Cambium Network’s New cnReach Radio Connects Legacy Sensors
Cambium Networks announced this week a new device called cnReach—a radio that connects directly to sensors, meters or controllers deployed in the field, via serial ports (RS-232/-422/-485), two Ethernet ports, and an optional digital or analog I/O port.
Cambium Network is a provider of wireless broadband technology and cloud-based management software used for data collection and backhaul services for remote communications networks for governmental and military agencies, as well as companies in the oil and gas and utility industries, and internet service providers. The cnReach, which employs Modbus RTU or TCP protocols or DNP3 protocols to communicate with connected devices, comes in two versions.
The 900 MHz Narrow-Band Radio uses 128- or 256-bit encryption to transmit data up to 70 miles over either licensed spectrum (with data transmission ranging from 10 to 210 kilobytes per second) or unlicensed spectrum (with data transmissions ranging from 57 kbps to 4.4 megabytes per second) in the 900 MHz band. The 700 MHz Narrow-Band radio operates on licensed channels in the 700 MHz band, with a data transmissions ranging from 9.6 kilobytes per second to 1.0 megabytes per second) and has the same range and connectivity options. Either device can be deployed in a point-to-point or point-to-multipoint configuration. Cambium Networks’ cloud-based cnMaestro software is used to monitor cnReach devices (and other Cambium Network communications gear) in the field. Beta customers have begun evaluating cnReach radios, which are expected to be made widely available by the end of this month.
Verizon Buys Sensity Systems to Grow Smart-City Portfolio
In an effort to accelerate its efforts to deploy large-scale IoT systems for municipal, campus-based and stadium applications, Verizon announced this week that it will acquire LED lighting and IoT solutions provider Sensity Systems for an undisclosed sum. Paired with its infrastructure investments at the network, platform and application levels, Verizon sees the acquisition as a way to broaden its footprint in smart-city applications.
Sensity Systems, is based in Sunnyvale, Calif., sells LED lighting systems with embedded sensor networking technology. It bills its technology as a way for municipal customers to reduce electricity costs (by replacing incumbent lighting technology) while installing a framework to enable an IoT network designed to improved public safety, monitor environmental conditions, improve parking systems or other smart-city applications. Prior to being acquired by Verizon, Sensity Systems had raised $74 million in venture capital from a number of investors, including GE Ventures and Cisco Investments.
Telit Announces New Bluetooth Radio, Receiver Modules, Adds Wirepas Support
Telit, an IoT product and platform provider, has announced the commercial availability of its BlueMod+S42 Bluetooth 4.2 module, which can be embedded into products (such as sensors, electronic locking systems or lighting controllers) or used in Bluetooth beacons.
The company also released two variants of its multi-constellation Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver modules, the SL869-V3 and the SL869-ADR. Each is capable of tracking and using up to three satellite constellations simultaneously to produce positioning, velocity and time information.
According to Telit, using multiple constellations provides advantages over other receiver modules, by improving the accuracy and processing of weak or blocked satellite signals. The SL869-V3 is intended for applications requiring autonomous navigation, while the SL869-ADR includes embedded support for automotive dead-reckoning (DR) using vehicle odometer and direction (forward or reverse) input signals.
Telit has also announced that it is collaborating with Wirepas, a Finnish software company that has developed a mesh-network protocol. Through the terms of the partnership, Telit has enabled the BlueMod+S42 module to support Wirepas’ communication protocol.
Additionally, Wirepas announced this week that venture-capital firms ETF Partners, Inventure and Vito Ventures have invested €4.5 million ($5.02 million) in Wirepas, bringing to €10 million ($11.2 million) the total investment capital that Wirepas has raised million this year.
STMicroelectronics Selling LoRa Starter Kit
Semiconductor manufacturer STMicroelectronics, which makes micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) sensors for industrial and consumer applications, has introduced a development kit designed to help organizations prototype an IoT network based on the LoRa low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) protocol. The P-NUCLEO-LRWAN1 kit, which costs $40, includes STMicro’s STM32L073 Nucleo (NUCLEO-L073RZ) microcontroller board (which contains ARM‘s Cortex-M0+ core) with an RF expansion board based on the SX1272 LoRa transceiver from Semtech (I-NUCLEO-SX1272D). In a prototype LoRa device, the microcontroller board might be linked to a utility meter, an alarm system, a location tracker or some other sensor. Users can further extend functionality by adding extra expansion boards, such as the X-NUCLEO-IKS01A1 sensor board for motion, humidity and temperature sensing.
LoRa enables long-range (15-kilometer/9-mile) bi-directional communication of small data packets, using energy-efficient battery-powered wireless devices with a lifecycle of up to 10 years and the ability to be geo-located both indoors and outdoors. Data can be protected using AES-128 encryption.
The components in the STMicro kit comply with LoRaWAN version 1.0.1 and support Class A and Class C protocols. Class A devices are the most energy-efficient, while Class C devices have the lowest latency in the transmission of data between a server and an end device.
IoT Monetization Strategies Report
Connecting standalone products to an IoT network not only changes how those products are used, but also how they are monetized. In a new white paper, goTransverse, which provides subscription- and usage-based billing services, teamed with THINKstrategies for a report that offers best practices around monetization and payments strategies for companies looking to introduce IoT-connected products.
The report, titled “How to Avoid the Most Common IoT Monetization Mistakes to Maximize Today’s Real Market Opportunities,” includes advice on how to collect and analyze usage data from devices, and how to launch dynamic pricing schemes that go beyond flat-rate subscription services. It also includes short use cases based on monetizing IoT products in the consumer space, as well as in the industrial and transportation industries. The white paper is available at goTranserve’s website, as well as in RFID Journal’s white paper library.