Ethertronics Launches LoRa Module With Active Steering Antenna for IoT Applications
PRESS RELEASE:
Ethertronics, the leader in ultra-high performance smart antenna system solutions, has announced the industry first complete plug and play LoRa module for Low-Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) connectivity. It delivers very long range and unmatched reliable antenna performance using Active Steering for the LoRa ecosystem of Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) applications. Ethertronics is the first to provide a complete LoRa ecosystem solution, including module, active antennas, active measurement capability, software integration support and pre-certification to expedite time to market.
Ethertronics Active Steering antenna technology and module for the LoRa ecosystem provides significant improvement in reliability of the wireless link and range by using dynamic radiation patterns, enabling customers to place their IoT or M2M sensor or device virtually anywhere. The improved range in low data rate applications will result in longer range tracking performance and pinpoint indoor location accuracy, while making the process of installing and positioning an IoT or M2M Lora module much simpler and cheaper.
“Ethertronics’ complete LoRa module features our Active Steering antenna system and Active impedance matching, and delivers unprecedented ultra-long range performance, reliability and low power that makes suitable the billions of LoRa based IoT devices, said Vahid Manian, Chief Operating Officer with Ethertronics. “Our expertise in design, testing, and pre-certification allows us to be a one-stop-shop for anyone looking to build the highest performing LoRa solution and get to market as quickly as possible.”
Ethertronics Active Steering technology and Active impedance matching technology solves many of the problems associated with using a passive antenna in small IoT devices. When you install LoRa products you often cannot place it in a hidden environment, location or behind walls – and it requires you to place more sensors or devices closer together, which increases cost. Quite often the IoT device with passive antenna simply does not work, due to its weak antenna signal. The active impedance matching capability of the Ethertronics LoRa module helps to handle the detuning of the antenna by its surrounding environment, while the multiple radiation patterns available from the Ethertronics Active Steering antenna along with the strong dual polarization properties, provides a more reliable signal that can be received across a large number of channels within a communication link.
Active Steering optimizes the antenna characteristics to the environment, resulting in better signal reception. The Active Steering algorithm continually samples and switches between radiation patterns in the millisecond time-frame to optimize a reliable communication link and provide ultra-long range performance for a host of IoT devices for Smart Cities, Home and Building, Environment, Metering, Agriculture, Industry 4.0 and smart Retail and Logistics applications. Ethertronics new LoRA complete module solution leverages on the family of active Steering antennas, switches and algorithm that delivers the very long range performance, reliability and low power required for emerging IOT and smart cities applications.
Ethertronics is a member of the LoRa Alliance, which along with its LoRa ecosystem, is the fastest growing alliance in the IoT sector, and the addition of Ethertronics will help standardize LoRa and LoRaWAN for IoT low-power wide-area networks (LPWAN) worldwide.
Sierra Wireless, Landis+Gyr, Altair, Telstra Expand IoT Networks; Sierra Launches Plug-and-Play Technology to Simplify the IoT
PRESS RELEASE:
Telstra, Sierra Wireless, Landis+Gyr and Altair has announced a significant milestone in accelerating the Internet of Things (IoT). Telstra is the first to complete network software deployment nationally to enable one of the world’s largest Category M1 (Cat-M1) IoT footprints and has commenced localised Cat-M1 trials in Australia. Sierra Wireless AirPrime modules, based on the Altair ALT-1210 LTE platform, will be the first trial Cat-M1 device to be deployed on Telstra’s network, and Landis+Gyr will provide the first Cat-M1 smart meters to be trialed.
Telstra’s Cat-M1 network will connect a wide variety of new and existing IoT solutions and services including wearables, water meters, agri-sensors, smart appliances, asset monitoring, industrial automation and more. Cat-M1 technology enables lower cost devices, greater breadth and depth of coverage, and up to 10 years of battery life for many use cases, while leveraging the secure existing LTE infrastructure.
“We are excited to be working with our partners Sierra Wireless, Landis+Gyr, and Altair to trial the first Cat-M1-enabled smart meter on our network,” said Mike Wright, Telstra’s Group Managing Director of Networks. “These smart meter trials will mean we can get the benefits of Cat-M1, such as low power consumption and deep coverage, out to market even quicker.”
Landis+Gyr is one of the first customers to utilize Telstra’s Cat-M1 network capabilities for its smart meter and smart grid applications. Utility customers rely on robust coverage to ensure the success of smart metering rollouts. The Cat-M1 network is perfectly suited for this; when deployed on a 4G network, the solution will continue to be enhanced to significantly extend breadth and depth of coverage, while balancing data speeds and latency. The smart energy innovator is also the first in the world to demonstrate smart electricity metering operating over a Cat-M1 network.
“Cat-M1 technology is critical for Landis+Gyr smart meters,” said Adrian Clark, CEO Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia, Landis+Gyr. “Sierra Wireless’ modules made it easy to migrate from 3G to Cat-M1 technology seamlessly, allowing us to take part in early trials and get to market quickly with solutions that take advantage of Cat-M1 network features. We are really excited by the results and the role this partnership plays in Landis+Gyr’s rollout of the next generation of advanced metering infrastructure.”
“Telstra’s Cat-M1 network makes LTE the superior option for connecting IoT solutions nationwide, with improved coverage and battery life that will benefit existing applications and enable many new ones,” said Dan Schieler, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Embedded Solutions at Sierra Wireless. “Our HL7749 Cat-M1 module provides another CF3 form factor option for our customers operating their devices on Telstra’s network, allowing them to quickly and cost-effectively migrate their connected IoT products or services from 2G, 3G, or 4G to Cat-M1.”
“Altair continues to spearhead wireless IoT semiconductor development with the latest Cat-M1 standards,” said Eran Eshed, Vice President of Worldwide Marketing and Sales at Altair. “This cooperation with three innovative ecosystem partners enabled the most significant milestone to date on the path to commercial readiness.”
In addition, Sierra Wireless has announced the world’s first ‘plug-and-play’ cellular modules and routers with pre-integrated global connectivity, IoT operation management and security. This new technology will dramatically reduce the time to launch IoT solutions, streamline operations and enable business model flexibility, thereby accelerating the global IoT economy.
These new cellular modules and routers enable customers to select a single pre-certified solution to instantaneously connect and remotely manage a fleet of IoT products and services across the globe, and over the lifetime of the deployment. This is a vast improvement to the current practice of procuring devices, then sourcing multiple connectivity subscriptions and SIM cards for global coverage, and finally integrating disparate provisioning and management platforms.
“The complexity of deploying IoT solutions is the biggest challenge for businesses today,” said Philippe Guillemette, CTO, Sierra Wireless. “Our new technology is much more than a SIM in a device, it’s an industry breakthrough that truly simplifies the IoT ecosystem. Our customers can focus on transforming their business and rely on Sierra Wireless to securely connect, monitor and collect data from their devices, at the right time, with the right SLA, and at the right cost.”
With built-in security from device, through the mobile network, to the cloud, Sierra Wireless’ innovative technology allows users to remotely provision and change connectivity providers over the air without ever physically accessing their devices. This reduces risk and gives companies the flexibility to develop and scale IoT applications and services over time and around the world.
“Sierra Wireless’ long track record and leadership experience in IoT gives them unique insight into the many hurdles businesses must overcome to bring their connected products to market,” said Dan Shey, Managing Director and Vice President, B2B, ABI Research. “Having both connectivity management and device management on a single platform is a significant advantage that will allow users to leverage data from their devices and the network to drive their business. Sierra Wireless is also bringing the flexibility to access global MNOs over the air, which is a key factor in enabling the global IoT economy.”
“Nube uses Sierra Wireless’ device to cloud solution for our gas monitoring solution throughout Latin America, which helped us get to market faster than expected and better manage our devices in the field,” said Chris Gnanakone, CEO and Founder of Nube. “Now, with the integration of the SIM and subscription directly into the module, this will further streamline our manufacturing, reduce the total cost of our device and make our IoT operations even more efficient.”
Sierra Wireless is piloting the fully integrated solution with select customers, and it will be available for large scale deployments in the second half of 2017 in select embedded module and router products. These devices come pre-integrated with Smart SIM connectivity, the latest eUICC remote provisioning technology and the AirVantage IoT Platform for application enablement—providing all of the IoT infrastructure needed to create, connect and manage IoT solutions.
PoLTE, ACS Partner on LTE-Based Precise Location Data for Commercial and Industrial IoT Markets
PRESS RELEASE:
PoLTE Corporation, developer of Positioning over LTE (PoLTE), and ACS, developer of advanced Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) solutions, has announced they are partnering on the development of enterprise communication solutions, including real-time LTE-based location tracking for mobile and IoT devices.
Leveraging the native and ubiquitous cellular LTE signals, PoLTE’s technology enables the seamless and persistent tracking of LTE devices indoors or outdoors. Utilizing PoLTE’s next-generation location technology and ACS’ Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) platform will enable enterprises in the manufacturing, industrial, and transportation industries to continuously track the real-time location of LTE-connected assets, goods, workers, and devices with precision.
“Unlike with localized Wi-Fi and Bluetooth location technology approaches, our combined offering with ACS provides a new, ubiquitous, and secure method for obtaining continuous and cohesive location data of LTE-enabled devices,” said Russ Markhovsky, Founder and President of PoLTE. “Furthermore, by utilizing the native LTE signals we eliminate the need to deploy Bluetooth beacons or densify Wi-Fi networks for location purposes. Really, why track an LTE device with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth now that we have made this breakthrough and can track an LTE device utilizing native LTE signals?”
PoLTE is the only persistent and ubiquitous location technology that can scale with accuracy and reliability in mass for today’s 4G and tomorrow’s 5G networks and devices.
“Our partnership with PoLTE was born out of the necessity to meet the requirements of enterprise IoT and M2M applications,” said Bob Pike, Chief Technology Officer, Network and Mobile Broadband, at ACS. “The fact is, traditional location presence methodologies, such as Wi-Fi and beacons, simply do not work in many commercial and industrial applications or settings. PoLTE’s LTE-based location technology delivers the real-time location data, with precision and security that our customers demand.”
ACS’ MEC architectures combine wireless technology with an IT-type service environment to deliver efficient communications services with ultra-low latency and high bandwidth. MEC software applications can tap into local content and information about network conditions so that traffic can be handled in an optimal way; examples include local traffic offload and caching, and video optimization.
PoLTE is always looking to develop unique and innovative solutions with development partners globally, to learn more about PoLTE technology or inquire about a partnership, please visit www.PoLTE.com.
TrackNet, Microshare.io Partner to Enable New Monetization Methods for the IoT
PRESS RELEASE:
TrackNet, Inc., a cutting-edge LoRaWAN Internet of Things (IoT) solutions provider for consumer and industry, andmicroshare.io, a leader in IoT data governance solutions, announce a partnership to enable new business models and monetization methods to capitalize on IoT.
The amount of data and new connected devices for IoT is skyrocketing but new methods, systems, and models for collecting and managing the data are required to meet the full potential of IoT. There are lots of interested parties in the data generated by IoT and LPWAN networks including app developers, data scientists, and marketers but managing, parsing, ensuring the security, ownership, and facilitating consumer permission to use the data are critical functions that will be served by the technology partnership between TrackNet and microshare.io.
TrackNet is developing all the components including sensors, gateways, and core network management to deploy and manage enterprise and nationwide LoRaWAN LPWANs. TrackNet recently launched its Tabs consumer solution, which is the first all-in-one solution for locating children, home security, home monitoring, and Wi-Fi parental controls. The Tabs solution also enables a new more scalable deployment model for LPWAN operators. Microshare provides a solution for gathering, managing, governing, and securely sharing relevant data with multiple different parties for LPWAN and other connectivity sources.
A typical use case for the selective sharing of IoT data involves home insurance discounts. “Home insurance companies are willing to offer customers a discount on their home insurance if the home owner installs a home monitoring solution for security and to ensure home conditions to prevent excessive damage from broken water pipes, mold, etc. The joint microshare-TrackNet solution will provide insurance companies with just the data they need to verify these requirements – with the consumer’s permission,” said Charles Paumelle, CMO of microshare.io.
TrackNet provides the home solution for consumers including the back-end to manage a network of over 100 million consumer gateways while microshare.io manages the controlled sharing of the critical data to the insurance company based on permissions from the consumer.
Applying the revenue per unit (RPU) connectivity model that is common in the cellular industry today to IoT has been a challenge for many companies. Many volume IoT applications may appear to have a very low RPU potential, but a lot of revenue potential in IoT can be realized in vertical solutions and securely managing and sharing the data with many different interested parties. Both TrackNet and microshare.io are developing a portfolio of patents around the security and privacy of IoT data and believe that data security is key to the success of IoT.
Industrial Internet Consortium Publishes IIoT Connectivity Framework
PRESS RELEASE:
The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC), the global, member-driven organization that promotes the accelerated growth of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), has announced the publication of the Industrial Internet Connectivity Framework (IICF), a reference architecture for IIoT system and solution architects to evaluate connectivity technologies as they design IIoT solutions.
The IIC developed the IICF to help unlock data in isolated systems, enabling interoperability between previously closed components and subsystems and to accelerate the development of new applications within and across industries.
“Seeking to unlock the full potential of the global IIoT marketplace, the IICF offers a framework to help simplify the complexity of proprietary technologies and standards which businesses face,” said John Tuccillo, Senior Vice President of Global Industry and Government Affairs, Schneider Electric and IIC Steering Committee Chair. “The IICF will help accelerate the creation of new value streams with its broad applicability across multiple industries, IIoT systems and applications.”
The IICF maps the rich landscape of IIoT connectivity and provides a comprehensive treatment of connectivity as a means of building interoperable IIoT systems. It clarifies the layers of the IIoT connectivity stack and defines the minimum expectations of an IIoT connectivity framework as being able to achieve syntactic interoperability between IIoT components and subsystems, i.e., the components and subsystems must be able to unambiguously exchange structured data between participants.
“As the Industrial Internet of Things continues to evolve, a common connectivity architecture is critical in enabling the seamless data sharing required to unlock the potential of the IIoT,” said Dr. Rajive Joshi, Principal Solution Architect at RTI and Co-Chair of the IIC Connectivity Task Group. “The IICF provides this common architecture, clarifying the connectivity stack and defining criteria for core connectivity standards. The framework provides the roadmap IoT practitioners and system architects need to navigate the complex IIoT connectivity landscape.”
The IICF provides an assessment template as a practical tool for evaluating any connectivity technology and placing it correctly on the IIoT connectivity stack. It defines a connectivity reference architecture to enable horizontal interoperability and establishes the criteria for core connectivity standards. The IICF offers a catalog of connectivity standards and identifies potential core connectivity standards to accelerate IIoT initiatives. The IICF paves the way for a marketplace of connectivity gateways and core gateways that will create more choices and readily available solutions for IIoT system developers.
C3 IoT Updates Enterprise Software Platform for Big Data, AI and IoT
PRESS RELEASE:
C3 IoT has announced Version 7 of its enterprise software platform for big data, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and Internet of Things (IoT) applications, with new tools and enhancements that significantly increase the productivity of application developers, data scientists, and business analysts by enabling them to all work on the same framework. This productivity improvement reduces companies’ IT expenditures and speeds time to market of predictive analytics software applications that perform AI and machine learning at scale to recommend actionable business insights and facilitate digital transformation.
According to a Forrester Research report written by Vice President and Principal Analyst Mike Gualtieri, “Enterprise interest in AI is surging… We expect enterprise interest in, and use of, AI to increase as software vendors roll out AI platforms and build AI capabilities into applications. Enterprises that plan to invest in AI expect to improve customer experiences, improve products and services, and disrupt their industry with new business models.”
“C3 IoT successfully addresses a number of challenges that have plagued enterprises in the past with respect to traditional approaches to Machine Learning,” said Holger Mueller, Vice President and Principal Analyst, Constellation Research. “With C3 IoT, data remains in place, gets automatically updated and refreshed, and thus Machine Learning capabilities are no longer the domain of a small clique of advanced users. Business users are empowered to create their own Machine Learning-powered analytical applications and can plug them in to transactional applications as needed.”
Version 7 of the C3 IoT Platform is rolling out to enterprise customers worldwide in Q1 2017 with advanced capabilities spanning five elements of the C3 IoT Platform – data science tools, artificial intelligence algorithms, application development tools, edge analytics, and platform administration – that increase user productivity and accelerate the delivery of AI and IoT applications.
C3 IoT now offers C3 Ex Machina, a visual analytics and machine learning development tool that simplifies and speeds big data exploration and predictive analytics modeling. Powerful yet intuitive, C3 Ex Machina empowers data scientists and business analysts to extract actionable business insights quickly – and without writing any code. Native support for Python and R allows data scientists to leverage their programming language of choice and push their code back to production in the C3 IoT Platform without re-writing any code.
C3 IoT is expanding on the AI and machine learning capabilities currently integrated in its platform with additional deep learning technologies and more advanced analyses that increase the precision and accuracy of predictions. C3 IoT also added: image processing for object and facial recognition at the edge; natural language processing (NLP) for analyzing text-based data such as hand-written notes and work logs; expanded support for libraries of machine learning algorithms; and a machine learning pipeline that makes it faster and easier to develop and deploy machine learning models and publish them back to the platform.
The C3 Type System, a high-level abstraction layer that enables disparate users to interact with the same metadata-driven architecture for defining and developing applications, now offers native HDFS integration to connect to customers’ data lakes as well as several enhancements that improve performance and optimize storage.
A new version of C3 IoT’s metadata-driven, web-based development toolset, C3 Tools, improves the user’s ability to define integration processes, create and extend data models and analytics, build machine learning classifiers, and rapidly develop user interfaces. A new Eclipse plug-in gives developers additional tools to develop, deploy, and debug applications on the C3 IoT Platform. In addition to Cassandra, C3 IoT now provides full support for AWS DynamoDB, a fast and flexible NoSQL database service for applications that need consistent, single-digit millisecond latency at any scale.
Integrated profiling and debugging tools enable developers to quickly resolve issues and identify performance bottlenecks. Improved roles and responsibility management simplifies administration and improves security.
Tighter integration with AWS IoT and Lambda lets connected devices easily and securely interact with the C3 IoT Platform. Support for the C3 Type System at the edge enables customers to process and execute analytics on edge devices. C3 IoT has streamlined and improved platform administration tools, including the ability to manage environment configurations, manage auto-scaling configurations, and enable self-healing of common issues.
MyHonda Connected Car Platform Leverages IoT Solution from Cisco Jasper and Bright Box to Offer Customized Driving Services
PRESS RELEASE:
Honda is leveraging IoT solutions from Cisco Jasper and Bright Box to deliver the MyHonda Connected Car platform, which provides a suite of powerful services that enhances the driving experience. MyHonda utilizes telematics solutions from Bright Box, powered by the Cisco Jasper Control Center automated IoT connectivity management platform, to deliver a variety of connected services that increase driver safety, simplify vehicle ownership, and enable new experiences for drivers. Honda will launch these Connected Car services across all European countries.
Sandra Hughes, Head of Marketing and Product Management at Honda Motor Europe, commented, “At Honda we are committed to optimizing safety, security and convenience for drivers with innovative connected services. The IoT services that Bright Box and Cisco Jasper enable us to deliver help ensure that Honda drivers receive the best possible driving experience.”
Honda drivers benefit from the following IoT-connected services through the MyHonda Connected Car platform: vehicle information and diagnostics—drivers have easy access to critical vehicle information via the MyHonda app, and diagnostic information is sent in real time to track the health of their vehicle; aimple scheduling of maintenance—drivers are alerted when maintenance is needed, and can easily schedule appointments with the push of a button; and GPS tracking for location-based services—drivers are provided with information on their trips, push notifications to alert them when speeding, the ability to locate open parking spaces, and more.
Cisco Jasper Control Center is the global IoT platform of choice for 23 of the world’s largest auto manufacturers. These OEMs utilize Control Center to transform vehicles into dynamic hubs capable of delivering a variety of services that provide new, ongoing revenue channels for both them and their ecosystem partners.
Bright Box uses Control Center to decrease operational costs and guarantee the connectivity and responsiveness needed for Honda’s always-on IoT services. Honda experiences the following benefits of the Bright Box and Cisco Jasper IoT solution: best possible customer experience—Honda uses Cisco Jasper Control Center’s automated rules and APIs to continuously monitor and proactively service connected vehicles for pan-European drivers; optimized telematics—bright Box is a market leading telematics service provider that is already using Control Center on four other continents with six OEMs. Bright Box has partnered with Post Luxembourg, who provides the connectivity for Honda’s pan-European project on Control Center; and global scale—control Center enabled Bright Box to easily extend the automated connectivity management for Honda’s vehicles across six European countries today. And Cisco Jasper’s partnerships with more than 50 service providers, which manage IoT devices across more than 550 mobile networks worldwide, will enable Honda to expand their services globally as needed.
“Using Cisco Jasper Control Center in our Connected Car projects with Honda and other automotive OEMs significantly reduces our operating costs and increases the Bright Box service quality for our customers,” said Ivan Mishanin, CEO at Bright Box.
“Today’s most innovative auto makers are leveraging IoT to provide new services that enhance the driving experience for their customers,” said Kalle Ward,Managing Director EMEAR, IoT Cloud at Cisco Jasper. “With the MyHonda connected services, Honda is demonstrating its focus on building a better driving future where drivers will continue to benefit from new levels of safety and convenience.”