According to Intel IoT is expected to be a multi-trillion-dollar market, with 50 billion devices creating 44 zettabytes (or 44 trillion gigabytes) of data annually by 2020. But that widely cited 50 billion IoT devices in 2020 number is clearly not correct! Forecast of 50 Billion Devices by 2020 Is Outdated. In 2017 we should be talking about about some sensible numbers. The current count is somewhere between Gartner’s estimate of 6.4 billion (which doesn’t include smartphones, tablets, and computers), International Data Corporation’s estimate of 9 billion (which also excludes those devices), and IHS’s estimate of 17.6 billion (with all such devices included). Both Ericsson and Evans have lowered their expectations from 50 billion for 2020: Evans, who is now CTO of Stringify, says he expects to see 30 billion connected devices by then, while Ericsson figures on 28 billion by 2021.
Connectivity and security will be key features for Internet of Things processors in 2017. Microcontroller (MCU) makers will continue to target their products at the Internet of Things (IoT) in 2017 by giving more focus on battery life, more connectivity of various types, and greater security. The new architectures are almost sure to spawn a multitude of IoT MCUs in 2017 from manufacturers who adopt ARM’s core designs.
ARM will be big. Last year, ARM’s partners shipped 15 billion chips based on its architectures. The trend toward IoT processors will go well beyond ARM licensees. Intel rolled out the Intel Atom E3900 Series for IoT applications. And do not forget MIPS an RISC-V.
FPGA manufacturers are pushing their products to IoT market. They promise that FPGAs solve challenges at the core of IoT implementation: making IoT devices power efficient, handling incompatible interfaces, and providing a processing growth path to handle the inevitable increase in device performance requirement.
Energy harvesting field will become interesting in 2017 as it is more broadly adopted. Energy harvesting is becoming the way forward to help supplement battery power or lose the need for it altogether. Generally researchers are eyeing energy-harvesting to power ultra-low-power devices, wearable technology, and other things that don’t need a lot of power or don’t come in a battery-friendly form factor.
Low power wide area networks (LPWA) networks (also known as NarrowBand IoT) will be hot in 2017. There is hope that f LPWA nets will act as a catalyst, changing the nature of the embedded and machine-to-machine markets as NB-IoT focuses specifically on indoor coverage, low cost, long battery life, and enabling a large number of connected devices. The markets will become a kind of do-it-yourselfers paradise of modules and services, blurring the lines between vendors, users and partners. At the same time for years to come, the market for low power wide area networks (LPWA) will be as fragmented and is already in a race to the bottom (Sigfox, said to be promising costs approaching $1 per node per year). Competing technologies include Sigfox, LoRa Alliance, LTE Cat 1, LTE Cat M1 (eMTC), LTE Cat NB1 (NB-IoT) and other sub-gigahertz options almost too numerous to enumerate.
We are starting to see a battle between different IoT technologies, and in few years to come we will see which are winners and which technologies will be lost in the fight. Sigfox and Lora are currently starting well, but telecom operators with mobile networks NB-IoT will try hit the race heavily in 2017. Vendors prep Cat M1, NB1 for 2017: The Cat M1 standard delivers up to 380 Kbits/second over a 1.4 MHz channel. NB-1 handles up to 40 Kbits/s over 200 kHz channels. Vendors hope the 7-billion-unit installed base of cellular M2M modules expands. It’s too early to tell which technologies will be mainstream and which niche. It could be that cellular NB-IOT was too late, it will fail in the short term, it can win in the long term, and the industry will struggle to make any money from it. At $2 a year, 20 billion devices will contribute around 4% of current global mobile subscription revenues.
New versions of communication standards will be taken into use in 2017. For example Bluetooth 5 that adds more speed and IoT functionality. In 2017, we will see an increase in the number of devices with the new Bluetooth 5 standard.
Industrial IoT to gain traction in 2017. Industrial applications ultimately have the greater transformative potential than consumer products, offering users real returns on investment (ROI) rather than just enhanced convenience or “cool factor”. But the industrial sector is conservative and has been slow to embrace an industrial IoT (IIoT), but is seems that they are getting interested now. During the past year there has been considerable progress in removing many of the barriers to IIoT adoption. A global wide implementation of an IIoT is many years away, of course. The issues of standards and interoperability will most likely remain unresolved for several years to come, but progress is being made. The Industrial Internet Consortium released a framework to support development of standards and best practices for IIoT security.
The IIoT market is certainly poised to grow. A Genpact research study, for instance, indicates that more than 80% of large companies believe that the IIoT will be essential to their future success. In a recent market analysis by Industry ARC, for instance, the projected value of the IIoT market will reach more than $120 billion by 2021. Research firm Markets and Markets is even more optimistic, pegging IIoT growth at a CAGR of 8% to more than $150 billion by 2020. And the benefits will follow. By GE’s estimate, the IIoT will stimulate an increase in the global GDP of $10 to $15 trillion over the next 20 years.
Systems integrators are seeking a quick way to enter the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market. So expect to see many plug and play IoT sensor systems unveiled. There were many releses in 2016, and expect to see more in 2017. Expect to see device, connectivity and cloud service to be marketed as one packet.
IoT analytics will be talked a lot in 2017. Many companies will promise to turn Big Data insights into bigger solutions. For industrial customers Big Data analytics is promised to drive operational efficiencies, cut costs, boosting production, and improving worker productivity. There are many IIoT analytic solution and platform suppliers already on the market and a growing number of companies are now addressing industrial analytics use.
In 2016 it was all bout getting the IoT devices connected to cloud. In 2017 we will see increased talk about fog computing. Fog computing is new IoT trend pushed by Cisco and many other companies. As the Internet of Things (IoT) evolves, decentralized, distributed-intelligence concepts such as “fog computing” are taking hold to address the need for lower latencies, improved security, lower power consumption, and higher reliability. The basic premise of fog computing is classic decentralization whereby some processing and storage functions are better performed locally instead of sending data all the way from the sensor, to the cloud, and back again to an actuator. This demands smarter sensors and new wireless sensor network architectures. Groups such as the Open Fog Consortium have formed to define how it should best be done. You might start to want to be able to run the same code in cloud and your IoT device.
The situation in IoT security in 2016 was already Hacking the IoT: As Bad As I Feared It’d Be and there is nothing that would indicate that the situation will not get any better in 2017. A veritable army of Internet-connected equipment has been circumvented of late, due to vulnerabilities in its hardware, software or both … “smart” TVs, set-top boxes and PVRs, along with IP cameras, routers, DSL, fiber and cable modems, printers and standalone print servers, NASs, cellular hot spots, and probably plenty of other gear. IoT world at the moment is full of vulnerable devices, and it will take years to get then replaces with more secure devices. Those vulnerable devices can be used to make huge DDoS attacks against Internet services. The 2016 October 21 cyberattacks on Dyn brought to light how easily many IoT devices can be compromised. I expect that kind of incidents will happen more in 2017 as DDoS botnets are pretty easy to build with tools available on-line. There’s no question that everyone in the chain – manufacturers, retailers and consumers – have to do a better job securing connected devices.When it comes to IoT, more security is needed.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
5 Pitfalls That May Kill The IoT
https://semiengineering.com/the-five-pitfalls-that-may-kill-the-iot/
Many things could trip up the predicted explosion of connected devices, but the hurdles aren’t insurmountable.
I cited five, namely “security,” “ease of design,” “architecture,” “5G networks” and “mindset.” Here is why I am bullish about those trillion devices and Cadence’s enabling technologies.
Number 1: Security
Given the number of breaches we are experiencing, security is certainly the biggest hurdle. If we as an industry cannot make these devices secure, users will always be hesitant to adopt them
Number 2: Ease of Design
Chip design is a complex matter. Lots of IP re-use, changing technology nodes, complex verification – you name it. In order to get to a trillion devices, ease of design is crucial.
Number 3: Architecture
The system architecture to carry all the data in an era of a trillion devices is changing rapidly. It’s a challenge and we need to figure it out. Just sending all the data into the cloud and processing it there is not possible for simple reasons like the energy it would take to carry the data. So processing will happen along the way – at the sensor, at the aggregating nodes, at the edge of networking boundaries, etc.
Number 4: 5G Networks
All of these devices need to be connected. 5G holds the promise of directly connecting devices to the network and cutting out the aggregating component (like your cell phone) in the middle. Worldwide, we are looking at 100s of billions in investment to make these networks happen.
Finally, Number 5: Mindset
Mindset changes will have to happen on both the developer’s side as well as the user’s side. The latter will be determined by application domains and time itself, and is certainly connected to the security aspects. As soon as convenience or necessity outweighs the risks and concerns, adoption will happen.
Mindset is also an issue on the development side, mostly when it comes to the monetization aspects. Where does the money actually come from?
Check. Mindsets are changing. Timing may be impacted by different application domains.
Tomi Engdahl says:
MCUs secure industrial IoT designs
https://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4459105/MCUs-secure-industrial-IoT-designs?utm_content=bufferd447e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Renesas expands its RX65N/RX651 line of MCUs with devices that integrate a Trusted Secure IP driver and support for HMI (human machine interface) applications. These microcontrollers are based on an RXv2 core with a maximum operating frequency of 120 MHz and provide as much as 2 Mbytes of code flash and 640 kbytes of SRAM. They also permit seamless flash firmware updates in the field through secure network communications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Router Reboot Button
https://www.hackster.io/jmjulien/router-reboot-button-0df78d
A big button on the night table that I can just hit and then roll over back to sleep.
Requirements
batteries; (please not another wall adapter)
no wires (wifi)
cheap (no raspberry pi)
simple (easy and fast to build)
After some searches about uPNP, remote reboot etc, I realized that I had no other choices than logging into the router in one way or another. Since I did not want to have to understand the whole router administration web interface (Just quickly looking at the pages code steered me away). So I went the telnet way
Tomi Engdahl says:
Startup Takes NB-IoT to New Lows
Baseband transmit draws less than 20 milliamps
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332677
Move over, Qualcomm and Sequans. In the limbo dance of the Internet of Things, a startup comes out of stealth mode today, taking cellular networking to new lows in power and price.
Riot Micro is sampling a modem tailored for the latest 4G IoT standards. It claims that its RM1000 chip draws milliamps to microamps of power and could sell for well below the industry’s target of a $5 module.
Carriers around the world are just starting to turn on various flavors of LTE-based cellular IoT networks. They aim to leapfrog an emerging crop of emerging low-power wide-area networks such as LoRa, Sigfox, 802.11ah Wi-Fi, and others.
The Riot Micro chip is designed to handle both the Narrowband IoT and LTE Cat M1 (aka eMTC) standards. “The modems are very, very similar with a lot of commonalities between the two; and they don’t run simultaneously, it’s one or the other,” said Peter Wong, chief executive of the startup.
Rather than implement baseband functions in software on a DSP, Riot carved fast Fourier transforms and baseband filters into its physical layer block. Separately, it stripped an LTE protocol stack down to just the essentials needed for the IoT specs.
The result is a 55-nm TSMC chip that processes NB-IoT and Cat M1 using a 26-MHz ARM M0 controller, Mbytes of embedded SRAM, and new PLLs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New network technology enables real-time customer satisfaction data collection through the new NB-IoT technology of mobile networks. Kangasala Prisma uses the first customer satisfaction data collected through the Elisa NB-IoT network.
There are tens of thousands of Happy Hour Smooth Smoothers in the world and in Finland. Typically, the devices buffer the information received from the presses throughout the day and send summary data once a day to the customer via a 2G or 3G network.
In a conventional network, the battery life is 2-5 years and their size also requires a large amount of batteries. Real-time reporting significantly shortens the life of the batteries compared to the lesser ranges.
Source: https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2017/12/04/hymy-siirtyy-iot-verkkoon/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tosibox lock protects DNA’s building technology
DNA and Tosibox, have begun collaboration to provide DNA property customers with an advanced security solution for monitoring house technology. Tosibox technology is easily scaled to the use of various sizes of real estate and allows for secure building of building technology remotely.
An intelligent home benefits from intelligent property, and especially newer building companies utilize very modern building technology. For example, heating, water and electricity consumption, air conditioning and access control consistently generate data that is also exported outside the property so that a property manager, service company or other service provider can monitor and adjust the properties of the property.
DNA offers its customer properties a cost-effective and easy solution to ensure security in building technology. Tosibox Lock makes the connection used by autoautomatics secure, and the Tosibox Avain enables remote access to the systems.
Tosibox’s Plug & Go technology is patented, hardware-based remote access solution. It creates a completely secure remote connection between the devices. Only authorized devices have access to the network, and remote access to data is not possible with a simple password, as access to a physical key is required. Enhanced security is guaranteed by strong VPN encryption and ISAE 3000 security-audited technology.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/7266-tosiboxin-lukko-suojaa-dna-n-talotekniikan
Tomi Engdahl says:
Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
GM launches Marketplace, an in-car shopping service for food, gas, hotels, and more via 4G-connected infotainment systems in 2017 and 2018 models
GM thinks we want to use our cars like credit cards, but I’m not so sure
A solution in search of a problem
https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/5/16735264/gm-marketplace-infotainment-commerce-shopping
Tomi Engdahl says:
Classic Tomy Toy Gets AIY Makover
https://hackaday.com/2017/12/04/classic-tomy-toy-gets-aiy-makover/
A few months ago the Raspberry Pi magazine The MagPi gave away a piece of hardware, the Google AIY voice control kit. Subscribers all received one, but as always the eBay scalpers cleaned up all the in-store copies and very few lucky enthusiasts scored a kit of their own.
Among these frustrated Pi owners was [Circuitbeard], who decided instead to make his own kit. And since a cardboard case lacked style, he decided to do so in the shell of a 1980s Tomy Mr. Money toy novelty bank. Into it went a Raspberry Pi Zero W and an audio pHat, with a servo to operate the head and a microswitch connected to the toy’s arm as a trigger.
Tomy Mr Money Google AIY Assistant
https://circuitbeard.co.uk/2017/11/18/tomy-mr-money-google-aiy-assistant/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Let There Be Automated Blinds!
https://hackaday.com/2017/12/04/let-there-be-automated-blinds/
More than once a maker has wanted a thing, only to find it more economical to build it themselves. When your domicile has massive windows, closing what can feel like a mile of blinds becomes a trial every afternoon — or every time you sit down for a movie. [Kyle Stewart-Frantz] had enough of that and automated his blinds.
After taking down and dismantling his existing roller blinds, he rebuilt it using 1-1/4 in EMT conduit for the blinds’ roll to mount a 12V electric shade kit within — the key part: the motor is remote controlled.
DIY: Voice activate smart shades!
https://blog.kylesf.com/low-cost-alexa-voiced-controlled-shades-192faec4e039
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kristin Paget is Hacking Carrier Grade LTE eNodeB
https://hackaday.com/2017/12/04/kristin-paget-is-hacking-carrier-grade-lte-enodeb/
Every once in a while you get lucky and a piece of cool gear lands on your bench to tear down and explore. On that measuring stick, Kristin Paget hit the jackpot when she acquired a fascinating piece of current generation cellphone infrastructure. She’s currently researching a carrier-grade LTE eNodeB and walked through some of the findings, along with security findings of two IoT products, during her talk on the Laws of IoT Security at the 2017 Hackaday Superconference.
Kristin Paget: The Laws of IoT Security
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5JLub4_gSs
Learn how to design more secure connected devices by studying the common mistakes made in Internet of Things hardware already in the field.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The IIC Publishes Architecture for Industrial Analytics
https://www.designnews.com/automation-motion-control/iic-publishes-architecture-industrial-analytics/155352934757907?ADTRK=UBM&elq_mid=2289&elq_cid=876648
The Industrial Internet Consortium has laid out plans to help companies deploy systems for IoT analytics.
The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) has published the IIC Industrial IoT Analytics Framework Technical Report (IIAF). The technical document includes a complete set of instructions that IIoT system architects can use to deploy industrial analytics systems.
While IoT systems are proliferating, industrial IT experts have warned that a flood of new data won’t deliver efficiencies unless it can be managed successfully. The IIAF analytics blueprint was created to help solve this problem. The goal is to help system architects and designers to map analytics to the IIoT applications so they can realize the potential of those analytics and improve their decision making.
The analytics – once in place – offer a range of benefits, from simple efficiencies to strategies for better utilizing assets. “Analytics should give you insights into your business. And now you can use the insights to decide what to do,”
While the largest industrial companies have been using sophisticated analytics for years, advanced industrial applications are now making their way into mainstream industrial settings.
The team at the IIC noted that the IIAF offers a broad scope of requirements for industrial analytics applied to IIoT systems. It shows IIoT system architects the steps involved in developing analytics with state-of-the-art information, including definitions and information flows that show how the technologies can be applied to the applications.
INDUSTRIAL INTERNET OF THINGS ANALYTICS FRAMEWORK
http://www.iiconsortium.org/industrial-analytics.htm
Tomi Engdahl says:
Arduino MKR GSM 1400 and DTMF
https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/Arduino_Genuino/arduino-mkr-gsm-1400-and-dtmf-acc497?ref=platform&ref_id=424_recent___&offset=0
This tutorial shows how to use the Arduino MKR GSM 1400 DTMF feature to have a direct interaction between your board and your phone.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Trillium aims to shield your high-tech car against cyberattacks
https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/04/trillium-aims-to-shield-your-high-tech-car-against-cyberattacks/
Cars these days are basically computers with wheels, and as with other computers, you’ll probably want to make a few changes to protect against cyberthreats. Trillium, presenting today on Disrupt Berlin’s Startup Battlefield stage, is looking to be the security solution for in-car computer systems, adding extra encryption, intrusion detection and other firewall-like features.
We’ve already seen demonstrations of cars being hacked while on the road; the danger may be largely theoretical today, but it could make the jump to practical tomorrow.
“Hacked cars pose a far greater danger than hacked desktop consumers,” Trillium’s Adrian Sossna told me. “The possible damage that a rogue hacked car can make is vast. It’s already happening, and I am concerned that we will see large hacks in the next 12 months.”
Trillium’s software lives on the car’s computing hardware, doing a couple of main duties. First, it encrypts all in-car transmissions; this prevents a security soft spot like a backseat media screen or Wi-Fi hotspot from becoming a back door into more critical systems. And second, it watches over the car’s networks for unusual activity that could indicate an intrusion attempt. The software updates itself.
To be clear, this isn’t something you’ll plug in and install on your 2014 Accord. You can’t actually fiddle with your car’s internals to that extent
“Trillium’s solution is built to be embedded into the car when it rolls out of the factory,” explained Sossna. “Our future end-customer is a fleet owner that needs to protect its employees, cargo and society at large from car hacks.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://minimaprocessor.com/
Tomi Engdahl says:
2D Materials Push Paper Electronics Towards the Internet of Things
https://spectrum.ieee.org/nanoclast/semiconductors/materials/2d-materials-push-paper-electronics-towards-the-internet-of-things
Paper-based electronics have primarily been limited to use in printed organic electronics. While this is promising for commodity applications such as packaging tags and toys, the speed of organic semiconductors is not suitable for most radio-frequency applications. Among the uses for which paper-based electronic devices have been heretofore unsuitable is connecting to the cloud over Bluetooth frequencies for the Internet of Things (IoT), smart sensors, and other smart applications.
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin) are reporting this week at the International Electron Devices Meeting that graphene and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), with their extraordinary conductivity, can enable paper-based electronics to achieve the frequency required to make them fit for IoT and smart sensor applications. The researchers claim that this work represents the first time that high-performance two-dimensional (2D) transistors have been demonstrated on a paper substrate.
Tomi Engdahl says:
State Of The IoT
Growth continues to surge, but definitions, management and security issues remain problematic.
https://semiengineering.com/state-of-the-iot/
“The Internet of Things continues to evolve,” says Jenalea Howell, director of IoT & Smart Cities for IHS Technology. “IoT is a conceptual framework, not a market.”
IHS estimates there are 27 billion “connectable devices” out in the world now, with 9.5 billion being shipped this year. By “connectable devices,” the market research firm takes in connected devices and devices that are not actively connected to the Internet, such as a Fitbit stowed away in a drawer.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Corporate IoT Implementation Struggling, Survey Finds
http://www.securityweek.com/corporate-iot-implementation-struggling-survey-finds
Security is the Primary Concern for Firms Implementing an IoT Strategy, IT Pros Say
Remaining competitive is the primary motivation for implementing a corporate ‘internet of things’ (IoT) strategy; but 90% of those doing so admit the implementation is struggling. Security is the primary concern, holding back 59% of organizations with a current IoT project.
Security is followed by the cost of implementation (46%); competing priorities (37%); an intimidatingly complex IT infrastructure (35%); and funding (32%). The figures come from a survey (PDF) published this week by Vanson Bourne, commissioned by the Wi-SUN Alliance, which questioned 350 IT decision makers from firms in the U.S., UK, Sweden and Denmark that are already investing in at least one IoT project.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Startup Takes NB-IoT to New Lows
Baseband transmit draws less than 20 milliamps
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332677
Tomi Engdahl says:
Drives and machines are getting smarter in the Industrie 4.0 era
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/drives-and-machines-are-getting-smarter-in-the-industrie-40-era/a3f5c48bb8652cc516209a70dcaaf41a.html
Intelligent drive systems play a large role in optimizing machine configuration and performance and aid companies looking to adopt Industrie 4.0 in their operations.
Machine manufacturers are under pressure to provide shorter development times for highly advanced machines with less manpower as Industrie 4.0 adoption gains momentum. The requirement for real-time data to inform operational decision-making is growing. The keyword with Industrie 4.0 is connectivity—between all participants in the production process—even in facilities where Industrie 4.0 adoption may not have happened yet. It is important that components or systems are at least compatible with Industrie 4.0 requirements and have the ability to connect and communicate with internal and external networks.
While this is easy to achieve with new components, replacing all existing systems to ensure compatibility is unrealistic. This has led to the development of a variety of devices that offer at least basic connectivity to Industrie 4.0 systems without impacting the automation logic.
Enhanced functionality is a particular requirement with drives. Modern drive systems now have sufficient intelligence to perform position movements and velocity control.
Staying in sync
Even if a drive system does contain the appropriate problem-solving tools or function blocks, the challenge of synchronizing multiple movements on the machine remains. Where the bus system in use is not deterministic, the solution is for the drives to communicate between themselves, without having to refer back to a central control system. This is where technologies such as SERCOS III—one of the first deterministic bus systems—come into their own. A deterministic system is not necessarily a prerequisite for Industrie 4.0 adoption. Drives can store real-time data and send it in a non-deterministic way to upward systems.
With such a range of function tools available within the drive, it is important to select the right tool. The goal should be that a machine builder programmer with no previous experience of the particular challenge can access and use these functions.
The solution lies in employing tried and tested PLC function blocks that can be used in IEC 61131-3 PLCs and even incorporated within ladder logic programming.
Creating a machine HMI
Creating an interface between the machine and operator—another vital component of Industrie 4.0—previously required central PLC involvement along with a bus system to convey key machine set-up information and variables to the drives. Diagnostics and machine status information is redirected to the PLC before being displayed on the human-machine interface (HMI).
Although modern bus systems can achieve this, it can require a great deal of programming effort and may be unnecessary when all the required information is contained within the drive system.
Help with maintenance
Modern drives now can play a part in a proactive maintenance regime as they can be supplied with a fully integrated series of software tools capable of performing key predictive maintenance functions, with minimal additional programming effort. This software can be set up to continuously monitor the condition of the machine mechanics and process conditions in real time.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Next-gen asset performance management software shows the big picture
APM 2.0 integrates information from other control systems to deliver a more comprehensive view and analysis of production and performance.
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/next-gen-asset-performance-management-software-shows-the-big-picture/dd8167f62bebf89210f4a47adb2b6c19.html
Manufacturing is at the brink of the next generation industrial automation revolution, driven by advances in robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. To remain competitive, complex, capital-intensive industries need to deploy industrial automation more than ever, as global competition requires companies to increase efficiency through reduced operating costs, increased production, higher quality, and lower inventories. The highest priority is increasing asset utilization and eliminating production losses caused by unplanned downtime–a $20 billion a year process industry problem.
Current maintenance practices
For the past 50 years, maintenance practices have evolved in terms of equipment reliability and availability. Maintenance strategy has progressed through run-to-failure; calendar-based; usage-based; condition-based and reliability-centered maintenance (RCM). Outcomes are improved but the equipment continues to fail. Why?
Despite successive techniques becoming more sophisticated, they do not address the main issue: failures caused by the operation of equipment outside its stipulated design and safety limits. Current reliability practices that only focus on maintenance issues like wear and age have failed to detect seemingly “random” equipment failures, particularly those caused by excursions in operational conditions that cause the most damage to equipment.
With the emergence of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Big Data, machine learning and other analytics, there is a huge market opportunity to better address reliability and availability.
A new generation of analytical capabilities that can provide deeper insights is needed, however. Operators need accurate, predictive solutions to provide much earlier warnings of impending trouble. They also require prescriptive guidance to avoid or mitigate the forecasted outcomes.
Here comes APM 2.0
The next generation of APM–APM 2.0–gets its power from integrating information from other control systems, such as manufacturing execution systems (MES), to deliver a more comprehensive view and analysis of production processes and asset performance. By incorporating data from all systems, it can better assess patterns of normal and abnormal behavior, which helps to predict future conditions and their inherent causes.
Machine learning: a driving force
To increase availability, failure prevention must be based on data-driven truths powered by machine learning, a computer science sub-field that has evolved from the study of pattern recognition using algorithms that learn and predict from data without programming or rules. Applied within context, it can cast a “wider net” around machines to capture process-induced degradation that causes most failures.
Advanced machine learning software picks up behavioral patterns from streams of digital data produced by sensors, which reside on and around machines and processes, combined with other data events. Autonomous by nature with little need for human intervention, this advanced technology constantly learns and adapts to new signal patterns when operating conditions change. Failure signatures learned on one machine “inoculate” it, ensuring that the same condition does not happen. Learned signatures readily transfer to similar machines, preventing the same degradation conditions from affecting
A new frontier of performance
Technology advancements like sensorization, the IIoT, machine learning and cloud technologies are not only making new manufacturing analytics methods possible, but also more scalable and affordable. Paired with process industry company’s dire need to find new ways to enhance existing operational excellence initiatives, it’s catapulted us into a new era of manufacturing: Industrie 4.0.
This new phase overcomes a key reliability challenge: the sheer number of asset types to cover. It uses cyber physical systems to monitor physical processes and make decentralized decisions. Asset and process analytics jointly are responsible for creating a multi-faceted view to enable fact-based decision making that considers a broader set of tradeoffs. While machine learning is a new technology, conventional methods to predict performance emerged four decades ago.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Wearable Chip to Predict Seizures
https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/devices/a-wearable-chip-to-predict-seizures
One of the toughest aspects of having epilepsy is not knowing when the next seizure will strike. A wearable warning system that detects pre-seizure brain activity and alerts people of its onset could alleviate some of that stress and make the disorder more manageable. To that end, IBM researchers say they have developed a portable chip that can do the job; they described their invention today in the Lancet’s open access journal eBioMedicine.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Citizen IoT Network for Makers has Formed in San Francisco
https://makezine.com/2017/12/06/san-francisco-maker-iot-network/
A new kind of wireless network is emerging on the streets of San Francisco. Made for people and their smartphones, Noodle! Coins uses low power Bluetooth to crowdsource connectivity for maker devices. This delay tolerant network enables radically cheap data upload. You can become part of this Citizen Network by simply installing an app.
In the past, connectivity for makers has been expensive. A cellular modem can cost $5-$10 per month, and requires a lot of energy from a device’s power system. LoRa modules are also expensive and have severe limitations on how much data they can transport. It’s too expensive and inefficient for Makers to scale their projects, and covering a city or a country with sensors is prohibitively expensive.
That’s where Noodle! Coins comes in.
Together with Micha Benoliel and Kyude Karyan, we founded Nodle.io to build the first citizen IoT network for makers. This September, we launched the Noodle! Coins app to test our network in San Francisco.
The Noodle! Coins app uses our Nodle.io SDK to crowdsource a network. The app uses anonymized Bluetooth and coarse location to provide delay tolerant data upload. Each time a Bluetooth beacon is detected, the user earns a Noodle! Coin.
Our vision is to build a maker network that anyone can use to move data from their hardware projects to the cloud. Because we can leverage delay tolerant Wi-Fi offloading, data costs can be 1/10th of any competing connectivity service. Our dream is to have people mine a meaningful cryptocurrency on their phone without impacting battery life or CPU performance. Our tests show millions of Noodle! Coins mined with less <1% impact on battery life. The distributed computing power of smartphones is a truly awesome force that has yet to be tapped.
Noodle works with any Bluetooth 4.0+ device already in the wild. Makers open an account with us, create a product in our dashboard, and add a device profile. Data transmitted by an IoT device will transport through the Citizen Network to your own servers. Noodle is designed to upload small amounts of delay tolerant data, at the lowest possible cost.
Tomi Engdahl says:
PiTunnel connects your Raspberry Pi to the world
https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/06/pitunnel-connects-your-raspberry-pi-to-the-world/?utm_source=tcfbpage&sr_share=facebook
The project exposes your Pi to the outside world securely. With a few commands on your local Pi, you can access your little computer via a terminal or the web. A unique feature includes the ability to bring up a command prompt through your browser. It’s similar to other projects like Dataplicity but Raftopoulos has added a few of his own tweaks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT’s Many Different Forms
Industrial and consumer IoT are developing in multiple guises.
https://semiengineering.com/iots-many-different-forms/
The Internet of Things is settling into widespread industrial applications, along with precision agriculture, while consumer IoT continues to find its way into the home through smart speakers and their digital assistants, such as Amazon Echo, Apple HomeKit, and Google Home.
The Internet of Cows and the Internet of Tomatoes may sound like fanciful subjects, yet there is serious technology in these agricultural IoT areas. Monitoring the gestation of dairy cows and keeping tabs on the ripeness and flavor of tomatoes are enabled now with IoT.
“IoT is not a technology. Not at all,” says David Pugh, technology analyst at IDTechEx. “It builds on lots of other technologies. It’s a business model. And it’s about getting value out of the data produced. We’re talking about devices talking to devices. We’re not talking about mobile phones. We’re not talking about Apple Watches. We’re talking about machines talking to other machines.”
This has been enabled to a large extent by the continued drop in the price of chips. “Remember back to 1992, when Bluetooth first became a thing,” said Pugh. “A Bluetooth module design cost $50. Now everyone here has at least two Bluetooth modules in our pockets. They cost less than 50 cents each. There is so much that goes into IoT. The foundation of IoT is sensors. Typically, a sensor senses something, then we do something with that information. Then we can access communication information. We send the data somewhere, and then we power it, using energy harvesting, and you supposedly have got the storage. For most people, this is all IoT is—the hardware. And that’s that. There is so much more to think about if you’re running a project.”
“Nowadays, customers for markets are looking for solutions,” says Noboru Saito, a senior vice president of TDK, and CEO of TDK’s Sensor Systems Business Company. “This is not limited to each piece-by-piece element – modules, or in adding the software to the sensor fusion. Having a wider variety of those sensor elements is necessary to meet what the customers require. Motion, gyro, and accelerometer, maybe the height pressure, are needed to control a drone. And to control the hovering, the pressure sensor is taking a really important role.”
Who’s making money?
Ed Abrams, vice president of enterprise IoT at Samsung Electronics America, notes his company’s perspective on IoT is from the B2B or B2B2C angle. “Now we’ve all seen the data that says that IoT is going to be huge, that there are going to be billions of devices, trillions of dollars in terms of economic value,” he says. “My wife keeps asking me every time I come home at night, where’s our fair share? We haven’t figured that out yet, because while there’s all this great projection, while there’s all these really thoughtful ideas about where IoT is going to grow to, there’s a fundamental problem that a lot of people have when they think about IoT. And it stems from the definition of IoT. IoT talks about devices and IP addresses. It talks about machine-to-machine connectivity. There’s nothing in here about business value, or value to the end consumer or to the individual. And these are the things that you really need to think about as you approach an IoT engagement, and that that you really need to leverage in order to drive business value. Now, the good news is we’re starting to see more and more customers who are recognizing how to capture business value out of the IoT space.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
The IoT Is Alive And Well
Rumors of its lackluster growth appear to be company- or segment-specific.
https://semiengineering.com/the-iot-is-alive-and-well/
It’s hard to state the case for billions or trillions of things. The numbers vary so widely that it’s hard to tie any credible projections to them. What is apparent is that the companies that predicted that all data would move from devices through gateways to the cloud for processing were wrong. Just taking streaming video data from automotive sensors, there is no data center big enough to process all of that information. And it’s impossible by any means to move that data back and forth fast enough in such large quantities to add even a glimmer of sanity to this idea.
That doesn’t mean cloud-based operations are a bad idea. Cloud computing is exploding right now, but not because it’s processing all of the data generated by sensors. The model of dynamically provisioning servers for workloads is enormously more efficient than leaving servers idling while workers go home for the night or the weekend. And it makes it possible to deal with spikes in demand, such as online ordering around the holidays or streaming videos at certain hours of the day or certain days of the week.
Behind all of this, the Internet of Things and its various permutations, such as the industrial IoT, are growing steadily. Wearables continue to lag because there is no killer application yet, such as the sensors that promise to measure heart irregularities well before the onset of a heart attack. And the home market has been slow to take off, partly because it’s too hard to set up home networks with all of the different protocols, and partly because there is no compelling reason why anyone has to monitor their laundry from their smart phone. But there are big efforts underway by companies like Apple, Samsung, Amazon and Google to change those perceptions, including some nods to better security so hackers can’t gain access to home networks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Preventing IoT Edge Device Vulnerabilities
Billions of edge devices provide a vast attack surface.
https://semiengineering.com/preventing-iot-edge-device-vulnerabilities/
However, the projected billions of IoT edge devices out in the wild makes for a vast attack surface. Should hardware designers be concerned about security for IoT edge devices? And, is it worth the effort and cost to ensure security at this level? We explore internal design vulnerabilities and 3rd-party attacks on IoT edge devices in this paper in order to answer that question.
https://www.mentor.com/tannereda/resources/overview/preventing-iot-edge-device-vulnerabilities-431aad17-d8f8-4a68-848e-e54151b7941c?cmpid=10168
Tomi Engdahl says:
Securing The Industrial Internet Of Things
A good security solution should not impact operations, reliability or profitability.
https://semiengineering.com/securing-the-industrial-internet-of-things/
Objects, sensors, actuators and controllers that were once designed for stand-alone operation are now increasingly connected by means of intelligent software and networks – forming the basis of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). To be sure, GE defines the IIoT as “a network of a multitude of devices connected by communications technologies that results in systems that can monitor, collect, exchange, analyze, and deliver valuable new insights.”
IIoT infrastructure, as well as the data it generates, must be protected against a wide range of cyber threats. Vulnerable devices can be hijacked and even physically disabled, while unencrypted or unverified data transmissions can be intercepted, leaked or spoofed. A leak or deliberate falsification of sensitive data could cause a halt in factory operations, electrical blackouts or malfunctioning water treatment centers.
Despite the real-world risks, IIoT operators are understandably concerned that implementation of a comprehensive security solution could pose integration challenges and incur additional costs. As such, the most effective security solution is one that does not negatively impact operations, reliability or profitability. Put simply, a practical, simple and secure solution that can be easily and widely adopted by IIoT OEMs and service providers is far more effective than a ‘super solution’ with only limited adoption.
Securing the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
http://info.rambus.com/securing-the-industrial-iot
IIoT infrastructure, as well as the data it generates, must be protected against a wide range of cyber threats. Vulnerable devices can be hijacked and even physically disabled, while unencrypted or unverified data transmissions can be intercepted, leaked or spoofed. A leak or deliberate falsification of sensitive data could cause a halt in factory operations, electrical blackouts or malfunctioning water treatment centers.
The Rambus CryptoManager IoT Security Service is a turnkey security solution for IIoT OEMs and service providers. As we highlight in our white paper, our one-stop-shop solution provides seamless device-to-cloud secure connectivity, device lifecycle management, and advanced device monitoring capabilities to protect service high-availability and help mitigate a variety of attacks, including distributed denial of service (DDoS).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Quad IO-Link master with higher current SIO channels: ADI Power by Linear Design Note
https://www.edn.com/design/sensors/4459119/Quad-IO-Link-master-with-higher-current-SIO-channels–ADI-Power-by-Linear-Design-Note
IO-Link is a communication standard for a point-to-point, 3-wire interface to smart sensors and actuators found in industrial applications. IO-Link extends the traditional interface capabilities of these devices from a simple NC/NO switch interface (standard IO or SIO mode) to a bidirectional intelligent interface capable of sending additional information via coded switching at one of three different speeds (COM1— 4.8kb/s, COM2—38.4kb/s or COM3—230.4kb/s). In addition to the data pin (C/Q), the IO-Link Type A interface has a 24VDC power supply pin (L+) and a common return pin (L–).
When an IO-Link master powers up, it interrogates each connected device to determine the proper operational mode for the device: SIO, COM1, COM2 or COM3. This allows for a mixture of legacy and IO-Link enabled devices to operate seamlessly in the same system.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Measure and control over Ethernet
https://www.edn.com/electronics-products/other/4459117/Measure-and-control-over-Ethernet
DGH has introduced a line of data-acquisition modules with seven input channels for use in monitoring or process control. The D7000 series communicate over Ethernet to a host computer using the Modbus TCP/IP protocol. Because these modules communicate over a network, you can design distributed systems for monitoring phenomena such as temperature, pressure, flow, and just about anything else that uses a sensor. By adding analog and/or digital output modules, you can creates a control system.
http://www.modbus.org/tech.php
Tomi Engdahl says:
Zac Hall / 9to5Mac:
Zero-day flaw allowed unauthorized remote access to HomeKit products via iOS 11.2; fix made that limits some functionality, full fix coming in update next week — A HomeKit vulnerability in the current version of iOS 11.2 has been demonstrated to 9to5Mac that allows unauthorized control …
Zero-day iOS HomeKit vulnerability allowed remote access to smart accessories including locks, fix rolling out
https://9to5mac.com/2017/12/07/homekit-vulnerability/
Tomi Engdahl says:
San Francisco Chronicle:
New SF law limits firms to 3 delivery robots each, with 9 for whole city; confines robots to industrial areas; sets 3 mph speed limit; requires human monitors — Robots that trundle along sidewalks R2D2-style to deliver takeout food or packages are still in early test phases. Few even exist.
San Francisco to robots: Don’t crowd our sidewalks
http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/San-Francisco-to-robots-Don-t-crowd-our-12411062.php
Robots that trundle along sidewalks R2D2-style to deliver takeout food or packages are still in early test phases. Few even exist.
But San Francisco is cracking down on them, and that may stem from mounting concerns about automation gobbling up jobs. On Tuesday night, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors unanimously passed tough new regulations that will limit companies to three robots each; limit the city to nine robots total; and confine robots to industrial areas where almost no one lives — all of which makes it hard to test their basic function of delivering goods to consumers. The robots can’t go faster than 3 mph and must have a human monitor, the new law says.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sean O’Neill / Skift:
Hilton testing its “Connected Room” in Tennessee, which lets guests set preferences for lights, thermostat, and TV via app, rolling out to US hotels in 2018
Hilton Unveils Plans for Its Smart Hotel Room Rollout in 2018
https://skift.com/2017/12/07/hilton-unveils-plans-for-its-smart-hotel-room-rollout-in-2018/
Hilton Worldwide is betting that guests will want to control their room’s thermostat, television, and other amenities via their mobile phones.
The goal is to enable Hilton guests to use its mobile app to set their room preferences, which hotels can automatically apply to individual rooms when guests check in.
“A guest will be able to save preferences in the app, such as by favoriting a TV channel or setting a thermostat, and their selections will be applied when they check in,” said Joshua Sloser, senior vice president of digital.
“If you like your room cold and to have ESPN on the TV, the room can start cooling once you check in,” he said. “And when you use the phone or room remote to turn on the TV, your favorite ESPN and other channels would be on the screen by default.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Download the white paper: “TSN – Time Sensitive Networking”
https://www.belden.com/resources/knowledge/white-papers/tsn-time-sensitive-networking-bc-lp
This white paper explains:White Paper TSN
TSN mechanisms & interdependencies
Understand why TSN is not “just another standard,” but a new evolution in mission-critical networking
Learn why TSN technology will help the IIoT and Industry 4.0 realize their full potential
Learn how TSN enables different traffic on the same network while providing the highest level of determinism in latency and jitter
Discover the profound impact TSN will have on automation networks of the future
Tomi Engdahl says:
Silicon Labs:
Semiconductor company Silicon Labs to acquire connected home solutions provider Sigma Designs in cash transaction valued at ~$282M
Silicon Labs Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire Sigma Designs, Inc.
http://news.silabs.com/2017-12-07-Silicon-Labs-Announces-Definitive-Agreement-to-Acquire-Sigma-Designs-Inc
- Cash transaction valued at approximately $282 million
- Z-Wave expands Silicon Labs’ wireless connectivity technologies for the smart home
- Combines world-class talent and IP portfolios to drive innovation
- Subsequent to divestiture and restructuring actions, Silicon Labs expects the transaction to be accretive on a non-GAAP basis
Tomi Engdahl says:
Computerized Autonomous Agents
Computerized Autonomous Agents can handle tasks that are high in repetition but low in complexity. These are devices or software systems, perhaps connected via the Internet of Things (IoT), that can be developed to take in information from their environment and make independent choices. They require no human involvement when in normal operation. More specifically, they can perform transactions, acquire resources, make payments, and, in general, create value on behalf of the developers. These systems can collect local environmental information (device to device collaboration) and make decisions in real time (quick adaptability). They perform certain tasks far better and faster than any single machine or human that is not on the local scene.
Source: https://opensource.com/open-organization/17/12/blockchain-revolution-part-2?sc_cid=7016000000127ECAAY
Tomi Engdahl says:
A TINY NEW CHIP COULD SECURE THE NEXT GENERATION OF IOT
https://www.wired.com/story/project-sopris-iot-security/
THE INTERNET OF Things security crisis persists, as billions of inadequately secured webcams, refrigerators, and more flood homes around the world. But IoT security researchers at Microsoft Research have their eye on an even larger problem: the billions of gadgets that already run on simple microcontrollers—small, low-power computers on a single chip—that will gradually gain connectivity over the years, exponentially expanding the internet of things population. And that connected electric toothbrush needs protection, too.
The challenge with internet of things security so far has been the cost of implementing hardened features. It’s cheaper and faster to develop a product without spending time and resources on security. Devices rush off the line without adequate protections, often riddled with bugs, and rarely have a mechanism for manufacturers to distribute patches.
7 Habits of Highly Effective Microprocessors
The Project Sopris microcontroller prototype is designed to incorporate what Microsoft terms the “Seven Properties of Highly Secure Devices,” a common-sense melange of best practices. It includes the usual suspects, like enabling regular software updates, and requiring devices to store cryptographic keys in a secure part of the hardware.
The Sopris chip also incorporates the concept of software compartmentalization. Or put another way, apps! Microcontrollers do such relatively basic computing that they aren’t typically architected to separate different processes; everything just runs together as one big, open program. That creates security issues, though, because it means that a problem in one process impacts all software. By keeping that software separated, a bug or glitch in one portion doesn’t need to taint the whole system, and can be corrected in isolation. It’s like how one app crashing on your smartphone doesn’t bring the whole system down.
Battle Tested
So far, Microsoft’s solution has held up under scrutiny; in a challenge organized through bug bounty facilitator HackerOne, 150 security researchers failed to crack Project Sopris.
The Seven Properties of Highly Secure Devices
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/seven-properties-highly-secure-devices/?ranMID=24542&ranEAID=TnL5HPStwNw&ranSiteID=TnL5HPStwNw-_jc6amDnrz.iNOu_cZ4G5g&tduid=(afbfbfd350d440b3e613e2b0b9a0cfb6)(256380)(2459594)(TnL5HPStwNw-_jc6amDnrz.iNOu_cZ4G5g)()
Tomi Engdahl says:
A programmer’s cleaning guide for messy sensor data
https://opensource.com/article/17/9/messy-sensor-data?sc_cid=7016000000127ECAAY
If you have never used Pandas before and know the basics of Python, this tutorial is for you
Weather data is a good real-world example of a messy dataset. It comes with mixed content, irregular dropouts, and time zones, all of which are common pain points for data scientists. I’ll will go through examples of how to deal with mixed content and irregular dropouts. To work with odd time zones, refer to Mario Corchero’s excellent post, How to work with dates and time with Python.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Internet of Non-Electronic Things
https://hackaday.com/2017/12/07/the-internet-of-non-electronic-things/
The bill of materials for even the simplest IoT project is likely to include some kind of microcontroller with some kind of wireless module. But could the BOM for a useful IoT thing someday list only a single item? Quite possibly, if these electronics-less 3D-printed IoT devices are any indication.
While you may think that the silicon-free devices described in a paper (PDF link) by University of Washington students [Vikram Iyer] and [Justin Chan] stand no chance of getting online, they’ve actually built an array of useful IoT things, including an Amazon Dash-like button. The key to their system is backscatter, which modulates incident RF waves to encode data for a receiver. Some of the backscatter systems we’ve featured include a soil sensor network using commercial FM broadcasts and hybrid printable sensors using LoRa as the carrier.
In first, 3-D printed objects connect to WiFi without electronics
https://phys.org/news/2017-12-d-wifi-electronics.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printing Wireless Connected Objects
http://printedwifi.cs.washington.edu/printedwifi.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Are my IoT deployments secure?
https://info.microsoft.com/secure-iot-deployments-ondemand.html
Over the last few years, we’ve seen a dramatic spike in the size and scope of sites being attacked online. Cybercriminals were recently able to take down Twitter, Reddit, Netflix, AirBnb, and others as part of a massive, consolidated hacking operation, an alarming example of the vulnerabilities exposing IoT infrastructure today.
In this webinar, you will learn:
The most common ways attackers breach IoT infrastructure
Strategies for keeping your IoT infrastructure secure
Tomi Engdahl says:
Never Let Your Christmas Tree Run Dry, With Added Ultrasound
https://hackaday.com/2017/12/09/never-let-your-christmas-tree-run-dry-with-added-ultrasound/
[Evan] has paid that attention to the problem of Christmas tree hydration, and to address the shortcomings of earlier designs has come up with a low water warning using an ultrasonic rangefinder. Where previous sensor attempts based on conductive probes succumbed to corrosion or dirt build-up, this one has no contact between sensor and water.
Behind the rangefinder is a CHIP board, whose software sends a text message to his phone when the water level gets a bit low. All the software is available in the linked GitHub page
SMS texts are a good way to alert a tree owner
https://github.com/EvanKrall/waterlevel
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finished Dryer Will Text You
https://hackaday.com/2017/12/09/finished-dryer-will-text-you/
Here’s a slightly different way to check on the status of your laundry. Instead of checking if the machine is vibrating, or listening for sound, or pulling everything apart and hacking an ESP8266 into it, check the power that the machine is drawing. This is what [Scrand] did in his IoT dryer build.
The secret behind the hack is the Sonoff POW, a small device that sits in between the wall and the dryer. It has a relay in it that controls it, but, importantly for this hack, it’s able to measure the power consumption used by what’s plugged into it. By installing the ESPurna firmware on it, he can now use all the power of the firmware to control and monitor what’s connected to the POW. He wrote a PowerShell script to monitor the http server now running on the POW checking on how much power is being drawn by the dryer. When that power drops, the laundry is done, and in the case of [Scrand], a text is sent saying so.
IoT – Dryer / Washer SMS and E-mail Notifications
https://nomiotic.blogspot.fi/2017/11/iot-dryer-washer-sms-and-e-mail.html
So I found Sonoff POW which is the small device you connect to dryer’s power cable. It has controllable inside relay and can measure actual power consumption. I have it connected to my dryer’s cable.
OK, then I download Espurna firmware and flash it into my SonOff POW. It has API which can tell you actual power consumption. For use this API you need to enable it in POW administration. Go to administration click on Admin, enable HTTP API and copy your HTTP API Key for further use.
I have Windows Server at my home. So I decided to use PowerShell. Here is the script I wrote. I know it is in PowerShell but it is simple script which you can easily re-write to Python or PHP.
UPDATE: My dryer’s cable is marked as 250V/16A. So its OK with Sonoff POW.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ESPurna Firmware
https://bitbucket.org/xoseperez/espurna
ESPurna (“spark” in Catalan) is a custom firmware for ESP8266 based smart switches. It was originally developed with the IteadStudio Sonoff in mind but now it supports a growing number of ESP8266-based boards. It uses the Arduino Core for ESP8266 framework and a number of 3rd party libraries.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pogo Pins Make Light Work Of IoT Switches
https://hackaday.com/2017/12/09/pogo-pins-make-light-work-of-iot-switches/
Living in a condo with inadequate opportunity for fresh light wiring presented a problem for [Raphael Luckom], which he solved by taking a few off-the-shelf ESP8266-based IoT mains switches. That in itself is nothing particularly new these days, but what makes his switches special is that when faced with fiddly soldering to reprogram them, instead he fabricated a pogo pin jig to make the required contacts.
In-Circuit ESP8266 Programming Tool
Reprogramming A $13 Consumer Wifi Outlet
https://rluckom.github.io/esp-programmer/posts/reprogramming-wifi-switch/
I decided to use relays connected to ESP-8266 wifi-enabled microcontrollers to control the lights. As a simple proof-of-concept, I wrote a switch program that would turn on the relay when I made a GET request to /on and keep it on for 11 seconds, Then I programmed a “sensor” ESP-8266 to call each of the /on endpoints every few seconds for as long as it was turned on. I plugged it into the outlet controlled by the light switch, and connected the lights to the relays. Now, when I turned on the light switch, it would activate the sensor chip, which would tell the other chips to turn on their lights. When I turned off the light switch, the sensor chip would stop sending “turn on” requests to the others, which would time out after 11 seconds and turn their lights off. It’s not a sophisticated system, but it worked. At first I though about using MQTT queues, but then I decided to use a heartbest from the sensor directly.
What I wanted was a solution that integrated a programmable ESP-8266, power supply, and relay into a nice, clean, UL-listed package
Wifi outlet
These came programmed to be controlled by an android or ios app, but I try to avoid giving my wifi password to devices unless I can program them myself or trust them to be updated regularly. Besides, it just seems crazy to me that a request to turn on a light in my house would ever need to leave my local network.
The only ESP-8266 module I’ve ever used is the beginner-friendly NodeMcu boards. To program them, all you have to do is plug them into a computer with a mini USB cable. I was nervous about whether I’d be able to figure out how to program a less beginner-friendly chip already mounted on a larger board.
I’d heard of something called a “bed of nails” programming device, which is a special programming or testing apparatus consisting of a flat board with special spring-loaded pins sticking out of it.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Solved: Esp8266 powered by coin cell
https://hackaday.io/project/28527-solved-esp8266-powered-by-coin-cell
This project describes the use of a coin cell for powering the Esp8266 by building a remote control for Phillips Hue Lights
The big problem using the ESPs is the power consumption when Wifi “goes up”, about 100-200mA, peak up to 300mA. Normal coincells deliver a few mA, peak up to 20-40mA. But for the ESPs the voltage will collapse. We need “a little help of my friend”: the supercap.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Market research estimates there will be as many as 20 billion connected devices in the market by 2020*. These devices are expected to generate billions of petabytes of data traffic between cloud and edge devices. In 2017 alone, 8.4B connected devices* are expected in the market which is sparking a strong need to pre-process data at the edge. This has led many IoT device manufacturers, especially those working on vision based devices like smart cameras, drones, robots, AR/VR, etc., to bring intelligence to the edge.
Through the recent addition of the Movidius™ VPU technology to its existing AI edge solutions portfolio, Intel is well positioned to provide solutions
Source: https://software.seek.intel.com/NeuralComputeStickWebinar_Reg?registration_source=Facebook
Tomi Engdahl says:
Providing transactional data to your Hadoop and Kafka data lake
http://www.ibmbigdatahub.com/blog/providing-transactional-data-your-hadoop-and-kafka-data-lake?cm_mmc=OSocial_Facebook-_-Analytics_Unified+Governance+-+ECM-_-WW_WW-_-B-Paltoo-11-30-17&cm_mmca1=000000TF&cm_mmca2=10000665&
The data lake may be all about Apache Hadoop, but integrating operational data can be a challenge. A Hadoop software platform provides a proven cost-effective, highly scalable and reliable means of storing vast data sets on commodity hardware. By its nature, it does not deal well with changing data, having no concept of “update,” nor “delete.” The power of discovery that comes with a schema is also missing, which creates a barrier for integrating well understood transaction data that is more comfortably stored in a relational database.
Contrast the limitations of Apache Hadoop with Apache Kafka. Designed from the outset for constantly changing events and data, Kafka is rapidly becoming the enterprise standard for information hubs that can be used with or to feed data to the data lake. Using commodity hardware for highly scalable and reliable storage, Apache Kafka goes beyond Hadoop with a schema registry, self-compressing storage that understands the concept of a “key,” and other characteristics that assume data will change. Dozens of “writers” and “consumers” build to this open standard, empowering integration of transaction and other rapidly changing information with enterprise data stores, processing platforms and more.
With data amassed in a Kafka-based information hub, Kafka consumers can then feed data to the desired end points, including
Information server
Hadoop clusters
Cloud-based data stores
Tomi Engdahl says:
In spite of digital transformation, 2017 did not yield the desired financial results for GE
https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/10/in-spite-of-digital-transformation-2017-did-not-yield-the-desired-financial-results-for-ge/?utm_source=tcfbpage&sr_share=facebook
GE is a great example of a traditional company that has recognized the need to transform into a digital organization, but by all measures 2017 has been a tough year for the industrial giant financially.
Yet for all its difficulties in 2017, GE remains a case study of an enormous company moving a worldwide operation with over 300,000 employees into the digital future. Regardless of this year’s financial results, you can’t take that away from them.
GE was one of the first big enterprise companies to fully embrace the cloud, announcing its intent to close most of its on-premises data centers in 2014 when many companies were still coming to grips with the cloud conceptually. It’s a big AWS public cloud customer, and it has embraced SaaS with a huge contract with Box back in 2014 and Vera this year, just as a couple of examples of how it has been moving the entire company to the cloud.
It also recognized the shift from simply selling large industrial machines like wind turbines, airplane engines and MRI machines to the industrial Internet of Things. By equipping these machines with sensors, they can follow a digital trail of data to understand the health of those machines. The company has built out the Predix platform to take advantage of this growing move toward data and to allow its customers to build applications to understand and take advantage of all the data its mega machines are feeding them.
As former CEO Jeff Immelt put it back in 2014, “If you went to bed last night as an industrial company, you’re going to wake up a software and analytics company.” He truly seemed to get it. His company was building out tools and technologies to take advantage of this changing market dynamic, but the fact is that just because you get it doesn’t mean you are guaranteed immediate success.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ryan Whitwam / Android Police:
Google brings back play/pause touch controls to Home Mini via long press on sides, after top touch input was disabled due to bug that caused unwanted recording — The Google Home Mini is a super-affordable way to get Google Assistant in your life, but Google was forced to hobble the device shortly …
http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/12/08/new-google-home-mini-update-restores-touch-functionality-long-press-side/
The Google Home Mini is a super-affordable way to get Google Assistant in your life, but Google was forced to hobble the device shortly after launch because a sticky touch sensor caused Artem’s Mini to record everything he said. Part of that functionality is now coming back with a small tweak. Instead of tapping the top of the device, you’ll be able to long-press the side.
When we reported the original defect to Google, the company investigated the issue and determined a small number of Home Minis had a touch sensor that triggered on its own, thus causing inadvertent recording. Normally, you’d needed to long-press the top of the device to initiate listening. Defective units couldn’t tell legitimate presses apart from “phantom presses,” so Google opted to disable the touch activation feature completely. The single tap functions, which would normally start and pause music, snooze alarms, and end phone calls, were disabled as well.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bloomberg:
Mindful of smartphone patent wars, automakers, now among top US patent filers, work together on self-driving IP issues via industry associations to avoid suits — Automakers are learning the mistakes by smartphone companies — Ford, BMW among those looking for licenses without lawsuits
Carmakers Want Silicon Valley’s Tech Without Its Patent Wars
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-07/carmakers-want-silicon-valley-s-tech-without-its-patent-wars
Automakers are learning the mistakes by smartphone companies
Ford, BMW among those looking for licenses without lawsuits
As automakers turn their vehicles into app-laden computers on wheels, there’s one habit they don’t want to acquire from Silicon Valley: fighting over patents in court.
Manufacturers from BMW AG to Hyundai Motor Co. to Ford Motor Co. are trying to learn from the smartphone wars, which cost technology companies hundreds of millions of dollars in legal fees, as they prepare to revolutionize their vehicles.
“No sane automaker wants to repeat these wars, where the lawyers were the only winners,” said William Coughlin, chief executive officer of Ford Global Technologies, Ford’s intellectual property arm.
Automakers have ramped up their patent applications as they compete to roll out crash avoidance systems, on-board Wi-Fi and cars that can drive themselves. To avoid court battles over who gets paid and how much, competitors are banding together to jointly license technology, use non-proprietary software and buying or challenging patents that might be used in lawsuits against them.
The smartphone wars that began in 2010 were sparked by a clash of the phone and computer industries and pitted iPhone-maker Apple against manufacturers of phones that ran on Android, the operating system owned by Google. Microsoft Corp. also got swept in when it demanded royalties on phones that used Android.
Technology companies frequently resolve patent disputes — others have been over computer memory, networking and video cards — in court. But the big automakers tend to settle their fights more informally or let suppliers duke it out.
“They see every day there is litigation and they don’t want that,” said Kasim Alfalahi, head of Avanci LLC, a Dallas-based group that operates the patent pool. “They say, ‘We have looked at this, we have studied this and we would like to avoid it.’ “