Here is a list f IoT predictions for year 2018. With the number of connected devices set to top 11 billion – and that’s not including computers and phones – in 2018, Internet of Things will clearly continue to be a hot topic. Here is my prediction list:
1. Artifical Intelligence – it will be talked a lot
2. Blockchain – blockchain will be hyped to be a solution for many IoT problems, and it will turn out that it is not the best solution for most of problems it is hyped for – and maybe it will find few sensible uses for it in IoT. Blockchain can add immutability and integrity to some IoT transactions.
3. 4G mobile for IoT: NB-IoT and LTE-M are ready to be tested or used in many markets
4. 5G will be hyped a lot for IoT applications but it is nowhere near for any real big IoT use cases
6. Security issues will be talked a lot. IoT security is far from solved issue.
7. Privacy issues of IoT will be talked a lot when our homes and pockets are starting to be filled with ever listening digital assistants.
8. Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) will be massive
9. More CPU power will be added or used in the edge. Pushing processing power to the “edge” brings a number of benefits and opportunities.
10. Hardware based security: Hardware based security on microprocessors will be talked a lot after “Meltdown” and “Spectre” disaster
Links to more predictions:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2017/12/19/the-top-8-iot-trends-for-2018/#17a9943267f7
https://www.ibm.com/blogs/internet-of-things/top-5-iot-trends-in-2018/
https://www.inc.com/james-paine/3-internet-of-things-trends-to-watch-in-2018.html
https://www.i-scoop.eu/iot-2018-1/
https://dzone.com/articles/iot-trends-for-2018
1,393 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://op.media/chydenius/megatrendit/suomessa-on-maailman-alykkain-sahkoverkko-bd92d467ffce4875813cde72a2587f55
Tomi Engdahl says:
It’s OK, you can pick up real-time IoT analytics – it won’t bite… unless you ignore this advice
Your gentle first-steps to processing live information streaming from networked sensors
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/10/27/first_steps_in_real_time_data/
The Internet of Things is growing, and it feels unstoppable.
Smart home appliances, energy meters, and wearable gizmos are the public face of IoT, and you can add to the list industrial control and factory equipment, warehouse pallets and packaging, delivery vans, and so on – all things that generate real-time data, which require real-time analytics to process.
In manufacturing and warehousing, these gadgets are tracking the movement of goods and freight through a supply chain; the transfer of raw materials to customer. The data coming off these trackers and gizmos can be used to calculate the best route for a delivery to hit a given deadline, without guzzling fuel or punishing vehicles. This isn’t science fiction: online retailer Ocado, for one, uses this flow of information to optimize its shipping.
Science fact: Failure is an option
Ganesh Ramamoorthy, a Gartner senior analyst, claimed in 2016 that eight out of ten IoT projects would fail before they were even launched. The reason: those failing IoT systems were solutions looking for a problem, and likely a problem that simply did not and would not exist.
If you’re planning and building out an infrastructure of internet or network-connected sensors and embedded devices for your business, ensure they serve a specific and clearly defined purpose, and that they generate data that is useful – information that can be used to fix problems immediately and optimize processes long-term.
That hosepipe of data, that telemetry, from your IoT network will likely need real-time processing and analysis to give you a condensed and informative on-the-spot report of what’s happening within your organization.
You can crunch the numbers quarter by quarter or week by week later, provided you have the storage to hold all that info in the meantime.
If you’re not processing this continuous sensor data in real-time, there’s not really much point in collecting it live over the network as it happens. This takes us back to ensuring you have a specific clearly defined purpose for your Internet of Things gadgets: if you’re picking gear that produces real-time intelligence, have something in the backend or network edge that catches and processes and formats it for you to understand. Again it seems obvious, but you’d be surprised how many times someone’s been told to tail -f /var/log/* for live feedback, rather than being provided with a real-time dashboard.
A major benefit of real-time analytics is the ability to set alarms and warnings on certain conditions: when inventory falls too low, when pressure goes too high, when demand outstrips supply, and so on. This triggers immediately – sending emails, pager alerts, phone and desktop notifications, and so on – allowing you to act immediately, rather than work out what went wrong days or weeks later from archives of telemetry.
Mistakes
The graveyard of failed IT projects is littered with business intelligence and analytics projects that didn’t meet expectations, or proved too complicated to use. How, then, do you step into the world of real-time analytics, and avoid the costly mistakes of the past?
First, accept that there’s no one infrastructure or tool that will do the job perfectly; you need to integrate a mix of solutions.
poor data quality was one of the top five reasons IoT projects collapsed, according to Cisco.
An IFS study from 2017 found that 84 per cent of manufacturers had yet to integrate the data produced by their “connected devices” with data being generated by more traditional systems such as ERP. Gartner has also suggested that “poor quality” data costs organizations on average $15m per year in losses.
Power behind data
After integration comes analysis – the real crux. This can be done on or off premises, at the network edge or in the backend – whatever fits your budget, scale, software stack, or security model.
Google’s MapReduce or its open-source cousin Hadoop can be fired up to turn the raw data into insights.
For more instant forms of reporting – such as for alerts on web servers or medical devices, you need something that can handle streams of information with low-latency and incremental processing. Here the Apache software stack, for one, is often used: that includes the Storm computation system, the Spark cluster compute framework, and Flume to aggregate and move large amounts of log data. Storage is offered in the form of a number of memory and non-relational databases.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Why Android Nearby, iBeacons, and Eddystone failed to gain traction: low consumer awareness, spammy local notifications, complicated on-site rollouts, more
Why Android Nearby, iBeacons, and Eddystone failed to gain traction
https://venturebeat.com/2018/10/27/why-android-nearby-ibeacons-and-eddystone-failed-to-gain-traction/
Apple, Google, and other tech titans once trumpeted beacons — tiny transmitters that interact with smartphones, wearables, and other nearby gadgets — as the future of retail. The consensus roughly five years ago was that radios in restaurants, retailers, and sports stadiums would drive contextually relevant, highly personalized promotions to patrons within range of their wireless signals.
It didn’t quite work out that way.
Google this week did away with Nearby Notifications, following on the heels of its decision to gut support for Eddystone from Android and Chrome in October 2017. In the years since Eddystone and Apple iBeacon were introduced, beacon adoption among brick and mortar chains has slowed to a trickle. Now only a handful of brands — Target, Starbucks, and Walmart, to name a few — continue to invest in beacons.
This bearishness comes down to platform issues, mostly, with security vulnerabilities and poor reception thrown in for good measure. Technological shortcomings aren’t to blame, as you’ll see in our brief history of beacon platforms. The truth is, it’s a bit more complicated.
Competing standards
iBeacon
Eddystone and Google beacon platform
BLE beacon hardware
BLE beacons are pretty energy-efficient, as you might expect — some can last for up to two years on a single cell battery. They operate on the 2.4 GHz – 2.4835 GHz spectrum range; can reach up to 450 meters; and they’re cheap, ranging in cost from $5 to $50.
BLE beacons of all flavors can pinpoint a device’s location. How? Transfer power — the strength of the wireless signal measured at one meter from the target phone, smartwatch, or tablet — decreases as distance increases, and because the strength of the signal at exactly one meter from the device is calibrated and hardcoded into the beacon, BLE beacons can compare the two values to calculate a rough distance.
Android Nearby
Alongside Eddystone, Google released the Nearby API for Android and iOS, which uses a combination of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and inaudible, ultrasonic sound to establish proximity.
More beacons, more problems
Beacons appeared to be off to a promising start five years ago. And roughly 4 million beacons were active at the beginning of this year, up from 500,000 in 2015 — a nearly 900 percent increase in three years.
Sports stadiums were early adopters.
Retailers and restaurants rushed in with the same zeal.
There were signs of success early on. In the 2014-2015 season
But by 2015, only 3 percent of retailers in the U.S. had implemented beacon technology, and only 16 percent had plans to implement beacons.
So what happened?
App dependence was (and is) a major hurdle. It’s tough to convince customers to download a service they’ve never used, even with the promise of discounts — especially considering up to 70 percent haven’t heard of beacons.
Power and range limitations pose an additional challenge. Only about 40 percent of users in North America report using Bluetooth (though it’s worth noting that on most newer devices, Bluetooth interacts passively with BLE beacons), and Bluetooth signals are more easily obstructed by physical objects than Wi-Fi. Though they last for years in some cases, beacons’ batteries also have a finite lifespan. Deployment takes a lot of planning and testing.
Beacons tend to be spammy, too. Google cited “a significant increase in locally irrelevant … notifications” as the reason it decided to discontinue Nearby Notifications
And then there’s the matter of privacy. Few in-store apps are explicitly clear about what sort of location and behavioral information they’re collecting, which can include metrics like visits, unique visitors, new visitors, popular paths, repeat visits, retention, and more. The same goes for APIs like Google’s Nearby, which came under fire from privacy advocates concerned about how the audio component of the beacons is recorded and stored.
None of that’s to suggest beacons are entirely dead. Big-name retailers like Walmart, Rite Aid, and Target continue to trial BLE beacon-powered in-store shopping experiences; Google’s providing beacons to retailers in the U.S. and U.K.; and overall annual beacon shipments are expected to hit 565 million units by 2021.
But they’re certainly not poised to revolutionize the way we shop, dine, and cheer on our favorite sports teams — at least, not anytime soon.
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8626-nokia-liittyi-ericssonin-iot-patenttileiriin
Tomi Engdahl says:
How do you make a connected car Serverless?
Two weeks till doors open on our conference
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/10/29/how_do_you_make_a_connected_car_serverless/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nero tekee tavallisesta lukosta älylukon
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8635-nero-tekee-tavallisesta-lukosta-alylukon
Nero-älylukko avautuu normaalisti avaimella sekä sen lisäksi älylaitteella. Digitaalisena avaimena toimii älypuhelin tai tabletti bluetooth-yhteydellä.
Se sopii erilaisiin asumismuotoihin kuten esimerkiksi kerrostaloon, rivitaloon ja myös vuokra-asuntoon, sillä asennuksesta ei jää jälkiä. Älylukko on helppo ottaa mukaan, kun muuttaa.
Neron asentamisen on vaivatonta, koska se ei vaadi erityisiä digitaitoja.
Nero-lukon voidaan nähdä, kuka on ovea käyttänyt ja mihin aikaan.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Week in Review: IoT, Security, Auto
https://semiengineering.com/week-in-review-iot-security-auto-16/
Arm aims to accelerate Linux-based embedded design through providing quick access to the Cortex-A5 CPU under the Arm DesignStart program. Developers can work on embedded and Internet of Things system-on-a-chip devices for gateways, medical systems, smart homes, and wearable electronics. IP access to the Cortex-A5 is now $75,000, with one-year of design support from Arm experts, or an access fee of $150,000 that includes three years of design support.
The chatter about Facebook this week was that the social media network wants to acquire a cybersecurity firm by the end of 2018 to shore up its internal security measures. The Information reports that multiple cybersecurity firms have been approached to gauge their interest.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/cloud-deployment-model-risks-for-manufacturers/330773da726be5c9fae7246c2149442f.html?OCVALIDATE=
Cloud deployment model risks for manufacturers
It’s important for manufacturing organizations to know what to expect in terms of controls and security risks with cloud deployment models.
Goran Novkovic
Tomi Engdahl says:
Amazon, Microsoft, and Google centralized massive amounts of compute and networking into mega data centers, but customers quickly found that application response time suffered. Cloud providers adapted with a hybrid architecture that pushes latency-sensitive operations to the edge of the network, while keeping many non-latency sensitive functions in the core.
Source: https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/5g-waves/4460930/The-evolution-of-cellular-air-conditioning
Tomi Engdahl says:
EU to spend £4m designing a modular light fitting
http://www.ledsmagazine.com/articles/2018/01/eu-to-spend-4m-designing-a-modular-light-fitting.html?eid=293591077&bid=1983899
The European Union is to spend £4m (€4.3m, US$5.27m) designing a light fitting made of component parts which can be easily manufactured and disassembled.
The idea behind the Repro-light research project is to create an example of a sustainable luminaire whose parts are upgradable and recyclable.
It’s hoped that lighting manufacturers will follow the example of this “luminaire of the future” in an attempt to change the image of a LED fixture “from a disposable object into a customizable and sustainable product.”
The ambitious Repro-light project aspires to “successfully initiate a transformation of the European LED lighting industry by the year 2020.” The background to the project is the “fierce competition from Asia” while at the same time prices for LED luminaires are rapidly falling.
By developing an intelligent LED-based luminaire with a modular, stackable architecture the project seeks to change the industry’s view of the LED luminaire as a generic, disposable object into a customized product with high functional value.
This modular LED fixture may help change the perception of a disposable LED luminaire to one of providing customizability and sustainability features beyond energy savings.
The EU says the Repro-light consortium is perfectly suited to be the spearhead of this lighting revolution as the entire value chain is represented and the consortium is structured around a sound industrial backbone.
LEDs Need a Sensor Interface
http://www.enlightedinc.com/news-coverage/leds-need-sensor-interface/
The IoT-Ready Alliance invites engineers to help define and implement an interface between LED lights and sensor modules.
The IoT-Ready Alliance is a non-profit group of companies and thought leaders coming together to create a common standard for IoT-enabled light fixtures. It will define a standard interface between light fixtures and a sensor/communication modules, allowing multi-vendor interoperability between the huge number of light fixtures in the market and the dynamic world of IoT sensors.
Much like USB ports on computers, the IoT-Ready standard will allow for a huge variety of sensor and communication modules to plug into LED light fixtures. These devices can be added to the light fixture at the factory during fixture manufacture, or in the field at any time.
The alliance encourages all leading lighting, building management, and IoT companies to become a member and help shape the development and implementation of the standards. Both fixture-integrated and external sensors are being addressed, and the standards will include definitions for electrical interfaces, connectors, and mechanical form-factors.
The lighting industry is undergoing a revolution driven by LED technology, which is now the dominant lighting technology for all new buildings and retrofits. Yet today, only a small percentage of LED fixtures are supplied with IoT sensors installed. LED light fixtures are an ideal carrier for IoT technology, providing a ubiquitous location for data collection throughout the building and a convenient power source for IoT sensors.
Some lighting manufacturers are using closed IoT platforms that reduce user choice and attempt to use the IoT system design to drag through light fixture sales. This approach forces building owners into selecting all of the building’s light fixture from one brand, rather than being able to select the best lighting fixtures and IoT technology for the job.
The immediacy of this set of issues is a major challenge. According to a recent study from Wintrgreen Research, the LED lighting market is anticipated to grow 45% per year and reach $63.1 billion by 2020. We cannot miss this critical opportunity to ensure all new LED fixtures are future proof, so whether they are installed with a smart IoT sensor or not, they at least have the capability to add sensing intelligence in the future.
The solution is as simple as changing a light bulb.
Smart LEDs Plug Industries and Cities Into the Internet of Things
https://iq.intel.com/smart-leds-plug-industries-smart-cities-internet-things/
The shift to using more efficient lights inspired GE and Intel to create smart LEDs that can see, hear and sense their surroundings, creating data that can improve efficiency and empower smart city services.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Vibrosight Can Track Appliance Usage Throughout a Room with a Single Laser
https://blog.hackster.io/vibrosight-can-track-appliance-usage-throughout-a-room-with-a-single-laser-a6dee1880370
There is a spy gadget, which you may have seen in movies and TV shows, that can be used to pick up what the occupants of a room are saying by looking at the vibrations of a window. It’s a real thing, and works by bouncing a laser off of the window and then measuring the tiny changes in intensity present in the reflection. Now, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University are using the same technology to create a system for tracking specific activities throughout an entire room.
http://yang-zhang.me/research/Vibrosight/Vibrosight.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
IIoT Evolution: An approach to reuse and scale your IIoT technology investment
http://electronics-know-how.com/article/2700/iiot-evolution-an-approach-to-reuse-and-scale-your-iiot-technology-investment
Businesses that have invested in IIoT systems are realizing the benefits behind such a strategy, and are now implementing more complex and expansive IoT architectures. As a result, device manufacturers are being met with new challenges related to device management, unknown/multiple clouds, portability, scalability, and the need to remotely monitor and diagnose devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mass Connectivity in the 5G Era
http://www.electronics-know-how.com/article/2709/mass-connectivity-in-the-5g-era
5G will achieve faster transmission rates, more powerful data exchange networks, and more seamless real-time communication, which will enable tremendous growth for advanced and innovative connectivity solutions. Read in this White Paper how 5G technologies could integrate and enable the full potential of mobile technology, big data, IoT, and cloud computing while supporting digital transformation across various sectors, including healthcare, smart vehicles, smart home, industrial automation, and more.
5G, which can be considered an overlay to the existing 4G network, represents not only a change to cellular networks but also an integration with communications networks such as Wi-Fi and telemetry. With a dramatic increase in data rates and the number of connected devices, we will soon be able to enjoy expanded communication between devices and no longer be limited to user-to-user and user-to-device communication. By 2025 an enormous 25 billion devices are expected to be connected under 5G…
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.tivi.fi/Kaikki_uutiset/maailmankuulu-it-legenda-sijoittaa-suomalaiseen-alysormus-startupiin-6747215
Älysormuksia valmistava startup-yhtiö Oura Health on saamassa kovan luokan sijoittajan. Tietokoneyhtiö Dellin perustaja Michael Dell on nimittäin kertonut Twitterissä investoivansa yhtiöön oman MSD Capital -sijoitusyhtiönsä kautta
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/10/30/kannykka-ohjaa-koneen-hissia/
Tomi Engdahl says:
James Vincent / The Verge:
iRobot partners with Google and will share spatial data from Roombas to help improve Google’s smart home experience by mapping rooms — The two companies are working together to leverage spatial data generated by iRobot’s robovacs — Google and iRobot have announced they’re working together …
Google wants to improve your smart home with iRobot’s room maps
https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/31/18041876/google-irobot-smart-home-spatial-data-mapping-collaboration
The two companies are working together to leverage spatial data generated by iRobot’s robovacs
Google and iRobot have announced they’re working together to improve smart home technology using mapping data collected by iRobot’s robot vacuums. The two companies say the aim is to make smart homes “more thoughtful” by leveraging the unique dataset collected by iRobot: maps of customers’ homes.
iRobot’s latest Roomba, the i7+, creates maps using a combination of odometry data (measuring how far the robovac’s wheels move) and low-res camera imagery. The resulting maps can be used to create custom cleaning schedules or to let users ask their Roomba to vacuum specific rooms. An integration with Google Assistant lets customers give verbal commands like, “OK Google, tell Roomba to clean the kitchen.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Parmy Olson / Forbes:
A look at how Facebook failed to develop its own voice recognition technology for Portal, source says due to chaotic rotation of staff and confused priorities — Facebook’s Portal looked like a slick alternative to the Amazon Echo speaker when it launched earlier this month, but problems abounded behind the scenes.
How Facebook Failed To Build A Better Alexa (Or Siri)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2018/10/30/on-mute-how-facebook-fell-behind-on-voice-technology/
Facebook’s Portal looked like a slick alternative to the Amazon Echo speaker when it launched earlier this month, but problems abounded behind the scenes. Facebook had already delayed the video-calling device due to privacy concerns around the Cambridge Analytica scandal. And when it finally did launch, there was a glaring omission: no voice assistant from Facebook. Instead it came with Alexa, meaning anyone who bought the 15.6-inch version for $350 got an awkward gateway to Amazon, whose competing Echo Show cost at least $100 less. It also meant Facebook was blocked from collecting any speech data to train its voice technology further.
Facebook started investing heavily in voice tech from 2013. Yet despite that early start, being one the world’s biggest technology companies with 30,275 employees and booking nearly $16 billion in 2017 profits, the company has yet to plant a stake in technology that lets you talk to computers, widely regarded as the next wave of human-to-machine interfaces.
The omission points to Facebook’s broader difficulties in turning innovative technology into products. Among its previous misfires: Android launcher Home, which shut down in April 2013; virtual currency Credits (closed in Sept. 2013); Snapchat competitors Poke and Slingshot (2014 and 2015) and mobile development platform Parse (2017).
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Steps in Creating a Digital Twin
You can use an open IoT platform to build a digital twin on a Raspberry Pi.
https://www.designnews.com/electronics-test/steps-creating-digital-twin/34989275659708?ADTRK=UBM&elq_mid=6338&elq_cid=876648
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are making major impacts in the healthcare, advanced manufacturing, agriculture, and consumer electronics vertical markets. The ability to predict behaviors and trends or classify objects based on physical traits is accomplished through AI and ML technologies. With the aid of an Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure, a digital twin can be created. Developing a digital twin requires the meshing of physical properties with an information communication technology (ICT) framework and software for data visualization. This data visualization represents real world events and characteristics of physical objects and processes.
In an industrial control process, the ability to monitor physical stimuli, such as temperature, pressure, vibration, and force, is important to the product manufacturer. Such physical stimuli affect the feel, function, and look of the manufactured product. To ensure the quality of the product meets the requirements of the customer, a specification is developed. The traditional method of using specifications was based on building a physical prototype for testing and data collection. Continuous building of the target physical prototype to adjust the function of the product is costly and time consuming.
However, the digital twin can address functional concerns through a visual representation of the physical prototype.
The Role of Node-RED in Visualization
Node-RED is a flow-based visualization programming tool that allows a variety of IoT networking architectures to be developed. The method of developing IoT networks is based on nodes exchanging data through message payloads. These payloads can be configured for digital, analog, and string data types. The nodes are connected using wires that pass data within the IoT’s application network.
If mathematical or conditional operations are required, function nodes can be created within Node-RED as well.
Javascript object notation (JSON) is a subset of the Javascript programming language that is a simplistic data-interchange format. JSON can be used to create special functions for enhancing the IoT flow-based application.
Flows and nodes can be added to the existing Node-RED palette based on community developed libraries. Flows are shared within the community using JSON files. This JSON-based application library allows the rapid development and deployment of the specific IoT application being built for the digital twin.
Using Raspberry Pi with the Digital Twin
Once the specific IoT application has been built, the flow diagrams are ready to be deployed. In constructing the specific IoT application, a digital twin can be created using a variety of dashboard nodes. These nodes can display received real-time data from the physical prototype. Electronic sensors assist in providing the real-time data from the node of the physical prototype. These electronic sensors are wired to an Arduino.
The Node RED application is one of the installed software programming packages on the Raspberry Pi.
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8653-seuraavaa-laitettasi-ohjaat-aanellasi
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8652-tamk-n-iot-seminaari-keskittyy-5g-verkkoihin-ja-konenakoon
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/11/01/tampereen-iot-tapahtuma-hakee-esiintyjia/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/11/01/elisa-mukaan-megasense-tutkimukseen-nb-iot-ja-5g-avuksi/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Speak Your WiFi
https://hackaday.com/2018/10/31/speak-your-wifi/
When you create a Thing for the Internet of Things, you’ve made a little computer that does a simple job and which probably has a minimal interface. But minimal interfaces leave little room for configuration, such as entering WiFi details. Perhaps if you made the Thing yourself you’ve hard-coded your WiFi credentials in your code, but that hardly translates to multiple instances. So, how to put end-user WiFi credentials easily on more than one Thing? Perhaps [Rob Dobson] has the answer with his technique of sending them as a sequence of audible tones.
There is a piece of Javascript code in a browser into which you enter your WiFi credentials, which are then expressed through the speaker as a set of FSK tones to be picked up by a microphone on the Thing. They can then be decoded into the credentials, and the Thing can connect. All the code is available, on GitHub, should you fancy it yourself.
Send WiFi credentials over Audio to an IoT “Thing”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2k5u4pWs-U
SpeakUp – Sending WiFi credentials over audio to a device or thing. If want to find an easy way to get an Internet of Things device onto WiFi then try this. This demonstration sends from pure Javascript running in a browser to an ESP32 powered development board.
https://github.com/robdobsn/SpeakUpWiFiDetails
Tomi Engdahl says:
Corporate Badgelife: Oracle’s Code Card
https://hackaday.com/2018/10/31/corporate-badgelife-oracles-code-card/
Making an IoT Badge – #badgelife going corporate
http://theappslab.com/2018/10/29/making-an-iot-badge-badgelife-going-corporate/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bluetooth Chip Flaws Expose Enterprises to Remote Attacks
https://www.securityweek.com/bluetooth-chip-flaws-expose-enterprises-remote-attacks
Millions of access points and other networking devices used by enterprises around the world may be exposed to remote attacks due to a couple of vulnerabilities discovered by researchers in Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) chips made by Texas Instruments.
Bluetooth Low Energy, or Bluetooth 4.0, is designed for applications that do not require exchanging large amounts of data, such as smart home, health and sports devices. BLE stays in sleep mode and is only activated when a connection is initiated, which results in low power consumption. Similar to the classic Bluetooth, BLE works over distances of up to 100 meters (330 feet), but its data transfer rate is typically 1 Mbit/s, compared to 1-3 Mbit/sec in the case of classic Bluetooth.
Researchers at IoT security company Armis, who in the past discovered the Bluetooth vulnerabilities known as BlueBorne, now claim to have found two serious vulnerabilities in BLE chips made by Texas Instruments. These chips are used in access points and other enterprise networking devices made by Cisco, including Meraki products, and HP-owned Aruba Networks.
The flaws, dubbed BLEEDINGBIT by Armis, can allow a remote and unauthenticated attacker to take complete control of impacted devices and gain access to the enterprise networks housing them.
The IoT security firm is in the processes of assessing the full impact of the BLEEDINGBIT vulnerabilities, but so far it determined that they affect several Texas Instruments chips. One of the flaws, tracked as CVE-2018-16986, has been found in CC2640 and CC2650 chips running BLE-STACK 2.2.1 and earlier, and CC2640R2 running version 1.0 or earlier.
https://armis.com/bleedingbit/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bluetoothin isoin parannus tulee nyt piireinä
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8658-bluetoothin-isoin-parannus-tulee-nyt-piireina
Bluetooh-standardista hyväksyttiin viime vuonna uusi 5-standardi, joka toi esimerkiksi nopeamman 2 megabitin datayhteyden sekä selvästi aiempaa pidemmän kantaman. Standardin suurin julkistus teollisuuden sovelluksissa oli kuitenkin tuki mesh-tyyppisille verkoilla ja nyt tämä toiminnallisuus alkaa tulla laajasti tarjolle piirisarjojen muodossa.
ON Semi kehuu RSL10-piirejä alan vähävirtaisimmiksi. Deep Sleep -tilassa niiden tehonkulutus on vain 62,5 nanowattia ja lähetystehon ollessa korkeimmillaan kulutus nousee 7 milliwattiin.
http://www.onsemi.com/PowerSolutions/supportDoc.do?type=software&rpn=RSL10&utm_source=pr&utm_medium=press_release&utm_campaign=rsl10-dongle-mesh&utm_content=link-rsl10-software
Tomi Engdahl says:
Seuraavaa laitettasi ohjaat äänelläsi
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/8653-seuraavaa-laitettasi-ohjaat-aanellasi
Amazonin Alexa, Applen Siri ja Google Assistant ovat hyödyllisiä tekoälyyn pohjavia avustajia, mutta ne nojaavat täysin verkkoyhteyteen. Hyvin pian markkinoille alkaa tulla tekoälyä hyödyntäviä laitteita, jotka ymmärtävät käyttäjän puhetta. Tämä vaatii tehokkaan DSP-tekniikan tuomista laitteisiin.
EDA-talo Cadence Design Systems omistaa nykyään Tensilican, joka tunnetaan sekä konenäön että audion lisensoitavista DSP-prosessoreista. Nyt Cadence on esitellyt uuden HiFi 5 -prosessorin, joka on ensimmäinen tekoälyyn ja audion prosessointiin optimoitu digitaalinen signaaliprosessori.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/11/02/alyikkunat-eivat-salekaihtimia-kaipaa/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/11/02/reima-paketoi-suunnon-tekniikan-lapsille/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Security researchers find flaws in chips used in hospitals, factories and stores
https://www.cnet.com/news/security-researchers-find-flaws-in-chips-used-in-hospitals-factories-and-stores/?ftag=COS-05-10aaa0b&linkId=59034799
The vulnerabilities are packed in chips used for Bluetooth connections, and can allow for serious attacks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New Opportunities For OTP NVM
https://semiengineering.com/new-opportunities-for-otp-nvm/
The key features that make one-time programmable memories ideal for a range of IoT devices.
By 2020 more than 50 billion devices will be connected to the Internet, according to Cisco’s latest forecast. Smartphone traffic will exceed PC traffic and broadband speeds will nearly double by 2021. And by the next Winter Olympics (Beijing 2022), 1 trillion networked sensors could be embedded in the world around us. While tech experts offer slightly different projections of actual numbers, it’s clear that the Internet of Things (IoT) will grow exponentially. And this explosion means new opportunities for one-time programmable (OTP) non-volatile memory (NVM).
With billions of sensors and processors gathering and analyzing massive amounts of information, there is a mounting need for embedded memories to store yottabytes and, soon enough, brontobytes of data. Traditionally NVM has been used for secondary/mass storage. But it’s getting faster and the cost per byte is going down, making NVM an option for primary storage as well.
OTP memory is used increasingly in networking and data-security applications such as code storage, encryption keys, analog trimming, RFID tags, and integrated circuit configuration. The use cases span the entire IoT ecosystem, from medical and industrial to financial and automotive markets.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Six IoT implementation challenges and solutions
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/six-iot-implementation-challenges-and-solutions/adaf4fcd50dc85c11868c8b4e708e37b.html?OCVALIDATE=
The Internet of Things (IoT) is gaining acceptance, but some companies remain hesitant to implement it. Six common concerns are highlighted, along with ways teams can address any concerns from management.
Successfully implementing the Internet of Things (IoT) requires a change-management approach. The first element of change management is to identify a pressing need and develop a vision for how to addresses that problem. The second element of change management—building your coalition—is the first of seven implementation challenges IoT projects face. In addition to recruiting members, realizing this element entails identifying an executive champion and addressing six common stakeholder concerns.
Obtaining executive buy-in
1. The “high” investment cost
Moving from one end of the maturity curve to the other may require a substantial investment. Companies shouldn’t try to make the leap from beginning to end in one step. A grand vision may be persuasive, but its cost may prevent management from giving the go-ahead.
2. Security
Posting data to—or transferring data via—the internet seems to be the source of many information technology (IT) department nightmares, and rightfully so. Hacking is an international industry producing frequent announces of security breaches. Putting data online—particularly data related to critical equipment—may seem dangerous. Many IoT platforms consider security a core element and work to ensure that any potential leaks are stopped before hackers find them.
IoT security assessments consider security from multiple aspects:
Data at rest: Data housed in applications and databases on-premises or in the Cloud is said to be “at rest.”
Data in use: Data “in use” by an application or gateway must be accessible to users and devices, making it the hardest form of data to secure. With in-use data, security depends on the strength of authentication procedures and the number of users and devices accessing the data.
Data in flight: But what about data when it’s traveling, such as from the device to the Cloud? Well-established Internet communication protocols armed with modern cryptography algorithms make it virtually impossible for hackers to decipher data in transmission. While many IoT devices support multiple security protocols, few enable them as part of their initial configuration. At a minimum, IoT devices that connect to mobile applications or remote gateways should employ HTTPS, transport layer security (TLS), secure file transfer protocol (SFTP), DNS security extensions, and other encryption protocols.
3. Technology infrastructure
Often, clients have instruments tied into SCADA that generate the data needed to provide analytics and insights. Or, even without power monitoring equipment, SCADA’s network potentially could provide the communication infrastructure needed to connect new instrumentation. Yet, almost universally when seeking to tie into SCADA, IT replies, “Our network is super secure and cannot be used to send information to an IoT platform”—and rightfully so.
4. Communications infrastructure
Using a cellular gateway to connect IoT instruments sounds great, but users don’t get phone reception at some remote sites. Building an infrastructure would be too costly. Although LTE-M and LTE-NB use existing cellular towers, these low-powered, wide-area networks provide much broader coverage. Even if the user doesn’t get a strong-enough signal for voice calls or 4G-LTE data, he or she may still be able to access LTE-M.
5. Immaturity of IoT standards
Understandably, nobody wants to invest in IoT’s version of Betamax. Analysts equated protocols emerging from the early IoT industry as a “cacophony of discordant musicians.” Waiting to see which standard or protocol would win results in delayed IoT investments. While some IoT standards are still in development, and there’s still a lot of fragmentation in the market, standards affecting currently available devices were mostly ironed out in 2016 and 2017.
The Open Connectivity Foundation joined the Open Interconnect Consortium in pushing a united protocol. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) published its draft P2413 standard for IoT architecture
6. Procuring IoT
Implementing IoT often involves procuring devices and services that don’t have IoT in their name, such as instrumentation, communication networks, storage, and data management consultants. The complexity of procuring these services and the lack of the IoT label can make it difficult for stakeholders to see how the multitude of pieces fit together.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Optimize machine metrics with a machine-as-a-service model, blockchain
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/optimize-machine-metrics-with-a-machine-as-a-service-model-blockchain/286fe3b479c2c3547bf80e4248d14439.html?OCVALIDATE=
Machine as a service (MaaS) and blockchain manage and secure machine data and transactions. Blockchain, while known for its use in the financial world, is being used by Steamchain, a start-up company, to provide secure financial and machine information design to help end users and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
Machine-as-a-service platform
Steamchain’s IoT MaaS transaction platform (Figure 2) supports standard Steamchain modules by providing a:
1. Machine client that’s based on a programmable logic controller (PLC) or an open-architecture controller with an open application interface that easily supports industrial protocols.
2. Cloud-based management utility, built on Microsoft Azure for security, flexibility, and visualization of performance and financial metrics.
3. Secure transaction engine, a ledger of performance and financial data, where access is not controlled by one party, avoiding data ownership, access, or credibility issues.
There’s flexibility in how it’s applied: the Steamchain client doesn’t have to be installed at the machine level. The client could be on gateway, machine, or on an IoT platform. Steamchain’s initial goal is to pursue the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), which stands to benefit the most from this at the outset, since there’s no open platform that helps turn MaaS data into money, Cromheecke said. The initial signs have been encouraging.
Machine output, value creation
“The feedback from the OEM community has been positive,” said Christopher Zei, an advisor for Steamchain. “OEMs are using the deployment to help on the service side and to eliminate a lot of the burdens that are associated with the factory acceptance test (FAT) process because we only have to do it once.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Easier machine connectivity, communications add value
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/easier-machine-connectivity-communications-add-value/0ef6c44e2b713756f747fa599fe0c109.html?OCVALIDATE=
Think again: Machine tool original equipment manufacturers, automation suppliers to OEMs, system integrators, and end users at IMTS 2018 find value in easier machine connectivity, communications, and visualization. Are you watching others or participating?
Industrial Internet Consortium
“Manufacturing innovations such as predictive maintenance, artificial intelligence and advanced security are only a few of the ways that intelligent manufacturing solutions are changing the IIoT,” said Dr. Richard Soley, Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) executive director. IIC included IMTS in its roadshow of traveling conferences to discuss testbeds and interconnectivity.
OPC Foundation
OPC technology history and future indicates future architecture integration with IEEE TSN and 5G, explained Tom Burke, president and executive director, OPC Foundation at IMTS 2018. Courtesy: Mark T. Hoske, Control Engineering, CFE MediaAnother organization working on cooperation among organizations and connectivity is OPC Foundation. OPC Foundation has developed standards; OPC Unified Architecture is IEC 62541, which integrates interoperability, data modeling, and security. OPC, founded in 1995, developed OPC UA in 2004 and now is working on IoT interoperability, according to Tom Burke, president and executive director, OPC Foundation.
The specification is free; the code developed with open-source stacks in ANSI, C/C++, C#, .NET, and Java. It works with any software platform and it can be used in small controllers to massive cloud-based implementation. Security is baked in, it’s vendor-independent, and widely used across industries. Even without being a member, companies that develop products using OPC UA may register the products for free on the site.
One unified network?
OPC technology history and future indicates future architecture integration with IEEE TSN and 5G. Burke said the IIoT needs interoperability. “We want all controllers to talk together, even if they cannot exchange programs, we want the information integration problem to be solved.”
Reducing system integration costs and vendor interoperability is part of the effort as 55 companies collaborate in a working group to develop OPC UA as a hard real-time deterministic Ethernet with TSN. (See photo online.)
TSN, like its predecessors, has the ability to be customized into non-interoperable pieces, but cooperation to create one version seems like a way to learn from prior incompatible confusion and spend time and resources on resolving other challenges.
Visualization, cloud
Dashboards proliferated widely on the IMTS and Hannover Messe USA show floors, extending behind human-machine interface (HMI) views to incorporate looks across a fleet of machines; some with capabilities to display machines from other vendors (since most facilities contain machines from multiple vendors).
Industrial cloud-based systems also expand and proliferate as vendors seek to connect with and create applications in multiple platforms.
Make demands
Mark T. Hoske, content manager, Control Engineering, CFE Media. Courtesy: CFE MediaThink again if you consider greater interoperability out of reach. Those involved in the latest efforts encourage requests for proposal (RFP) to require (not just recommend) adherence to these and other standards to get OEMs and their automation vendors to collaborate and strive toward greater interoperability. Shouldn’t differentiation derive from performance? Can we compare performance if we cannot see over the walls created from platforms that cannot interoperate?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mobile Internet basics: Mobile IPv6 technology overview
https://www.embedded.com/design/connectivity/4234631/4/Mobile-Internet-basics–Mobile-IPv6-Technology-Overview
Tomi Engdahl says:
Design a wireless IIoT gateway with open-source tools
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/design-a-wireless-iiot-gateway-with-open-source-tools/ed524160bdc7942a3af1ce356126a7b4.html?OCVALIDATE=
Wireless: Software-defined radio (SDR) hardware and open-source programming software provides an alternative to proprietary wireless communications systems, helping improve Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) networks.
Despite many discussions about how the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) will change factory automation, no unifying technology exists to connect various “things” together, which results in incompatibility among systems. Connections among disparate industrial wireless standards can be made with open-source software-defined radio (SDR) technologies.
Compatibility issues can be best illustrated by looking at IIoT, an application subset where pervasive connectivity offers significant benefits. A leading communications equipment vendor estimated over 90% of industrial machinery is not currently connected to any network. Sensors can provide real-time information of production line efficiency and throughput, equipment loading, asset tracking, energy consumption, and monitoring device wear. Having this data will allow factories to increase efficiency, lower costs, predict maintenance requirements, and reduce machine downtime.
The controlling computers can run machine-learning (ML) algorithms to detect patterns in data and tune program actions to get the most from the assets. The “Big Data” collected can be extracted for human analysis and comprehension. The vision of a fully interconnected and automated smart factory is sometimes called Industrie 4.0.
The advantages of connected machinery are diminished unless data communications from the whole facility can be collected, analyzed, and shared between multiple data sources. This might be easier for a greenfield site where the installation of new machinery supporting open standards can be planned with this objective, Most industrial complexes, however, have an array of legacy equipment that needs retrofitting to become connected.
Incompatible wireless standards
The primary barrier to greater interconnectivity is the likelihood that multiple vendors supply machinery on most sites. Each vendor is likely to have a different approach to adopting IIoT, which includes wireless for maximum flexibility, but without interoperability among standards among wireless links and protocols. These include Wi-Fi, NB-IoT (also called Cat-NB1), LTE MTC Cat M1, Long Range (LoRa), Sigfox, Ingenu, WirelessHART, Weightless, 2G in the form of Extended coverage GSM IoT (EC-GSM-IoT), 3G, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and ZigBee.
Each technology has advantages and limits and the use case may dictate the selection. Low Power Wide Area Networking (LPWAN) schemes, such as LoRa, NB-IoT, and Sigfox, are better suited to longer range links with low data rates, while radio access via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are very popular, but the range is limited. A new Wi-Fi variant called HaLow is being added to the mix. It uses IP packets and lower frequencies that give greater range and penetration.
Radio access technologies
Figure 2: Lime Microsystems’ LimeSDR software-defined radio (SDR) board, which is compact, programmable, open-source, full duplex, and can be configured by downloading code from an app store. Courtesy: High Tech Marketing, Lime MicrosystemsAn SDR can support a vast range of wireless technologies, is compact, programmable, open source, full duplex, and “app-enabled,” meaning it can be configured after downloading code from an app store. Such a radio requires a means to communicate and a controller, such as a dual transceiver field programmable radio frequency (FPRF) device and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) chip. The board plugs into a suitable processor, which would typically be a PC unit, via a USB 3.0 connector or PCIe interface. A processor running Linux can be enabled with open source apps from the SoapySDR project, which can be used “as is” or modified to provide the exact requirements.
Open-source Ubuntu-based apps are available for GSM and LoRa, with an active eco-system working on a raft of new applications.
https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/wiki
Tomi Engdahl says:
Five data acquisition strategies for success
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/five-data-acquisition-strategies-for-success/ddfc540c6cc6418d0694e7204d9af5ad.html?OCVALIDATE=
Did you just see something extraordinary in the recorded data or was it a data anomaly in measurement, communications, or data aggregation? Data collection should help us learn, not confuse. Heed these five strategies for better industrial data.
What did I just see? Everyone has had that thought when seeing something extraordinary or unbelievable. It might be a video we see online or a sports replay or maybe something in real life that makes us say, “Wait…. What?!”
This isn’t the question to be asking about data being collected or the results coming from data algorithms. Data collection systems should help with learning, not amaze and confuse.
Some simple practices are needed to make Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) systems offer something valuable.
Correlation vs. causation
Causation cannot be derived just because a data set correlates to another. Actionable data is the goal. Data that helps the return on investment (ROI) will pay for the data collection system many times over. Thankfully, it isn’t hard. Some common-sense solutions will suffice.
1. Frequency of data
2. Accuracy of data
3. Resolution
4. Synchronized data
5. Application knowledge
Consult with experts
It would be very rare for one person or group to understand the inner workings of every component of a machine from a design perspective. More likely, technologies such as hydraulics, pneumatics, electric motors, and actuators are combined to create one machine. Simply applying sensors to collect historical data on the machine may not get results that make sense. Consulting with experts on those components can help get to an answer faster and provide help to know what data to look for and how to look for it. With a little thought, some simple data collection practices and some application knowledge, the data system can start producing usable insights.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Industrie 4.0′s potential to change manufacturing
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/industrie-40-s-potential-to-change-manufacturing/14bbc4f110bd32f97241fadaa336fe6a.html?OCVALIDATE=
Industrie 4.0 has great potential for manufacturing, but it is only successful if it provides value and deliver real and tangible benefits to a company’s operations.
With Industrie 4.0 strategies, companies gain capabilities to drive competitive advantage. Factories cut costs, reduce time-to-delivery, and increase order accuracy. With the right leadership, businesses will capture market share, enter new markets, and boost margins.
The Industrie 4.0 Roadmap from MESA International provides manufacturing companies with a guide for their Industrie 4.0 journey and a framework for building detailed plans to achieve their Industrie 4.0 goals, which include:
Business strategy
Empowered teams
Streamlined processes
Connective technologies
Connected things through the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
There’s many different reasons why an Industrie 4.0 project can fail. It can go overbudget, get behind on schedule, not be accepted by the end users, be too complicated, or not work as advertised.
Even if an Industrie 4.0 project comes in under budget, ahead of schedule, and has the newest and coolest technology on the market, it is a failure if it doesn’t deliver real value to the company. It needs to be:
Providing significant new capabilities and processes
Reducing capital costs and reducing operating costs
Empowering teams and improving decision-making
Creating new and better ways of doing business
Measuring metrics both tangible and intangible for payback.
Industrie 4.0 is fundamentally transforming how manufacturing companies compete, using new connected technologies to increase speed, agility, and flexibility throughout a company’s value chain. With Industrie 4.0, companies gain powerful capabilities to drive competitive advantage.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A new-age approach to traditional manufacturing issues
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/a-new-age-approach-to-traditional-manufacturing-issues/ff53e48980d14762998c062891746420.html?OCVALIDATE=
Maintenance in an IIoT age
“When you hear about digitalization, what is the one crucial aspect? The answer is data,” said John Fryer of Stratus. “One thing that companies grapple is working with all the data they have. It’s a journey in terms of that. In terms of being successful, if you don’t collect the data and use the data, you’re going to struggle.”
“If you cannot define what you want to achieve, then you’re going to fall off,” noted Dr. Kurt D. Bettenhausen of Siemens. “If you don’t have the connectivity, you cannot analyze the data. People are so excited about new technology, they don’t know how to utilize it. It’s just noise.”
Robotics will help in manufacturing to deal with the need for speed, but also to address a critical workforce shortage. Stuart Shepherd of Universal Robots asked for a show of hands from the audience on how many attendees were having trouble filling open positions in their plants. Almost every hand went up.
“We’ve learned there’s not so much a skills gap as there is an interest gap,” Shepherd said. “Part of getting people interested in manufacturing careers is getting rid of the dangerous, dirty, and dull parts of job through automation. We need to enable low-volume, high-mix manufacturing.”
Robotics and AI’s joint role in manufacturing
Session moderator Bob Doyle, vice president of the Robotics Industries Association (RIA), noted that robotics and AI already have had an impact on manufacturing.
“From where we started in 1959, I would certainly say robotics has changed manufacturing. Robotics has changed with the growth of robots,” Doyle noted. “The projected AI spending will be $52.2 billion by 2021, and 44% of respondents from automotive and manufacturing sectors classified AI as highly important-and 49% said it was absolutely critical to success.”
Maintaining these new systems as well as the legacy systems is an area where data is proving to be valuable. “With Industrial IoT, we’re able to bring maintenance on demand,” said Sal Spada of ARC Advisory Group, who moderated the maintenance panel. “We’re able to maintain machines at a much higher rate than before. We’ve also seen a digitalization of machine services. AI is also making machines more autonomous.
“Maintenance is the low-hanging fruit of the IIoT evolution,” Spada added.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Open systems and IIoT, working in tandem
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/open-systems-and-iiot-working-in-tandem/be7ac37fd034c2368fb317fe0f7425ee.html?OCVALIDATE=
Additional productivity gain through further systems integration is being limited by an installed base of proprietary technologies supplied by automation and information technology suppliers.
At considerable expense and tremendous toil, over the last 40 years, U.S. production assets were equipped for automated process control and information management. It’s worked out well. Yet what’s limiting additional productivity gain through further systems integration is this very same installed base of proprietary technologies supplied by automation and information technology suppliers. As these suppliers and their industrial clients seek further advances, they must bear in mind this installed base. “We live in a brownfield world,” said Arlen Nipper, president and CEO of Cirrus Link Solutions, in a recent interview.
As technology advance continues, what constitutes a competitive advantage for these suppliers tends to shift. Distributed control systems (DCS) no longer entail custom chip sets, for example.
Open systems redux
The open systems movement, beginning in the 1990s, promised interoperability on a grand scale. However, at first there were too many questions about open systems for them to find acceptance in industry, especially as it pertains to rigorous real-time control.
In the 21st century, however, more and more suppliers are making available the source code for their products. Independent governing bodies help insure integrity of open source efforts and defined development processes. Java EE, originally from Sun Microsystems and taken over by Oracle Corp. is now the Eclipse Foundation’s Jakarta EE, for example.
The Eclipse Foundation as a global community of individuals and organizations hosts a large community of active open source projects.
It’s gotten to the point where “open source software has become a dominant provider of critical infrastructure technology for the general software industry. The open model of development and royalty-free distribution has proven to be an effective way to build production quality software,” according to a 2017 Eclipse Foundation white paper.
IIoT unwrapped
In production industries, open systems have a special role in the on-going evolution by which proprietary operations technologies are being replaced by commercial information technologies. Already, by means of IIoT, process data is being shared by going around control systems.
“The DCS is the most expensive data route. Why push data through a proprietary technology?” said Don Bartusiek of Exxon Mobil. In emerging practice, for brownfield implementations, an IoT gateway is often introduced to aggregate the data from PLCs and deliver it to information technology systems.
Bartusiek also works with The Open Group, a consortium that promotes “the achievement of business objectives through technology standards.”
Industrial operations have special needs for real-time control, apart from transactional computing systems. Rather than processing in the cloud, local data processing at the edge is required, including at the IoT gateway. A plethora of edge devices and computers are being introduced.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Eyes on the Grid – The Sensor Revolution
https://iconsofinfrastructure.com/eyes-on-the-grid-the-sensor-revolution/
The New York Power Authority is in the vanguard of utilities turning to sophisticated sensors to better understand their billions of dollars of grid equipment – and provide for more resilient electric service.
A vast multiplication of sensors deployed along far flung assets, is increasing the reliability of our electric grid.
These changes are occurring across the map.
But a standout effort is being made by the New York Power Authority, which has set for itself the goal of becoming America’s first and pre-eminent digital utility
Outages cost our economy upwards of $200 billion a year in lost economic activity, a recent New York Times article reported.
Operators will have the tools to oversee its vast deployment of transmission, substation and power plants, he said, while “making smart and efficient operating decisions real time.”
Quiniones said the enter effort is working hand-in-glove with Gov. Andrew Cuomo ‘s sweeping Reforming the Energy Vision – REV – to allow for more renewable, affordable energy in the Empire State.
NYPA has spent $6 million to date of an anticipated $55 million, and the program is expected to expand further, according to spokeswoman Lynn Smith.
The agency owns and operates a sprawling 1,400 miles of transmission lines.
NYPA opened a $4 million Integrated Smart Operations Center at its White Plains headquarters the end of last year to serve as a monitoring and diagnostic center for all its assets – down to battery banks, cables and capacitors.
“How can we do better asset management, anticipate issues, improve efficiency and productively?” DaSilva told Icons of Infrastructure.
Sensors are a key part of the answer.
He said his agency will go from monitoring 26,000 data points to monitoring an additional 90,000 through the addition of 1,000 sensors. Vendors who have assisted with the effort include GE, ABB and Siemens, he said.
“There are many utilities out there moving in this direction,” DaSilva said.
“…making smart and efficient operating decisions real time.” – Gil Quiniones
When it comes to the key elements of Con Edison’s electric grid – many assets in the crowded New York metropolitan area are underground – making sensor technology very valuable to stay on top of maintaining and operating unseen equipment, he said.
“We have 25,000 large network transformers, a dense, underground network, and we monitor every one,” Ketschke said.
In addition, the utility has moved toward real time monitoring of every circuit, he said.
Grid Sensors Could Ease Disruptions of Power
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/04/business/energy-environment/smart-sensors-for-power-grid-could-ease-disruptions.html
For decades, utility companies have relied on customers telling them when their lights have gone off as a sign that there may be a broader power disruption. The utilities then send workers to drive along mile after mile of power lines, looking for tiny devices — little red circular tabs — that have popped up, signaling the source of the problem in the network.
That approach could now be on its way out as the electrical grid becomes smarter. Utilities across the country are experimenting with new sensor and communications systems that can monitor the flow of electricity and pinpoint failures more quickly and, perhaps, even help avoid them.
Last summer, over a stormy Fourth of July weekend in Pennsylvania, where Orange & Rockland Utilities is using a system from Tollgrade Communication, electric company workers were able to figure out where there was trouble on a line and send repair crews out before any customers called them.
In another case, the system helped workers locate and fix a faulty part, avoiding a larger problem.
The flow of current along the high-voltage transmission lines that cross the country is well monitored, and the growth of smart meters has increasingly allowed utilities to read when the power goes down at individual homes, experts say.
But most disruptions occur in the distribution grid — millions of miles of medium-voltage lines connecting substations to buildings — where electric companies have had little visibility.
“Failures are becoming more and more prevalent and more widespread,”
A failure in one area will ripple through, and it can take multiple states out,” at a cost of as much as $200 billion a year in lost economic activity, he added.
But with the new generation of sensors, utilities are beginning to be able to see where the problems are and even what is causing them, whether a squirrel on a transformer or a tree limb on a power line. As a result, experts say, repairs are faster and more efficient.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.netcontrol.com/eng/news/news/netcontrol-helps-swedish-utility-smart-substation-rtu/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.tdworld.com/substations/embracing-need-intelligent-control?page=1
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT vaatii kestävää verkkoa datankeruuseen, laitteiden ohjaukseen ja hallintaan
https://www.anders.fi/fi/blogi/iot-vaatii-kestavaa-verkkoa-datankeruuseen-laitteiden-ohjaukseen-ja-hallintaan/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2017/12/10/2017-roundup-of-internet-of-things-forecasts/#1becf5fd1480
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smart Stickers Can Help Monitor Your Health
https://blog.hackster.io/smart-stickers-can-help-monitor-your-health-72a6a1bb078e
And since you have to monitor at home without a doctor, it can be pretty scary. Now, the process is easier thanks to a new sticker solution by researchers at Purdue University.
These stickers are wearable electronic devices that track and monitor your health. The device is made out of cellulose, which is biocompatible and breathable and it keeps the cost low. They are patterned in serpentine shapes to make them imperceptible for the wearer. And since paper degrades faster when it gets wet, researchers covered the stickers with molecules that repel water, oil, dust, and bacteria, all usually found on human skin.
Purdue’s smart stickers can be used to measure physical activity and even alert you about possible health risks in real time.
https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2018/Q4/simple-stickers-may-save-lives-of-heart-patients,-athletes-and-lower-medical-costs-for-families.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://semiengineering.com/october-startup-funding-iot-security-auto-startups/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Week in Review: IoT, Security, Auto
5G and IoT; election security; Waymo permit.
https://semiengineering.com/week-in-review-iot-security-auto-17/
The expensive implementation of 5G cellular communications may be justified by the Internet of Things, writes Hatem Zeine, founder and chief technology officer of Ossia, a developer of wireless power technology. Bain & Company forecasts the B2B IoT market will be worth more than $300 billion by 2020. IDC predicts overall IoT spending will hit $1.2 trillion in 2022.
Michael Harttree of Cisco Systems writes about long-range WAN technology in this blog post. “In any environment, especially military, the capability to visualize locations of key assets, and do so inexpensively, can be a game changer. And with new battery technology that can extend a sensor’s operational life to several years, coupled with extending data transmission distances significantly from feet to miles, we have a feeling LoRaWAN will go mainstream very soon,” he writes.
Tomi Engdahl says:
LPWAN, internet of things deployer Sigfox USA names new VP of sales
https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2018/10/lpwan-iot-provider-sigfox-appoints-murray-kawchuk-sales-vp.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-11-05&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2290029
Sigfox U.S.A. states that the company “has experienced significant traction since the beginning of 2018. The company increased activated objects by 400 percent from the previous year, with a threefold increase in both the number of use cases in production and the number of active proof of concepts.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
NCTA issues smart cities white paper
https://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/2018/11/ncta-smart-cities-white-paper.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-11-05&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=2290029
The NCTA has released a smart cities white paper, “Cable Companies and Municipalities: Natural Smart Community Partners,” focusing on the importance of high-speed broadband networks in powering smart cities and communities across the country. Authored by Bill Maguire of Connected Communities, the research indicates that cities and towns would benefit from partnerships with cable operators in becoming a smart and connected community.
Among the findings:
Cable networks have the capability to support smart community/IoT applications both now and in the future.
A rapid expansion of the number of homes where gigabit service is available means that the smart home will be an increasingly viable platform capable of advancing smart and connected community objectives.
Smart and connected community partnerships between cable providers and local governments reflect new and evolving approaches to collaboration.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bluetooth without Batteries? Atmosic Technologies Says It Can Be Done.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/analog/bluetooth-without-batteries-atmosic-technologies-says-it-can-be-done?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20181105_ED-003_100&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=21162&utm_medium=email&elq2=b0de0b4eb9e04111995b202807df12d9
Su has since taken over as chief executive officer of Atmosic Technologies, the startup he founded with Nakahira and Zargari. The company plans to start by selling Bluetooth 5 chips for applications that need to send small amounts of data over long distances without burning through their disposable batteries. Specifically, the startup is targeting wearables, beacons, keyboards and other devices that generally communicate infrequently.
Atmosic Technologies said that its CMOS-based SoCs consume 10 times less power than anything else available on the market. That allows them to run indefinitely on an energy harvester that can completely replace batteries in factory and consumer electronics using Bluetooth. Unit shipments of Bluetooth chips used in Internet of Things endpoints are projected to grow from 680 million units to 1.54 billion in 2021, according to ABI Research.
“We started from a clean slate,” Su said. “We went through every RF block carefully”—the modem and the wireless front end—“and even though there was no one-size-fits-all solution, we were able to lower the power consumption by ten times through circuit level techniques.” The company will have to compete with major Bluetooth chip suppliers, including Texas Instruments, Cypress, Dialog and Nordic Semiconductor.
The company is using other strategies to curtail system power. The new devices are capable of on-demand wakeup
“Most lower power devices do not need to be communicating all of the time,” Su said. “Most of the time they are in standby mode. So we asked if we could make a standby mode that consumes almost no power.”
The power requirements are so minimal that the chips can be powered with harvested RF energy. But instead of harvesting ambient energy, the chips require dedicated power supplies, such as wireless transmitters embedded in a light bulb. Atmosic Technologies said that their energy harvesting antenna can generate single-digit milliwatts as long as it remains close enough to the power supply with 30 to 40 percent efficiency, excluding RF path loss.
Using energy harvesting, the new chips can send information at one megabit-per-second while consuming around the same amount of power as near-field communications (NFC).