According to Intel IoT is expected to be a multi-trillion-dollar market, with 50 billion devices creating 44 zettabytes (or 44 trillion gigabytes) of data annually by 2020. But that widely cited 50 billion IoT devices in 2020 number is clearly not correct! Forecast of 50 Billion Devices by 2020 Is Outdated. In 2017 we should be talking about about some sensible numbers. The current count is somewhere between Gartner’s estimate of 6.4 billion (which doesn’t include smartphones, tablets, and computers), International Data Corporation’s estimate of 9 billion (which also excludes those devices), and IHS’s estimate of 17.6 billion (with all such devices included). Both Ericsson and Evans have lowered their expectations from 50 billion for 2020: Evans, who is now CTO of Stringify, says he expects to see 30 billion connected devices by then, while Ericsson figures on 28 billion by 2021.
Connectivity and security will be key features for Internet of Things processors in 2017. Microcontroller (MCU) makers will continue to target their products at the Internet of Things (IoT) in 2017 by giving more focus on battery life, more connectivity of various types, and greater security. The new architectures are almost sure to spawn a multitude of IoT MCUs in 2017 from manufacturers who adopt ARM’s core designs.
ARM will be big. Last year, ARM’s partners shipped 15 billion chips based on its architectures. The trend toward IoT processors will go well beyond ARM licensees. Intel rolled out the Intel Atom E3900 Series for IoT applications. And do not forget MIPS an RISC-V.
FPGA manufacturers are pushing their products to IoT market. They promise that FPGAs solve challenges at the core of IoT implementation: making IoT devices power efficient, handling incompatible interfaces, and providing a processing growth path to handle the inevitable increase in device performance requirement.
Energy harvesting field will become interesting in 2017 as it is more broadly adopted. Energy harvesting is becoming the way forward to help supplement battery power or lose the need for it altogether. Generally researchers are eyeing energy-harvesting to power ultra-low-power devices, wearable technology, and other things that don’t need a lot of power or don’t come in a battery-friendly form factor.
Low power wide area networks (LPWA) networks (also known as NarrowBand IoT) will be hot in 2017. There is hope that f LPWA nets will act as a catalyst, changing the nature of the embedded and machine-to-machine markets as NB-IoT focuses specifically on indoor coverage, low cost, long battery life, and enabling a large number of connected devices. The markets will become a kind of do-it-yourselfers paradise of modules and services, blurring the lines between vendors, users and partners. At the same time for years to come, the market for low power wide area networks (LPWA) will be as fragmented and is already in a race to the bottom (Sigfox, said to be promising costs approaching $1 per node per year). Competing technologies include Sigfox, LoRa Alliance, LTE Cat 1, LTE Cat M1 (eMTC), LTE Cat NB1 (NB-IoT) and other sub-gigahertz options almost too numerous to enumerate.
We are starting to see a battle between different IoT technologies, and in few years to come we will see which are winners and which technologies will be lost in the fight. Sigfox and Lora are currently starting well, but telecom operators with mobile networks NB-IoT will try hit the race heavily in 2017. Vendors prep Cat M1, NB1 for 2017: The Cat M1 standard delivers up to 380 Kbits/second over a 1.4 MHz channel. NB-1 handles up to 40 Kbits/s over 200 kHz channels. Vendors hope the 7-billion-unit installed base of cellular M2M modules expands. It’s too early to tell which technologies will be mainstream and which niche. It could be that cellular NB-IOT was too late, it will fail in the short term, it can win in the long term, and the industry will struggle to make any money from it. At $2 a year, 20 billion devices will contribute around 4% of current global mobile subscription revenues.
New versions of communication standards will be taken into use in 2017. For example Bluetooth 5 that adds more speed and IoT functionality. In 2017, we will see an increase in the number of devices with the new Bluetooth 5 standard.
Industrial IoT to gain traction in 2017. Industrial applications ultimately have the greater transformative potential than consumer products, offering users real returns on investment (ROI) rather than just enhanced convenience or “cool factor”. But the industrial sector is conservative and has been slow to embrace an industrial IoT (IIoT), but is seems that they are getting interested now. During the past year there has been considerable progress in removing many of the barriers to IIoT adoption. A global wide implementation of an IIoT is many years away, of course. The issues of standards and interoperability will most likely remain unresolved for several years to come, but progress is being made. The Industrial Internet Consortium released a framework to support development of standards and best practices for IIoT security.
The IIoT market is certainly poised to grow. A Genpact research study, for instance, indicates that more than 80% of large companies believe that the IIoT will be essential to their future success. In a recent market analysis by Industry ARC, for instance, the projected value of the IIoT market will reach more than $120 billion by 2021. Research firm Markets and Markets is even more optimistic, pegging IIoT growth at a CAGR of 8% to more than $150 billion by 2020. And the benefits will follow. By GE’s estimate, the IIoT will stimulate an increase in the global GDP of $10 to $15 trillion over the next 20 years.
Systems integrators are seeking a quick way to enter the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market. So expect to see many plug and play IoT sensor systems unveiled. There were many releses in 2016, and expect to see more in 2017. Expect to see device, connectivity and cloud service to be marketed as one packet.
IoT analytics will be talked a lot in 2017. Many companies will promise to turn Big Data insights into bigger solutions. For industrial customers Big Data analytics is promised to drive operational efficiencies, cut costs, boosting production, and improving worker productivity. There are many IIoT analytic solution and platform suppliers already on the market and a growing number of companies are now addressing industrial analytics use.
In 2016 it was all bout getting the IoT devices connected to cloud. In 2017 we will see increased talk about fog computing. Fog computing is new IoT trend pushed by Cisco and many other companies. As the Internet of Things (IoT) evolves, decentralized, distributed-intelligence concepts such as “fog computing” are taking hold to address the need for lower latencies, improved security, lower power consumption, and higher reliability. The basic premise of fog computing is classic decentralization whereby some processing and storage functions are better performed locally instead of sending data all the way from the sensor, to the cloud, and back again to an actuator. This demands smarter sensors and new wireless sensor network architectures. Groups such as the Open Fog Consortium have formed to define how it should best be done. You might start to want to be able to run the same code in cloud and your IoT device.
The situation in IoT security in 2016 was already Hacking the IoT: As Bad As I Feared It’d Be and there is nothing that would indicate that the situation will not get any better in 2017. A veritable army of Internet-connected equipment has been circumvented of late, due to vulnerabilities in its hardware, software or both … “smart” TVs, set-top boxes and PVRs, along with IP cameras, routers, DSL, fiber and cable modems, printers and standalone print servers, NASs, cellular hot spots, and probably plenty of other gear. IoT world at the moment is full of vulnerable devices, and it will take years to get then replaces with more secure devices. Those vulnerable devices can be used to make huge DDoS attacks against Internet services. The 2016 October 21 cyberattacks on Dyn brought to light how easily many IoT devices can be compromised. I expect that kind of incidents will happen more in 2017 as DDoS botnets are pretty easy to build with tools available on-line. There’s no question that everyone in the chain – manufacturers, retailers and consumers – have to do a better job securing connected devices.When it comes to IoT, more security is needed.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT System Implementation – Understanding the Big Picture
https://www.mentor.com/embedded-software/multimedia/iot-system-implementation-understanding-the-big-picture?contactid=1&PC=L&c=2017_12_19_esd_newsletter_update_v12_december
IoT is the buzz word of this age and there is a very strong momentum and push to realize IoT enabled systems at a fast pace and to reap their benefits. However, IoT systems are inherently complex as their implementation involves use of diverse set of technology layers e.g. cloud services, communication protocols, connectivity options, embedded device software etc. On each technology layer there are numerous choices that complicate it further. This situation has resulted in an enormous jargon of terminology around IoT and sometimes it gets confusing to sail through this jargon and understand what is involved in implementing an end-to-end IoT system.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Understanding Diversity of IoT Enabling Devices and their Software Needs
https://www.mentor.com/embedded-software/multimedia/understanding-diversity-of-iot-enabling-devices-and-their-software-needs?contactid=1&PC=L&c=2017_12_19_esd_newsletter_update_v12_december
An IoT device can be a low cost simple standalone dumb device enabling telemetry or it can be a complex multifaceted device participating in cascaded industrial process.
Accordingly the software needs for these devices can differ drastically where for a simple device a minimalistic bare-metal environment is sufficient but as more functionality is demanded from these devices, the software complexity grows and can include RTOS, Embedded Linux or rich multicore homogenous/heterogeneous embedded software platforms utilizing latest virtualization technologies or multicore frameworks.
Software complexity on a device also directly relates to IoT use-cases implemented on this device. For simple telemetry a basic MQTT or CoAP based data connection is sufficient but as the additional use-cases like user management, device management, firmware updates, patching etc. are added a simple protocol enablement is not sufficient and a much more rich and capable IoT stack is required.
Tomi Engdahl says:
MDU Internet: What happens when a tenant moves out?
http://www.broadbandtechreport.com/articles/2017/12/mdu-internet-what-happens-when-a-tenant-moves-out.html?cmpid=enl_btr_weekly_2017-12-19&[email protected]
Smart home technology is one thing, but can it be extended to multiple dwelling units (MDUs)? This is a question property managers are asking as the cable industry heads into 2018.
“Where the gap has been is that providers of the (smart home) technology (haven’t) really provided a single dashboard that integrates what the resident might have with the property,” said Mike Slovin, VP, Xfinity Communities. “The problem with smart home to smart community is that you need Internet access.”
When apartments turn over, the management of the myriad workers – painters, repairmen, carpet installers – involved can be cumbersome. When all is done, someone has to make sure the windows are shut, the air conditioning or heat is turned down, the doors are locked, etc. To do this remotely would require Internet access. But when a resident moves out, the Internet coverage for the apartment goes with them.
Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has launched technology in a handful of cities that uses a long range (LoRa) wireless network to provide ubiquitous data coverage for small pieces of information, like commands to lock the door or turn off the alarm.
LoRa is a 900 MHz technology that offers two-way communications for payloads of less than 200 bytes. Each LoRa sensor can cover six floors in an MDU, Slovin said, adding that not many devices are needed to cover a whole building. Concrete and glass, or other areas that might be difficult for WiFi (when a router and gateway is not close), are not a problem for LoRa.
“(But LoRa) won’t replace a broadband connection. It is for use by the resident (or property manager) to manage smart devices,” Slovin said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Race for a Universal IoT Security Standard
http://www.sealevel.com/community/blog/the-race-for-a-universal-iot-security-standard/
Security experts have always warned us that a network is only as secure as its weakest point. Internet of Things (IoT) means that the number of points in each network is set to mushroom, with Cisco expecting between 50 and 200 billion smart devices to be online by 2020. So how do we avoid another, possibly worse, IoT catastrophe in the future?
Some voices have called for government regulation of IoT devices, although it seems impossible to police manufacturers based in other countries such as China. What about personal responsibility? In practice, consumers may have dozens of IoT devices in their homes, while businesses may have thousands or even millions. Even the most responsible users don’t have the skills or resources to personally verify each device on their network.
So it seems the responsibility must fall on the industry to create a robust, versatile security standard for IoT devices. The standard needs to address certain requirements such as:
Privacy-first—The data created by IoT devices is extremely sensitive, ranging from personal biometric information to industrial production data. Encryption and handling of this data is the top priority.
User-focused and configurable—Users should be able to manage security in ways that suit them, especially as IoT devices will be used as part of a larger interoperable network. Configuration needs to be easy, without exposing users to additional risk.
Easy updates—Out-of-date software is a huge vulnerability, so how will users manage a network with thousands of devices? The management of updates should be a part of any security standard.
Tomi Engdahl says:
White Paper: Understanding and Harnessing Data States
http://www.sealevel.com/support/white-paper-understanding-and-harnessing-data-states/
http://www.sealevel.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/SEA-17041_DataStatesWhitePaper.pdf
Data falls into three categories of
Data at Rest
,
Data in Motion
and
Data in Use
.
Improved hardware make collection and storage easier and more accurate. Cut
-
ting edge software, like innovated sensors and the
cloud
, improve analysis and
data harnessing in real time.
Data at Rest
Data at rest is stored information, like knowledge. It provides the ability to
predict an outcome, based on analysis such as trends and counting.
Data in Motion
Data in motion are facts in real time, continuously describing the situation.
Every output has an immediately available significance. Data here can prompt
an action or go straight to storage.
Primary concerns about this data are security, environment, latency and consistency.
Data in Use
This is the stage of processing and interpretation of information. Operators
know what the data is, what it means and what changes to prescribe.
Authentication and processing pose the biggest obstacles to appropriately optimizing data
in use. Authentication begins with verifying the source and ends with every endpoint secured.
Minimized vulnerability comes with minimized access.
Data surrounds us and making use of it effectively saves time, money and frus
-
tration. Operations will be optimized through accurate, consistently collected
data; additionally, systems will be condensed controlled through cloud IoT.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Protecting Your Loved Ones with Smart home Automation
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/max-maxfield/articles/protecting-your-loved-ones-with-smart-home-automation
Tomi Engdahl says:
Two-Wire (No Neutral) BLE Wall Switch Demo
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/power-integrations/articles/two-wire-no-neutral-ble-wall-switch-demo
When the relay is OFF, LinkSwitch-TN2 provides 3.3 V and 12 V outputs to power the Bluetooth module and the relay, respectively. As soon as the relay turns ON, however, LinkSwitch-TN2 will turn OFF since the input to the device comes from the relay contacts voltage, which is at 0 V. An auxiliary regulator circuit is necessary to supply the power when the relay is ON.
There are several ways to implement the regulator circuit. The most important consideration is thermal performance.
Since Q2 is in series with the line, it must handle the load current, which can be as high as 5 A. The op-amp U2 circuit block controls Q2 switching to allow low-power dissipation by fully turning ON the MOSFET once the threshold set by VR1 + 3.3 V is exceeded. The ON duration is set to about 10 ms
Tomi Engdahl says:
Paper-Based, Flexible Supercap Eyed for IoT, Sensors
https://www.designnews.com/electronics-test/paper-based-flexible-supercap-eyed-iot-sensors/31399979057958?ADTRK=UBM&elq_mid=2482&elq_cid=876648
Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Korea University have developed a flexible and inexpensive-to-fabricate paper-based supercapacitor that could be used to help power wearable and IoT devices.
Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology—collaborating with scientists from Korea University—have developed a flexible and inexpensive-to-fabricate paper-based supercapacitor that could be used to help power biomedical and fitness wearables, sensors to power the Internet of Things (IoT), and myriad other devices.
“Flexible energy storage devices are a key enabling factor for the propagation of wearable or paper electronics in biomedical, consumer electronics, and military applications,” said Seung Woo Lee, an assistant professor in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech, who led the research. “In this work, we demonstrated high-performance, flexible energy storage devices based on the paper substrates.”
Paper-Based Supercapacitor Uses Metal Nanoparticles to Boost Energy Density
http://www.news.gatech.edu/2017/10/06/paper-based-supercapacitor-uses-metal-nanoparticles-boost-energy-density
Tomi Engdahl says:
Engineers Develop an RFID-Like System for Monitoring Your Vitals Without Physical Contact
https://blog.hackster.io/engineers-develop-an-rfid-like-system-for-monitoring-your-vitals-without-physical-contact-18182781d0f2
A new system created by engineers from Cornell University may finally make that possible by using RFID-like technology that can wirelessly measure your vital signs. Just like existing RFID systems, this can be accomplished using cheap sensors that don’t require their own power supplies. A central reader powers the sensors wirelessly, while simultaneously gathering data from them.
Those sensors are simple tags that can be applied to the skin, and which emit radio waves to detect motion. That motion is enough to determine stats like blood pressure, heart rate, and breath rate. The reader itself can gather data from hundreds of the inexpensive tags, which means an entire waiting room full of people can be monitored while they’re waiting to see the doctor.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smart Factory Connectivity for the Industrial IoT
http://www.electronicdesign.com/iot/smart-factory-connectivity-industrial-iot?code=UM_NN7RNS1&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=14625&utm_medium=email&elq2=1cfe37a95d1147d6a6eb5b1fa8061d4f
With the adoption of the Industrial IoT, there’s an explosion of data being produced by the interconnected devices on the factory floor.
With the adoption of the Industrial IoT, there’s an explosion of data being produced by the interconnected devices on the factory floor. This data must be processed in real-time to avoid bottlenecks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
PREPARING FOR AN IOT EDGE PROJECT
http://s3.mentor.com/public_documents/whitepaper/resources/mentorpaper_102589.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
Italy Launches a New Wireless Network for the Internet of Things
https://spectrum.ieee.org/telecom/wireless/italy-launches-a-new-wireless-network-for-the-internet-of-things
telecommunications companies believe those devices need their own dedicated wireless networks. Two new types of networks—called Long Term Evolution for Machines (LTE-M) and Narrowband–Internet of Things (NB-IoT)—are now being deployed for that purpose. Both are designed for low-power devices that send only a few bits of data at a time.
Specifications for LTE-M and NB-IoT were released in 2016 by the standards body called the 3rd Generation Partnership Project. Since then, carriers have rolled out 28 nationwide LTE-M and NB-IoT networks across 21 countries, including China, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Turkey, the United States—and now, Italy.
Upgrading an existing LTE network to support LTE-M and NB-IoT can be done through a software update.
Italy’s network also supports a new sleep mode, called extended discontinuous reception, that can lengthen a device’s battery life. It allows an IoT device, such as a water gauge in an agricultural field, to tell a base station how long it plans to remain offline. The base station could then let the device sleep for 10 minutes, for example, instead of pinging it every 1.28 seconds, which is a typical paging interval for LTE.
Of the two network types, LTE-M provides higher throughput and lower latency—filling 1.4 megahertz of bandwidth at data rates of 150 kilobits per second with around 10 milliseconds of latency, compared with NB-IoT, which sends data at about 50 kb/s through 200-kilohertz channels with latency as high as 10 seconds. LTE-M also enables voice transmissions, whereas NB-IoT is best for devices that send infrequent updates.
Many carriers are choosing to deploy both networks at once.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Drives and machines are getting smarter in the Industrie 4.0 era
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/drives-and-machines-are-getting-smarter-in-the-industrie-40-era/318e8c14bc77dd76a2bcf4b442c3c65b.html
Intelligent drive systems play a large role in optimizing machine configuration and performance and aid companies looking to adopt Industrie 4.0 in their operations.
Machine manufacturers are under pressure to provide shorter development times for highly advanced machines with less manpower as Industrie 4.0 adoption gains momentum. The requirement for real-time data to inform operational decision-making is growing. The keyword with Industrie 4.0 is connectivity—between all participants in the production process—even in facilities where Industrie 4.0 adoption may not have happened yet. It is important that components or systems are at least compatible with Industrie 4.0 requirements and have the ability to connect and communicate with internal and external networks.
While this is easy to achieve with new components, replacing all existing systems to ensure compatibility is unrealistic. This has led to the development of a variety of devices that offer at least basic connectivity to Industrie 4.0 systems without impacting the automation logic.
Enhanced functionality is a particular requirement with drives. Modern drive systems now have sufficient intelligence to perform position movements and velocity control. These functions are expected in the same way as accessing email via a mobile phone. Another expectation with Industrie 4.0 is drive systems will be able to acquire data on machine functionality and performance and then configure and present this data externally.
The latest servo drives, for example, now include a IEC61131-3 PLC operating system, which represents a change from the minimal functionality offered by previous drives.
This is where technologies such as SERCOS III—one of the first deterministic bus systems—come into their own. A deterministic system is not necessarily a prerequisite for Industrie 4.0 adoption. Drives can store real-time data and send it in a non-deterministic way to upward systems.
Creating an interface between the machine and operator—another vital component of Industrie 4.0—previously required central PLC involvement along with a bus system to convey key machine set-up information and variables to the drives. Diagnostics and machine status information is redirected to the PLC before being displayed on the human-machine interface (HMI).
Modern drives now can play a part in a proactive maintenance regime as they can be supplied with a fully integrated series of software tools capable of performing key predictive maintenance functions, with minimal additional programming effort.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Industrial Internet of Things/TSN on the advance. Insights from Norbert Hauser, VP Marketing Kontron at SPS IPC Drives
http://www.embedded-news.tv/article/742/industrial-internet-of-thingstsn-on-the-advance-insights-from-norbert-hauser-vp-marketing-kontron-at-sps-ipc-drives
In the age of digital transformation the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0 pose new challenges and opportunities for all market participants. At the SPS IPC Drives Kontron presented numerous product innovations around the embedded cloud ranging from edge gateways, to fog computing and high-performance embedded server platforms that are IEEE-802.1 TSN and OPC UA enabled.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mouser talks about the state of engineering development today
http://www.embedded-news.tv/article/743/mouser-talks-about-the-state-of-engineering-development-today
With massive socio-technological trends from Smart Grid to the Internet of Things putting pressures on the design engineer, being on top of the latest tech is a critical issue.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT Air Freshener (w/ NodeMCU, Arduino, Adafruit.io, IFTTT)
https://www.hackster.io/igorF2/iot-air-freshener-w-nodemcu-arduino-adafruit-io-ifttt-dcf959
An IoT Air Freshener, using some 3D printing, a NodeMCU, Arduino IDE, IFTTT and Adafruit.IO. Configure your own triggers and have fun!
There are lot of Air Fresheners in the market: from the old manual sprays, to timer triggered ones. The later ones, although automatic, are quite dumb: they will keep spraying even if you’re not even close to feel the smell, wasting those not so inexpensive fragrance refills!
Wouldn’t it be nice if your air freshener was capable of communicating with other gadgets and trigger only when you really needed it?
You can find full instructions at: https://www.instructables.com/id/IoT-Air-Freshner-with-NodeMCU-Arduino-IFTTT-and-Ad/
Tomi Engdahl says:
I Let Everyone on the Internet Control My X-Mas Decoration
https://www.hackster.io/Tobi_Lxtr/i-let-everyone-on-the-internet-control-my-x-mas-decoration-44b563
Tomi Engdahl says:
People Counting with Helium, Grid-EYE, and Raspberry Pi
https://www.hackster.io/64742/people-counting-with-helium-grid-eye-and-raspberry-pi-49f601
A simple way to identify objects in a room using the Grid-EYE, a Raspberry Pi, OpenCV, and the Helium Network.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Pavlov’s Cat
https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/arduino/pavlov-s-cat-7e6577?ref=platform&ref_id=424_recent___&offset=27
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ABOUT THIS PROJECT
If you ever tried to train a cat, you know how hard it is. Cats are their own masters, but now you have the chance to let the cats do your bidding using this IoT-enabled device.
Welcome to Pavlov’s Cat Experiment!
In this project, you will learn how to teach the cat when it is (and isn’t) dinner time using nothing but the components in the MKR IoT Bundle and some cardboard.
And we all know that cats already love cardboard boxes!
Every time the cat hears a certain melody, it receive food. A light sensor detects the presence of a cat. Another melody does nothing. See how this will work?
You will be able to monitor your cat’s progression over time, and set the food dispensing rate from your phone.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Light Control Using Arduino and Amazon Alexa
https://www.hackster.io/rajesh3/light-control-using-arduino-and-amazon-alexa-4de729
Control a light using Amazon skill kit and Arduino!
I have explained how to control light which is connected to UNO and controlled by Alexa . There are many ways to use Alexa service . First we are going to install dependencies on RPi and then we create Alexa skill .
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smart speakers to outsell wearables during U.S. holidays, as demand for wearables slows
https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/21/smart-speakers-to-outsell-wearables-during-u-s-holidays-as-demand-for-wearables-slows/
Smart speakers will likely outsell wearable devices this holiday season. That’s the latest prediction from analysts at eMarketer, which forecasts a slowing growth rate for devices like fitness trackers and smartwatches here in the U.S. The wearable market is continuing to grow, to be clear, but it’s struggling to reach the mainstream. Next year, only 20 percent of the U.S. adult population will use a wearable devices at least once a month, the firm says.
Note that eMarketer is looking at wearable usage and market penetration here, not sales.
That being said, the firm is estimating that usage of wearable will grow just 11.9 percent in 2018, rising from 44.7 million adult wearable users in 2017 to 50.1 million in 2018. As a percentage of the population, that’s a climb from 17.7 percent to 19.6 percent.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Track Parcels Using Google Assistant SDK on Pi
https://www.hackster.io/shiva-siddharth/track-parcels-using-google-assistant-sdk-on-pi-6c6864
Now, you can track your parcels using voice commands to a Raspberry Pi running Google Assistant SDK.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Voice Design Is Helping GE Create Simple & Innovative Lighting Experiences
https://developer.amazon.com/blogs/alexa/post/fa16dee9-4083-4d0c-b28c-9033a809985e/ge-creates-voice-driven-lighting-experiences
Earlier this year, GE announced its new Alexa-enabled lamp, the Sol, with built-in Alexa Voice Service (AVS), enabling customers to control the lamp, other smart home devices, and more, using just their voice. The Sol lamp is GE’s first foray into building voice-forward products for the home, but according to Tom Stimac, GE Lighting’s chief technical manager, it won’t be their last.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smart speakers to outsell wearables during U.S. holidays, as demand for wearables slows
https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/21/smart-speakers-to-outsell-wearables-during-u-s-holidays-as-demand-for-wearables-slows/?ncid=rss&utm_source=tcfbpage&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29&sr_share=facebook
Tomi Engdahl says:
MQTT Light Control with 6LoWPAN
https://www.hackster.io/70665/mqtt-light-control-with-6lowpan-a3d2f6
Control an RGB LED over MQTT and 6LoWPAN from the Ubidots platform.
Following the book “IoT in five days” and the example in the GitHub, this demo implements the use of variable command from ubidots and read a digital light sensor.
A 6LoWPAN/IPv4 router was used to translate the 6LoWPAN/IPv6 data from the wireless network to a remote MQTT broker on the “cloud” in this case Ubidots, the application creates a tree type of events:
a data event (sensor readings published periodically)
alarm event (sensor readings over/below a given threshold)
data from Ubidots (the device reads the value published by the platform)
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Week in Review: IoT
Bosch buys tokens; Thales rescues Gemalto; IoT at CES
https://semiengineering.com/the-week-in-review-iot-77/
Robert Bosch Venture Capital has purchased a significant number of IOTA tokens from the IOTA Foundation, making a cryptocurrency investment in blockchain technology and the Internet of Things. IOTA provides distributed ledger technology, enabling secure machine-to-machine transactions in data and money, with the foundation charging a micro fee for the service.
Gemalto has agreed to be acquired by Thales Group for about $5.43 billion
Qualcomm once again extended its tender offer for shares of NXP Semiconductors to Friday, January 12, 2018.
Chirp Microsystems this week unveiled its CH-101 and CH-201 time-of-flight sensors.
IAR Systems will provide tool support for the microcontroller-based LPC54018 IoT module from NXP Semiconductors. The module includes support for Amazon FreeRTOS and has a seamless Wi-Fi connection to Amazon Web Services.
Pareteum says it won a three-year cloud services contract worth $4 million from a European global provider of IoT security to network providers and SIM cards directly embedded in IoT devices.
The Harvard Business Review takes a look at the IoT and finds its security precautions lacking.
NXP Semiconductors will collaborate with Accenture, Amazon Web Services, Au-Zone, ClearBlade, and Google Cloud during the upcoming CES 2018 conference, January 9-12 in Las Vegas, Nevada, to showcase artificial intelligence, edge computing, and IoT technologies.
Digi International is also headed next month to CES 2018, where it will exhibit its IoT connectivity products and services, along with machine-to-machine products, in the IoT Infrastructure Pavilion @CES.
The Trusted IoT Alliance will work with Qtum on blockchain-based security for connected devices.
A developer, using the name Khaos Tian, says he alerted Apple to a vulnerability in the HomeKit home automation platform. The security flaw would allow outsiders to infiltrate HomeKit to open garage doors and other tasks, it was said.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://iota.org/
In this new autonomous Machine Economy IOTA will be the backbone. The Tangle ledger is able to settle transactions with zero fees so devices can trade exact amounts of resources on-demand, as well as store data from sensors and dataloggers securely and verified on the ledger.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Communicating Effectively from the IIoT Edge Node
http://www.electronicdesign.com/industrial-automation/communicating-effectively-iiot-edge-node
Because the value of data collected, measured, and analyzed at the edge node hinges on time and accuracy, it’s imperative to understand the challenges of wireless communication when designing an IIoT ecosystem.
In an Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) ecosystem, connected industrial machines use sensors to gather information that informs key decision-makers involved in operating efficiency, maintenance scheduling, and other mission-critical functions. Even though their physical placement is spatially removed from any specific data-aggregation point, sensors represent the front-end edge of the IIoT ecosystem, providing measurements that transform sensed information into quantifiable data such as pressure, displacement, or rotation.
This data can be filtered to connect only the most valuable information beyond the node for processing. All sensors within an edge node must connect through a gateway that links edge data with a network.
The edge node is typically connected to a network, either through a wired or wireless sensor node (WSN). Data integrity remains a key in this block of the signal chain. Optimum sensed and measured data is of little value if the communication is inconsistent, lost, or corrupted. Ideally, a robust communication protocol is prioritized during system architecture design. The best choice will depend on connectivity requirements: range, intermittent vs. continuous connectivity, bandwidth, power, interoperability, security, and reliability.
Industrial wired communications, such as Ethernet/IP, KNX, DALI, Profinet, and ModbusTCP, are the primary options when connection robustness is paramount. Far-reaching sensor nodes may use a wireless network to communicate back to a gateway that then relies on a wired infrastructure. However, relatively few connected IoT nodes will exclusively use wireline communications.
Ethernet tends to dominate the wired realm, with IIoT frameworks mapping higher-level protocols on this type of connectivity. Ethernet implementations range from 10 Mb/s up to 100 Gb/s and beyond.
Slower-speed industrial networks such as KNX operate over a twisted copper pair using differential signaling and a 30-V supply with a total bandwidth of 9600 bits/s.
The majority of edge-node sensors will wirelessly communicate the collected, measured, and analyzed data to the network.
The network protocol selected should match the range required
As the transmitted distance is doubled, the radio wave retains only one-fourth of its original power. Each 6-dBm increase in transmit output power doubles the possible range.
If an IIoT device must operate on a battery to conserve power, the device can be put into a sleep mode whenever it’s idle. The device’s energy consumption can be modeled under different network loading conditions. This ensures the device’s power supply and battery capacity match the consumption required to transmit necessary data
Interoperability across an array of different possible nodes within a network can be a challenge. Adopting standard wired and wireless protocols has been the traditional approach for maintaining interoperability within the internet. It can be a struggle to keep up with standardization for new IIoT processes due to the rapid pace of newly released technologies.
Security
IIoT network security plays three important roles within the system: confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity. Confidentiality relies on network data staying within the known framework without allowing data to be compromised or intercepted from outside devices. Data integrity depends on message content remaining exactly the same as what was transmitted, without altering, subtracting, or adding information (Weiss, Yu 2015). Authenticity relies on receiving data from an expected exclusive source. Erroneously communicating with a spoof is an example of a false authentication.
A secure wireless node interfacing to an unsecure gateway is a vulnerability hole and provides potential for a breach.
Security support for AES-128 encryption can be achieved within IEEE 802.15.4 and AES-128/256 within IEEE 802.11. Key management, cryptographic-quality random-number generation (RNG), and networking access control lists (ACL) all help raise the security barriers for the communication network.
Brownfield vs. Greenfield
The IIoT implies wide connectivity with many wired and wireless standards to make it happen. However, for an installation into an existing network system, the options may not be as plentiful. The new IIoT solution may need to be adapted to fit the network.
A “Greenfield” installation is one created from scratch within a totally new environment. No constraints are mandated by legacy equipment. For example, when a new factory or warehouse is built, the IIoT solution can be considered within the framework plans for its optimum performance.
A “Brownfield” deployment refers to an IIoT network installed within an incumbent infrastructure. Challenges become accentuated. The legacy network may not be ideal, yet the new IIoT system must coexist with any installed base of interferer RF signals. Developers inherit hardware, embedded software, and previous design decisions within a constrained context. The development process therefore becomes arduous and requires meticulous analysis, design, and testing (Manney 2014).
Scalability
Not all IoT nodes require external IP addresses. For dedicated communication, sensor nodes should have the capacity for a unique IP address. While IPv4 supports 32-bit addressing, it was evident decades ago that addressing for only 4.3 billion devices would not support internet growth. IPv6 increases address size to 128 bits to support 240 undecillion globally unique address (GUA) devices.
Mapping data and management of addresses from two dissimilar domains of IPv6 and an IEEE802.15.4 network presents design challenges. 6LoWPAN defines encapsulation and header compression mechanisms that make it possible to send and receive IPv6 packets over IEEE 802.15.4-based networks. Thread is an example of a standard based on a closed-documentation, royalty-free protocol running over 6LoWPAN to enable automation.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Amazon.com:
During record-breaking holiday, Echo Dot and Fire TV Stick with Alexa remote were #1 and #2 top sellers with “tens of millions of Alexa-enabled devices” sold — Echo Dot and Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote were the #1 and #2 top-selling products across all categories on Amazon
Amazon Celebrates Biggest Holiday; More Than Four Million People Trialed Prime In One Week Alone This Season
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2324045
from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, nearly 140 million items were ordered from small businesses and entrepreneurs. Amazon Devices also had its best holiday yet, with tens of millions of Alexa-enabled devices sold worldwide. Echo Dot and Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote were not only the top-selling Amazon devices this holiday season, but they were also the best-selling products from any manufacturer in any category across all of Amazon.
It was a record holiday shopping season for Amazon Devices, with millions more devices purchased worldwide this year than last year’s holiday season.
This holiday season was better than ever for the family of Echo products. The Echo Dot was the #1 selling Amazon Device this holiday season, and the best-selling product from any manufacturer in any category across all of Amazon, with millions sold
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ben Fox Rubin / CNET:
How Amazon’s nascent Alexa economy pays the people building its skills, with opaque reasoning behind unpredictable amounts paid to developers by Amazon
What Amazon’s Alexa economy pays the people building its skills
https://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-alexa-economy-echo-speaker-google-assistant-siri/
Who’s creating Alexa skills? Indie developers and marketing companies looking to profit from voice-controlled computing. Some cash in, and some don’t.
Tomi Engdahl says:
David Kline / Wired:
How Xiaomi’s investment in 100 startups making cheap connected gadgets like air purifiers and rice cookers, sold in new Mi Home Stores, helped firm’s turnaround
Behind the Fall and Rise of China’s Xiaomi
https://www.wired.com/story/behind-the-fall-and-rise-of-china-xiaomi/
A year ago, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi (sha-oh-me) had fallen from the world’s most valuable unicorn to a “unicorpse.” Sales plunged in 2016, pushing the company from first to fifth place among China’s smartphone makers. No firm had ever come back from a wound that severe in the trench warfare of the global smartphone business.
Today, Xiaomi is being called a “Chinese phoenix.” The company has grown so fast in the past year that research firm Strategy Analytics says Xiaomi could overtake Oppo, Huawei, and Apple in the next year to become the world’s second-largest smartphone vendor, behind Samsung. Executives are reportedly considering an IPO in 2018, which could be among the highest-valued ever.
What accounts for the company’s unprecedented turnaround? Is Xiaomi’s renewed success sustainable, or will it wither under the relentless margin pressures of the phone business?
In a classic case of “turning a bad thing into a good thing,” however, Xiaomi used its near-fatal stumble to fashion a radical new business model. With sales rebounding, and the company expanding globally
Like many businesses in the internet age, Xiaomi had initially relied on a dual business model of selling hardware products and online services. Most revenue came from the sale of affordable phones and smart TVs, which serve as platforms for Xiaomi’s online services. The hardware products have razor-thin profit margins, so most of Xiaomi’s profits came from the online services.
Ecosystem strategy
In the wake of Xiaomi’s setback, company executives concluded they needed a third leg to their business model — offline retail stores. But they wanted the stores to go beyond selling phones to forge sustainable bonds with customers. Their solution: create an ecosystem of some 100 startups as partners to provide Xiaomi with other internet-connected home and tech products that would draw customers to its stores.
The result: the Mi Air Purifier 2, which sells for $105. It’s connected to smartphones, allowing users to monitor the air in their homes, and receive alerts when the filter needs changing.
The purifier was a blockbuster hit. “Within two months we were the top seller of air purifiers in China,” claims Wang. “And that’s how we solved the ‘pain point’ in air purifiers.”
The company took a similar approach with fitness bands, designing a streamlined device with a battery life of almost 60 days that solved the “pain point” of having to recharge the bands every few days. Xiaomi is now the world’s top seller of fitness bands, ahead of Fitbit and Apple.
Ditto for Xiaomi’s award-winning power banks, which provide more charges than rivals at a lower price; Xiaomi is the world sales leader in this category as well.
aim to resolve similar price-to-performance “pain points” for customers. The products are inexpensive, but not cheaply designed or manufactured. They’ve won more than 100 international design awards.
The strategy has its critics. “When we started with this new model, many people said we were not a focused company,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Startup Tunes MEMS Switch for IoT
Menlo reports progress at fab, power/RF uses
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332776
A startup spun out of GE reported progress making and getting its MEMS-based switch into a broad array of systems on the Internet of Things. Menlo Microsystems sees its chip, already designed into GE medical systems, as a power actuator and relay for a variety of many industrial IoT uses as well as an RF switch for mobile systems.
Menlo’s electrostatic switch, first described in 2014, uses novel metal alloys on a glass substrate to create a beam that under current is pulled down to a gate to complete a contact. It requires significantly less power to activate and remain on than a solid-state switch, and products for many vertical markets can be created using a single proprietary process.
The device’s low power consumption lets it handle high current power switching jobs. In addition, it does not generate heat like traditional power switches and relays that need large, expensive heat sinks.
“Our biggest challenge right now is getting the technology in a commercial fab and getting it qualified,” said Russ Garcia, Menlo’s CEO.
The biggest opportunities for the device are in replacing electromagnetic, electromechanical and solid-state devices in a wide variety of relays and power switches.
One of biggest issues for IoT devices such as Nest’s smart thermostat is in efficiently turning on or off power hungry systems such as HVACs, something Menlo’s switches can do “while drawing almost no current,” Garcia said. “We offer one or two orders of magnitude improvements in power switch size and power consumption,” he added.
GE Claims Fastest, Highest-Power MEMS Switch
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1321677
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finding the Best Mesh for the IoT
https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1332775
Despite the interesting new arrival of Bluetooth Mesh, Zigbee and Thread remain for many reasons the best choice for Internet of Things deployments needing a mesh network.
IEEE 802.15.4 was created with a purpose of providing a low-power, low-bandwidth way to reliably connect devices together in a network that supports constrained devices. It’s a proven and deployed mesh technology that’s been in the market for over 13 years.
Zigbee and Thread provide solutions based on this networking technology. Today, the latest revisions include eight Thread and more than 50 Zigbee certified stacks and silicon platforms. The Thread mesh networking technology was specifically built for a robust IoT infrastructure.
Bluetooth Mesh is a new entrant into the mesh networking market that leverages the Bluetooth link designed as a wire replacement for wearables and peripherals.
Tomi Engdahl says:
5 boards that will kick-start your IoT project
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332678
Hype or reality, market researchers are exceedingly bullish about the Internet of Things (IoT). Research and Markets forecast earlier this year that
the IoT market will grow from $170.57 billion in 2017 to $561.04 billion by 2022, at a blistering CAGR of 26.9%.
So, if you are not already designing an IoT product, chances are you will be designing one soon. To make it easier for you to start the process, we
surveyed a number of boards and selected 5 that are particularly worth your attention. Whether you are designing a powerful multi-sensor based device or looking for a quick start to simpler designs, you will find a board here that fits your needs.
If you prefer FPGAs…
But it doesn’t get any cheaper than Arrow’s MAX1000 board, which is based on the MAX10 Intel FPGA.
Smartwatch projects
The first is the eZ430-Chronos, a development system-in-a-watch. Based on the TI CC430F6137 <1 GHz RF SoC, it’s best suited to those who can use SimpliciTI and BM Innovations’ BlueRobin RF protocols to their advantage.
For $59.38, an eZ430-Chronos-868 kit includes the IAR Kickstart and Code Composer Studio IDEs that offer an assembler, linker, simulator, source-level debugger and code limited C-compiler.
The Mikroe-2026 from European company, MikroElectronika, is based on NXP Semiconductors’ Kinetis MCUs.
IoT platform
The last board on this list is part of a hardware and software platform for smart sensing and IoT applications. Central to the Renesas Synergy platform is the software package that consists of a preemptive ThreadX RTOS, middleware, communications stacks and application frameworks.
The board, ARIS EDGE, is based on the company’s Synergy S1 MCU with a 32-MHz ARM Cortex-M0+ core. You also get a Silicon Labs multi-protocol radio module that supports BLE 4.1/4.2, Thread and ZigBee stacks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/7351-kehittajalla-on-nyt-paljon-valinnanvaraa
Pi Zero
Tinkerboard
Top 10 Single Board Computers Introduced in 2017
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332763
Tomi Engdahl says:
Qorvo® and HUMAX Provide Complete Zigbee®-based Smart Voice Assistant System
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/eeweb/news/qorvo-and-humax-provide-complete-zigbee-based-smart-voice-assistant-system
Qorvo® announced that its multi-stack, multi-protocol GP712 System-on-Chip is in the new Zigbee®-based HUMAX Chorus Voice Assistant. The pairing is advancing the Internet of Things (IoT) by creating a turnkey, smart home system for operators that integrates gateways, sensor devices, cloud platforms and mobile applications.
Voice assistants are fueling growth in the smart home market. According to a report from Gartner, Inc., end-user spending for the worldwide virtual personal assistant (VPA)-enabled wireless speaker market is forecast to reach $3.52 billion by 2021, up from $720 million in 2016.
With the ability to support Zigbee and Thread on different RF channels, the GP712 enables designers to use a single transceiver for gateway products to simultaneously serve both protocols. This keeps gateway devices from becoming obsolete as protocol standards evolve. The GP712 also features Qorvo’s best-in-class range and low-power operation, and robust RF technology that limits interference.
The GP712 was the first Zigbee 3.0-compliant platform, and the first multi-channel IoT transceiver in the industry to be certified for the Thread protocol.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New All-in-one Software Tool from STMicroelectronics
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/eeweb/news/new-all-in-one-software-tool-from-stmicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics’ STM32CubeProgrammer (STM32CUBEPROG) software tool delivers device-programming and firmware upgrade for STM32 microcontrollers in a unified, multi-platform, and user-configurable environment.
Ready to run on Windows®, Linux, or MacOS® operating systems, the STM32CubeProgrammer can program the STM32 microcontroller’s on-chip Flash/RAM or external memories using various file formats. Further capabilities include whole-memory or sector erase and programming microcontroller option bytes. Users can also generate encrypted files for secure programming (Secure Firmware Install/Update) to authenticate production and protect intellectual property.
Tomi Engdahl says:
IAR System Supports New NXP® IoT Module
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/eeweb/news/iar-system-supports-new-nxp-iot-module
IAR Systems® announces tool support for the new LPC54018 MCU-based IoT module from NXP Semiconductors. Using the leading development toolchain IAR Embedded Workbench® for Arm® will enable developers to quickly and easily create powerful connected applications based on the new module.
The LPC54018 MCU-based IoT module includes support for Amazon FreeRTOS and provides a seamless Wi-Fi connection to Amazon Web Services (AWS), enabling developers to create secure, cost-effective IoT solutions. The module offers unlimited memory extensibility, a root of trust built on the embedded SRAM physical unclonable functions (PUF) and on-chip cryptographic accelerators. Thanks to the easy-to-use software libraries of Amazon FreeRTOS, cloud on-boarding and over-the-air device management is made easy. Now available for this IoT module are development tools from IAR Systems, which provide leading code optimization technology and extensive debugging functionality coupled with professional technical support offered globally.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Energy Harvester Specifically for Nano-Devices Developed
https://www.designnews.com/electronics-test/energy-harvester-specifically-nano-devices-developed/210979643657960?ADTRK=UBM&elq_mid=2635&elq_cid=876648
Researchers have developed one of the first nano-scale energy harvesters specifically designed to serve the needs of nano-scale technology such as sensors and medical devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Piracy Notices Can Mess With Your Thermostat, ISP Warns
BY ERNESTO ON DECEMBER 24, 2017 C: 91
https://torrentfreak.com/piracy-notices-can-mess-with-your-thermostat-isp-warns-171224/
US Internet provider Armstrong warns that persistent pirates can have their Internet access throttled. As a result, they may no longer have full control over their thermostats. Those who continue pirating after an obligatory copyright education may have their full service terminated.
While reduced Internet speeds are bad enough, there’s another scary prospect. The reduced service level may also prevent subscribers from controlling their thermostat remotely. Not ideal during the winter.
“Please be advised that this may affect other services which you may have connected to your internet service, such as the ability to control your thermostat remotely or video monitoring services.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
TSN: Converging Networks for a Better Industrial IoT
Success in the IIoT requires that information- and operational-technology networks work in tandem—time-sensitive networking can make it happen.
http://www.electronicdesign.com/industrial-automation/tsn-converging-networks-better-industrial-iot
Tomi Engdahl says:
Small Open-Source OSs for Small IoT Devices
http://www.electronicdesign.com/embedded-revolution/small-open-source-oss-small-iot-devices
A range of open-source operating-system solutions are available for those confined to scaled-down dimensions—homing in on the best option does require some research, though.
Linux has become the de facto open-source operating system (OS), although there are niche alternatives like flavors of BSD (Berkeley Software Distribution). A variety of incarnations target minimal memory platforms such as Ubuntu Core/Snappy and Android Things.
Many commercial open-source solutions are available in this space, too, but they all require virtual memory-management-unit (MMU) hardware. Though such hardware can be found in a host of Internet of Thing (IoT) devices, many utilize microcontrollers that lack this support. These smaller devices require a more compact OS that utilizes a few kilobytes of RAM and around a dozen kilobytes of flash storage.
These days, most compact commercial real-time operating systems (RTOS) support IoT, either providing or partnering with cloud services to provide the internet component.
For example, a number of projects can be found on software repositories like Github including RIOT, TinyOS, and Mantis OS. Nano RK specifically targets the FireFly Sensor Networking Platform that includes the MicaZ motes.
Other open-source solutions that have a company or organization behind them include Amazon FreeRTOS, Zephyr OS, Apache Mynewt, Thingsquare Contiki, and Huawei LiteOS. This means that the operating systems will have ongoing development. However, the amount of support that can be obtained will likely vary significantly. Some companies can provide support for these platforms, such as Intel’s Wind River Professional Services for Zephyr OS.
Most of these open-source platforms utilize more liberal BSD, MIT, or Apache licenses. These don’t require publishing source code, but they must include copyright notices within the source code utilized by the applications.
Targeting applications that require certifications like ISO 26262, IEC 61508, ISO 62304, SIL3/SIL4 IEC or even DO-178B can be problematic for some of these platforms. This is why a commercial RTOS is often the platform of choice, either that or an open-source platform where developers can get paid support. Such support would include long maintenance of software, bug fixes, and a place to turn to when problems arise.
Some companies opt for specific platforms in these scenarios. FreeRTOS-compatible alternatives from Wittenstein—SafeRTOS and OpenRTOS—were rebuilt from the same code base for compatability. SafeRTOS has been rewritten and meets the requirements of the IEC 61508 safety standard. OpenRTOS shares the FreeRTOS kernel code. Both have commercial licenses and come with a warranty.
The success of Linux is likely to be replicated with more compact, IoT-oriented OS solutions that have corporate sponsorship, such as Zephyr OS, FreeRTOS, Contiki, and LiteOS. They’re also a more likely choice for IoT cloud service providers.
IoT developers should also keep security in mind. There are many facets to this issue, from secure communication using TLS protocol stacks to the initial boot process.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Piracy Notices Can Mess With Your Thermostat, ISP Warns
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/17/12/27/172203/piracy-notices-can-mess-with-your-thermostat-isp-warns?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29
Our attention was caught by a recent letter the company sent to one of its users. The ISP points out that it received multiple copyright infringement notices, urging the customer to stop, or else. [...] While reduced Internet speeds are bad enough, there’s another scary prospect. The reduced service level may also prevent subscribers from controlling their thermostat remotely. Not ideal during the winter.
https://torrentfreak.com/piracy-notices-can-mess-with-your-thermostat-isp-warns-171224/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Manufacturers need to adapt, become more flexible
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/manufacturers-need-to-adapt-become-more-flexible/fe8c78503b3e4b91ca084210bf2b30cb.html
The rising demand for personalized manufactured goods means companies need a shop floor agile enough to meet fast-changing production line requirements.
Consumers today are transitioning from being passive buyers into active participants in the product development process. Businesses that fail to adapt risk losing revenue and customer loyalty. For many manufacturers, this means shifting away from providing high-volume products through mass distribution. This change brings the associated cost implications to change shop floor equipment.
The most modern approach, flexible automation, is one in which the operator can combine a mixture of recipe control and mechanical automation. By utilizing this combination, processes can be switched seamlessly at the touch of a button, which allows manufacturers to produce a wider range of products on a single production line. It also enables machines to adapt to the next generation of product specifications, as flexible automation equipment uses electromechanical positioning technology for changeovers that are fast and repeatable.
Each type of automated manufacturing has its drawbacks and advantages. The setup cost of fixed automation technology is low, compared to programmable or flexible automation, but the cost-effectiveness decreases as soon as production variations become necessary. Flexible automation, despite a higher initial setup cost, is the most cost-effective option over the total equipment lifetime.
Factories making the transition to Industrie 4.0 can access their endless streams of data in real time to make autonomous decisions to adapt processes and improve efficiency. The focus on maximizing throughput and minimizing downtime for low-volume manufacturing is one of the main drivers of the flexible automation trend.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Collect, optimize data
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/collect-optimize-data/9dd9b6be9f12a6b3430461341743f753.html
Use automation to collect pertinent operations data in the right format for worthwhile outcomes. See three data structure tips.
Two common sayings about information are contradictory: “You can never have too much information,” and “Information overload.” It’s challenging to use data collection in real-time processes and to determine what data to collect and how often. A collective effort is required to make collection schemes that work.
It’s common to make data collection schemes that generate files that never get looked at, not because the information wasn’t useful, but because those who had access to that information did not apply the data in a way that helped the process. Other data collection schemes are used daily and make production and processes more efficient.
Data: Real time vs. historical
In today’s world, people are used to ready access to everything. Decisions are made on the fly. There’s no need to wait for historical data analysis to make a decision. Data and trends can be accessed through smart phones, tablets, and other devices.
Industrial programmable logic controllers (PLCs) can incorporate Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) capabilities by using message queuing and the message queuing telemetry transport (MQTT) protocol, which can send real-time data to the cloud and relay it to smart phones, tablets, and other devices. Historical data points to past trends, helps analyze mistakes, and highlights corrective actions to make the process more effective. It takes time and effort to analyze and make a decision.
Historical data can be stored on PLCs that can use a USB drive and then used for later analysis. Combining real-time and historic data can help predict and take corrective action, which will help companies to be more productive.
Data collection in the automotive, oil and gas, pharmaceutical, packaging, and other process industries plays a vital role. It helps personnel of all departments know where they stand, what is their target, and what they have achieved. What if machine-level controllers like a PLC or a programmable automation controller (PAC) have a built-in data collection and storage feature? What if the same controllers could send data to a cloud?
The IIoT is emerging, and implementing IIoT in an appropriately equipped industrial controller will give companies a competitive edge by making data more available for decisions when needed.
Structuring data: 3 tips
Three tips for data structure follow.
1. Data should not be nested. Instead it should be kept simple, perhaps stored in a .csv or a table format for ease of use and manipulation.
2. For different data types, such as Boolean, integer, or string, consider storing each in separate files to help simplify the process of data analysis.
3. Collected data should include an option to send to and store in a secure SQL database for future use.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Core technologies make edge-intelligence possible
Development environments combine device management, connectivity, cloud, and analytics.
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/core-technologies-make-edge-intelligence-possible/384e32316dbe5dd3f3cd29f5394dde3e.html
In IIoT product and application development, developers’ goals may look to:
Support heterogeneous sensors and actuators via the Internet
Integrate heterogeneous wired and wireless connectivity protocols, including Modbus, LoRa, Sigfox, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and others
Port original software to different hardware, including MCU, x86/ARM CPU, GPU, and others, and operating systems that include Microsoft Windows, Linux Distributions, mbed OS, Android, and others
Connect cloud services that might include WISE-PaaS, Microsoft Azure, ARM mbed Cloud, IBM Bluemix, and others
Maintain data ownership and integrity and its implications for security and privacy
Quickly develop robust applications
Deploy, update, upgrade, and maintain large numbers of devices and services
Transform Big Data into valuable business information.
Thus, an IIoT product or solution must meet challenges related to sensors, connectivity, security, Cloud services, storage, device hardware, device maintenance, edge/Cloud analytics, system integration, application development, and so on. The first challenge many companies face is migrating to an IoT application while balancing design time, time-to-market, and risk.
Anatomy of a network
IoT data can be large in volume. Applications typically have real-time requirements. Transmitting massive amounts of raw data puts a load on network resources. Often it is more efficient to process data near its source and send only the valuable fraction to a cloud center.
Edge computing is a distributed information technology (IT) architecture in which client data is processed at the periphery of the network, as close to the originating source as possible. Time-sensitive data in edge computing may be processed at the point of origin by an intelligent device or sent to an intermediary server located in close geographical proximity. Data that is less time-sensitive can be sent to the cloud for historical analysis, Big Data analytics, and long-term storage.
IIoT software platform services are based on three key components: the IIoT node, edge-Intelligence server, and Cloud services. The following describes some technology choices any supplier or using enterprise must make in developing its platform.
For edge-device development, “southbound” sensing-device connectivity must handle diverse sensing protocols, such as Modbus, OPC, BACnet, and Wireless IP/NonIP. These protocols can be handled by plug-in modules that process sensor data, data normalization, and communications.
The solution then handles the “northbound” cloud connectivity and intelligence facilities using the microservice container paradigm to modularize the different Cloud connections and enable device management. Similarly, intelligence facilities also adopt the microservice container architecture to support the data ingestion workload, such as data pre-processing and cleaning.
Perhaps most valuable of all is the on-demand, real-time analytics service that extracts pre-set data features, in real-time, as data is generated. A predictive maintenance and quality capability serves as a proof-of-concept for edge field prediction. Using companies extend this framework to develop analytic or predictive-maintenance modules via the architecture’s open standard, based on the ubiquitous MQTT communications protocol and the modularizing Docker container technology.
Other technologies, like RESTful API, MQTT, and Node-RED, facilitate drag-and-drop application development. Node-RED and the configuration utility make it easy to implement custom applications. Moreover, well-documented SDK-with-MQTT sample code and the RESTful API interface allow advanced developers to fulfill high-level requirements.
The last component is cloud services, with SSL/TLS communications and Intel Security both on the edge device and for cloud. The data service can provide the PostgreSQL DB and Mongo NoSQL DB as standard offerings, and supports a standard integration interface with a wide range of data processing and storage products. The dashboard website serves as the IoT application user interface, and displays information via browser or mobile device through visualization facilities such as Azure Power BI or Tableau.
The RESTful API specifies what it can provide and how it can be used, and requires that details such as query parameters, response format, request limitations, public use/API keys, methods (GET/POST/PUT/DELETE), language support, callback usage, HTTPS support, and resource representations should all be self-descriptive.
The properties impacted by the constraints of the RESTful architectural style include:
Component interactions can be the dominant factor in user-perceived performance and network efficiency
Scalability to support large numbers of components and interactions among components
The simplicity of a uniform interface
Modifiability of components to meet changing needs, even while the application is running
Visibility of communication between components by service agents
Portability of components by moving program code with the data
Resistance to failure at the system level despite failures of components, connectors, or data.
Architecture alignment
An architecture of the type under discussion can be classified into five category layers. Each is implemented as its own microservice, using MQTT broker as the communication bus.
All microservices interface with other microservices or clients. At runtime, each instance is a Docker container. This makes it easy to deploy distinct experiences for specific users, devices, or special-use cases.
Containerization is an OS-level virtualization method for deploying and running distributed applications.
1. The bottom layer of the architecture is the sensor network connectivity layer. Wired sensors support various types, including supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), Modbus, and OPC-UA. The network connectivity layer collects data, manages sensor hubs, translates sensor protocols to the MQTT protocol, then passes data to the MQTT communication bus.
2. The SDK layer provides software services such as EIS RESTful API, HDD Fault Prediction Algorithm Service, and so on. Developers call these services through RESTful API or MQTT. Users add their own services, such as Machine Learning Platform, Data Base engine, and so on.
3. A flow-based layer has Node-RED as the data-flow design engine, plus add-ons such as SUSI API, WSN, and HDD prediction nodes. Users design logic paths via simple drag-and-drop operations in a graphical environment.
4. The management and presentation UI interface layer. A Webmin for system administration and IoT connection configuration uses the Node-RED-UI for presenting IoT/sensor data.
5. The cloud layer may be pre-installed, as for example, with the WISE-Agent connected to WISE-PaaS/RMM Cloud Server.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Q&A: Industrial automation, Industry 4.0, and edge computing
http://www.vision-systems.com/articles/2017/12/q-a-industrial-automation-industry-4-0-and-edge-computing.html?cmpid=enl_vsd_vsd_newsletter_2017-12-28
What’s new at your company at your company?
With the advantages of Advantech devices and solutions—industrial PCs, industrial automation and machine automation technologies, hardware-software integration and various other solutions—it’s now possible to foster the development of Industry 4.0.
To realize Industry 4.0, Advantech has initiated three strategic phases. In the first phase of the implementation of equipment connectivity: devices, machines, production lines and factories are connected to the system, and therefore, data transparency as well as information visualization can be fulfilled. In the second phase, data collection and integration, as well as valued-added products and services are introduced for smart manufacturing services. The final phase of intelligent innovative services is the enabling of intelligent machinery and big data analysis.
Is there a particular trend or product in the next few years that you see as “the next big thing?”
Edge computing and artificial intelligence to empower machine intelligence where machine can communicate to other machine as well as perform self-learning and improving to create new values to make huge business impact.
Do you have any new exciting products or developments on the horizon?
Edge Intelligence Server with Microsoft Azure and AWS Greenpass.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Improved IoT Security Starts with Liability for Companies, Not Just Legislation
http://www.securityweek.com/improved-iot-security-starts-liability-companies-not-just-legislation
With the holiday season upon us, take a moment to think on the security of the plethora of IoT devices that will be purchased, gifted and implemented into the daily lives of countless people. Despite troubling reports like the IoT teddy bear that leaked two million message recordings of kids and was found to be easily hacked and turned into a spy device, a quick look at one recap of 2018 Cyber Monday sales shows that connected and ‘smart’ gadgets are at the top of everyone’s shopping list. And yet it seems that people are buying these devices for their homes and offices without considering, or ultimately choosing to ignore, very real risks!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hackers Can Rickroll Thousands of Sonos and Bose Speakers Over the Internet
https://www.wired.com/story/hackers-can-rickroll-sonos-bose-speakers-over-internet/
Perhaps you’ve been hearing strange sounds in your home—ghostly creaks and moans, random Rick Astley tunes, Alexa commands issued in someone else’s voice. If so, you haven’t necessarily lost your mind. Instead, if you own one of a few models of internet-connected speaker and you’ve been careless with your network settings, you might be one of thousands of people whose Sonos or Bose devices have been left wide open to audio hijacking by hackers around the world.
Researchers at Trend Micro have found that some models of Sonos and Bose speakers—including the Sonos Play:1, the newer Sonos One, and Bose SoundTouch systems—can be pinpointed online with simple internet scans, accessed remotely, and then commandeered with straightforward tricks to play any audio file that a hacker chooses. Only a small fraction of the total number of Bose and Sonos speakers were found to be accessible in their scans.
“The unfortunate reality is that these devices assume the network they’re sitting on is trusted, and we all should know better than that at this point,” says Mark Nunnikhoven, a Trend Micro research director. “Anyone can go in and start controlling your speaker sounds,” if you have a compromised devices, or even just a carelessly configured network.
Trend’s researchers found that scanning tools like NMap and Shodan can easily spot those exposed speakers. They identified between 2,000 and 5,000 Sonos devices online, depending on the timing of their scans, and between 400 and 500 Bose devices.
The researchers note that audio attack could even be used to speak commands from someone’s Sonos or Bose speaker to their nearby Amazon Echo or Google Home.
Given that those voice assistant devices often control smart home features from lighting to door locks, Trend Micro’s Nunnikhoven argues that they could be exploited for attacks that go beyond mere pranks. “Now I can start to run through more devious scenarios and really start to access the smart devices in your home,” he says.
Given the complexity of those voice assistant attacks, however, pranks are far more likely.
Beyond merely playing sounds through a victim’s device, a hacker could also determine information like what file a vulnerable speaker is currently playing, the name of someone’s accounts on services like Spotify and Pandora, and the name of their Wi-Fi network.
After Trend Micro warned Sonos about its findings, the company pushed out an update to reduce that information leakage. But Bose has yet to respond to Trend Micro’s warnings about its security vulnerabilities, and both companies’ speakers remain vulnerable to the audio API attack when their speakers are left accessible on the internet.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Home> 5G Design Center > How To Article
Maximizing BLE security & privacy features
https://www.edn.com/5G/4459196/Maximizing-BLE-security—privacy-features
Wearables often communicate using radio protocols such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Zigbee, WiFi, Z-Wave, Cellular, or LoRa. These protocols provide solutions that meet a spectrum of needs related to range, bandwidth, interoperability, and power requirements.
BLE is a popular choice for wearables because of its balance of low power, relatively low range, sufficient bandwidth, and the abundance of Bluetooth-enabled phones and tablets.
Let’s consider what it takes to achieve privacy over BLE. Achieving true anonymity over BLE is not trivial.
Peripheral vs. central roles
Bluetooth devices have two primary roles: peripheral and central. Devices can operate in one or both of these roles simultaneously. However, each role impacts the resources required by the device, including power, bandwidth, code space, and RAM.
Peripherals advertise their presence using advertising packets. The advertising packets provide information about the peripherals to devices that are listening, such as the type of services the device provides, whether it is looking for a connection, some identity information, and possibly some application state information. Peripherals do not get any feedback about whether another device is listening unless the device makes a connection request or requests extra advertising data.
Centrals listen for advertising packets and can choose to connect to devices that advertise using connectable advertising packets. There is no way for a central to connect to or send information to a peripheral except through responding to a connectable advertising packet with a connection request.
Transporting data
BLE provides link-level encryption for transporting data over the link. The link encryption is set up through a pairing process to allow exchanging of secrets. But this pairing process is not very robust, and successful attacks have been demonstrated for third-party devices to intercept the shared secrets.[1] Some improvements to the pairing process have been made with Bluetooth 4.2. However, these changes are not widely available yet.
The BLE protocol includes a privacy mode which uses random addresses to help achieve anonymity, but this is just one piece of the puzzle, and is not enough for most applications. Random addresses can be resolvable, requiring bonding, or they can be non-resolvable.
After devices have formed a connection, device addresses are not used. The devices maintain connection through an agreed-upon channel hopping scheme. As long as the data in the communication does not use unique numbers that can be associated with the device, it will be difficult for third parties to determine which specific devices are talking. Eavesdroppers may still be able to monitor the exchange of messages between any two devices.
Designers who care about privacy need to take additional steps to protect the privacy of data within the system.
To bond or not to bond
Bluetooth provides facilities to allow users to bond peripheral devices to central devices. This requires user action to initiate the bonding process. Bonded devices share long-term secret information with one another to enable them to use the built-in privacy modes in the Bluetooth protocol. Bonded devices may also store additional state information.
Bonding is stored at the operating system layer on iOS and Android devices.
Application-level privacy
For any application, consider which device should be the central and which device should be the peripheral. The choice may have significant implications on device power consumption, complexity, and what information may be leaked about the user(s) of the system.
For effective application-level privacy, the device cannot expose unique identifiers that could be used by third parties to recognize the device. Device names, addresses, message sequence numbers, or any other information that may be static or follow logical sequences unique to this device could be used to track the device by third parties that eavesdrop on communications.
Ensuring privacy
Unfortunately, a piece of information that a peripheral must disclose is at least one service identifier that recognizes what type of device is advertising. This is required to allow central devices to wake up when they see advertising packets with this service identifier present. Therefore, the third-party central will be able to see that there is at least one of these devices in the area when it is advertising. However, if the following steps are taken, it should not be able to identify which particular device it is.