WSN Buzz
Fresh updates on wireless networks standards and new technologies
Archive for March, 2009
March 30, 2009 at 10:50 am · Filed under Uncategorized
This past week Sensium, the Zigbee Alliance, ANT+, Bluetooth Low Energy, BodyLAN (used in Nike+) and Z-Wave each presented their short range wireless technologies to the Continua Health Alliance at a summit in Barcelona, Spain. The technologies are candidates for the radio technologies selections that the Alliance is making for its Version 2 guidelines. Continua is looking to add guidelines for body worn health and fitness devices (LP-PAN) as well as guidelines for sensors that might be distributed throughout a home to assist remote monitoring (LP-LAN). The LP-LAN guidelines would include bed pressure sensors, motion detection sensors and so on.
More here.
March 30, 2009 at 10:45 am · Filed under ZigBee
Ten years ago, Bluetooth, 802.11 and HomeRF were engaged in an acrimonious battle for supremacy over leadership as the short range radio standard. HomeRF died, and in the following years Bluetooth and 802.11 found their areas of application and now coexist together, to the extent of joining forces in the new Bluetooth 3.0 specification. Today a new and ferocious fight is taking place for the role of ultra low power radio champion. This time, there is likely to be just one winner.
In the two main corners of the ring are ZigBee PRO and Bluetooth low energy (previously known as Wibree). Alongside them, throwing lighter punches, are an array of lesser contenders, including Z-Wave, ANT, Wavenis, and Wireless M-Bus. What is at stake is the prize of becoming the standard for connecting low power consumer products to the next generation of mobile phones and enabling smart energy devices within the home.
The industry has learnt a lot from the experience it has gained with Bluetooth and 802.11. One of the first lessons was the need for interoperability between products from different vendors. Interoperability isn’t something that comes from a specification alone – it needs a rigorous testing regime that ensures that different implementations work with each other and which check that every product entering the market is tested. 802.11 learnt that lesson. It didn’t have that process until the Wi-Fi Alliance came along to complement the raw 802.11 specification and turn it into the usable experience that has made it successful. Any new standard will need that from day one.
More here.
March 26, 2009 at 2:05 pm · Filed under HomePlug
A group of powerline technology proponents is raising concerns about an effort to create an overarching home networking standard.
The ITU G.hn standard in the works aims to create a single specification covering powerline, coax and phone line nets. But it uses a coding technique that will not interoperate with technology used by the HomePlug Powerline Alliance, said HomePlug president Rob Ranck. Members have shipped as many as 27 million units using HomePlug technology, the group claims.
“It’s too strong to say we are coming out against G.hn,” said Ranck. “It’s more that we are worried that the performance will not be better or even up to the level of our HomePlug AV standard, and having another technology that in many ways will conflict with HomePlug is not a good thing for the market,” he added.
The heart of the issue is that HomePlug uses turbo coding forward error correction while G.hn is proposing low density parity check (LDPC). The two are incompatible and supporting both techniques would make HomePlug chips large and expensive, Ranck said.
More here.
March 25, 2009 at 11:32 am · Filed under Uncategorized
The connected devices that many infrastructure companies are planning to deploy as part of a “smart grid” have serious security vulnerabilities that could allow malicious attackers to seize local control of home utility networks, security firm IOActive announced on Monday.
The vulnerabilities, discovered independently by researcher Travis Goodspeed and by employees of IOActive, underscore the dangers of deploying smart grid technologies before the developers have designed adequate security mechanisms, said Joshua Pennell, CEO of IOActive. In particular, the researchers had focused on the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), devices that monitor and control the use of energy in homes and businesses. Currently, about 2 million of the devices have been deployed and an estimated 17 million devices have been ordered by utilities, according to IOActive.
More details here.
March 25, 2009 at 11:31 am · Filed under WiFi
Awareness is growing about the challenges of developing and maintaining safe and effective wireless medical devices. What with IEC80001 moving forward (due to be finalized next year) and the recent series of wireless medical device workshops, people in hospitals and among vendors are asking more of the hard questions about wireless. Amongst the turmoil, participants are jostling for position. This post looks at common problems with Wi-Fi, a report from U.K. alliance ERBI, and some alternatives to Wi-Fi.
Problems with Wireless
Those of us who are old enough, think back to the golden age of wireless medical devices — channelized analog telemetry. These systems were so basic and limited in scope (a couple dozen transmitters typically covering just a single 30 bed unit) that they had few problems and required little maintenance. Today, larger hospitals are pushing the envelope with a few hundred patient monitors and a thousand or more wireless infusion pumps. These wireless devices are using sophisticated client radio/access point (AP) communications protocols to maximize capacity, whether using Wi-Fi or WMTS. We’ve since left the golden age far in the past.
More information on the issues with wireless communication in hospitals here.
March 20, 2009 at 1:06 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
By forming the alliance, Michelin, Department of Energy, Lockheed Martin’s Savi Technology, Texas Instruments, STMicroelectronics, Analog Devices and others team to support low-cost, low-power wireless standard for machine-to-machine communications.
The technology, based on the ISO 18000-7 standard, provides commercial and government users with the ability to track the whereabouts and status of a wide range of everyday objects, including vehicles, shipping containers, pharmaceutical products, hazardous materials, perishable goods and manufacturing and operational equipment.
The DASH7 Alliance will work to ensure cross-vendor interoperability as well as to promote greater use of the ISO 18000-7 wireless data standard, which is more cost effective, more reliable, and operates at lower power levels than ZigBee and similar wireless data technologies. The DASH7 Alliance will also foster new wireless data innovations based on the standard, including advanced sensor networking, electronic seals, mobile phone integration, and other advances enabled through upcoming DASH7 developer resources available at the DASH7 Web site.
More here.
March 20, 2009 at 11:49 am · Filed under Uncategorized
Ecomagination is GE’s commitment to imagine and build innovative solutions that solve today’s environmental challenges and benefit customers and society.
You can find more here.
March 20, 2009 at 11:43 am · Filed under Uncategorized
A summary of the latest climate changes in companies, policies and research is available here.
March 18, 2009 at 11:04 am · Filed under UWB
The WiMedia Alliance is handing over all current and future specification development of its version of ultrawideband (UWB) to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, the Wireless USB Promoter Group and the USB Implementers Forum. Once the handoff is completed, it will shut down.
According to Stephen Wood, president of the WiMedia Alliance, the move is, “a modification to the industry structure we’ve been discussing and negotiating with the [three groups] since about July of last year.”
The move comes as the wireless technology has reached a state of maturity, and it is now time to, “start simplifying how the industry was structured,” said Wood.
Given that all four groups share members, the move acknowledges that those members were finding it difficult to attend what were essentially duplicate meetings in tough economic times. The structure also required manufacturers to obtain multiple certifications.
More here.
March 16, 2009 at 10:51 am · Filed under Uncategorized
IBM is already staking claims in the smart grid industry to better manage electricity. Now it’s doing the same for water, with a broad offering that will include developing sensor and intelligence networks for water utilities, smart water meters and a new technology for water filtration. The computing giant is set to announce a set of services and technologies aimed at helping utilities, governments and businesses better monitor and manage their water usage.
The age-old business of water management may seem light years away from the high-tech fields that IBM has made its name pursuing. But in fact, experts say, water resources are coming under unprecedented pressure from growing populations and increased contamination — potentially putting businesses from farming to semiconductor manufacturing at the risk of having to pay more for what is now a virtually free commodity (see A Smart Grid for Water).
IBM sees a role for information technology in the water world that’s analogous to its role in smart grid projects, Nunes said. That includes sensor networks that can track water flow and quality, water meters that can give utilities and customers up-to-date information on water use and price, and complex “predictive” modeling to let water managers plan for the future.
More here.
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