hub is TLS (Transport Layer Security) based so that the communication is encrypted to guarantee data confidentiality; the server is authenticated thanks to its own X.509 certificate sent to the device during the TLS handshaking.
The device and service authentication is handled with access control and credentials.
The authentication is provided by IoT Hub verifying a token (sent from the device) against the shared access policies and device identity registry security credentials.
AWS IoT relies on TLS protocol so that the communication with the message broker is encrypted and the client is authenticated using the mutual authentication (so with X.509 client certificate too). The certificates can be created, activated and revoked using the AWS CLI or the AWS online console; of course we can also use a certificate that is already in our possession. Once we have the certificate, we need to attach it to a policy and the thing itself.
AWS IoT doesn’t support an identity principals based on X.509 certificates only but it supports IAM service (users, groups and roles) and Amazon Cognito service. As guide lines, the X.509 should be used with MQTT based application, the IAM service with HTTP and Cognito with end user applications (for example on smartphones) thanks to the support for different identity providers (like Facebook, Google and so on).
Protocols : AMQP, MQTT, HTTP and the others
Today, AMQP 1.0 is already the official supported protocol for all Azure services under Service Bus umbrella like queues, topics/subscriptions and event hubs. Microsoft focused on this protocol (as part of the committee for the standard) and decided to adopt it for IoT Hub too. Of course, HTTP protocol is supported too. We could consider AMQP the better choice for majority of scenarios to avoid polling nature of HTTP (from device) due to the lack of server push feature (available with AMQP)
It’s possible to support additional protocols using the Azure IoT Protocol Gateway framework that provides protocol adaptation from a different protocol (MQTT or any other custom protocol) to AMQP with direct access to the IoT Hub.
MQTT (3.1.1), we spoken about, is the official supported protocol for AWS IoT that the message broker uses for publishing and subscribing messages on topics. Even if MQTT is a standard, the broker supports it with some variations : for example it doesn’t support retained messages, persistent sessions and QoS level 2. For more information on this support and main differences, we can find a deep description on official AWS IoT protocols page. The HTTP protocol is supported too even if it’s limited to publish messages using a REST API (POST method only).
Tomi Engdahl says:
M2Mqtt
https://m2mqtt.wordpress.com/
M2Mqtt is a MQTT client available for all .Net platforms (.Net Framework, .Net Compact Framework and .Net Micro Framework) and WinRT platforms (Windows 8.1, Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10) for Internet of Things and M2M communication.
MQTT, short for Message Queue Telemetry Transport, is a light weight messaging protocol that enables embedded devices with limited resources to perform asynchronous communication on a constrained network.
MQTT protocol is based on publish/subscribe pattern so that a client can subscribe to one or more topics and receive messages that other clients publish on these topics.
M2Mqtt, client library and GnatMQ broker, is an open source project
Tomi Engdahl says:
Fingrid is using IBM Internet of Things solutions to create a smarter grid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00ga070uzL4&S_TACT=C46700GW&iio=panalytics&cmp=iot_tumblr&ct=c4670&cr=blog&cm=h&csot=-&ccy=-&cpb=-&cd=-&cn=blog_post
IBM IoT Foundation Platform Demo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvfIr3c6a48
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Internet of Things “Swiss Army knife” created in Finland
With more and more new devices and objects connected to a network, at risk of being entangled in a variety of techniques to uncontrolled jumble. VTT has developed software combines various techniques.
VTT Technical Research Centre have developed about the Internet of Things (IoT) Gateway software, which supports a number of different radio technologies and protocols, as well as their combinations.
“We have studied how different IoT devices and on top of their services are built into the programmable Future Internet. The industrial area of the Internet has already services and equipment providers, but the techniques are very much and traditionally one of the technology can be made only to certain functionalities, “says VTT’s Senior Research Scientist Jukka Mäkelä says bulletin.
IoT Gateway software and the exploitable new virtualization techniques will open still wider variety of uses, among other things, the communication between objects.
The software was developed as part of a broader VTT Pro-IoT program.
The software was tested in industrial and public environments as well as VTT 5g-laboratory environment.
Source: http://www.tivi.fi/Kaikki_uutiset/esineiden-internetin-sveitsilainen-linkkari-luotu-suomessa-6239609
Tomi Engdahl says:
Windows 10 IoT Enterprise
http://iotdevicenews.com/documents/4_Windows_10_IoT_Enterprise-Datasheet.pdf?utm_source=BenchmarkEmail&utm_campaign=Dec_14_2015_Email_2.2&utm_medium=email
The Internet of Things (IoT) has created opportunity for device OEMs, but it has also introduced more pressure innovate, added complexity to their business models, and raised the bar on creating secure, connected devices.
Windows 10 IoT Enterprise brings a the full Windows experience to embedded devices, enabling OEMs to quickly create high-performance devices that deliver a familiar and secure experience to their customers.
Windows 10 IoT Enterprise is a full version of Windows 10 that powers a range of industry devices across retail, manufacturing, health, government and other industries.
oT Enterprise provides advanced device lockdown capabilities to enable industry-specific device scenarios including:
• Industry Tablets
• Thin Clients
• Retail POS
• Digital Signage/Kiosk
• ATM
• Medical Devices
• Manufacturing
Exceed your customer expectation with an industry device that uses industry standards to connect with other devices as well as industry-specific peripherals and low-level hardware:
• Access barcode scanners, magnetic stripe readers, receipt printers, and cash drawers from universal Windows apps.
• APIs allow easy access and integration of sensors and devices over a variety of busses: GPIO, I2C, SPI and easy access to custom hardware.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Could organic photovoltaics change the Internet of Things?
http://iotdevicenews.com/could-organic-photovoltaics-change-the-internet-of-things?utm_source=BenchmarkEmail&utm_campaign=Dec_14_2015_Email_2.2&utm_medium=email
The Internet of Things is changing the world we live in. We are already able to do amazing things such as predict when our machines are going to break down before they do, track our health or the health of livestock in real time, and even request that our fridge order more milk when it has run out. IoT has had an impact on all areas of our lives, from finance to health to entertainment. However, it is still being held back by a large and overbearing restriction – a need to be connected to power.
We have all experienced the frustrations of low battery; having to frantically scrabble around for a charger at 2% battery, or sitting and waiting for what feels like forever whilst the device slowly comes back to life. Being low on power creates frustration and prevents productivity, and something needs to change.
A potential solution? Organic photovoltaics and solar power.
The latest OPVs are over 10 times thinner and lighter than any solar cells we have seen before – they are so tiny and malleable that they can be wrapped around a human hair and still create usable power.
When you can mould solar cells to just about any 3D object in order to create power, the possibilities for IoT devices become virtually limitless. Imagine a smart phone which charges itself, or clothing which provides you with regular power throughout the day.
Without being restricted to areas connected to mains power, IoT devices could support and improve businesses and lives from the most remote locations on the planet with little or no human interaction. For example, sensors for predictive maintenance could be implemented on train tracks situated miles from the nearest power source. OPVs could also bring power to the most rural communities in Africa, improving healthcare and education.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT will change the face of farming forever
http://iotdevicenews.com/iot-will-change-the-face-of-farming-forever?utm_source=BenchmarkEmail&utm_campaign=Dec_14_2015_Email_2.2&utm_medium=email
The population of the world will be a tight squeeze of 9.6 billion by 2050 (according to Beecham research), and having enough resources to feed everyone has become more critical than ever.
Fortunately, the Internet of Things is providing a number of surprising and innovative solutions that are bringing age old farming techniques bang up to date and are making the industry more efficient and productive than ever before.
Dairy Farming in Essex
Dairy farmers in Essex are benefitting from increased revenue and productivity thanks to “The Cow Tracking Project”. By using radio positioning tags that store data in the cloud, farmers are now able to remotely track herds and monitor cow behaviour and health.
Lettuce Farming in Japan
The lifestyle of lettuce used to be a modest and simple affair. That was until a partnership between Microsoft and Fujitsu in Japan helped to pave the way to a more futuristic agricultural industry. These days, lettuces can enjoy a luxury lifestyle and growth environment that caters to their every whim, resulting in some pretty special salad.
Connected cows help farms keep up with the herd
http://news.microsoft.com/features/connected-cows-help-farms-keep-up-with-the-herd/
“When I get up in the morning and put on my boots, I don’t go to the stables first,” he says. “I check my PC for alerts about whether any cows are sick, and I’m in the know right away.”
The reason is a modern breakthrough for a traditional industry. SCR Dairy calls its approach “HealthyCow24,” a solution based on the Internet of Things that uses Windows Embedded software and Microsoft Azure cloud technology.
This cow-monitoring system gives farmers insights that can boost milk production, smooth the calving process and ensure healthier cows — all while saving time.
Having “connected” cows through the Israel-based company’s technology means he no longer has to dedicate nearly all of his time to monitoring his prized milk producers.
“If I had told this to someone a couple of years back, they would have thought man, you’re nuts,” Hake says. “But that’s the technology. It works.”
For hundreds of years, the dairy business remained essentially the same.
But over the last century, new machines were invented, urban populations exploded and the price of land skyrocketed. These trends and others put pressure on farms of all types to consolidate, specialize and increase production to keep supermarket shelves full.
In the past, farmers had far fewer animals and were able to spend hours each day watching their cows for signs, but today, with so many to keep track of, there isn’t always time for such careful monitoring.
That’s where SCR Dairy comes in. The company’s Heatime solution includes necklace tags with motion sensors and microphones that monitor the cows’ activity and rumination levels. Using an application that can run both on-premises or in the cloud, the system alerts farmers of increased activity that often means an animal is in heat or decreased rumination, which can indicate a health problem.
The system aggregates data from the sensors and conveys it to the farm’s office, and it’s available through a mobile application so farmers have access to data about cows’ heat cycles and health from anywhere at any time.
SCR Dairy now has about 4 million tags connected to cows around the world, monitoring their activity and wellbeing 24 hours a day. The data generated from the tags is transferred to management solutions that help farmers make better decisions, as well as providing alerts.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Managing Windows 10 IoT Devices Whitepaper
http://iotdevicenews.com/documents/6_Managing_Windows_10_IoT_Devices_Whitepaper.pdf?utm_source=BenchmarkEmail&utm_campaign=Dec_14_2015_Email_2.2&utm_medium=email
Tomi Engdahl says:
Security tips for the Internet of Things
http://iotdevicenews.com/security-tips-for-the-internet-of-things?utm_source=BenchmarkEmail&utm_campaign=Dec_14_2015_Email_2.2&utm_medium=email
The Internet of Things is booming. It is predicted that by 2020 there will be more than 50 billion connected devices across the globe. That’s about 7 devices per person on the planet. Businesses and consumers are benefiting more and more from cool and modern technology; The Internet of Things is undoubtedly improving lives.
But with the rapid advancement of IoT, concerns around IoT security are becoming increasingly prevalent. Warnings about IoT security are coming from places as recognised as the FBI, and a collection of recent scandals has brought IoT security into the public eye. This is with good reason.
The impact that IoT devices have on our lives means the potential for disaster increases with every new connected device. It is quite worrying to consider that objects as seemingly innocent as your kettle could end up being a potential target for attack.
Assess the risks in advance
It is always worth carrying out a privacy or security risk assessment in advance of embarking on any IoT project. Consider whether the device will require or collect sensitive data, and what implications could arise for the customer if the data or device becomes compromised.
Choose the right IoT provider
Once you’ve considered the data implications of your IoT device, your next task is to choose a provider that suits your needs. This decision is an important one. The great thing is that there are plenty of options to choose from, so every fledgling IoT project will have an OS that is suitable.
Question whether the provider has enough IoT experience to be able to support you and your security needs. Will they scale with your business growth and keep you secure as you expand?
Minimise the data
Test security before launch
Continue to monitor your device
Too often devices that become superseded are neglected over time and turn into what is being coined as ‘abandonware’. Be prepared for the fact that customers will assume their devices are always going to be as secure as they were on the day of purchase. If maintaining the security for an out of date device is too much of a drain on resources, informing the consumer is of utmost importance.
Five questions to ask when choosing an IoT provider
http://blogs.microsoft.com/iot/2015/10/13/five-questions-to-ask-when-choosing-an-iot-provider/
1. Does the provider have a comprehensive IoT offering? Do they even provide all the tools and services needed to create an IoT solution?
2. Does the provider have the necessary experience, specifically related to IoT? Even if they have all of the important components for IoT, do they have a history of using them to create capable solutions at the enterprise level?
3. Can they scale? As your business grows or as your needs change, can the solution change accordingly? Does adding new features mean reworking the rest of the solution?
4. Are they open? More than open source, can you use the technology you already have, and the devices and tools you want to use? Or do they lock you in with proprietary technology?
5. Finally, do they accelerate your time to market? Even if they can deliver a capable solution, can they do it in a way that helps you quickly realize value?
We also support heterogeneous environments and can connect devices irrespective of manufacturer or OS. iOS, Windows, Android, Linux and more – we support them all. We work across devices types, regardless of industry, form factor or design.