WSN Buzz
Fresh updates on wireless networks standards and new technologies
Archive for May, 2009
May 28, 2009 at 3:48 pm · Filed under Zwave
Sigma Designs, Inc. (Nasdaq: SIGM), a leader in digital media processing system-on-chip (SoC) solutions for consumer electronics, today announced the IP-Wave single chip solution, which offers complete interoperability between Sigma’s Z-Wave wireless home control and the widespread Internet Protocol (IP) standards. IP-Wave technology is made possible by a single chip that is embedded in home consumer products. Once embedded, it allows home lights, appliances, HVAC systems, entertainment centers and security systems to connect over a Z-Wave wireless mesh network and now also via the Internet, for energy management and home remote control. This game-changing technology will be demonstrated inside home consumer products for the first time in the IPSO (IP for Smart Objects Alliance) Booth #2513 at this week’s Networld-Interop show, taking place in Las Vegas from May 17-21.
“Running an IP stack on the Z-Wave single chip solution is a major stepping stone in the opening of the Z-Wave technology and it further supports the role of Z-Wave’s ecosystem in the digital home,” noted Ken Lowe, vice president of strategic marketing for Sigma Designs. “Like home entertainment networks, it is also imperative that home control networks be able to interface with the Internet. Interoperability between IP and Z-Wave is a crucial step in the process.”
More here.
May 28, 2009 at 3:44 pm · Filed under 6LowPAN
Sensinode recently announced support for the next-generation CC2530 radio chip from Texas Instruments.
http://www.sensinode.com/EN/news/sensinode-ltd.-targets-smart-grid-applications.html
This new chip is an exciting development on the SoC front, and compliments the general industry trend towards SoC radio technology. Our Sensinode team is excited about this new chip which gives us much better performance in terms of receiver sensitivity and transmit power (= better range). In addition the processor core has several improvements over the CC2430. The new chip has a huge amount of flash now at 250 kB. Although this may be needed by ZigBee Pro stacks, which are very complex, Sensinode’s NanoStack 2.0 needs only the 64 kB version of the chip. As the CC2530 is available in 128kB, 64kB and 32kB versions – that is a direct cost savings.
The transaction to a new chip generation takes a long time – and the CC2530 is only sampling now. I hope to see Sensinode CC2530-based products late this year. As this is fully compatible with our current 6LoWPAN network products based on the current CC2430 – this transition is a smooth one.
This compliments Sensinode’s earlier announcement for NanoStack 2.0 support for the TI Sub-GHz CC1110 chip, which shows how flexible 6LoWPAN is over various radio technologies. At only 32 kB of ROM and 4 kB or RAM, it also is also shows how small a complete wireless IPv6 stack can get. Sub-Ghz 6LoWPAN networks are extremely interesting in terms incredible range and the avoidance of 2.4GHz interference. In the Smart Metering market, Sub-GHz 6LoWPAN is receiving tremendous interest. New Sub-GHz versions of Sensinode products will be available already 3Q-2009.
Link here.
May 27, 2009 at 2:39 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
CLARITY is now recruiting for its 2009 intake of PhDs and PostDocs. Please email claritycentre@ucd.ie for further information.
CLARITY website
May 26, 2009 at 9:21 am · Filed under Uncategorized
Will ZigBee succeed where CEBus, LonWorks, UPnP, SCP, HAPI, WSD and countless others have failed?
ZigBee is jockeying to become the standard for home automation. Welcome to the club. At least a dozen promising initiatives before it have tried … and failed.
This article gives a brief history of previous initatives.
May 25, 2009 at 9:48 am · Filed under Uncategorized
The debate on what technologies and standards should be used as the foundation for the future Smart Grid is heating up. Multiple vendors and industry organizations are pushing their own (often incompatible) views of the Smart Grid. Even if we focus only in the area of communications standards for Smart Grid, we find different options being proposed: high-speed and low-speed powerline technology, IEEE 802.15.4, cellular networks, WiMAX and many others.
Smart Grid networks will be hybrid networks
Although at DS2 we think that high-speed powerline networking technology is the best positioned to deliver a scalable platform for SmartGrid, other technologies also provide benefits in specific scenarios (for example, in cases where a utility wants to manage water or gas meters that don’t have a power connection), so many utilities may need to use a combination of multiple technologies to build their Smart Grid.
Unified IP-based management systems for Smart Grid
There is an easy solution to the problem of managing systems based on incompatible technologies: TCP/IP. The TCP/IP protocol suite has demonstrated that it indeed solves the problem of providing a common communication protocol for disparate PHY/MAC technologies. Today, millions of people connect to the internet using a large variety of PHY/MAC technologies: Ethernet, Wi-Fi, powerline, DSL, cable-modem, 3G cell phones and many more.
Unless Smart Grid technology is based on open TCP/IP standards, the fragmentation of multiple PHY/MAC technologies (and their associated management protocols) will hinder significantly the growth of the Smart Grid industry.
More here.
May 25, 2009 at 9:44 am · Filed under Uncategorized
The news that utilities like San Diego Gas & Electric and incumbent meter maker Itron will be offering Google’s PowerMeter energy tool to their customers offers a glimpse of how the old-skool power industry is starting to be shaped by the new world of the Internet, with free and easy access to information. Consumers are increasingly relying on the web to easily manage their bills, buy goods and find information online, and there’s a whole host of companies (like Google) that, having built up a trusted relationship with the consumer, are moving into the business of energy management. Whether companies in the traditional power space feel threatened or embrace the emergence of these new players could determine how well their businesses do.
San Diego Gas & Electric’s vice president of customer solutions, Hal Snyder, put it succinctly in a call with me this morning:
“To pretend that we’re going to completely own that relationship with the customer and not work with companies like Google is naive. It’s the customer’s data, we should be seen as a facilitator.”
His argument rings true of another industry that faced a similar dilemma: telecom. For years phone companies worried that they would become “dump pipes” that just acted as a channel over which other companies could sell services. But the more savvy companies (AT&T and its Apple deal) discovered other business models and applications to sell. Will the power industry follow the same path? Well, utilities are in a different business than telcos, and have to deal with different regulations and worry about things like utility-grade service. But the companies building the hardware and software for smart meters and the smart grid will have to consider the debate carefully.
While SDG&E is one of the first utilities to partner with Google for PowerMeter, the utility isn’t tying its hands in an exclusive deal with the search engine giant. Snyder was clear in the call that Google is just the first company that SDG&E is working with for smart meter software and emphasized the fact that other partnerships would soon follow suit. Snyder also said that SDG&E’s web site for consumers will provide more info than the energy data services for Google’s PowerMeter tool. So SDG&E’s customers will have a choice between avariety of energy tools, one of which will be Google PowerMeter. It’s a good thing for customers and for Google, that’s what they do best: compete.
Source here.
May 25, 2009 at 9:43 am · Filed under Uncategorized
Google has signed on smart-meter manufacturer Itron and eight utilities to offer Google’s PowerMeter Web service for monitoring home energy use.
PowerMeter reads a home’s electricity meter and gives the consumer a detailed readout of usage. The idea is that a better understanding of electricity usage–presented via daily trends and data on individual appliances–will help people figure out how to cut consumption.
PowerMeter creates a readout of a home’s electricity use over the course of a day.
Google’s home energy-monitoring software relies on meters, or add-on devices, that can communicate usage information back to utilties. In a blog post on Tuesday, Google engineer Ed Lu said that the company is seeking to find more smart-meter vendors and utilities to offer PowerMeter.
“For now, Google PowerMeter is only available to a limited group of customers, but we plan to expand our roll out later this year,” Lu wrote.
In a document prepared for utilities, Google says that PowerMeter is a free, opt-in service.
Google’s push into home energy monitoring is likely to be well received by consumers who want details on how they are consuming electricity. It is estimated that simply surfacing information on trends and individual appliances will allow the typical consumer to lower electricity use by 5 to 15 percent.
Within the smart-grid industry, Google is poised to make an impact as well. A number of start-ups offer home energy monitoring, through Web sites or a small device in the home.
More here.
May 25, 2009 at 9:36 am · Filed under ZigBee
Fueled by a surge in the deployment of smart meters in several industries, Ember Corporation, a provider of ZigBee wireless networking technology, has announced that it has received an additional $8 million in funding from its primary venture capital investors and strategic partners. This brings the total capital raised by Ember to $89 million.
“ZigBee standards extend the developing ’smart grid’ out to the billions of devices, appliances and equipment where most energy efficiency goals will be achieved,” said Ember chairman Bob Metcalfe (to read a Control Engineering article about Metcalfe’s role in the development of Ethernet, click here) . “Smart meters now being equipped with ZigBee-standard Ember radio chips and protocol software are serving as energy management gateways between utilities and consumers.”
The market for 802.15.4/ZigBee devices is expected to reach as high as 292 million units in 2012, up from about 7 million units in 2007, according to research firm, In-Stat. Smart metering initiatives are widely believed to be a pivotal technology impacting energy management and efficiency for decades. As part of the recently enacted stimulus package signed by President Barack Obama, more than $49 billion was allocated to transform the nation’s energy system, and over $17 billion of that will be aimed at electric grid infrastructure upgrades. This national financial commitment means significant opportunity for ZigBee technologies.
More here.
May 25, 2009 at 9:32 am · Filed under Uncategorized
As facility managers (fms), consulting and specifying engineers, and other members of the building industry focus more intently on energy consumption and resultant cost, finding ways to reduce product lifecycle and maintenance costs has become an hot topic industry-wide. Effectively integrating building automation systems directly results in lower costs and gained efficiencies. Considering nuances, such as using only one data communications protocol in these efforts, can not only drive these results but other benefits as well.
Developed by the building automation industry for the purpose of building system integration, Building Automation and Control network (or BACnet®)—an open data communications protocol for building automation and control networks—facilitates integration of HVAC, lighting, security, and other commercial building systems. It can work toward enhancing energy savings, lowering design, and lifecycle costs, facilitating commissioning, and providing improved flexibility, scalability, reliability, and control.
BACnet’s ultimate objective is to achieve interoperability of building control devices that may differ by application, manufacturer, and vintage. While there are other open protocols widely used and supported within the building automation industry, BACnet was the first protocol developed by the industry purely for building system integration, and has been widely adopted by manufacturers of building control devices. Therefore, a plentiful and growing supply of BACnet devices virtually guarantees that interoperability can be achieved and maintained now and in the future.
A lot more here.
May 25, 2009 at 9:28 am · Filed under Uncategorized
Has Bluetooth already won the race to wirelessly connect medical devices?
Currently, Bluetooth’s Health Device Profile is the only wireless technology specification that the interoperability group Continua Health Alliance has included in its guidelines, however, last month the Alliance met in Spain to begin the process of deciding which other wireless technologies should be included. The group has yet to announce its decision.
If it were up to Nick Hunn, Vice Chairman at the Mobile Data Association and CEO of WiFore, chances are Bluetooth Low Energy would be the technology that Continua picks: Hunn’s recently released report on Bluetooth’s dominance in the wireless medical devices sector extols the many virtues of Bluetooth and explains in great detail the technology’s many successes in the medical industry.
“To achieve success eHealth needs a critical mass of devices,” Hunn writes. “Today there are just over 3 billion Bluetooth devices in existence. In 2011, there will be more Bluetooth devices than people. From the start of 2010, mobile phones will incorporate chips which support standard Bluetooth as well as low energy Bluetooth. No other wireless technology can begin to emulate this.”
Hunn seems to be pitching Continua at one point in his report — an effort to convince the Alliance that Bluetooth Low Energy is the necessary pick for their other wireless health services guidelines: “The ability of the new generation of Bluetooth chips to support any Bluetooth medical device gives designers of mobile phones, PCs, Gateways and home medical hubs unrivalled power to build devices that can talk to any personal Bluetooth medical device,” Hunn writes. “The twin standards of Bluetooth low energy and Bluetooth cover the full diversity of products that range from simple sensors in Assisted Living (which need battery lives of many years), to complex monitors that stream waveform data.”
More here.
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