Tag Archive for Bluetooth

| December 10, 2013
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6LoWPAN ?

6LoWPAN ?BYOD, BYON, IoT, IPv6, SaaS, SDN, MDM, M2M, TCP/IP, IEEE, EIEIO, IMHO, tech is drowning in drowning in acronyms. And now Stacey Higginbotham at GigaOM explains 6LoWPAN.  6LoWPAN stands for IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Networks. 6LoWPAN is the lightweight version of traditional internet protocol (IP) designed for the internet of things.

Misco reports that Internet-connected devices will number 9.6 billion by the end of 2013 and the figure will jump to 28 billion by 2020. Currently, the 9.6 billion Internet-connected devices connect to another device, a phone, or a corporate gateway. In order for a true internet of things to emerge, these devices should have the ability to connect directly to a web service.

Device to cloud

IPv6Instead of device-to-device, it’s device to cloud. The article surmises that since most of today’s devices use IP to connect to the web, engineers would like to use IP to connect devices to the web as well. The only problem is that IP is a heavy, energy-intensive beast. This is one that reason, the Internet’s standard’s setting organization, the IETF, proposed 6LoWPAN in 2004.

The numeral 6 in the standard, is short for IPv6. Ms.Higginbotham explains that if you’re envisioning tens of billions of connected sensors then IPv6 is the way to go. However, supporting the 128-bit numbering system required by IPv6 also takes computing and memory overhead that tiny sensors don’t have. It also requires longer packet headers and such that can clog low bit-rate networks. Since the 6 is IPv6 and the Lo references the low-power aspect of the protocol.

Internet of ThingaThe WPAN or Wireless Personal Area Network is a nod to the wireless mesh network that the protocol supports. Because this isn’t directly analogous to the traditional network stacks, it’s hard to limit the technology to a particular layer in the network.

Sensors in a connected network can run the gamut from a video camera that’s plugged into a wall to a battery-powered water sensor hiding under the washing machine. GigaOM says the standard is flexible enough that some nodes might be able to do more than just send information. Others can be designed to sleep until an event wakes them for a data transmission. In short, it’s complicated, which makes defining a network stack or standards for the internet of things tough.

6LoWPAN will use multiple radio protocols

WirelessThe WPAN in 6LoWPAN will use multiple radio protocols. It can work over several radio networks that use the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, the most popular being ZigBee. The IETF is also working with the Bluetooth Special Interest Group to build 6LoWPAN support for the Bluetooth protocol.

GigaOM notes that the Bluetooth SIG already has taken steps to cut power consumption to meet the demands of the internet of things, so it clearly is also aware of the need for the IPv6 addressing scheme if every bra, door lock, or porta-potty is going to hop on the InterTubes without a phone or computer.

ZigBeeCharles McLellan at ZDNet explains that IBM (IBM) has teamed up with wireless sensor network specialist Libelium to deliver a wireless sensor platform starter kit comprising IBM’s Mote Runner SDK and Libelium’s Waspmote sensor platform, Waspmote Mote Runner development platform allows researchers to explore the benefits of 6LoWPAN.

Tech titans betting on 6LoWPAN

Ms. Higginbotham says that IBM getting behind the standard with this announcement is just one more big-name betting on 6LoWPAN as the communications protocol for the internet of things. She says a few months ago ARM purchased Sensinode, a company that has literally written the book (MP4) about 6LoWPAN. Cisco (CSCO) has an investment in 6LoWPAN with its 2010 purchase of Arch Rock, for its smart grid initiative.

Platforms such as Electric Imp, Ayla Networks, and ThingSquare, all of which offer modules and services to connect devices directly to the internet, are also gaining ground with test programs and early adopters, helping make the case for 6LoWPAN. So as devices start going directly to the cloud and bypassing phones and computers, having a protocol that supports modern addressing at relatively low power and low overhead will become more important. And that’s what this terribly awkward acronym provides.

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6LoWPAN is what will drive the rapid growth of the IoT. The Business Insider says that IoT grows from 1.9 billion devices today, to 9 billion by 2018. To put that in perspective, BI claims that by 2018 IoT will be roughly equal to the number of smartphones, smart TVs, tablets, wearable computers, and PCs combined.

You can insert your own joke about the feds collecting data from a porta-potty.

What do you think? Is 6LoWPAN the best way to connect IoT devices to the cloud?

 

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| July 25, 2013
Comments Off on The Wireless Car Frontier

The Wireless Car Frontier

The Wireless Car FrontierNow that the mobile floodgates are open, developers, manufacturers, and platform operators are trying to design wireless cars. These devices will channel the next wave of mobile usage and innovation. Some are looking at wearable tech, such as Google‘s (GOOG) Glass and the Pebbles Watch and as the natural progression of mobile technology. But computing platforms, including mobile operating systems, are also becoming ubiquitous in consumer electronics and appliances. The Business Insider writes that the greatest potential for mobile platforms and services could be cars.

mesh nicely with popular activities on mobileThe article states the obvious, cars are inherently mobile. Additionally, many of the activities people do in their cars, listen to music, look up directions, mesh nicely with popular activities on mobile. The author claims that Americans spend an average of 1.2 hours a day traveling between locations and American commuters spend an average of 38 hours a year stuck in traffic. If mobile apps and Internet-based services can shoehorn their way into the in-car environment, that means a great opportunity to expand their ability to engage consumers, absorb their attention, and gather data.

The BI explains that there is already a sizable and growing mobile market in the car. Five years from now, there will be over 60 million connected cars on the road globally, according to estimates from the GSMA and others. Car-focused telecom, hardware, and software services will drive some $51 billion in annual revenue by 2018. Pandora, for example, is now being used in 2.5 million cars and 100 car models through one of its 23 partnerships with auto brands and eight partnerships with stereo manufacturers. BI identified three ways in which mobile products and services can be integrated into cars.

Wireless car integration

handset connects with vehicle-based hardwareThe owner’s Internet-connected handset connects with vehicle-based hardware and computing systems. However, the mobile device drives all key facets of the app, including Internet access, and the car simply provides some tools to facilitate it (i.e., dashboard user interface, voice controls, speakers, jacks, and/or steering wheel-based controls). Currently, many in-dash automobile app suites in cars are nothing more than an interface that provides control over a Bluetooth or audio jack-connected smartphone.

Tethering

The connection is provided through external means, but the computing and delivery of the services happen in the car. For example, a Bluetooth or USB connection might link a car’s navigation system to your phone-stored contact list, and from that moment forward a simple press of a button in the car would guide you to a friend’s house from any location. In this scenario, the car depends on the external device to gather Internet-based data.

Embedding

Connection and intelligence are baked into the car

Connection and intelligence are baked into the car. The car houses the operating system, apps, and other services that will deliver Internet-based mobile services to the user. A mobile device might sync with whatever is in the car, but external mobile gadgets aren’t essential to running car-based apps. GM is moving in this direction with its new fleet of 4G cars. (rb- I covered the evolution of 4G here) Means of integration can be blended, and often are. (rb- I wrote about Microsoft’s move into cars back in 2011, here.)

iOS in the Car

Emily Price at Mashable reports that Apple (AAPL) jumped into the mobile products and services integration game. Ms. Price reports that the folks from Cupertino have received a USPTO patent for a touchscreen car dashboard. If Apple carries through with their patent, it would replace most of your car’s existing instrumentation. The new dashboard would make your vehicle’s controls digital, letting you control everything from the temperature in your car to the radio station using a touchscreen.

OS in the CarThe article claims “iOS in the Car” should be released in 2014. Cars that support the service will allow your iPhone 5 to connect to your car’s in-dash system make phone calls, send and receive messages access your music, and get directions. Siri support will also let you do all of those things hands and eyes-free.

The blog reports that “Siri Eyes Free” is available in General Motors‘s (GM) Chevy Spark and Sonic via the Chevrolet MyLink system. According to reports sometime in 2014 Apple iOS will be available in 15 more car brands including:

• Acura
• Audi
• BMW
• Chrysler
• Ferrari
• Honda
• Infinity
• Jaguar
• Kia
• Land Rover
• Mercedes-Benz
• Nissan
• Opal
• Toyota
• Volvo

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Detroit moile cityI covered Ford (F) Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. plan to re-position Detroit as the “Silicon Valley of Mobility.” Hopefully, AAPL has figured out how to multi-thread iOS. I gave up my iPhone because it could not mult-thread. Every time I went to answer a call, I got 5 or 10 email pop’s that I had to deal with before I could answer the call. This kind of behavior could be catastrophic in a car.

What if you need to do two things at the same time, like shift from forward to reverse and turn on the air conditioning.

Then there is the privacy issue. Will AAPL give all the data they collect to the NSA or your insurance company?  

 

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| July 23, 2013
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Robot to Make Bridges Safer

Robot May Make Bridges SaferThe Mackinac Bridge is one of the longest suspension bridges in the world and the longest in the western hemisphere. The Mackinac Bridge Authority reports that over 960,000 vehicles crossed the Mighty Mac in the first quarter of 2013. In order to keep the public safe, they have a maintenance program designed to battle corrosion, stress, and general wear. The MBA inspects and maintains (PDF) the network of 42,000 miles of wire in the bridge’s main cables that support the roadway 199 feet over the Straits of Mackinac where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet.

Mackinac Bridge in winterKeeping the Mackinac Bridge in good condition through the years, capable of handling the constant flow of traffic and the effects of harsh northern Michigan weather conditions is the job of more than three dozen engineering and maintenance workers. The team has an annual regular maintenance allowance of nearly $3 million which helps workers keep pace with the aging structure, according to reports.

The MBA may have some robotic help in the future. Signe Brewster at GigaOM wrote about a recently patented robot known as FluxCrawler. The FluxCrawler provides a new way to spot flaws in cables like those on the Mackinac Bridge, the Golden Gate bridge, cranes, or elevators before they become a problem. The robot is about two feet long and thin like a ruler, FluxCrawler inches around and up the entire cable.

FluxCrawler bridge cable monitoring robotUnlike current tools, that the author says have their limits, FluxCrawler moves on two wheels and sticks to the cable with magnets. The robot can work with cables 1.5 to 8 inches in diameter and can map flaws at any angle.

FluxCrawler uses a magnetic field. When the field is applied to a cable, any flaws in the cable will cause magnetic flux leakage that can be picked up by the robot ’s sensors. FluxCrawler connects to a computer via Bluetooth and beams back an image of the magnetic field, highlighting any problem areas. This could be a fissure on the outside of the cable or more serious corrosion or cracks deep within it.

FluxCrawler is the work of researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Nondestructive Testing in Dresden, Germany. It is being tested on a bridge in Mettlach, Germany, and will next undergo more testing in a laboratory.

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| January 24, 2013
Comments Off on Another Net for IoT

Another Net for IoT

Another Net for IoTKevin Fitchard at GigaOM writes about the French start-up Sigfox that wants to take on the mobile service providers. Sigfox plans to build a new network just for the Internet of Things (IoT). Thomas Nicholls, Sigfox business development chief, and internet of things of evangelist said that cellular networks are built to connect humans, not objects. Sigfox is proposing to build an alternate wireless network dedicated solely to linking together the internet of things.

Sigfox logoThe Toulouse France-based start-up argues that the majority of objects linked to the network will connect rarely. A GPS tracker in a vehicle or shipping container may send out its coordinates just once a day. A smart meter may link back to its utility company’s servers once a week. Many of the sensors being embedded in devices from vending machines to security cameras only transmit when something goes wrong, meaning an M2M module may wait months if not years between connections to the Internet of Things. Connected home appliances like LG Electronic’s (LGLD) new Smart Thinq refrigerator, GPS tracking devices, smart meters and medical alert sensors are all the types of devices that Sigfox hopes to target.

Mr. Nicholls added that Sigfox thinks there’s a huge opportunity in the growing business-to-consumer connected device space. The assortment of gadgets and wearable devices making their way into the connected home and onto our bodies are typically connected by local area networking technologies like Bluetooth, Zigbee, and Wi-Fi. But he thinks there’s a big case to be made for replacing those technologies with Sigfox according to the article.

Wireless networkThe author claims that as Sigfox achieves economies of scale, its radio will not only shrink, their costs will fall to just a few dollars per module. Due to the huge efficiencies in running its network, Sigfox can support a device connection for little more than a dollar a year, Mr. Nicholls said. At those prices, gadget manufacturers can include IoT connectivity costs into the device costs without requiring customers to sign up for a subscription.

Not only would using Sigfox give these devices a range far beyond local networks, but they would also be “on” right out of the box, the Sigfox IoT evangelist said. It also wouldn’t require any signing up or logging on, as the machine-to-machine communication would just work out of the box.

Noisy networkTo host these devices over power-hungry and expensive cellular radios makes little sense, the business development chief said. The better course is to attach these devices to a network optimized for their use cases — one that can support billions of devices each sending relatively little data at distinct intervals, the start-up believes. “Our network is structured in a radically different way,” Nicholls claims in the GigaOM article. “There is really no notion of a network. You only connect when you have a payload to deliver.”

Sigfox has developed a wireless architecture using ultra narrow-band modulation techniques that can theoretically support millions of devices with only a handful of network transmitters. Using the unlicensed frequencies commonly used for baby monitors and cordless phones (868 MHz in Europe and 915 MHz in the US), Sigfox says it can offer the same coverage with a single tower that a cellular network could provide with 50 to 100 cell sites. Sigfox is building a network covering all of France with 1,000 transmission sites, and Mr. Nicholls estimates that the company could do the same in the US with 10,000 transmitters.

size of two thumbnailsThe author describes the embedded radio modules as about the size of two thumbnails, and they transmit at power levels 50 times lower than their cellular M2M counterparts. Such low consumption levels mean that objects that normally have no external power supply could stay connected for as long as 20 years before their module batteries would need recharging, Mr. Nicholls said.

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Apparently, Sigfox’s ultra narrow-band technology can only support bandwidths of 100 bps (YEAP THAT’S BPS, NOT KBPS) — which makes it far slower than even the poorest 2G data connection so it will be popular with wireless service providers who will try to connect everything to the Internet of Things.

Sigfox does not seem to be the answer for devices that send large quantities of data or keep up constant connections to the network like telemedicine aren’t the “things” that Sigfox intends to connect to the Internet.

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| December 1, 2012
Comments Off on I Think Therefore I Login

I Think Therefore I Login

I Think Therefore I LoginForgetting a password could become a thing of the past according to the ZDNet article Brainwaves as Passwords; Secure and Near-Reality. John Fontana at Identity Matters says the technology to do so could be here as early as June 2013. Interaxon, which develops thought-controlled computing, is releasing the Muse headband sensor device that is designed to use brainwaves to login.

Brainwave sensors

Muse headband sensor device that is designed to bring brainwaves into computingThe slim plastic Muse headband fits against a person’s forehead and slips over the ears. The band houses four brainwave sensors. There are not any authentication applications that work with Interaxon’s Muse headband yet. The article notes that the company has a software developer’s kit (SDK) for anyone who wants to do it. However, company CEO Ariel Garten says such an app is reasonable and possible.

“The user could create a specific brainwave signature or a password they would never have to say out loud or type into a computer,” said Ms. Garten, who spoke at the Blur Conference in Broomfield, CO. According to Mr. Fontana the CEO demonstrated thought-controlled applications and the Muse headband.

Brainwave login passwords

government can read their pin numberWhile brainwave passwords might conjuror up thoughts of being snatched off the street and having a brain drain, Ms. Garten said the technology isn’t mind reading. “People might think the government can read their pin number, but we can’t read your thoughts or images in your head.” Muse, which talks to devices via Bluetooth, is an electroencephalograph (EEG) that records brainwaves and reads the brain’s overall pattern of activity to detect certain states such as relaxed or alert explains the article.

The brainwaves are turned into binary data and the translated waves are used to control anything electric. Users can learn to manipulate brainwave patterns, like flexing muscles. “This builds your brain like doing bench press reps in the gym, Ms. Garten claims.

laptops can be controlled with the mindApplications that run on smartphones, tablets, or laptops can be controlled with the mind according to the article. Ms. Garten believes the technology is set to take off, she is quoted in the article, “In 25 years, interacting with technology using your mind will be as ubiquitous as a gesture is today.”

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This seems like a cool idea, maybe Sony or Nintendo will take it over. This is not a panacea for passwords.

With the small real-world experience with biometrics in the enterprise (Thinkpad T61p laptop) it worked adequately for local machine access, but what about when you have to scale this to 10s of thousands of users? Just imagine the HR issues involved with obtaining employee’s fingerprints or as the article suggests brainwaves.

In my environment, where I think biometrics makes sense, there is all the political baggage that comes with biometrics and children and the anti-education, anti-efficiency, and religious groups. I wrote here about a Texas school distinct facing the wrath of these groups for RFID cards, not biometrics.

Then there are the technical issues with any password (character string or biometric) system. The hashed password or brainwave needs to be stored somewhere in binary form. If your AD is compromised you still have a problem.

swilson, one of the commenters at ZDNet wrote: “all biometrics are the same! It doesn’t matter what trait they come up with, the same core biometric challenges remain. The challenges he sees are:

  1. How to stop replay attacks?
  2. How to secure centrally stored templates that are needed to support ‘federated’ biometric access control from multiple points?
  3. What is the real-world sensitivity/specificity trade-off i.e. quantified False Positive and False Negative Error Rates? Knowing a bit about brain physiology, I am very skeptical that anyone can measure a highly distinctive brain wave with better than 90-95% accuracy.
  4. Most basic problem: revokeability. What’s to be done in the event of a compromise, when you cannot cancel and reissue a brain wave, or fingerprint, or iris, or genome?”
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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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