IoTuino is an Arduino-compatible Wi-Fi module for the Internet of Things

Developed by Authometion, IoTtuino is an Arduino-compatible tiny core module for the Internet of Things. Recently launched on Indiegogo, the Italian-based startup aspires to help Makers create smart homes through a number of DIY automation applications.

“The goal of the product is to offer all makers and developers the opportunity to work with a powerful yet miniaturized microcontroller for rapid prototyping and to leverage the Arduino open-source electronics platform to build plenty of IoT devices,” explained Authometion CEO Pietro Moscetta. “It can be embedded into any object to immediately embrace the IoT revolution.”

IoTuino is based on an ATmega328P MCU and features a built-in low-power Wi-Fi module (IEEE802.11 b/g/n), a 512Kb SPI Flash, a 2.4 GHz radio transceiver, and an integrated mini-USB programming port.

According to its creators, the module is the first and only development board that smoothly incorporates a native control over smart LED bulbs. “For the first time developers will have the possibility, using the popular Arduino environment, to control our LYT as a wireless sensor.”

Powered by an Atmel AT83EB5114 MCU, LYT is a 9W Wi-Fi smart RGB+W LED bulb with an E27 Edison screw base. The smart bulb works in coordination with IoTuino, which serves as a gateway and can be automated by sensors and actuators for things like heat, light, force, motion and sound. Essentially, Makers can use the IoTuino and LYT bundle to manage lighting by using the smart bulbs as if they were wireless sensors, customizing the devices’ functions.

“IoTuino and LYT can already be used with IFTTT, Zapier, and any other automation services through our free WebApp available for Windows, OSX and Linux,” the team notes.

Through such automation services, users can set triggers and develop multiple scenarios for the lights, ranging from blinking effects when a social media message is received and changing colors to notify of an incoming mobile call to syncing lights with streaming music on a connected device and setting the mood.

“Our end goal is to improve user experience, convenience, comfort, energy efficiency, and security in the most important place: your home,” said Moscetta.

Those interested in learning more or helping fund Authomntion’s latest Atmel based devices can head on over the company’s official Indiegogo page here.

Atmel expands SmartConnect portfolio with 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi SoCs and modules

Atmel has expanded its leading SmartConnect wireless portfolio with four new turnkey system-on-chips (SoCs): the WILC1000 and WINC1500. Each SoC extends the company’s already broad portfolio of wireless connectivity options with the latest 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi capability, seamlessly integrating Newport Media’s (NMI) solutions in just two months.

If you recall, NMI was acquired back in July 2014, thereby enabling Atmel to offer designers and Makers the industry’s most comprehensive wireless portfolio of smart, connected devices for the growing Internet of Things (IoT). The acquisition immediately added 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to its existing offerings and has accelerated the company’s introduction of low-energy Bluetooth products, Atmel CEO Steve Laub recently explained. “Combined with our existing Wi-Fi and ZigBee solutions and industry leading microcontroller portfolio, Atmel is positioned for substantial growth in the Internet of Things marketplace.”

Both wireless solutions are compatible with existing Atmel microcontroller solutions and can connect to all Atmel AVR or Atmel | SMART MCUs. The new WINC1500 is an IEEE 802.11b/g/n IoT network controller, while the WILC1000 is an IEEE 802.11b/g/n IoT link controller.

Expanding on Atmel’s Wi-Fi offering, the WILC1000 and WINC1500 are SoC solutions optimized for battery-powered IoT applications. These wireless SoCs feature fully-integrated power amplifiers for the industry’s best communication range, without compromising cost or performance. Both the WILC1000 and WINC1500 are add-on solutions which can connect to any Atmel MCU or eMPU targeting a wide range of Internet of Things (IoT), consumer and industrial applications. Both products are available either as fully-certified modules ready for production to accelerate a designer’s time-to-market or as discrete SoCs for customers requiring the highest design flexibility.

“Atmel is excited to offer one of the broadest portfolios of differentiated wireless MCU solutions in the industry to further enable more smart, connected devices in the era of the Internet of Things,” said Kaivan Karimi, Atmel Vice President of Wireless Solutions. “Connected devices that were once a concept are becoming a reality because of innovations that are allowing devices to be smaller, easier to use, faster and more powerful—but are lower in power and optimized for battery operations. When these products are paired with Atmel’s broad portfolio of products, along with comprehensive technologies, OEMs and small developers are allowed to streamline the production of the next wave of IoT devices.”

Atmel’s SmartConnect family can be connected to any ultra-low power MCUs or eMPUs and wireless connectivity solutions into an easy, turnkey IoT solution. SmartConnect enables Wi-Fi Internet connectivity using ultra-low power for IoT edge/sensing nodes markets, therefore reducing overall bill of materials. In addition, the latest solutions accelerate development time for cost-effective, battery-operated applications in the residential, healthcare, industrial, smart energy and wearable markets.

As Reza Kazerounian, Senior Vice President and General Manager, MCU Business Unit at Atmel, previously noted, ultra-low power wireless connectivity is critical for embedded applications in the era of IoT.  “[That is why] Atmel’s SmartConnect technology is about simplifying the use of embedded wireless connectivity technologies and enabling users to accelerate their time-to-market. This simplicity allows all players to participate in the IoT market, fueling the innovation needed to accelerate adoption.”

The WILC1000 and WINC1500 provide multiple peripheral interfaces such as UART, SPI, SDIO and I2C. The only external clock source needed is a high-speed crystal or oscillator with a wide variety of reference clock frequencies supported (between 12 – 50 MHz) and are IEEE 802.11 b/g/n, RF, Baseband, MAC certified.

Key features of the Atmel WILC1000, which can be found on its preliminary datasheet ready for download, include:

• IEEE 802.11 b/g/n RF/PH/MAC SoC
• IEEE 802.11 b/g/n (1×1) for up to 72Mbps
• Single spatial stream in 2.5Ghz RF band
• Integrated PA and T/R Switch
• Superior Sensitivity and Range via advanced PHY signal processing
• Advanced Equalization and Channel Estimation
• Advanced Carrier and Timing Synchronization
• Wi-Fi Direct and Soft-AP support
• Supports IEEE 802.11 WEP, WPA, WPA2 Security
• Supports China WAPI security
• Superior MAC throughput via hardware accelerated two-level A-MSDU/A-MPDU frame aggregation and block acknowledgement
• On-chip memory management engine to reduce host load
• SPI and SDIO host interfaces
• 2/3/4-wire Bluetooth coexistence interface

Key features of the Atmel WINC1500, whose preliminary datasheet can also be found here, include:

• IEEE 802.11 b/g/n RF/PH/MAC SOC
• IEEE 802.11 b/g/n (1×1) for up to 72Mbps
• Single spatial stream in 2.5Ghz RF band
• Integrated PA and T/R Switch
• Superior Sensitivity and Range via advanced PHY signal processing  Wi-Fi Direct and Soft-AP support
• Supports IEEE 802.11 WEP, WPA, WPA2 Security
• On-chip memory management engine to reduce host load
• 4Mbit internal Flash memory for system software
• SPI, UART and I2C as host interfaces
• Power save modes
  • 3μA deep sleep mode
  • 600μA standby mode (state is preserved)
  • On-chip low power sleep oscillator
  • Fast host wake-up by chip pin or clock-less transaction
• Fast boot options
  • On-Chip Boot ROM (Firmware instant boot)
  • SPI flash boot (firmware patches and state variables)
  • Low-leakage on-chip memory for state variables (next chip revision)
  • No SPI flash is needed if firmware patches and state variables can be loaded from MCU at boot time
  • Fast AP Re-Association (150ms)
• On-Chip Network Stack to offload MCU
  • Integrated Network IP stack to minimize host CPU requirements
  • Network features TCP, UDP, DHCP, ARP, HTTP, SSL, and DNS
• TCP/IP protocol stack (client/server) sockets applications
• Wi-Fi security WEP, WPA, WPA2 and WPS
• Advanced Equalization and Channel Estimation
• Advanced Carrier and Timing Synchronization
• Wi-Fi Direct and Soft-AP support
• Network protocols (DHCP/DNS)
• WSC (wireless simple configuration WPS)
• No OS small footprint host driver (4KB flash – less than 1KB RAM)

Interested in the newest members of the SmartConnect family? The WILC1000 and WINC1500 are both now available — WILC1000 as a chip and three different modules; the WINC1500 as a chip and a module, with an evaluation kit featuring Atmel’s SAM D21 MCU.

 

 

Accelerate your evaluation of Atmel 802.15.4 wireless solutions from your desktop

You have probably come across this scenario before: Management or the marketing department approaches you asking you to add wireless functionality to an existing product, or to develop a new product that needs to be able to support a wireless link. Today, there are many wireless technologies and options to consider.

It is also quite possible that marketing has already made part of that decision for you.

The marketing requirement may stipulate that you use Wi-Fi, Zigbee, 6lowpan or Bluetooth low energy (BLE). Or, maybe marketing has no idea what is required, and just tells you to implement a wireless link!

So, after a number of meetings and conference calls, you decide to use a solution that is based upon 802.15.4. This could include Zigbee, 6lowpan, Wireless HART, ISA100.11a, Openwsn, Lwmesh, among many other wireless stack solutions that all require an 802.15.4 compliant transceiver.

At this point you would need to decide if your solution, or the protocol you’ve selected, will operate in the 2.4 GHz band or in a SubGhz band. There are times when you will need to do some experimentation or RF performance evaluations to determine which RF band to use in your particular situation.

When evaluating Atmel 802.15.4 wireless solutions, the first tool you should turn to is Wireless Composer. Provided as an extension to Atmel Studio 6.x, the Wireless Composer is a free tool. In order to make it simple, each of the current Atmel 802.15.4 evaluation kits/platforms comes with a Performance Analyzer firmware application pre programmed into the kit. Running on the evaluation kit, this Performance Analyzer firmware is designed to communicate with both the Atmel Studio and Wireless Composer extension.

Some of the capabilities of Wireless Composer include:

• Energy Scan: Scan selected or all available 802.15.4 channels

• PER (Packet Error Rate) Testing: Transmit and receive 1000’s of frames at a specific TX power level and RF channel and then review the results for errors (dropped bits/frames) while also evaluating throughput metrics.

• CW Test Modes: Place a device in a Continuous test mode to monitor emissions with a spectrum analyzer or other RF test equipment

• Antenna Evaluation: Provide a Large Digital Display to allow testing antenna radiation pattern’s at distances of up to around 3 meters from the device connected to the laptop PC.

• Range Testing: Gather and log range data generated from a  wireless link set up between two nodes — this data includes RSSI (ED signal strength) and LQI (signal quality) from both sides of the RF link.

Here are a few additional example screen captures, available from within Wireless Composer.

Energy Detection Scan Mode:

Screenshot of Wireless Composer, an extension of Atmel Studio 6.x – Energy Detection Scan

Have you ever wanted to set up some RF tests and wanted to know if there were other transmissions already taking place on the channel you intended to test on ?  Maybe your colleagues  are performing tests in another section of the lab or building, or maybe at home you have Wi-Fi or Bluetooth or home automation devices operating in close proximity to where you want to run some experiments.  The ED scan mode, as shown here, allows you to get a quick glimpse of what RF activity is happening around you. You can do a one time scan or you can configure the test to continuously scan one or all channels and repeat this until you stop the test.

PER Test:

A common RF test to perform on a packet based wireless communication system is a PER (Packet Error Rate) test.

This test mode allows you to configure operation on a particular channel, at a specific TX power level, using a selected antenna option. You are then provided the ability to set the number of bytes to send in a transmitted frame, and to set how many frames you are going to send during the test. All of these parameters are configured in the left hand Transceiver Properties Pane, as shown in the capture below. Once the test is performed, the right hand window provides data regarding the results of the test.

This can be useful for confirming RX sensitivity parameters, and data throughput characteristics under different conditions. Here is an example of sending 1000 frames and achieving zero errors using a frame length of 20 bytes.

Screenshot of Wireless Composer, an extension to Atmel Studio 6.2 – Packet Error Rate test mode

 

Continuous Transmission Test Mode:

If you have attempted to develop a wireless RF product before, you know that a considerable amount of time will be spent performing regulatory pre – scan certification testing. This typically involves configuring your device to transmit a continuous wave RF emission on a particular RF channel using a specified amount of Transmit power. The RF emissions are monitored using a spectrum analyzer or other RF test equipment. To help save time and provide a useful tool, Wireless Composer provides a Continuous Transmission Tab that allows selection of a few different tests of this type.

In the example shown below, an unmodulated CW test transmission has been started on channel 16 using a TX power level of +4dBm. These are no results reported here, because all measurement results would come from observing the RF test equipment that monitors the RF emissions.

Screenshot of Wireless Composer, an extension to Atmel Studio 6.2 – Continuous Wave test mode

 

Antenna Evaluation Range Test Numerical Display:

For any wireless product, the antenna is one of the most important sections of the design. A great radio with a poor antenna results in poor product performance, while a mediocre radio with a great antenna can end up with very good performance. So, one of the tasks for any wireless product developer is to understand the characteristics and performance of his antenna design. This may be some type of on board antenna like a ceramic chip antenna, or a pcb trace antenna, or it just may be connecting an external antenna to an RF connector mounted on the product’s pcb. Many on board antenna designs are shortened quite a bit to reduce the footprint or space required by the antenna. This usually will affect the performance of the antenna in a negative way, or at a minimum create directivity to the antenna’s radiation pattern. A nice capability of Wireless Composer is the ability to allow you  to place the device connected to the PC, running Wireless Composer, on a table or tripod at a specific height above the floor in an open indoor or outdoor area. Then, in the range test tab within Wireless Composer, select “Numerical “ as the display mode. This will then display a screen as shown below.

One would then take a battery operated mobile node about three meters away from the PC display and watch the values being displayed for ED/RSSI and LQI change as you rotate or change the orientation of the antenna with respect to the unit at the other end of the link. This display shows the LQI and ED/RSSI values at both ends of the link and can be used to examine any changes in antenna pattern, as the device orientation is changed. Knowing what orientation provides the best signal levels will later help you understand how to position the unit when mounting it at its final location. You will also acquire information on how to set up additional range tests where you could be up to one mile away, and all you have is a blinking led to indicate whether or not you still have communications with the unit under test.

Screenshot of Wireless Composer, an extension to Atmel Studio 6.2 – Range Test Numerical Display

 

Range Test Log With Multiple Markers (Push Button Marker Recording):

Wireless Composer also has a range test mode for logging signal level and quality to a PC display or to an Excel file, as shown in the screen capture below.

When two paired devices are configured in this range test mode, the unit connected to the PC will periodically (about every two seconds to conserve battery life) send a beacon type frame to the mobile unit, at which point the mobile unit will send back a reply to the logging device. This activity can also be seen in the screen capture below.

The LQI and ED (average RSSI) levels for each side of the wireless link are recorded with a time stamp to an Excel file.

Have you ever tried to do an RF range test by yourself? If you have, then you know that it sometimes can be difficult to set up a test, such that you can leave one node at a fixed location and take the other battery operated mobile unit to various locations where you want to gather signal level and link quality information.

This is especially true when your simple wireless device lacks any type of user interface, or display attached to it, as in the case of a wireless sensor, or an simple evaluation board. This becomes even more difficult if you are doing LOS (line of sight) measurements outdoors. The performance analyzer app only assumes you have access to two IO pins — one is typically an input for a push button or jumper, while the other is an output for an LED.

Outdoor LOS measurements may allow you to achieve distances of hundreds of meters, as well as one or more miles in the SubGhz RF bands.

To make this measurement task a lot easier, the performance analyzer app has the ability to enable you to press a button on the battery operated portable unit that you have in your hand, and have this RF device send an RF frame back to the unit connected to the PC that is doing the logging; as a result, that marker frame is recorded into the log, allowing you to place marker indicators for time and place in the log file. This will enable you to determine where you have been when you return to review the log data.

For instance, you could press the button once while at a specific location in room A, and then press it twice in for a location in room B. Or, if you are outdoors you could press the button and insert markers at various distances as you move away from the logging unit. Then, all you would have to write on your notepad while doing the test would be the name of your location (or the distance at which you were away from the logging unit) and the number of times you pressed the button at that location.

Upon your return to examine the recorded log, you’ll have all of the necessary information to understand the recorded results, including where in space and time the measurements were made.

See the example below:

Screenshot of Wireless Composer, an extension to Atmel Studio 6.2 – – Recorded Logs

 

For each of the supported wireless platforms, Atmel Studio contains complete example projects with source files for the performance analyzer application. When you are finished making measurements on an Atmel evaluation board that you used to help make device selection or RF band selection decisions, you can then use this same application with possibly some minor modifications to support your own final hardware design with regards to the IO assignments for a push button or led. This performance analyzer application along with Wireless Composer have proven to be very useful when performing tests on first prototype boards, and even for use in performing FCC or other governmental regulation pre-scan testing.

Interested in learning more? You can access Wireless Composer here and Atmel Studio here.

 

 

Reza Kazerounian talks IoT and MCUs (Part 2)

EEWeb recently conducted an interview with Reza Kazerounian, Senior VP and GM of the Microcontroller Business Unit at Atmel. In part one of our synopsis, we reviewed how Kazerounian defined the Internet of Things, detailed the company’s comprehensive IoT portfolio and discussed Atmel’s relationship with the rapidly growing DIY Maker Movement.

Kazerounian went on to confirm that Atmel is currently working with a number of customers to market various IoT applications.

“These customers range from smart metering, to industrial, consumer applications similar to Nest, [as well as] medical and white goods. Many of these customers have been working with Atmel for years and are in production with our technologies today,” he explained.

“With the dawn of the Internet of Things, these products are being categorized under a broader market—the IoT. An example includes connected thermostats in the home and building automation sector, [which] have [actually] been around for a while.”

However, says Kazerounian, it was not until recently that such devices were considered mainstream.

“It took mass adoption of smart tablets, smartphones and other smart consumer devices to enable more of these ‘connected’ devices to be easily accessible to the Internet and available at a cost-effective price point,” he added.

Indeed, “separate” technologies for IoT have been around for some time, but the requirements to seamlessly run numerous technologies simultaneously took longer to achieve.

“For example, connecting your smartphone at home to control your lighting is becoming a reality today. Another important factor for the IoT is wireless connectivity. These connectivity solutions operate on a number of different standards including Wi-Fi, ZigBee, Bluetooth, and others,” Reza continued.

“For IoT applications, it’s important to adopt the right wireless standard based on the application and consumer requirements. For example, if you want a device that is connected to a wireless network at home and can traffic the data with a high data rate, Wi-Fi is the most viable type of technology. For wearable devices, you would need a wireless connection with the lowest power consumption available since many of today’s wearable devices run on batteries.”

Kazerounian also noted that the IoT landscape is populated by applications with embedded processing and connectivity requirements that offer companies such as Atmel an advantage.

“[Indeed, we] made a recent investment in our connectivity portfolio over a year ago [by] acquiring Ozmo Devices, a Wi-Fi connectivity company. Adding to our broad wireless product portfolio, this strategic acquisition helped us enhance our Wi-Fi connectivity solutions, an important part of our strategy for targeting the IoT market,” he said.

“Atmel also has a broad portfolio of touch technologies, from capacitive touch buttons, sliders and wheels to touchscreens. As sensors and sensing nodes become an important part of the IoT ecosystem, our embedded processing solutions can combine input from multiple sensors to provide real-time direction, orientation and inclination data to bring visibly superior performance to gaming, navigation, augmented reality and more.”

Reza concluded his interview with EE Web by emphasizing that Atmel views microcontrollers (MCUs) as an essential building block for every PC, consumer device, industrial machine, home connectivity device and automobile. To be sure, MCUs are playing an increasingly critical role in the lucrative space.

“As the semiconductor industry has transitioned from PCs to mobile, IoT will now rise to become the predominant market,” Kazerounian explained. 

”This transition will favor ultra-low power and integration of microcontrollers, wireless connectivity, security, touch technologies and sensor management products. Atmel is uniquely positioned and fully committed to maintaining our leadership position in the microcontroller industry – and to do so requires winning in the IoT.”

Interested in learning more? You can check out Atmel’s AVR MCU portfolio here and our ARM lineup here.

Note: This is part two of a two-part series. Part one can be read here.

Analyst Patrick Moorhead talks IoT

The rapidly evolving Internet of Things (IoT) is clearly an idea whose time has finally come. Indeed, falling technology costs, developments in complementary fields like mobile and cloud, together with support from governments have all contributed to the dawning of an IoT “quiet revolution.”

In fact, over three-quarters of companies are now actively exploring or using the IoT, with the vast majority of business leaders believing it will have a meaningful impact on how their companies conduct business. In a recent report sponsored by ARM, Clint Witchalls confirms that consumers will likely soon be awash with IoT-based products and services – even if they may not realize it.

Commenting on the Witchalls report in Forbes, analyst Patrick Moorhead notes that business leaders seem to be highly optimistic about the IoT and its ability to transform their business, either by driving new sources of revenue or by making operations more efficient.

“This is a good sign that leaders think they can make more money and save more money. It isn’t often that you can find both of these together,” he explains. “The [Witchall report] also shows that most companies are investing in IoT right now, but most are just researching what they can do with it versus planning, piloting, or implementing projects.”

So how far are we along the continuum from early adoption to mass adoption?

Well, 95% of those surveyed in the above-mentioned ARM report say they believe their companies will be using IoT in three years.

“While most in surveys are optimistic, this is a huge number when you think of it, even if, in reality, it’s four to five years,” Moorhead notes. “While I think 95% is overly-aggressive, this would be as pervasive as a smartphone or a personal computer use.”

Interestingly, Moorhead splits the concept of IoT into two distinct segments: the Industrial IoT (IIoT) and the Human (HIoT).

“The IIoT brings autonomous monitoring and operations capability to factory boilers, HVAC systems, and hospital medical systems,” he says. “IIoT systems are very high availability and companies like General Electric GE  and Echelon ELON play in this space. The HIoT comprise of more interactive, consumer-based devices like a FitBit, Revolv Hub and a Nest Thermostat. ARM, the study sponsor, obviously plays heavily in both the IIoT and the HIoT.”

Interested in learning more? The full text of the Forbes article can be read here, while the ARM-sponsored Witchalls report is available here.

IoT: A quiet revolution is taking shape

Over three-quarters of companies are now actively exploring or using the Internet of Things (IoT), with the vast majority of business leaders believing it will have a meaningful impact on how their companies conduct business.

Based on current estimates, the number of “things” predicted to be connected to the Internet by the end of this decade range from a staggering 30bn to 50bn.

Clearly, consumers will likely soon be awash with IoT-based products and services – even if they may not realize it. As Clint Witchalls notes in a recent report sponsored by ARM, data is therefore a fundamental component of the IoT’s future.

Indeed, fitting sensors to a potentially infinite number of “things” will generate untold amounts of new information. However, most business leaders remain confident that their organizations will be capable of managing and analyzing the data flowing from the predicted rapid expansion in IoT networks. The solution will be finding an acceptable balance that does not slow the system down to the extent that it becomes unworkable. This is obviously a challenge for organizations, but one that is surmountable.

“There is this very simple equation that we’ve learnt,” explains Elgar Fleisch, the deputy dean of ETH Zürich. “People will use a technology if the perceived benefit is larger than the perceived risk. As long as the perceived benefit is bigger, people don’t worry as much about the risks.”

To be sure, says Witchalls, the IoT is a quiet revolution that is steadily taking shape. Businesses across the world are piloting the use of the IoT to improve their internal operations and are preparing a stream of IoT-related products and services. Consumers might not (initially) recognize them as such, but that will not stop them from being launched, as few end users need to know that user-based car insurance, for example, is an IoT-based application.

Yet some important unknowns remain, Witchalls acknowledges. Perhaps most importantly, nobody knows what the winning business models are going to be. Even seasoned management consultants will struggle to provide definitive answers. Simply put, it is likely a matter of experimenting with different models to see which ones work.

The main message for latecomers and doubters? Consider the opportunities offered by the IoT—if nothing else than to improve internal operations. To be sure, there is a consensus that companies which are slow to integrate the IoT risk falling behind the competition. As such, the next step for business leaders is to decide what IoT commitments and investments they are ready to make, and where.

Interested in learning more about the rapidly evolving IoT? Part one of this series can be read here, part two here, part three here and part four here.

The IoT connects a cast of billions

Based on current estimates, the number of “things” predicted to be connected to the Internet by the end of this decade range from a staggering 30bn to 50bn. However, as Clint Witchalls notes in a recent report sponsored by ARM, having connected “things” is the easy part. More difficult will be getting these things to communicate with each other—where human involvement is still necessary.

“With the traditional Internet it was easy to ‘go it alone.’ Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) start-ups did not first sit down with telecommunications operators and work out how they would fit together in the ecosystem,” Witchalls explains. “[In] contrast, the IoT tends to follow Metcalfe’s Law, which says that the value of a network is proportional to the square of the number of its users. Thus, a more cooperative approach than that shown in the past by telecoms and Internet companies will be required. Many users are needed to achieve the ‘network effects.'”

Kevin Ashton, who originally coined the term the “Internet of Things” (IoT) in 1999 while working at Proctor & Gamble, draws another clear distinction between the Internet and the IoT. As Ashton points out, the rollout of the traditional Internet happened relatively quickly, with companies granted access to a system that could interoperate before they had invested too heavily in systems that could not.

Since then, companies have built up their own networks, with significant investment. The challenge? To convince corporations to see the benefits in a common network. A simple example of one of these “walled gardens,” says Ashton, is employee office passes or ID badges, many of which are fitted with radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags. While swiping an ID card will get an employee into his or her workplace, the employee still has to fill out a form or wear an identity sticker when visiting a different office building. A common network between landlords could eliminate this inefficiency, while creating a much richer data set on employee whereabouts.

“What we have right now is a lot of IoT-type technology that is heavy on things and light on Internet,” Ashton confirms. “That’s [really] the bit that needs to change.”

Unsurprisingly, much of the collaboration currently under way within industry verticals is around standards, such as information-exchange protocols. According to Elgar Fleisch, the deputy dean of ETH Zürich, there is an extensive standardization effort going on.

“The main impact of standardization is that every computer can talk to every other computer and everything can talk to every other thing,” he says. “That dramatically reduces the cost of making things smart. The IoT will not fly if we don’t have these standards.”

Clearly, the full potential of the IoT will only be unlocked when small networks of connected things, from cars to employee IDs, become one big network of connected things extending across industries and organizations. Since many of the business models to emerge from the IoT will involve the sale of data, an important element of this will be the free flow of information across the network.

Interested in learning more about the rapidly evolving IoT? Part one of this series can be read here, part two here and part four here.

Taking the IoT to the next level

Over three-quarters of companies are now actively exploring or using the Internet of Things (IoT), with the vast majority of business leaders believing it will have a meaningful impact on how their companies conduct business. Clearly, the the IoT is reaching a tipping point.

Although the concept of an Internet of Things has been around for at least a decade, the IoT is beginning to become an important action point for the global business community. As Clint Witchalls notes in a recent report sponsored by ARM, there is no doubt that IoT-related technology is already having a broad impact across the world. Although the precise effect is likely to vary by country and by company, it is hard to imagine any sector will be left untouched by rapidly evolving Internet of Things.

Kevin Ashton who originally coined the term the “Internet of Things” (IoT) in 1999 while working at Proctor & Gamble, points out that the recent “trickle” of IoT product releases is all part of a larger plan to test market appetite.

“We are trying to understand before we get in too deep, because once you are financially invested and committed you cease to become agile. Then you really have to start building on the thing you’ve already invested in,” Ashton explains. “In the early stages of technology deployment it’s a charitable act really to explore a new technology because the return on investment isn’t there, it’s too expensive and it’s too unknown. That’s where government has a role.”

Looking ahead, investment in the IoT should continue to increase as more and more senior executives move up the IoT learning curve. According to Witchalls, the costs associated with the IoT will continue to fall concurrently – just like any nascent technology. Indeed, a number of early adopters believe that the technology is already mature enough and cheap enough to make IoT products and services viable without the need for a big upfront investment, at least for initial trials.

“You don’t need a lot of R&D, it’s more about integration,” says Honbo Zhou, a director of China’s Haier. “Everyone can build it [into their products]. It’s just a matter of finding a business model that works.”

Meanwhile, Elgar Fleisch, the deputy dean of ETH Zürich, a science and technology university, says he believes IoT adoption will be quite different from what he dubs the “Internet of people revolution.”

During the first phase of the Internet, he maintains, anyone with a good idea and a computer could start an organization with global reach. However, Fleisch sees the initial advantage in the “IoT revolution” going mainly to bricks-and mortar organizations, especially large firms with many assets to track and monitor. Meaning, we are unlikely to see another Facebook, Yahoo or eBay.

“There will be winners and losers, but we are unlikely to see entirely new big players entering the market,” Fleisch opines.

Notwithstanding the significant involvement of the physical world of assets and products, the IoT is still expected to be a less visible revolution than the traditional Internet.

“PayPal, Groupon and YouTube are well-known Internet companies, yet few people are probably aware that the smart meter in their cellar means that their home is a part of the IoT,” writes Witchalls. “As organizations move towards the ‘productization’ of the IoT, there are signs that business leaders recognize that this need not be a major hindrance: undeveloped consumer awareness is not seen as one of the top obstacles to organizations using the IoT. After all, consumers will always want products and services that are better, cheaper, greener and more convenient.”

As Ashton notes, “Consumers are not going to demand the Internet of Things. Nobody is going to demand the underlying infrastructure.”

Rather, says Ashton, consumers will demand some value and benefit.

“They’re going to demand a security system that they can control from their smartphone. You don’t go to the end user and talk about the Internet of Things. You go to the end user to talk about benefits,” he adds.

Want to learn more about how the IoT revolution is gathering pace and reaching a tipping point? Part one is available here, part two here, part three here and part four here.

Designing an open source baby monitor

Earlier this year, a team of researchers from FabLab Pisa and the University of Pisa’s Center for Bioengineering and Robotics kicked off an exciting new project known as OS4BME, or Open Source for Biomedical Engineering.

The project’s goal? Introducing the medical device world to a DIY & Makers philosophy. Indeed, OS4BME wants to help facilitate the development of simple, low-cost and high-impact biomedical devices such as neonatal baby monitors.

The course took take place at Kenyatta University (Nairobi) and involved a number of staggered tracks, including configuring a 3D printing system, developing a neonatal monitoring device, using open source and designing solar-powered electronics based on the Atmel-powered Arduino platform.

In July, Arduino announced its official support for the project, sending the research team a number of UNO boards (ATmega328), along with Wi-Fi and GSM shields used during the course. The components were subsequently donated to the Kenyatta University and Fablab Nairobi.

Arti Ahluwalia (Professor of Bioengineering), Daniele Mazzei and Carmelo De Maria (Biomedical Engineers, co-founders of FabLab Pisa and researchers at the Center) have since returned to Italy where they were recently interviewed by Arduino’s Zoe Romano.

“We decided to use open source tools to design and prototype the baby monitor because we believe economic barriers can’t stop the creative process. Our results will be the starting point for future projects, following the open source philosophy,” the FabLab Pisa team told Romano.

“[Our] baby monitor [was] composed by a 3D-printed mechanical frame, an electronic board and a control software. Thus, in order, we used FreeCAD for mechanical design, MeshLab to analyze the quality of the mesh, Slic3r to generate the machine code, Pronterface to send commands to a Prusa Mendel RepRap. The brain of the baby monitor, electronic and software, is based on Arduino. ”

According to FabLab Pisa, the project was an “immediate” success, if even most students and staff were initially unaware of the existence of tools such as Arduino, FreeCad, Slicer and Media Wiki.

“The course was instrumental in bringing this knowledge to the participants, and their keen interest throughout the introductory part, particularly on 3D printing and rapid prototyping was apparent,” the FabLab team added. “[Currently], the University of Pisa is working with the ABEC and Boston University to raise funds for further courses and student and staff exchange.”

Atmel-powered Arduinos in action!

In recent months, Bits & Pieces has introduced our readers to numerous technical books related to Atmel-powered Arduinos. So far, we’ve taken a closer look at “Arduino Robot Bonanza,” “Arduino and Lego Projects,” “Arduino Workshop: A Hands-On Introduction with 65 Projects,” “Practical AVR Microcontrollers” and “Exploring Arduino: Tools and Techniques for Engineering Wizardry.”

And today we’re going to talking about “Arduino in Action,” a book written by Martin Evans, Joshua Noble and Jordan Hochenbaum. According to the tech trio, the title offers readers a hands-on guide to prototyping and building electronics with everyone’s favorite platform.

“Suitable for both beginners and advanced users, this easy-to-follow book begins with the basics and then systematically guides you through projects ranging from your first blinking LED through connecting Arduino to devices like game controllers or your [smart]phone,” Evans, Noble and Hochenbaum explained in an official Amazon synopsis.

“[The book] is a hands-on guide to prototyping and building DIY electronics. Progressively more complex projects [are presented] as you connect Arduino to motors, LCD displays, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth. [For example], you’ll explore input/output sensors, including ultrasound, infrared, and light, and then use them for tasks like robotic obstacle avoidance.”

A full chapter breakdown is as follows:

• Chapter 1 Hello Arduino
• Chapter 2 Digital input and output
• Chapter 3 Simple projects: input and output
• Chapter 4 Extending Arduino
• Chapter 5 Arduino in motion
• Chapter 6 Object detection
• Chapter 7 LCD displays
• Chapter 8 Communications
• Chapter 9 Game on
• Chapter 10 Integrating the Arduino with iOS
• Chapter 11 Making wearables
• Chapter 12 Adding shields
• Chapter 13 Software integration

It should be noted that purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle and ePub formats from Manning Publications.

“Arduino in Action,” written by Martin Evans, Joshua Noble and Jordan Hochenbaum, is currently available on Amazon (Prime) for $26.10.