- The consortium includes companies that use battery-free IoT technology to locate things and capture sensor data, as well as the constituents who make the related hardware and software.
- Wiliot first released Ambient IoT technology, however the company is not heading up the alliance, which includes a wide spectrum of companies from Infineon, Qualcomm, VusionGroup, and PepsiCo.
Technology companies and users of automatic identification systems have formed an Ambient IoT Alliance (AIoTA), a cross-industry coalition aimed at IoT expansion for systems that are battery-free. The goal is to promote and support development of an ambient energy-harvesting, ecosystem of wireless sensors in open-standard IoT solutions.
Ambient IoT leverages technology from multiple sources, using energy from cellular transmissions like 5G, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in their vicinity, and transmit data via Bluetooth to area receivers. Wiliot first developed Ambient IoT technology in 2017 to build a battery-free data tracking real-time locating system (RTLS) that can capture and transmit sensor information. That enables a way to capture more data, in real time, than passive solutions such as UHF RAIN RFID. RAIN RFID transmits an ID when a low-cost tag is within range of a reader.
Standard RTLS systems—and sensor based IoT—have more often relied on battery-power which makes the tags or sensors higher cost, and requiring periodic maintenance.
Ambient IoT Growth
As an alternative to RTLS or RFID, a wide variety of technology companies and end users have been involved in Ambient IoT development and deployments over recent years. The alliance is intended to expand and support universal solutions that will bring a real-time view into assets and inventory for retailers, food companies and pharma brands, among others.
The alliance’s formation is the coordinated next step in scaling ambient IoT across industries, said Steve Statler, former Wiliot chief marketing officer and founder of AI and IoT solutions company AmbAI.
Ambient IoT is a technology that is expanding in parallel with other Auto ID technologies such as RFID, NFC, barcodes, and active systems such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), LoRaWan and 5G. Although other technologies have their standards organization, ambient IoT is now ready for its own dedicated alliance, Statler said.
Global IoT Ecosystem
As an open industry group, AIoTA can help support those that produce or utilize IoT tags, devices, networking middleware, applications and cloud services. Statler likens the AIoTA association to the Wi-Fi Alliance, RAIN Alliance (for RFID) or NFC Forum for NFC technology, or Bluetooth SIG.
“The goal is to promote and support the development of an open, harmonized and aligned multi-standard ecosystem,” Statler said.
Founding members include solutions provider Atmosic, semiconductor company Infineon Technologies AG, and global computer components company Intel.
Also listed in the membership is beverage company PepsiCo, which has invested in ambient IoT technology, semiconductor and software firm Qualcomm, IoT data provider for retail VusionGroup, and Wiliot. All companies have invested in the advancement of ambient IoT solutions, best practices, interoperability and education.
How Ambient IoT is Being Used
Ambient IoT-enabled devices leverage power from wireless access points, appliances or gateways; to measure temperature, humidity and other sensor details; and communicate their unique ID with the wireless infrastructure whether they are in a store, in a factory, in the back of a truck, or in someone’s home.
The group anticipates large-scale deployments in supply chains, retail channels, and healthcare delivery services in the coming years.
“Ambient IoT is the key to sustainable IoT adoption,” said Atmosic co-founder David Su. “It allows us to rearchitect wireless tracking solutions to either use very little power or harvested energy, so everything can remain connected continuously and companies can operate at maximum efficiency.”
Alliance Going Public after Early Discussions
Statler said the size of companies and their business sectors speaks for the missions ahead. Referring to the alliance’s members, he commented, “Some of the titans of technology are going public with a discussion that’s been going on for a while behind the scenes. Which has really been centered on accelerating and supporting and developing open harmonized multi standard ecosystem for ambient IoT.”
The focus, he added, will be development of solutions for the benefit of suppliers, integrators, operators and end users.
‘This group is really made-up of people who have been deploying the technology or producing products to support the deployment of the technology and it’s really clear that things are going to be a lot better if we communicate within an alliance,” said Statler.
For instance, Vusion Group deploys electronic shelf labels in stores that can send data in real time based on shelf stocking and conditions monitoring.
Connecting Digital Physical Worlds
Governance work is still ahead as more members join the alliance. Working groups can then focus on standards, white papers and other research.
The group is inviting new members to sign up on the website. They will continue to explore how IoT data can enable AI-based solution. In terms of building the interface between the digital and the physical, Statler said.
“If you believe that AI is important and that the physical world’s important and you want to be part of a group that is overseeing it, I think it’s an amazing opportunity to learn and also contribute to what that future looks like,” he said.
Originating with Wiliot, Expanding from Here
Statler pointed to what he called the pervasiveness and the relevance of providing physical data to AI systems that can connect users with information about the goods and services they use, factories with the assets they have onsite, and hospitals with information about healthcare devices, pharmaceuticals and even mobility devices such as wheelchairs.
Although Wiliot first developed ambient IoT, which was named by the 3GPP standards organization, the company is not leading the alliance, and other companies can build an ambient IoT solution without Wiliot technology.
As ambient IoT deployments proliferate, there will be more companies involved in building out base station technology to create the necessary energy and receive transmissions from sensors in businesses or even in homes.
Growth with AI
Emerging technology companies may be part of the new ecosystems. Large wireless carriers, however, also are exploring the technology for purposes such as connecting delivery vehicles and their cargo with customers and operators.
“I think the biggest beneficiaries are actually going to be the people that use the technology — it’s going to be the apps and the people that use the apps that will get the most out it,” he said.
Deployments in the future may reach further in the lives of the average consumers. Combining the IoT data with AI will lead to a variety of new solutions and applications, Statler speculates. He pointed to a consumer-facing app that could act as a person’s personal assistant by capturing IoT data in the immediate area and making recommendations to the consumer.
For instance, the restaurant where they are eating may have the consumer’s favorite bottle of wine in stock. They could then use the assistant to place an order for that bottle. An AI-based solution like this could be operating at the behest of the individual, not the companies selling the products.