Postscapes: Tracking the Internet of Things

UbiComp 2013

2013-05-03T18:06:15Z

In 2013, the Pervasive and UbiComp conferences have merged. The result? The first joint conference will be UbiComp 2013, held in Zurich, Switzerland from Sept 8th through the 12th.

Topics for submissions include:

Systems & infrastructures: descriptions of the design, architecture, deployment and evaluation of systems and infrastructures that support ubiquitous computing

Devices & techniques: descriptions of the design, architecture, usage and evaluation of devices and techniques that create valuable new capabilities for ubiquitous computing

Applications & experiences: descriptions of the design and/or empirical study of applications that leverage Ubicomp devices and systems

Methodologies & tools: new methods and tools applied to studying or building Ubicomp systems and applications

Theories & models: critical analysis or organizing theory with clear relevance to the design or study of Ubicomp systems

Workshops this year include:

HomeSys 2013: Workshop on Design, Technology, Systems and Applications for the Home
UbiMI'13: Second International Workshop on Ubiquitous Mobile Instrumentation
HiCUE 2013: Workshop on Human Interfaces for Civic and Urban Engagement
WoT 2013: Fourth International Workshop on the Web of Things

More details about the event can be found at: Ubicomp.org/ubicomp2013/

Bytes and Atoms Event

2013-05-03T17:41:49Z

Bytes & Atoms will take this place this year on Tuesday, May 21st in Boston.

The event is sponsored by O'Reilly Media, IXDA Boston, Brightcove, Involution Studios and Pivotal Labs and will focus on exploring "the next great shift in interaction design" where the digital meets the physical.

"Through real-world stories and demonstrations, learn how people are combining data and physical products: From using sensors in retail spaces for generating customer interaction data and analytics, to measuring building performance for energy and occupancy, to controlling physical environments through gestural interaction."

Speakers for the event include Laurence Koret, Juhan Sonin, Scott Sullivan, Erin Rae Hoffer and Erik Dahl with talks on:

Interconnected Intelligent Space – Today and Tomorrow
Leon's Interview: An ode to non-invasive, hyper surveillance
Programming Innovation: Hardware Hacking
Brick and Mortar Data Shadows

More details about the event can be found at: Bytesandatoms.com

Internet of Things Books

2013-03-24T21:34:27Z

Internet of Things Related Books

The "Internet of Things" covers a huge range of subjects from embedded operating sytems and microcontrollers to wireless protocols and everything in between. Below we have organized a list of publications giving you an overview of the topic all the way down to helping you start on your own connected project using an Arduino or a Raspberry Pi.

Overview
	Shaping Things By: Bruce Sterling Description: "Shaping Things is about created objects and the environment, which is to say, it's about everything," writes Bruce Sterling in this addition to the Mediawork Pamphlet series. He adds, "Seen from sufficient distance, this is a small topic." Price: $20.95 (MIT) $13.20 (Amazon)
	Meta Products - Building the Internet of Things By: Wimer Hazenberg, Menno Huisman Description: Meta Products discusses the rise of the Internet of Things, a twenty-first century phenomenon in which physical consumer products (meta products) connect to the web and start communicating with each other by means of sensors and actuators. A must-read for trendwatchers, product design agencies, R&D departments, and anyone interested in the next wave of consumer technology. Price: - Free Online $27.10 (Amazon)
	Everyware: The Dawning Age of Ubiquitous Computing By Adam Greenfield Description: Smart buildings, smart furniture, smart clothing... even smart bathtubs. networked street signs and self-describing soda cans. Gestural interfaces like those seen in Minority Report. All of these are facets of the ubiquitous computing author Adam Greenfield calls "everyware." In a series of brief, thoughtful meditations, Greenfield explains how everyware is already reshaping our lives, transforming our understanding of the cities we live in, the communities we belong to--and the way we see ourselves. Price: $22.94, Kindle $15.39 (Amazon) Reviews: 4/5 14 customers
	Trillions - Thriving in the Emerging Information Ecology By: Peter Lucas, Joe Ballay, Mickey McManus Description: We have literally permeated our world with computation. But more significant than mere numbers is the fact we are quickly figuring out how to make those processors communicate with each other, and with us. We are about to be faced, not with a trillion isolated devices, but with a trillion-node network: a network whose scale and complexity will dwarf that of today’s Internet. And, unlike the Internet, this will be a network not of computation that we use, but of computation that we live in. Price: $22.94, Kindle $16.99 (Amazon) Reviews 4/5 from 11 customers $22.99 (Itunes)
	Additional: Volume 28: Internet of Things Editor in Chief: Arjen Oosterman Divining a Digital Future - Mess and Mythology in Ubiquitous Computing By Paul Dourish, Genevieve Bell Code/Space: Software and Everyday Life By Rob Kitchin, Martin Dodge Throughout: Art and Culture Emerging with Ubiquitous Computing Edited by Ulrik Ekman Kindle: SmartStuff: an introduction to the Internet of Things By W. David Stephenson
DIY
	Building Internet of Things with the Arduino (Volume 1) By: Charalampos Doukas Description: In Building Internet of Things with the Arduino, you’ll learn the basic concepts and features of the Internet of Things and build projects utilizing the Arduino platform. You’ll discover fundamental concepts of cloud computing, sensor reading and connecting the Arduino to the Internet, using both wired and wireless interfaces and Android phones. Price: $27.00 (Amazon) Reviews: 4/5 with 11 reviews $30.00 (Create Space)
	Making Things Talk - Using Sensors, Networks, and Arduino to see, hear, and feel your world By: Tom Igoe Description: Building electronic projects that interact with the physical world is good fun. But when devices that you've built start to talk to each other, things really start to get interesting. Through a series of simple projects, you'll learn how to get your creations to communicate with one another by forming networks of smart devices that carry on conversations with you and your environment. Price: $23.20, Kindle $15.12 (Amazon) Reviews 4/5 from 10 customers $34.99, Ebook $27.99 (O'Reilly)
	Environmental Monitoring with Arduino - Building Simple Devices to Collect Data About the World Around Us By: Emily Gertz , Patrick Di Justo Description: This inspiring guide shows you how to use Arduino to create gadgets for measuring noise, weather, electromagnetic interference (EMI), water purity, and more. You’ll also learn how to collect and share your own data, and you can experiment by creating your own variations of the gadgets covered in the book. Price: $7.99 (O'Reilly) $4.99 Ebook $7.19 (Amazon)
	Building Wireless Sensor Networks - with ZigBee, XBee, Arduino, and Processing By: Rob Faludi Description: Get ready to create distributed sensor systems and intelligent interactive devices using the ZigBee wireless networking protocol and Series 2 XBee radios. By the time you're halfway through this fast-paced, hands-on guide, you'll have built a series of useful projects, including a complete ZigBee wireless network that delivers remotely sensed data. Price: $34.99, Ebook $27.99 (O'Reilly) $20.17, Kindle $15.39 (Amazon) Review: 4.5 with 24 Reviews - Kit used in book from Sparkfun
	Distributed Network Data - From hardware to data to visualization By Alasdair Allan, Kipp Bradford Description: Build your own distributed sensor network to collect, analyze, and visualize real-time data about our human environment—including noise level, temperature, and people flow. With this hands-on book, you’ll learn how to turn your project idea into working hardware, using the easy-to-learn Arduino microcontroller and off-the-shelf sensors. Price: $19.99, Ebook $15.99 (O'Reilly) Review: 5/5 with 2 reviews $15.99, Kindle $9.99 (Amazon) Review: 5/5 with 2 reviews
	Getting Started with the Internet of Things - Connecting Sensors and Microcontrollers to the Cloud By: Cuno Pfister Description: This hands-on guide shows you how to start building your own fun and fascinating projects. Learn to program embedded devices using the .NET Micro Framework and the Netduino Plus board. Then connect your devices to the Internet with Pachube, a cloud platform for sharing real-time sensor data. All you need is a Netduino Plus, a USB cable, a couple of sensors, an Ethernet connection to the Internet—and your imagination. Price: $24.99 , Ebook $19.99 (O'Reilly) $15.72, Ebook $9.99 (Amazon) Reviews: 4/5 with 13 reviews
	Additional: iOS Sensor Apps with Arduino - Wiring the iPhone and iPad into the Internet of Things By Alasdair Allan Physical Computing: Sensing and Controlling the Physical World with Computers Programming Your Home: Automate with Arduino, Android, and Your Computer By Mike Riley Arduino + Android Projects for the Evil Genius - Control Arduino with Your Smartphone or Tablet By Simon Monk Raspberry Pi Home Automation with Arduino By Andrew K. Dennis
Business & Design
	Smart Things: Ubiquitous Computing User Experience Design By: Mike Kuniavsky Description: Smart Things presents a problem-solving approach to addressing designers' needs and concentrates on process, rather than technological detail, to keep from being quickly outdated. It pays close attention to the capabilities and limitations of the medium in question and discusses the tradeoffs and challenges of design in a commercial environment. Price: $42.95 (Elsevier) $33.84 (Amazon) Reviews: 4.5/5 from 15 customers
	Designing the Internet of Things (Twitter Account, Book Blog) By: Adrian McEwen, Hakim Cassimally Description: If you'd like to create the next must-have product, this unique book is the perfect place to start. Both a creative and practical primer, it explores the platforms you can use to develop hardware or software, discusses design concepts that will make your products eye-catching and appealing, and shows you ways to scale up from a single prototype to mass production. Price: $15.81 (Amazon)
	Additional: Ubiquitous Computing for Business - Find New Markets, Create Better Businesses, and Reach Customers Around the World 24-7-365 By Bo Begole Grounded Innovation - Strategies for Creating Digital Products By Lars Erik Holmquist Smart Products, Smarter Services: Strategies for Embedded Control By Mary J. Cronin Designing for Interaction: Creating Innovative Applications and Devices By Dan Saffer
Built Environment
	City of Bits: Space, Place, and the Infobahn By: William J. Mitchell Description: William Mitchell makes extensive use of practical examples and illustrations in a technically well-grounded yet accessible examination of architecture and urbanism in the context of the digital telecommunications revolution, the ongoing miniaturization of electronics, the commodification of bits, and the growing domination of software over materialized form. Price: $20.85, Kindle $13.19 (Amazon) Review 3.5/5 from 13 customers
	Check In Check Out: The Public Space as an Internet of Things By: Christian van t Hof, Floortje Daemen, Rinie van Est Description: The book charts this international trend, using case studies in Shanghai, Tokyo, London and Rio de Janeiro, as well as cities in the Netherlands. What are the consequences of an ultra-monitored society? When does the technology aid us and when does it restrict us? Who wields control over the technology? And who sits behind the contraptions that are tracking us? Expert authors tackle these questions and make recommendations for the future. Price: $30.00 (NAi) $29.98 (Amazon)
	Additional: Situated Technologies Pamphlet Series Digital Ground: Architecture, Pervasive Computing, and Environmental Knowing By Malcolm McCullough Ambient Commons - Attention in the Age of Embodied Information By Malcolm McCullough Sentient City: Ubiquitous Computing, Architecture, and the Future of Urban Space By Mark Shepard
Technical
	Interconnecting Smart Objects with IP - The Next Internet By: Jean-Philippe Vasseur & Adam Dunkels Description: This book consists of three parts, Part I focuses on the architecture of smart objects networking, Part II covers the hardware, software, and protocols for smart objects, and Part III provides case studies on how and where smart objects are being used today and in the future. The book covers the fundamentals of IP communication for smart objects, IPv6, and web services, as well as several newly specified low-power IP standards such as the IETF 6LoWPAN adaptation layer and the RPL routing protocol. Price: $58.89, Kindle $55.95 (Amazon) Reviews: 4.5/5 with 20 reviews
	The Internet of Things: Key Applications and Protocols By: Olivier Hersent, David Boswarthick, Omar Elloumi Description: An all-in-one reference to the major Home Area Networking, Building Automation and AMI protocols, including 802.15.4 over radio or PLC, 6LowPAN/RPL, ZigBee 1.0 and Smart Energy 2.0, Zwave, LON, BACNet, KNX, ModBus, mBus, C.12 and DLMS/COSEM, and the new ETSI M2M system level standard. In-depth coverage of Smart-grid and EV charging use cases. Price: $90.93, Kindle $84.99 (Amazon)
	The Internet of Things in the Cloud: A Middleware Perspective By: Honbo Zhou (Presentation) Description: The Internet of Things in the Cloud: A Middleware Perspective provides a comprehensive introduction to the IoT and its development worldwide. It gives you a panoramic view of the IoT landscape—focusing on the overall technological architecture and design of a tentatively unified IoT framework underpinned by Cloud computing from a middleware perspective. Price: $89.96, Kindle $79.96 (Amazon)
	Architecting the Internet of Things Edited By: Dieter Uckelmann, Mark Harrison, Florian Michahelles (Postscapes Interview) Description: The authors in this book provide a research perspective on current and future developments in the Internet of Things. The different chapters cover a broad range of topics from system design aspects and core architectural approaches to end-user participation, business perspectives and applications. Price: $109.93 (Amazon) $119 Ebook (Springer)
	Internet of Things: Legal Perspectives By: Rolf H. Weber, Romana Weber Description: The Internet of Things as an emerging global Internet-based information architecture facilitating the exchange of goods and services is gradually developing. While the technology of the Internet of Things is still being dis-cussed and created, the legal framework should be established before the Internet of Things is fully operable, in order to allow for an effective introduction of the new information architecture. Price: $97.73 (Amazon)
	Additional: Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks: Enabling Wireless Sensors With IEEE 802.15.4 6LoWPAN: The Wireless Embedded Internet
Critique and Issues
	To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism By: Evgeny Morozov Description: In the very near future, “smart” technologies and “big data” will allow us to make large-scale and sophisticated interventions in politics, culture, and everyday life. Technology will allow us to solve problems in highly original ways and create new incentives to get more people to do the right thing. But how will such “solutionism” affect our society, once deeply political, moral, and irresolvable dilemmas are recast as uncontroversial and easily manageable matters of technological efficiency? Price: $19.19, Kindle $14.99 (Amazon) Reviews 4.5/5 from 8 customers
	Additional: Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other By Sherry Turkle Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now

REALWSN 2013: Real-World Wireless Sensor Networks

2013-04-24T16:55:07Z

The fifth Workshop on Real-World Wireless Sensor Networks (REALWSN) will be taking place this year from September 19th to the 20th in Como Lake, Italy.

Description:
The purpose of the fifth Workshop on Real-World Wireless Sensor Networks (REALWSN) is to bring together researchers and practitioners working in the area of sensor networks, with focus on real-world experiments or deployments. Included are, nontheless, new forms of sensing such as those that leverage smart phones, Internet of Things, RFIDs, and robots.

Topics include:

Experiences with real-world deployments
Mining real-world sensor network data
Sensor systems leveraging smart phones (crowd sensing)
Real-world performance of self-organization and self-management
Deployment and configuration
Applications in medicine, industry, science, environmental monitoring
Robustness at all levels: communication, software, hardware
Energy efficient protocols

Complete details about the event can be found at: Realwsn.deib.polimi.it

Internet of Things Hardware

2013-04-24T17:16:16Z

Internet of Things Hardware

Below is a list of some popular boards and development platforms to help you with your latest DIY project or prototype.

The listings are organized on a general level by computing power, size and overall costs of the solutions. They should not necessarily be compared side by side as there are large differences between them in their ideal use cases, energy requirements, OS, etc.

A list of articles and resources at the bottom of the page can help you navigate some of the differences if you are just getting started.


	PanStamps Description: panStamps are small wireless modules programmable from the Arduino IDE. Each module contains an Atmega328p MCU and a Texas Instruments CC1101 RF interface, providing the necessary connectivity and processing power to create autonomous low-power wireless motes.	Price: $18.55 Specs & Features: Atmel Atmega328P at 8MHz Operating voltage: from 2.5 VDC to 3.6 VDC Current consumption: 1 uA when in deep sleep mode Connectivity: Sub-1 GHz RF Transceiver 868/915 MHz Open Source: Yes GNU GPL v2

	TinyDuino Description: The TinyCircuits TinyDuino is an Arduino compatible board in an ultra compact package. Imagine the possibilities of having the full power of an Arduino Uno in a size less than a quarter!	Price: $19.95 Specs & Features: Atmega328P processor 32KB Flash, 2KB RAM, 1KB EEPROM Arduino and LilyPad Compatible 20 I/Os (14 Digital, 6 Analog / Digital I/O) - All the signals on the Arduino Shield connectors are supported Connectivity: Via add-on shields (Bluetooth, WiFi, etc) Open Source: Yes

	Arduino Uno Description: Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It's intended for artists, designers, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments.	Price: $29.95 Specs & Features: ATmega328 microcontroller 14 Digital I/O Pins (6 PWM outputs) 32k Flash Memory Connectivity: Can be extended with shields (Wifi, GSM, Bluetooth, etc) Open Source: Yes GPL and the C/C++ microcontroller libraries are under the LGPL

	RFduino Description: A finger-tip sized, Arduino compatible, wireless enabled microcontroller, low cost enough to leave in all of your projects!	Price: $21 and up Specs & Features: Nordic 32 bit ARM Cortex-M0 processor 7 GPIO and fully software selectable and can be remapped as you wish Your standard Arduino sketches run on the RFduino Connectivity: Bluetooth Low-Energy 4.0 built-in Open Source: Yes

	XinoRF Description: The XinoRF is an Arduino UNO R3 compatible electronics development board with an onboard 2-wayCiseco SRF data radio, which supports over-the-air programming. See Also: RFµ-328	Price: £30.00 Specs & Features ATmega328 P-PU micro-controller (32kb flash, 2kb RAM, 1kb EEPROM) Lots of I/O - 14 DIO (6 PWM, 6 analog, 40ma output) Over the air programming Connectivity: SRF-U wireless Open Source: Yes

	Ciseco: OpenKontrol Gateway Description: The OpenKontrol Gateway is the product everyone (including us) has been eagerly waiting for. It supports WiFi, low power RF (many types), Ethernet and Bluetooth. It's designed to be used 24 hours a day so it's incredibly low power at just half a watt (based on XRF radio, XV wifi module, SD, RTC and SRAM).	Price: £30.90- Specs & Features: Atmel 328 (with pre-loaded UNO bootloader) SD Card Reader Kit (Surface mount SD card socket) 32k SRAM Memory RTC Kit (DS1307, socket, crystal, CR2032 coin cell, coin cell holder, 5V regulator, capacitor) Connectivity: Ethernet and expandable to GSM, XRF radio module, RN-XV WiFi module Open Source: Yes

	Pinoccio Description: A wireless, web-ready microcontroller with WiFi, LiPo battery, & built-in radio. An API to get your board talking to the Web right out of the box.	Price: $49.00-99.00 Specs & Features: Atmel ATmega256RFR2 with built-in radio 17 digital I/O pins 8 analog input pins 16MHz MCU32k SRAM LiPo rechargeable battery On-board temperature sensor Connectivity: 802.15.4 & WiFi Open Source: Yes

	Raspberry Pi Description: The Raspberry Pi is a single-board computer developed in the UK by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized computer that plugs into your TV and a keyboard. It's a capable little PC which can be used for many of the things that your desktop PC does.	Price: $35 Specs & Features: Broadcom BCM2835 700MHz ARM1176JZFS processor with FPU and Videocore 4 GPU 512 Megabytes of RAM HDMI SD Card socket Connectivity: Ethernet. Expandable with USB and shields to other options (See: Raspberry Pi Wireless Options) Open Source: Partial

	BeagleBone Black Description: BeagleBone Black is a community-supported development platform for developers and hobbyists. Boot Linux in under 10 seconds and get started on development in less than 5 minutes with just a single USB cable.	Price: $45 Specs & Features: AM335x 1GHz ARM® Cortex-A8 2GB of on-board flash and a microSD card reader HDMI 2x 46 pin headers Connectivity: Ethernet Open Source: Partial

	CubieBoard Description: The Cubieboard is a new Allwinner A10 based developer board, with a very wide range of IO options. The board is set apart by offering SATA and an extended pin interface for low level access to the SOC.	Price: $49.00 Specs & Features: 1G ARM cortex-A8 processor, NEON, VFPv3, 256KB L2 cache 512M/1GB DDR3 @480MHz 96 extend pin including I2C, SPI, RGB/LVDS, CSI/TS, FM-IN, ADC, CVBS, VGA, SPDIF-OUT, R-TP. HDMI Connectivity: Ethernet Open Source: Partial

	Arduino Due Description: The Due is Arduino's first ARM-based Arduino development board. This board is based on a powerful 32bit CortexM3 ARM microcontroller made programmable through the familiar Arduino IDE.	Price: $49.95 Specs & Features: Microcontroller: AT91SAM3X8E 96 KBytes of SRAM 512 KBytes of Flash memory for code. Connectivity: Can be extended with shields (Wifi, GSM, Bluetooth, etc) Open Source: Yes GPL and the C/C++ microcontroller libraries are under the LGPL

	mbed - LPC1768 Description: The mbed Microcontrollers are a series of ARM microcontroller development boards designed for rapid prototyping. The platform includes a standards-based C/C++ SDK, a microcontroller HDK and supported development boards.	Price:$49.95 - See Also: mbed FRDM KL25Z ($12.95) Specs & Features: 32-bit ARM Cortex-M3 core running at 96MHz Web-based C/C++ programming environment 512KB FLASH, 32KB RAM USB Host/Device, 2xSPI, 2xI2C, 3xUART, CAN, 6xPWM, 6xADC, GPIO Connectivity: Ethernet Open Source: Partial

	pcDuino Description: pcDuino is a high performance, cost effective mini PC platform that runs PC like OS such as Ubuntu and Android ICS. The platform could run full blown PC like OS with easy to use tool chain and compatible with the popular Arduino ecosystem such as Arduino Shield.	Price: $59.95 Specs & Features: 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 CPU 1GB DRAM Onboard Storage: 2GB Flash, microSD card Arduino-Style Peripheral Headers HDMI Connectvitiy: Ethernet Open Source: Partial

	OpenPicus Flyport WiFi Description: Flyport is a powerful and low-cost system on module (SOM) with embedded Internet connectivity. Flyport transforms a sensor into an internet datalogger, a simple relay - into a remote controlled automation and much more.	Price: € 49.00 Specs & Features: Microchip PIC24FJ256 16bi Low power - hibernation mode supported Peripherals: up to 18 Digital I/O, 4 Analog Inputs (10bits ADC), 4 UARTs, SPI, I2C Flash memory: 16Mbit external flash Connectivity: WiFi, Other options include Ethernet and GPRS Open Source: Yes

	Hackberry Description: Based on the popular 1.2Ghz ARM Allwinner A10, the Hackberry A10 developer board is a powerful, hackable Android / Linux PC. The Hackberry A10 has both WiFi and Ethernet.	Price: $65.00 Specs & Features: 1.2GHz Allwinner A10 ARM Cortex A8 DDR3 512MB / 1GB 4GB NAND storage HDMI Connectivity: 10/100 Ethernet, Realtek 802.11n WiFi Open Source: No

	UDOO Description: UDOO is a multi development platform solution for Android, Linux, Arduino™ and Google ADK 2012. The board is designed to provide a flexible environment that allows to explore the new frontiers of the Internet of Things.	Price: $109-129.00 Specs & Features: Freescale i.MX 6 ARM Cortex-A9 CPU Dua/Quad core 1GHz Atmel SAM3X8E ARM Cortex-M3 CPU RAM DDR3 1GB 54 Digital I/O + Analog Input (Arduino-compatible R3 1.0 pinout) HDMI and LVDS + Touch (I2C signals) Connectivity: Ethernet, WiFi Open Source: Yes - CC Attribution Share-Alike license

	Libelium Wasmote Description: Waspmote is an open source wireless sensor platform specially focused on the implementation of low consumption modes to allow the sensor nodes ("motes") to be completely autonomous and battery powered, offering a variable lifetime between 1 and 5 years depending on the duty cycle and the radio used.	Price: €153.00- Specs & Features: ATmega1281 Over the air programming 60 sensors available to connect to Waspmote On-Board Temperature and Accelerometer Hibernate mode consumers just 0.06µA. Connectivity: 8 different wireless interfaces including long range (3G / GPRS), medium range (802.15.4, ZigBee, WiFi) and short range (Bluetooth, RFID, NFC) Open Source: Yes - LGPL license

	The Rascal Description: The Rascal is a small computer that you can use to monitor and control the world remotely. It's like the brains of an iPhone, without the corporate overlord. The Rascal is powerful enough to handle real web traffic, but you don't have to be a professional electrical engineer to use one.	Price: $199 (W/4 GB memory card and power supply) Specs & Features: Web server includes a built-in editor Atmel AT91SAM9G20 400 MHz, 64 MB RAM. Program in Python 2 32MByte SDRAM chips Connectivity: Ethernet Open Source: Yes

Additional:

RadioBlock: The RadioBlock Is an IEEE 802.15.4 wireless modem with on board mesh-networking out of the box. $22
reelyActive: Connecting sub 1GHz and soon BLE to the cloud via radio-sensor "reels". An innovative architecture that combines wireless identification, location and communication. Reels automatically connect and interact with radio devices in range, seamlessly relaying information to and from the reelyActive cloud service.
CoAction Hero: A powerful proto-board with a 120Mhz processor, 1MB filesystem, and built-in OS for tinkerers and engineers alike. Two device boards (bluetooth and LCD) can be added.
MICA2: 868, 916 MHZ - The MICA2 Mote is a third generation mote module used for enabling low-power, wireless, sensor networks. The MICA2 processor radio is fully supported by the MoteWorks Software Platform.
TELOSB: Crossbow’s TelosB mote is an open source platform designed to enable cutting-edge experimentation for the research community. The TelosB bundles all the essentials for lab studies into a single platform including: USB programming capability, an IEEE 802.15.4 radio with integrated antenna, a low-power MCU with extended memory and an optional sensor suite. 77.00€
Zolertia Z1 module: A general purpose development platform for wireless sensor networks (WSN) designed for researchers, developers, enthusiasts and hobbyists. It is a platform compatible with the successful Tmote™-family motes with several enhancements that offers roughly a 2x performance in several aspects. Ready-to-use 802.15.4 module, equipped with a temperature & accelerometer on-board sensors and Plug-and-play capabilities for external sensors (with Phidgets™). €95.00

Ethernet Base:

TSgaTe: Based on a powerful, low-power 32-bit microcontroller with an ARM Cortex-M3 core at 72 MHz with 64 KB RAM and 512 KB Flash memory. Via the Ethernet port or through one of the available expansion modules, the TSgaTe acts as a gateway betweenTSmoTe devices and software applications in remote servers. There are multiple expansion modules available for the TSgaTe supporting different wireless technologies: ZigBee, Wi-Fi, GPRS, RFID/NFC, GPS, RS485. $Contact directly
MarsBoard A10 Dev Board: The MarsBoard is a very low-cost board,with the size of credit card. Based on the popular 1.2Ghz ARM Allwinner A10, the MarsBoard is a powerful, hackable Android / Linux PC. Ethernet, 3D acceleration and hardware video decoding are available in this board $49.95
Netduino Plus 2: The Netduino Plus is an open source electronics platform using the .NET Micro Framework. The board features a 32-bit microcontroller and a rich development environment, making it a perfect solution for engineers and hobbyists alike. $59.95
Ethernet Web PIC Development Board: The PIC-WEB Development Board is a very small but powerful webserver based on the PIC18F67J60. $51.95
APC: APC runs a custom Android system, built for keyboard and mouse input. A basic selection of applications is preinstalled. Also included is a full set of consumer I/O ports, enabling APC to connect to your PC monitor or TV. $99
PandaBoard ES: The PandaBoard is a low-power, low-cost single-board computer development platform based on the Texas Instruments OMAP4430 system on a chip (SoC). $182

With WiFi:

Spark Core: The Spark Core is an Arduino-compatible, Wi-Fi enabled, cloud-powered development platform that makes creating internet-connected hardware a breeze. $39
Electric Imp Development Boards: Hannah is a development board for the hobbyist with many useful peripherals on board. $25.00
Wandboard Dual: Wandboard Dual Freescale i.MX6 Cortex-A9 Development Board is an ultra low power complete computer. Comes with a dazzling 1Ghz processor HDMI display interface and gigabit ethernet. It also features 1GB of memory as well as onboard Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. $93.95
WiSmart EC32Sxx Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n Module Family: WiSmart EC32Sxx is a family of Ultra low Power Application Ready versatile modules, which can fit into any existing or new electronic device to add Wi-Fi functionality.

Base Boards: (Connectivity by shield, USB, etc)

Ti Stellaris Launchpad: The Tiva C Series TM4C123G LaunchPad Evaluation Kit is a low-cost evaluation platform for ARM® Cortex™-M4-based microcontrollers from Texas Instruments. $12.99
Teensy 3.0: Teensy 3.0, an affordable 32 bit ARM Cortex-M4 board, for development in Arduino or C/C++. $19
Maple: As similar as it may be to the Arduino, the differences are what really make the Maple stand out. It harnesses the power of a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M3 clocked at 72 MHz to push 39 GPIOs, 16 analog pins, 12-bit ADC resolution and 15 PWM pins at 16-bit resolution. $45
freeSoC Development Kit: Imagine having the power of an FPGA, the flexibility of a microcontroller, and a handful of precision analog components all integrated into a single development kit. $74.99

Alternative:

Project Sun SPOT: A Sun SPOT device is a small, wireless, battery powered experimental platform. It is programmed in Java, allowing programmers to create projects that used to require specialized embedded system development skills. The hardware platform includes a range of built-in sensors as well as the ability to easily interface to external devices. $399 Development Kit
Shimmer: Shimmer is a small wireless sensor platform that can record and transmit physiological and kinematic data in real-time.Designed as a wearable sensor, Shimmer incorporates wireless ECG, EMG, GSR, Accelerometer, Gyro, Mag, GPS, Tilt and Vibration sensors. €199.00
Embedded Pi: The Embedded Pi, based on STMicroelectronics Cortex-M3 STM32F103 MCU, is an accessory for Raspberry Pi, with Arduino footprint (I/O headers rev3) to give easy access to Arduino shields; it’s a triple-play platform for Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and 32-bit embedded ARM.

Mini-PC "Sticks"

Rikomagic MK802 III $54.98

Companies:

Wiznet
"WIZnet is a leading Add-on Internet Connectivity Provider for small devices in Ethernet and WiFi markets."
RovingNetworks
"We specialize in high quality, low power, incredibly easy-to-use, certified Bluetooth and Wi-Fi modules."
SynapseWireless
Millennial Net
Novatel
"Novatel Wireless, Inc. is a leader in the design and development of intelligent wireless solutions based on 2G, 3G and 4G technologies.'
GainSpan
"Start with low power chip technology, then build on it, with innovative architecture that takes care of the Wi-Fi connectivity and offloads your application processor, and what do you get? A line of products that offer simplicity, ultra low power, and fast design turnarounds - at the lowest possible cost - GainSpan Embedded Wi-Fi."
More IoT Hardware Companies

Articles & Resources:

StackExchange: Embedded Programming for Beginners: Arduino or Raspberry Pi?
Lelylan: Hardware solutions compared
cybergibbons: Arduino misconceptions 4: the Arduino is obsolete now the Raspberry Pi exists
Adafruit: ASK AN EDUCATOR! – “Whats the difference between Arduino, Raspberry Pi, BeagleBoard, etc?”
DesignSpark: Arduino or Raspberry Pi?
Jeff Hoogland: Raspberry Pi vs MK802
DoctorMonk: Raspberry Pi and Arduino

webiopi: Raspberry Pi Internet of Things framework
Cooking Hacks: Raspberry Pi to Arduino shields connection bridge
Directory: Raspberry Pi Wireless Options
Directory: Arduino Wireless Options

Coming Soon: Roundup listings for Wifi and Bluetooth Chipsets, Wireless sensors, etc.

Do you know of any other solutions that are missing from this list?

Raspberry Pi Wireless Options

2013-04-16T22:22:59Z

Raspberry Pi Wireless Options

Looking to expand your latest Raspberry Pi project beyond its Ethernet ties?

Below we take a look at a few possible choices including USB WiFi, WiFi Shields, Bluetooth, WiFi/Bluetooth USB Combos, RF Add-ons, and Cellular solutions to help get your wireless project up and running.

USB WiFi
	Dynamode: Wireless Nano USB 150 Mbps Adapter - WL-700N-RXS Description: Price: 10.98 (Amazon) £5.85 (Amazon UK) Ebay Search Tutorials: Case Study of a Cheap USB WiFi dongle for Noobs By Jim JKla

	Edimax: EW-7811Un 150 Mbps Wireless 11n Nano Size USB Adapter Note: With Raspbian Wheezy release (2012-09-18-Wheezy) this should be recognized immediately by the Pi, Price: $10.99 (Amazon) £8.26 (Amazon UK) $9.99 NewEgg Ebay Search Tutorials: Wolf Paulus: Tiny Wifi Adapter For Raspberry Pi (Feb 2013) Savage Home Automation: Raspberry Pi - Installing the Edimax EW-7811Un USB WiFi Adapter (WiFiPi) Niels Joubert: Wifi on the Raspberry Pi using EDIMAX EW-7811Un and the 2012-12-16 wheezy raspbian image Elinux.org: RPi edimax EW-7811Un Frode Bang: How To Install The Edimax Ew-7811un Wifi Adapter On The Raspberry Pi KP4TR: PalmTree Initiative: How to setup a Raspberry Pi with a hidden network using a Edimax EW-7811Un (Jan 2013) Maurice Svay: Setting Up A Wifi Connection On The Raspberrypi Tomasz Miklas: Raspberry Pi meets Edimax EW-7811Un wireless adapter (May 2012)

	Airlink AWLL5099: Fully compatible Wireless N 150 Ultra Mini-USB Adapter Price: $10.85 (Amazon) Ebay Search Tutorials: Savage Home: Raspberry Pi Installing the Airlink 101 Wireless N 150 Ultra Mini-USB Adapter

	Belkin f6d4050 150n Wireless Usb Adapter Price: $24.99 (Belkin) $12.60 (Amazon) Ebay Search Tutorials: Iggy's Geek Blog: Wireless N Raspberry Pi! Belkin F6D4050

	Additional: Pi Hut: USB Wifi Adapter for the Raspberry Pi £9.99 Adafruit: Miniature WiFi (802.11b/g/n) Module: For Raspberry Pi and more $11.95 (RTl8192cu Chipset) - Instruction Video: Wifi Wireless Internet on Raspberry Pi! "How To" Tutorial from NYC CNC - Adafruit's Raspberry Pi Lesson 3. Network Setup ELEMENT14 - WIPI - DONGLE, WIFI, USB, FOR RASPBERRY PI £10.00 Tenda Wireless - N150 USB Network Adapter (WiFi Dongle) £8.99 ModMyPi - Wireless USB 11N Nano Adaptor 802.11N £7.49 (Realtek 8188CU Chipset) Wireless Data for you Raspberry Pi via FreedomPop / Forum Thread / Service Airlink AWLL5088 vs Edimax EW-7811Un WiFi USB Ralink/Realtek Wireless Dongle (rt3070) on the Raspberry Pi Notes: - Keep in mind Wi-Fi can draw more power than the Raspberry Pi USB port can provide out of the box. - WiFi adapters that support the RTL8192cu chipset are helpful as it is supported in both the latest Raspbian release and Adafruits Occidentalis distributions. - Raspbian releases after 2012-10-28 include a WiFi configuration utility.

RF:
	Ciseco: Slice of Radio Description: The Slice of Radio is an easy to use, secure, two way RF transceiver for the Raspberry Pi. Comes as a pre built module so is plug and play, it utilises the Raspberry Pi's on board serial port (UART @ 9600bps) for communication so needs no driver. Being so low profile, the Slice of Radio will fit inside some Pi cases, the Stealth and Pi-Bow have been tried already. Price: £9.99 (inc VAT) More Details - Installation Guide

	Ciseco Slice of Pi Description: The Slice of Pi is a convienient 3 in 1 product. In addition to being a small break out board for the Raspberry PI pins, it has also a socket for a wireless module and a small prototyping area. An XBee style connector for XRF (£11.88) / XBee / RN-XV ($34.95) etc, and can support OTAMP (over the air micro programming) to another XRF family device. Price: £3.90 (inc VAT) More Details Tutorials: Dr Monk: Raspberry Pi and Wireless Sensor "In this blog entry, I used one of their wireless sensor modules (in this case temperature) with a pair of XRF RF modems to add remote wireless temperature sensing to the Raspberry Pi using the serial connection on the GPIO pins."

WiFi Shield:

Cooking Hacks: Raspberry Pi WiFi Shield

Description:
Wifi shield for Raspberry Pi allows to communicate your Raspberry Pi with your router through WiFi protocol. The RN-XV module by Roving Networks is a certified Wi-Fi solution especially designed for customer who want to migrate their existing 802.15.4 architecture to a standard TCP/IP based platform without having to redesign their existing hardware.

Price:
€80.00

More Details

- Tutorial

USB WiFi/Bluetooth Combo:
	PLANEX 2 in 1 Micro Size USB Bluetooth3.0 WiFi Combo Adapter -(BT-Micro3H2X) - Product page (In Japanese) Description: "Motorola employs highly stable stack, combo Bluetooth & Wi-Fi USB adapter of two one role. Bluetooth: support standard Bluetooth ver 3.0 + HS, WiFi: IEEE802.11n, IEEE802.11g, IEEE802.11b" Price: $27.64 (Amazon)

	Cirago Bluetooth 3.0 High Speed & Wi-Fi Combo USB Mini Adapter, Class 2 (BTA7300) Description: "The adapter combines the latest Bluetooth 3.0 + HS technology with 802.11n Wi-Fi capabilities. Without interference between the two signals, it supports Wi-Fi transfer rate of up to 150 Mbps and Bluetooth of up to 24 Mbps - up to eight times faster than Bluetooth 2.1 and Bluetooth 3.0!" Price: $26.80 (Amazon) $39.99 Manufacturer Lindy USB Bluetooth 3.0 HS + WLAN Adapter, Class 2 (Lindy No.52213): £33.46

	Notes: - Connection drivers help: BlueZ, Blueman GUI - Keep in mind Wi-Fi/Bluetooth dongles can draw more power than the Pi USB port can provide out of the box. - Raspberry Pi Forum Thread: Wi-fi/Bluetooth combo dongle

Bluetooth:
	Cooking Hacks: Bluetooth Shield For Raspberry Pi Description: Bluetooth shield for Raspberry Pi allows to get a serial communication between your Raspberry Pi and other devices through Bluetooth protocol. Price: €86.00 More Details - Tutorial Pro Version: €115.00 "The Bluetooth PRO shield for Raspberry Pi has been mainly designed to discover high amount of bluetooth devices along with its RSSI and Class of Device (CoD)."

	ModMyPi: Nano USB to Bluetooth Dongle V2.0: £2.99 - Instructions DFRobot: Bluetooth Adapter Mini Raspberry Pi Compatible: $4.95

	JY-MCU Arduino Bluetooth Wireless Serial Port Module Description: "The Bluetooth wireless serial port module, Drop-in replacement for wired serial connections, transparent usage. You can use it. It is simply for a serial port replacement to establish connection between MCU and GPS, PC to your embedded project and etc." Price: $8.20 (Deal Extreme) $11.29 (DH Gate) $14.28 (Amazon) Tutorial: Stewart Russell: Adding a Bluetooth serial terminal to Raspberry Pi Instructable by metanurb: Androino! Control an Arduino from your Android device using a cheap bluetooth module.

	Tutorials: Sanket Sonavane: Install Bluetooth Dongle on Raspberry Pi Bit Bang Theory: Installing Bluetooth Tools In Raspberry Pi kugelfish: Look Ma, no Wires! Raspberry Pi Bluetooth tethering Rahul Kar: Bluetooth pairing on Raspberry Pi with smartphone Pi Access: Setting up a Bluetooth serial port on Linux Miguel Grinberg: A cheap Bluetooth serial port for your Raspberry Pi Edward's Stuff (HylianSavior): Tethering the Raspberry Pi with an Android Phone over Bluetooth

	BTInterface: (App) "BTInterface is an Android application for communicating with a micro controller device such as the Arduino, the Raspberry Pi, PIC or others to provide control functions and much more over a bluetooth serial connection." - Intro Video

Cellular:
	Cooking Hacks: GPRS Sim900 Shield For Raspberry Pi Description: "GPRS SIM900 shield for Raspberry Pi offers GPRS connection to your Raspberry Pi board. It includes the SIM900 communication module from SIMCom. It is necessary an antenna in order to establish a communication." Price: €103.00 More Details - Tutorial

	Cooking Hacks: 3g/GPRS Shield For Raspberry Pi (3g+gps) Description: "This 3G shield for Raspberry enables the connectivity to high speed WCDMA and HSPA cellular networks in order to make possible the creation of the next level of worldwide interactivity projects inside the new "Internet of Things" era using your Raspberry Pi. Antennas not included." Price: €189.00 More Details - Tutorial

	Huawei E173 Unlocked HSDPA 7.2Mbps GSM 3G USB Modem Description: "Simply place your data enabled SIM (Not Included) into the Huawei E173 HSPA USB and plug the modem into the USB Slot on your laptop. Specifications: HSDPA/UMTS/WCDMA 2100MHz GSM / GPRS / EDGE 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900MHz HSDPA data transfer speed up to 7.2 Mpbs" Price: $29.39 (Amazon) Franklin U600 from Sprint / VirginMobile (plans) $34.88 (Walmart) $57.66 (Amazon) $69.99 (Virgin) - Linux instructions

	Additional: RockBLOCK: RockBLOCK can send and receive short messages from anywhere on Earth with a view of the sky using the Iridium Satellite network ‘Short Burst Data’ (SBD). Compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux computers (including Raspberry PI™) and many other platforms with USB or serial ports. Resources: BigCow Pi: Raspberry Pi as a 3g (Huawei E303) wireless (Edimax EW-7811Un) router, (Instructable) Anurag Chugh: Getting Vodafone 3G to work on Raspberry Pi in India using K3770-Z Reddit Thread: Model B and USB 3G Dongle Terence Eden: 3g Internet On Raspberry Pi - Success! Sakis3G "Sakis3G is a tweaked shell script which is supposed to work out-of-the-box for establishing a 3G connection with any combination of modem or operator." Notes: - Keep in mind 3g dongle can draw more power than the Raspberry Pi USB port can provide out of the box.

Additional Resources:

Elinux Pi resource list
Eve Alpha
3 Easy Steps to Install OpenELEC with WiFi on Raspberry Pi
Raspberry Pi SD Card w/ easy Wireless Setup and PiFace integration.
ControlMyPi:
Provides a web based service to allow simple Python scripts to be controlled from a panel over the Internet.
Raspberry Pi operating systems: 5 reviewed and rated - TechRadar

Projects:

University of Birmingham HCV Research Group: Build your own £40 wireless Freezer monitor alarm with a Raspberry Pi. August 2012 (PDF)
Openmicros: Live Temperature Logging on Pachube with a Xino, XBBO, XV & DS18B20
Characias: Open Garage Door (Video)
Brian Hensley: Raspberry Pi Robot + Wii remote (Uses Sabrent Micro USB Bluetooth Adapter)
Instructable by rjwarpath: Raspberry Pi: Completely Wireless IP Camera. Solar Battery Pack, WiFi, Logitech Camera, Raspbian
Jordan Burgess: Hacking a Raspberry Pi into a wireless airplay speaker (Uses Edimax EW-7811UN nano adapter)
Fuzzy Logic Robots: Raspberry Pi Wifi Internet Radio Player (Uses Edimax EW-7811Un USB Wifi)
Jordan Balagot: Raspberry Jolt, My Mini Nerf Gun Robot (Uses Edimax EW-7811Un)
Jeremy Blythe: Live Web Bicycle Dashboard using ControlMyPi (Uses 3g dongle)
Jason O'Donnell: Raspberry Pi PHP/Python Controlled WiFi Receptacle (Uses Adafruit USB)
Gilberto Garcia: HomeAlarmPlus Pi
Mark Fuge, Shiry Ginosar, and Valkyrie Savage: H2O IQ - automatic drip irrigation watering system - Video

Links / Logo Credit: Raspberry Pi Foundation

Related: Arduino Wireless Solutions

2013 Internet of Things Day

2013-04-09T01:58:14Z

Presented by the Internet of Things Council and Postscapes the Global Internet of Things day is taking place for the third time on April 9th. Last year there were events held in 16 countries and we expect this year to be even bigger yet.

The topic itself is exploding and we wanted to invite the #IoT Community to hold meetups, hackathons, or share a beer/coffee with others in your area interested in the topic.

More details about the day can be found at the main event site: http://iotevents.org/details/2013-internet-of-things-day or by viewing some of the Twitter posts from throughout the day below:

[View the story "2013 Internet of Things Day" on Storify]

IoT Interview Series: 9 questions with the CEO of Libelium Alicia Asín Pérez

2013-03-15T15:53:51Z

Last month Libelium, the Zaragoza, Spain based wireless sensor hardware provider announced a new version of its open source sensor platform Waspmote.

Libelium currently offers a full spectrum of products ranging from sensor motes to a full fledged gateway device. The company takes an agnostic view of connectivity with products offering support for multiple technologies (from long distance 3G/GPRS down to 802.15.4, NFC & Bluetooth) and over 60 types of plug and play sensors.

The new Waspmote features include a reduction in power consumption from the previous version by a factor of 10 (to 0.07uA- in hibernation mode), over the air programming capabilities, and a new development website to highlight the 500 “off the shelf” code examples ready for use.

We recently had the chance to ask Libelium's Co-Founder and CEO Alicia Asín Pérez about their product updates and how the company is seeing the Internet of Things space today and moving into the future.

Our interview follows.

What do you think sets Libelium's products apart the most from other offerings in the category?

The Internet of Things is rising now, there is a lot of buzz but still not very clear trends (even the market research firms don't know how to estimate the potential revenues). This means that modularity, horizontal and open source approaches are going to be key points. Our customers are experimenting with the Internet of Things and are not ready to commit to just one technology or set of sensors, they want to have all the possibilities instead of forecasting which technology will be the best one. In other words, we are not providing a closed product, but a development platform that allows to send any sensor data using any communication protocol to any information system.

Can you speak more to your team's approach on networking options and modular deployments for customers?

The point here is that we have always thought of the Internet of Things as something global and horizontal. When you see the IoT from that high level, it is completely impossible to find only one technology to address all the possible situations. 802.15.4 is cheap speaking in terms of power consumption, WiFi and Bluetooth are the easiest ways to connect to Smartphones and Urban wifi areas to create Smart Cities, NFC/RFID are gaining more and more traction in asset tracking and logistics and finally 3G/GPRS is just necessary if you want communication with the Internet anywhere. But going beyond this, we are sure that this is not the "final list" of protocols, there is a bunch of industrial protocols like Modbus, RS234, Profinet or CanBUS that need to get integrated in the IoT. It happens the same with sensors, we have integrated more than 60 and counting! With this fast integration of new technologies, modularity is key for us. It allows to keep the core and develop on top as add-ons. We like to say that we design "lego" pieces so that any customer can play them to her likeness. For customers this is also better, they get the impression of a fully customized designs without sacrificing flexibility.

How do you see the Internet of Things market shifting in the next several years?

I think that carriers will become more important, the natural evolution would be they own the sensor network infrastructure the same as they own the communication networks now, but it will be a much more sophisticated business model.

Are there any particular industries picking up on the opportunities faster than others? Are you seeing any particular unusual or innovative uses for your hardware?

Smart Parking and Lighting are definitively very strong and leading the Smart Cities movement. Agriculture is also a big opportunity, although the timing in this market is very slow. As for weird uses of our technology, our sensors have been used to track everything from koalas stress levels, all the way to monitoring the habitat of bats. But the application that was the most fun came during our "teaming day" at Libelium, were we went to a theme park and tracked the movements of the biggest roller coaster in Europe, don't miss the video!

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You have just updated a range of products from developer and customer feedback. For those in the initial planning stages of their projects is there a particular development feature that you think is most important to focus on in this fast changing market?

Modularity. You really need to be fast in integrating to your product the new technologies in the market.

Waspmote is Open Source and Libelium is also behind Cooking-Hacks.com. Can you speak to the vision of how you view Open Hardware and it's role in your company and the IoT in general?

The IoT is the next technical revolution as I have said before (Article on Opinno going into more specifics). When you are in front of such a revolution, you can neglect individuals. It is a big mistake thinking about the IoT players as big companies or just companies. If we look at the general sociopolitical situation, at the citizen movements all across the globe, we see that individuals are just claiming more transparency and not depending on governments and big companies for accessing data: people want Open Data, Open Source, Open Hardware, Open Funding... Because of that, we see projects like Safecast for detecting radiation levels in Fukushima or Air Quality Egg in the Netherlands. People want to do things on their own and are finding support in all the crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and companies backing Open hardware that allows them to access inexpensive technology. For example, we just lauch a kit for experiment with eHealth and we have already sold more than 1,000 units. People are being more creative and innovative than ever, and everyone needs tools for doing that. Those "tools" are sensors and providing them is our vision.

What's next for you and Libelium?

We have just launched the 2nd generation of Waspmote and will keep adding sensors and communication protocols to the platform. We are also working with companies like Thingworx, Digi or Axeda to integrate our sensors into their software monitoring platforms to make it faster and easier for our customers to deploy their projects. We also want to be closer to our developers/customers and thus have uploaded our API code to github so that anyone can be part of the process. We are also looking for distributors in the US and expect to have an office there by the end of 2013. As you can see, I have plenty of work!!

For those in the project planning process where is the best place to get in touch and find out more details about your updated offerings?

I think that the initial document is our 50 Sensor Applications for a Smarter World. It is an inspiring document that lists the most interesting applications grouped by vertical and introduces our range of products. We publish regularly case studies and product releases in our blog and anyone can follow us on Twitter, Youtube, using RSS or sign up to receive our newsletter. Finally, although we all live in a virtual world, it is nice to meet people face to face. We attend a number of events and anyone can ask for a live meeting through our website.

Shout-outs: Any sites/people/articles or books that have inspired you lately?

Regarding inspiration, I find the old skyscrapers in New York very inspiring. Most of them were built during the Great Depression and make me think that in big crisis like the one we are living there are also the greatest opportunities for creating amazing things. The artwork from Tomas Saraceno called "Cloud Cities" is also very inspiring (I can't help I am an arts lover!)

Thanks for taking the time to talk to us.

You can follow Alicia's latest posts at @aliciaasin or view a complete list of Libelium's offerings at: Libelium.com.

esIoT-2013 - International Workshop on Extending Seamlessly to the Internet of Things

2013-01-25T23:43:00Z

The second annual International Workshop on Extending Seamlessly to the Internet of Things (esIoT-2013) will take place from July 3rd to the 5th in Taiwan at Asia University.

The event will operate in conjunction with the the IEEE 7th IMIS-2013 (International Conference on Innovative Mobile and Internet Services in Ubiquitous Computing) event and the best papers will be published in some of the following publications special issues:

Journal of Network and Computer Applications “Internet of Things: Challenges and Opportunities for the Future Internet” (Springer, IF=1.065)
Mobile Information Systems (IOS Press, IF=2.432)
Soft Computing Journal (Springer, IF=1.880) Special Issue on "Soft Computing for Security Services in Smart and Ubiquitous Environments"
Wireless Personal Communications (Springer, IF=0.458) Special Issue on "Mobility and Intelligence Management Technologies for Wireless and Mobile Networks"
Computer Systems Science & Engineering (CRL Publishing, IF=0.371)

Overview

Extending Seamlessly to the Internet of Things (esIoT) is an international workshop focused on the integration aspects of the Internet of Things (IoT). The emerging machine-to-machine (M2M) systems should provide transparent access to information and services through a seamless integration into the Internet. On the one hand, the so-called Web of Things aims for direct Web connectivity by pushing its technology down to devices. On the other hand, cost and energy requirements of embedded devices demand efficient protocols and communication patterns, which affect the application layer. This workshop provides a forum to elaborate on ideas and approaches to adapt, extend, or bridge the existing IoT building blocks, such as ETSI M2M, ZigBee, IPv6/6LoWPAN, RFID, and legacy networked embedded systems. In addition, the impact of the IoT on industry, business, and society, including security and privacy requirements, will be discussed.

esIoT is co-sponsored by the IEEE ComSoc Internet of Things Emerging Technical Subcommittee and co-organized by IoT6 European Project .

Some of the tracks and topics for the workshop include:

Extending things to Internet through IPv6
Architectures and Middlewares for Internet of Things integration
End to End / Machine to Machine (M2M) protocols
Protocols for smart things: 6LoWPAN / DASH7 / ZigBee IP
Mobility management
Cloud computing and things internetworking
Standardization and regulatory issues

Web of Things

Lightweight RestFul / CoAP / Lightweight SOAP
Lightweight data structured (EXI)
Resource Directory approaches
Semantic description of things and services
New patterns to communicate with things Blockwise, Observe etc…

Security, trust and Privacy

Lightweight implementations of cryptographic stacks
End to end security capabilities from the things
Security for CoAP and ZigBee IP (DTLS, TLS etc..)
Bootstrapping techniques (PANA, EAP, HIP DEX …)

RFID and end-devices Identification

EPC to IPv6 approaches, and ONS and EPCIS for things
NFC integration in the Internet of Things
Human-device interactions based on RFID/NFC
Protocols and algorithms for the massive identification of things
Naming, address management and addressability issues

Use Cases and Applications

Mobile applications (Android OS, iOS, Windows mobile, etc.)
Real-time data management / Critical Environments
Smart cities / Home Automation / Building Automation
Industrial solutions
Business models
Test-beds and field trials

More information about the event can be found at: esiot.com

Internet of things market size

2012-12-01T21:37:41Z

Internet of Things Market Forecast:

We have been told the Internet of Things is going to be big, but just how big?

Below we look at some analyst's estimates on the size of this market and how to approach it as it moves forward in its development.

Big Players:
	Cisco: "Looking to the future, Cisco IBSG predicts there will be 25 billion devices connected to the Internet by 2015 and 50 billion by 2020. It is important to note that these estimates do not take into account rapid advances in Internet or device technology; the numbers presented are based on what is known to be true today" Full Report: 2011 IBSG Report (PDF)
	"IoE Creates $14.4 Trillion of Value at Stake for Companies and Industries Value at Stake, according to Cisco, is the potential bottom-line value (higher revenues and lower costs) that can be created or will migrate among companies and industries based on their ability to harness IoE. Cisco predicts that the IoE Value at Stake will be $14.4 trillion for companies and industries worldwide in the next decade. More specifically, over the next 10 years, the Value at Stake represents an opportunity to increase global corporate profits by about 21 percent. In other words, between 2013 and 2022, $14.4 trillion of value (net profit) will be“up for grabs” for enterprises globally — driven by IoE. IoE will both create new value and redistribute (migrate) value among winners and laggards, based on how well companies take advantage of the opportunities presented by IoE. Those that harness IoE best will reap this value in either of two ways.... Full Report: Embracing the Internet of Everything To Capture Your Share of $14.4 Trillion (PDF)
	Intel: Publishing Date: 2009 "We are now on the threshold of a fourth phase in the evolution of the Internet. Intel calls this the Embedded Internet, a network space where billions of intelligent embedded devices will connect with larger computing systems, and to each other, without human intervention. In support of this concept, John Gantz of IDC forecasts 15 billion devices will be communicating over the network by the year 2015" Full Report: Rise of the Embedded Internet (PDF)
	Ericsson Publishing Date: Feb 2011 "The vision of more than 50 billion connected devices will see profound changes in the way people, businesses and society interact. With ubiquitous mobile broadband-enabled internet access, connectivity and networking are becoming completely independent of location. combined with falling prices for communication modules, connectivity services and embedded computing, the drivers for new services and functionality – broadband ubiquity, cost of connectivity, and openness and simplicity – will lead to more efficient business models and improved lifestyle for individuals and society.We are already heading full-speed towards connectivity for everyone. in 2010, more than twice as many connected devices as subscribers were added to carrier networks in the Us market." To understand how the number of connected devices could reach more than 50 billion over the next decade, it is worth considering some high-level, macro-economic trends and statistics. As a few examples, by 2020 there will be: 3 billion subscribers with sufficient means to buy information on a 24-hour basis to enhance their lifestyles and improve personal security. in mature markets, these customers will typically possess between 5-10 connected devices each. 1.5 billion vehicles globally, not counting trams and railways. 3 billion utility meters (electricity, water and gas). A cumulative 100 billion processors shipped, each capable of processing information and communicating Full Report: more than 50 billion connected devices (PDF)
	Freescale & Arm Publishing Date: September 2012 "Estimates of the future market size of the Internet of Things cover a broad range, but most pundits agree it will dwarf any other market. In mature markets today, the ultimate, pervasive consumer device is a mobile phone. Consider your own household, and count the number of mobile phones you currently have. Then count the number of windows, doors, electrical outlets, lights, appliances and heating and AC units you have. You’ll quickly see why the IoT market will surpass the mobile phone market, at least in the western world." Full Report: What the Internet of Things (IoT) Needs to Become a Reality (PDF)
	GE Publishing Date: November 2012 "To appreciate the scale of the opportunity of the Industrial Internet it is useful to first scale the global industrial system. How big is this system? The simple answer is very big. However, there is no single simple measure. We therefore suggest three different perspectives: economic share, energy requirements, and physical assets in terms of machines, facilities, fleets and networks. ....The compounding effects of even relatively small changes in efficiency across industries of massive global scale should not be ignored. As we have noted, even a one percent reduction in costs can lead to significant dollar savings when rolled up across industries and geographies. If the cost savings and efficiency gains of the Industrial Internet can boost US productivity growth by 1-1.5 percentage points, the benefit in terms of economic growth could be substantial, potentially translating to a gain of 25-40 percent of current per capita GDP. The Internet Revolution boosted productivity growth by 1.5 percentage points for a decade—given the evidence detailed in this paper, we believe the Industrial Internet has the potential to deliver similar gains, and over a longer period." Full Report: Industrial Internet:Pushing the Boundariesof Minds and Machines (PDF)

Analysts:
	GSMA & Machina Research: The Connected Life: A USD 4.5 trillion global impact in 2020 Publishing Date: Feb 2012 "The global business impact of the Connected Life can be split into two broad categories: ‘revenues’ and ‘cost reduction and service improvements’. In 2020, revenues from the sale of connected devices and services, and revenues from related services, such as pay-as-you-drive car insurance, will be worth US$2.5 trillion, US$1.2 trillion of which could be addressed by mobile operators and the remainder by the broader Connected Life ecosystem. Cost reductions and service improvements relate to less direct, but tangible, benefits to organisations, governments and consumers through the evolution of the Connected Life. In 2020, this could be worth approximately US$2 trillion: US$1 trillion from cost reductions, such as smart meters removing the need for manual meter readings; and US$1 trillion from service improvements, such as clinical remote monitoring for patients with chronic illnesses. For instance, in 2020, the global healthcare space alone could recognise US$660 billion in cost savings and improved services from the deployment of mHealth solutions, helping to reduce the cost of universal healthcare. Connecting cars will also help the global automotive industry to profit from the Connected Life, with its ecosystem set to generate US$624 billion in revenues and reap US$727 billion in cost reductions and service improvements." - Full Report (PDF)
	WindRiver report from Harbor Research: Publishing Date: June 2012 "Forecasts in this report are presented at three levels - Enablement (embedded and module level), Network Services and Managed Services. Of these, Managed Services is then broken down further into horizontal System Applications, and vertical Value-Added Applications that are specific to each venue (or vertical market sector). The following lists the major findings of this report: In the early days of connected devices, hardware and module suppliers drove the market. Now, hardware prices are falling across the board and the basic enablement opportunity is decreasing. Today, the most substantial revenue opportunities can be found in the managed services realm. As technology stabilizes it becomes more valuable to focus on service opportunities to drive future growth. Overall shipments of modules for Wireline, WWAN, WLAN, and WPAN are expected to increase from over 135 million devices in 2010 to 803.4 million in 2014, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 44.2%. The Pervasive Internet and associated smart systems markets are expected to show particular strength as the economy recovers Total Pervasive Internet & Smart Business revenues streams (including the potential associated with Value-Added Services) are expected to hit $353 Billion by 2014. The adoption of connected world techno....... Full Report: Machine-To-Machine (M2M) & Smart Systems Market Opportunity 2010-2014 (PDF)
	the hammersmith group Publishing Date: February 2010 "Michael Nelson, the former director of Internet Technology at IBM, and the former director of Technology Policy with the Federal Communications Commission, and advisor to Al Gore. Within 5-10 years, Nelson expects that 100 billion devices will be connected to the net. “Trying to determine the market size of the Internet of Things is like trying to calculate the market for plastics, circa 1940. At that time, it was difficult to imagine that plastics could be in everything. If you look at information processing in the same way, you begin to see the vast range of objects into which logic, processors, or actuators could be embedded.” Ful Report: The Internet of things: Networked objects and smart devices (PDF)
	Arthur D. Little Publishing Date: Feb 2011 "The Internet of Things is a growing market. The revenue potential from services related to monitoring, managing and steering smart objects is very significant. To users of smart objects – such as connected cars, appliances and medical devices – it holds the promise of greater convenience and higher efficiency. Unfortunately the industry is scattered today. Diverse types of hardware, software and service players are populating a fragmented value chain for smart solutions. For the market to really take off, innovative and influential players need to stand up and take the lead. Only their actions will enable the spread of easy-to-use and affordable smart solutions, just as Apple’s iPhone revolutionized and built the smartphone market." Full Report: Smart market-makers for the “Internet of Things (PDF)
	Smith & Associates Publishing Date: 2012 "IoT is not only at our doorstep, it is underway. This next wave of growth for devices, their components, and the service sector is bringing important and interesting challenges and opportunities for the entire industry. Noting that at the core of IoT is, necessarily, M2M, aides in understanding the importance of new growth for components that support this connectivity. A byproduct of this device component growth is the incredible data growth resulting from the device connectivity. This full suite of interconnected devices is generating Big Data sets which, in turn, demand a set of hardware and middleware solutions to provide intelligent decision support, features, and increased productivity, (see the Big Data companion piece in this issue of MarketWatch Quarterly). Big Data, in turn, require additional M2M connectivity at a B2B level, in order to leverage business intelligence and capitalize on market opportunities. In short, while we may initially think of the "Internet of Things" as a consumer driven, smart wireless device, market phenomenon, what we are actually seeing is the initial steps into a next generation of component and device cycles. These new cycles are driven by the feature demands of IoT and the Big Data sets that are created out of the M2M connectivity that is IoT." Full Article: M2M and Semi at the Core of The Internet of Things
	Zebra Technologies / Forrester Consulting Published: October 9th Momentum appears strong, as 15 percent of surveyed organizations across the globealready have an Internet of Things solution in place, 53 percent plan to implement onewithin the next 24 months, and another 14 percent in the next two to five years. o In looking at adoption by industry, 21 percent of transportation and logistics respondents noted they already have Internet of Things solutions in place. Only three percent of healthcare organizations have them in place “Building Value from Visibility: 2012 Enterprise Internet of Things Adoption Outlook” (PDF)

Paid Reports:
	Harbor Research: 2012 Smart Systems Forecast Report Publishing Date: 2012 Our analysis and research is focused on understanding the strategic business implications of growth within the emerging Smart Systems arena. We are particularly interested in answering the following fundamental questions: What key forces are impacting adoption of Smart Systems, M2M and connected product solutions? What devices and applications are driving intelligent device networking?What is the size and growth rate of the Smart Systems opportunity? What managed services opportunities are developing by vertical market? What are the evolving competitive dynamics in the Smart Systems arena? What are the biggest unmet growth opportunities and biggest issues and hurdles are there in the market impacting adoption of Smart Services? More Details
	Markets & Markets: Publishing Date: September 2012 ......The report provides in-depth market data for different industry verticals across the World. By 2017, the overall IoT & M2M Communication market, public safety & security and retail will be estimated to contribute maximum market share, i.e. 16.8% and 18.7% followed by consumer & residential, and IT & telecom at around 11.9% and 10.5%; industrial & commercial buildings 8.6%; Healthcare 7.7%. While, the energy & power, transportation, manufacturing, and other verticals with a forecast data at 7.1%, 7.1%, 6.8%, and 4.9%, respectively. The report comprises of a thorough segmentation of the IoT & M2M Communication market. More details
	Research and Markets: Publishing Date: April 2012 "The market overview section provides the domestic market size and growth potential of IoT for the period 2010-2020. Furthermore, the report identifies major IoT hubs alongwith those cities having strong growth potential in the context of IoT in China. In addition, the report delves into the sectors of focus having IoT relevance in China followed by the advantages and disadvantages of IoT." Internet of Things Market in China 2012
	ABI Research: Published Date: Q1 2012 ABI Research expects cumulative cellular M2M connections to rise to 364.5 million globally by 2016. The cellular M2M connectivity service market grew at a robust 26.2% in 2011, rising from 87.7 million cumulative connections in 2010 to 110.6 million cumulative connections globally in 2011. Despite the continuing global economic crisis, the cellular M2M market benefited from increasing numbers of mobile network operators launching M2M service offerings as their core voice/data services market grows increasingly mature and saturated. Likewise, strong growth, particularly in smart grid and automotive telematics programs, helped to drive overall cellular M2M connections and revenue. Cellular M2M Connectivity Services
	Machina Research: Publishing Date: November 2012 - Global M2M connections will increase from two billion at the end of 2011 to 18 billion at the end of 2022. Connections will be dominated by two sectors: consumer electronics (including cameras, music players and TVs) and intelligent buildings (e.g. security and HVAC systems). Between them they will account for almost 70% of the total. - Short range technology will dominate: 73% of M2M devices will be connected by short-range technologies, mostly WiFi. Cellular/wireless wide area network (WWAN) connections will grow from 146 million at the end of 2011 to 2.6 billion in 2022. The most important WWAN sector is Automotive (including pay-as-you-drive insurance, emergency/eCall and security and tracking), accounting for 60% of connections. At the end of 2011 M2M accounted for 2% of cellular connections. By 2020 this will reach 22%." M2M Global Forecast & Analysis 2011-22

The $$ cost of M2M hype and false hope - Jeremy Cowan M2M Now
"but many people I talk to are as unimpressed as I am by forecasts of billions of connected devices and trillion dollar revenues. Eventually such figures become meaningless.Even worse, they actively damage future investments in machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, investments that still offer some of the brightest financial hopes for network operators worldwide........"

M2M Growth Curve: Why hasn’t it been steeper?
Highly Optimistic M2M Benefit Claims from GE - Larry Bellehumeur Novotech

IoT Interview Series: 8 questions with Dr Florian Michahelles

2012-12-20T23:51:37Z

This is the sixteenth segment in our Interview Series with some of the top people influencing the Internet of Things.

Florian Michahelles talks with us about:

Consumer feedback loops
Key elements needed for the IoT to successfully integrate into our everyday lives
New values of our personal data

Interview:

Who are you, and what do you do?

Hello, my name is Florian Michahelles, I’m currently the head of the Auto-ID Labs research group at ETH Zurich. Together with five Ph.D. students we are exploring novel IoT applications for consumers. We are investigating this from both a technical and business perspective. Some examples so far include a shopping assistant, mobile car accident reporting system, and persuasive tools helping people to live a healthier lifestyle.

As part of the global Auto-ID Labs networking together with MIT, Univ. of Cambridge, Keio University and others we also develop an architecture for Internet of Things based on GS1 numbering standards.

Since your work and research often deals with everyday consumers, can you speak to how you see the IoT being integrated in users lives in a meaningful way over the next 5 years?

I believe that as the Internet has gained momentum via the spreading of Web/Blogs/Wikis into the masses, the same will need to happen in the IoT for it to have it's full impact. However, we have yet to find the corresponding metaphors of blogs/wikis/social networks for the Internet of Things in order to drive this adoption.

A few key elements for the IoT in everyday life will be awareness and control. User’s mental models of what’s going to happen have to be supported. If I move a certain object and this triggers a digital activity, the user has to have the ability to inspect and find out what exactly is going on in that interaction. Also, the user has to have an understanding of where the data goes, what the data is being used for, and how to shut off the system. Finally, I can imagine IoT DIY markets opening up where you can go purchase parts and plug them together yourself at home. Arduino and some of these other platforms are a first step towards that direction for geeks, but this will have to become easier yet.

I see the IoT being integrated where it makes sense and where it advances from the status quo of today: today you can buy devices that measure the energy of single appliances, you can measure your water consumption, you can measure your heating. People have also started wearing more and more devices measuring their physical activities. Yet, currently all of these companies build their own single universe and want to sit in the center of the data flows. It’s a repeat of the old days when the mobile operators connected the phones to walled gardens rather than the actual internet. This will require new entrants to tear down these isolated kingdoms of platforms. Data has to be shared, processed and mashed – that’s the core of Internet of Things. We probably have a glimpse of how to do it technically, but we have yet to build the business ecosystems to support it.

You recently finished teaching a course on the business aspects of the Internet of Things, how do you see this element shifting in the near future for the topic as more and more companies enter the space?

Currently companies are putting one foot in front of the other. Most businesses move from online to mobile. From mobile to networked things is yet to come: you can go mobile fairly easily as coverage is literally everywhere. You cannot really go past this unless tagging, sensors, localization and access to this data is established.

I’m afraid I still have to to teach this course for a while before renaming it into Best practices of IoT business processes ;)

How do you view the term “Internet of Things”?

The Internet of Things by itself does not really mean much other than having an Internet expanding into the real world. Also, I don’t see much value in developing a generic Internet of Things architecture. I see much more value in working applications, deriving communalities, and letting the business partners decide on standards. I see standards as more of an an evolutionary process than a thoughtful planning activity.

Where do you see the Internet of Things and its technologies creating the most impact?

I see the Internet of Things having an impact in areas where collective intelligence makes a difference to isolated personal experience. An Internet of Things should foster the sharing of best practices for every situation in life. How can I save energy? how can I move around most efficiently? where exactly do my goods come from? what’s the effect of my buying behavior on production conditions in far east? and how can it foster personal luck by providing appropriate nudges. I see additional impacts in complying with certain regulatory regulations such as carbon accounting, energy savings, and personal mobility patterns.

The industrial drivers of an IoT are gaining insights into the state, progress, efficiency of business/manufacturing processes. With long term observations and understanding, process could also be changed: not based on experience but rather based on facts.

Is there anything in particular you would like to see happen to speed this process along?

I would like to see Telco operators learning how to sell information and knowledge instead of raw data streams of bits. We have to get rid of these ridiculous roaming costs to really allow us to connect everywhere and at anytime. Furthermore, I’d like to educate consumers on understanding the value of their data. Instead of a focus on only privacy protection, a turning point would be to start treating personal data as a treasure that could be converted and traded for valuable services from others. As companies are selling their data, consumers should be able to do the same with their consent.

What are you currently working on or are most excited about?

I’m really excited about moving from augmenting things with eyes and ears to augmenting things with arms and legs.

Currently, I’m working on changing users’ behavior by providing them feedback about their activities of buying and consuming products. To this point, I was absolutely fascinated after recently visiting the Flying Machine Arena at ETH Zurich. The precision of these flying robots coordinating themselves speaks to a completely new dimension of letting information systems not only know about the real world but to also take effect.

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Shout-outs: Any sites/people/articles or books that have inspired you lately?

Dan Ariely’s recent book The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home, the crazy doener copter (not sure whether it’s for real or fun), http://www.augmented-human.com/, and Google Glasses (still not sure whether they are real yet either).

Thanks for taking the time to talk to us.

If you would like to contact Florian visit his research page, blog, or follow his latest news at @fmichahelles.

Smarter play with a smart Toy - ATOMS

2012-12-10T20:37:00Z

Growing up, there were LEGOS and then there were the more complex toys that seemed relegated to the “smart” kids. As much as my parents tried to get me to like the “smart” toys, those toys lacked the intuitiveness necessary for play. ATOMS by The Seamless Toy Company bring “smart” to play while increasing the parameters of play.

Three components make up the core of ATOMS – Sensing, Logic, and Output. A Sensing ATOM takes in environmental cues, such as light or sound and directs the information to the Logic cube that then tells the Output cube to increase or decrease movement. Attach ATOMS to stationary objects or toys, and you now can move them around. With the Atoms iOS control set you can use your phone to to send commands from your phone to your ATOMS creation via Bluetooth 4.

What’s fascinating about ATOMS is they are not limited to a certain set, like an Erector or LEGOs. Though, they work just fine with those toys (The underside is compatible with standard LEGO studs for example). As Founding Team Member and Product Development Manager Eric Budd has said, “Many of our toys and devices today are complex, yet hide their complexity under-the-hood. We're creating a set of building blocks - inputs, outputs, and logic - that let anyone learn how to problem-solve and make things themselves.”

ATOMS is in the Kickstarter phase of growth, with their campaign ending New Year’s Day 2013. Founder and Apple iPod Touch developer Michael Rosenblatt brought together a team in the catalytic Boulder Start-up Community to get ATOMS going. He summarizes that, “Atoms are a collection of smart building blocks that help people make things to do things. Atoms are plug-and-play, intuitive, powerful and fun.”

You can see the blocks in action below or follow their development at: Atoms-express.com

Resources: ATOMS, Kickstarter, Wired

Turn To Clear Vision: A New Kind of View

2012-11-30T19:33:00Z

Do you recall the ViewMaster toy by FisherPrice? You looked through pseudo-binoculars at slides of far away places or events while sitting on the living room couch. Well, Turn To Clear Vision has reinvented that experience at much higher, more technical level.

Taking a common sightseeing view tower, Dave Rauchwerk and a diversely talented team have replaced the visual field with a monitor. What shows up on the monitor is connected to cameras in a remote location that adjust to the rotations made by the user looking through the view tower. "Two potentiometers on the telescope relay pan and tilt data to a series of remote cameras and servos via web sockets." What you see can be as close as around the corner or on the other side of the world. But the tactile experience and the visual field are as real and present as if it was all analog.The idea came about as part of the Urban Prototype festival in San Francisco.

Future prototypes look to use wireless networking such that cameras can be placed anywhere in the world and linked to the view towers. With view towers placed in points-of-interest sites in a given town, anyone could look through expecting to see some landmark only to discover, say, the Taj Mahal or Time’s Square.

Why should this matter? Not only are the creators playing with our notions of expectation, but they are reshaping how we see the world at large, the world beyond our immediate location. And they are doing it by integrating technology with a familiar analog interface.

More details about the project can be found at: Turntoclearvision.com

Resources: Huffington Post, Wired

Open world gaming: Ingress

2012-11-16T18:18:02Z

Ingress is a new open world game from Google's Niantic Labs that transforms your real world "into the landscape for a global game of mystery, intrigue, and competition"

Move through the real world using your Android device and the Ingress app to discover and tap sources of this mysterious energy. Acquire objects to aid in your quest, deploy tech to capture territory, and ally with other players to advance the cause of the Enlightened or the Resistance.

A few of these real-world games already exisit (QONQR, Shadow Cities) but the difference here is who is behind the game. There is already some speculation that Google's real motive behind the project's development is to generate a new batch of data for Google to intergrate into their applications. Google has a history of using one product as a decoy or data generator for another See: Recaptcha (For Google Books), Street View (For self driving car), 411 Service (For Google Voice) and with Nokia releasing turn-by-turn pedestrian navigation into their software this type of user generated content created during game play could becoming quite useful in the increasingly competitive mobile maps battle.

The Niantic Labs divison that created the project is run by John Hanke, the former co-founder of CEO of Keyhole (Which became Google Earth) and currently Vice President Product Management for Geo at Google. Hanke told AllThingsD that the project “grew out of us thinking about notions of ubiquitous computing,”, “The device melts away.” and to Forbes that "his team was inspired by geo-caching but wanted to take that idea to a new level, essentially “draping” the world of the game onto the real world"

Currently the game is in an invite only beta but in the meantime you can sign-up to get on the list here, or catch the trailer video below for more details.

Additional: r/ingress, Ingress Support, CNET, Forbes, TC
Via: AllThingsD, Shaper_pmp

Immersive live data feed visualizations: Datascape

2012-11-16T16:59:55Z

Daden is a UK company that has been working with immersive worlds (training simulations; 3D Security; interactive virtual assistants) since 2004, their latest tool Datascape looks at how 3d interactive spaces can be used to visualize and interact with data from almost any static or live feed source.

The 3D environment significantly increases the amount of information that can be sensibly displayed, and the sense of immersion provide spatial cues which assist in maintaining orientation and identifying trends, clusters and anomalies with the data.

Additional Features include:

Plotting GPS and any kind of geo-located or time-coded data to analyze movement, journeys and timelines
The ability to import data from a wide variety of data sources, with native support for Excel, CVS and SQL and access to XML, JSON and other through ETL tools such as Kettle
Available in a collaborative edition, which allows users to invite others into their data visualization

The software is currently being targeted for use in scientific visualizations, public safety modeling, cyber security, and the finance world but you could easily see this type of tool being increasingly used as more data producing devices are deployed across all types of industries.

You can learn more about the product here, or catch a demo of it in action in the video below.

Related: MirrorWorlds
Via: DigitalUrban

Smartphone-controlled heating: tado

2012-11-15T16:12:37Z

German start-up tado is taking a new approach to HVAC heating by putting a users smartphone and Internet-connectivity smarts at the center of the control and monitoring process.

Unlike traditional thermostats the tado device does not have a display (and only a bare minimum of buttons) but instead uses the occupants smartphone and web capabilities to control your home's temperature levels. The service's American smart thermostat counterpart Nest tracks homeowners activity using built-in sensors, Tado on the other hand knows because the occupants have the app installed on their phone. This setup allows tado to quickly turn down the AC or heat when the last person has left the house and can make further adjustments by monitoring the online weather forecast for any upcoming shifts.

The thermostat's Internet connectivity is powered via the Mist system (Open Source, IPv6, Contiki and 6lowpan support) from Thingsquare, and pilot studies have shown successful energy savings of up to 30% using the tado service and it's cloud based approach.

You might be asking yourself the question what happens if I lose my smartphone or leave it at work overnight? The hardware has a manual override button that automatically reverts to preset temperature settings, and alternatively the system can be managed from any computer via the a Web application by logging in with your username and password.

The thermostat is currently only available in Europe (German roll-out first) with an initial hardware cost of €149 (the first 1000 customers will receive the hardware free) followed with an annual €99 subscription fee.

More details about the service can be found at tado.com or by tracking the latest launch details at @tado.

Additional Coverage: WSJ, GigaOm, SlashGear

Wifi Smart Pen: Sky

2012-11-12T18:15:38Z

Do you prefer brainstorming ideas and taking notes the old-fashioned way with pen and paper?

The new Sky pen from Livescribe allows you to do this but still get your scribbled notes to the cloud and on your mobile devices and tablets without having to dock or sync the pen like previous generation of "Smart Pen" devices.

The Sky is integrated tightly with the digital notebook service Evernote. Using the pen's OLED display to connect to your WiFi network the pen will then be listed among the notebooks you’ve created on the service (And sync to it when there is a connection). One downside of the system is you are required to use a proprietary Livescribe dot notebook (free with a pen purchase) in order for the full optical character recognition (OCR) of your handwriting to be read, searched and played back to you in a "pencast".

One additional ability of the pen that could come in handy is its audio recording capabilities. This feature opens the potential for teachers or presenters to create online screencasts by simply writing normally and narrating as they go, or give new accuracy to note taking by having a recording of the lecture to refer back to.

Public and collaborative note sharing is another use case that comes to mind for the technology in the future.

The pen will currently run you $170, with a free 500mb of Evernote storage. You can pick one up for yourself here or watch one of their promo videos below for more details.

Additional Coverage: Wired, PC World Review, ZDNet, Engadget Review
Via: AllThingsD

Open source active RFID project - OpenBeacon

2012-11-12T16:48:16Z

OpenBeacon is an open source platform for active RFID applications started in 2006 by BitManufaktur. Operating in the license free 2.4GHz ISM band (See our Licence-Free Wireless Primer article for more) the project includes GPL licensed firmware and hardware schematics for the tags and USB and Ethernet Readers.

At the 2011 BruCON security conference the hardware was deployed so participants could track their social interactions and physical locations during the event. This data was later translated into a series of visualizations and graphics for the attendees to view and analyze.

A more unusual applications for the system was put in place in Toronto for the Blinkenlights Stereoscope installation. The OpenBeacon technology was used as the basis of a wireless lamp dimmer module to control 960 individually lit windows on the building facade.

On each of the 36 floors, a wireless sending device was installed and hooked up to a Ethernet LAN, called the Wireless Matrix Control Unit. Each one of these controlled 22 or 30 lamps, respectively.To each lamp, a Wireless Dimmer was attached which was configured to a specific pixel position in the global matrix so it knew when to blink.

The project is currently seeking new development ideas for OpenBeacon setups and help on improving some of the firmware. Developer documentation and links to the source code for the RFID tags and readers can be found on the website wiki.

Additional Coverage: Stereoscope Project, Andrew Kilpatrick techical write-up
Image Credits: OpenBeacon, Blinkenlights: CC pdinnen, chrisch_
Via: Dangerous Prototypes

Remote Health Monitoring with BodyGuardian

2012-11-10T00:27:14Z

Intended for individuals with cardiac arrhythmias the BodyGuardian is an FDA cleared wearable sensor system that can remotely read a patient’s biometrics (ECG, heart rate (including variability and reliability), respiration rate and activity Level), sending the data to the service's cloud platform via a combination of Bluetooth and later the patients cellular data network.

The sensor features a bandage-like attachment so it can be easily placed on the skin and is powered via an integrated battery so the patient can go about their normal life without unnecessary restrictions from the device.

Once in place authorized physicians and monitoring centers can access the data via a secure web portal or iPad application to create custom patient profiles or choose and manage alerts based on selected biometric changes in the individual's data. Additional benefits stated for the device include a better level of customer care for the patients, earlier possible hospital releases and overall cost saving benefits over current hospital monitoring solutions.

More details about the service can be found at: preventice.com/products/bodyguardian/ or watch some of the Mayo Clinic physician's involved discuss the project below.

Additional Coverage: FierceHealthIT, InformationWeek, TwinCities

Golf Glove Sensors: GolfSense

2012-11-09T23:15:09Z

Looking to troubleshoot last Saturday's shanks? A new wearable sensor device from GolfSense gives you real-time feedback and hole by hole swing analysis of your weekend round.

The system consists of a light sensor pod (0.6 ounces) that slides onto the velco strap of your golf glove. Inside the device are four motion trackers: a compass, gyroscope and two accelerometers (one for high, one for low speeds). Once you take a swing the data is gathered and beamed to your smartphone via Bluetooth to give you feedback on your club speed, tempo, swing path and club position.

Using the app/glove's "impact detector" system you can have the device track every swing or you can have it monitor only the ones during your round where you actually hit the ball using a specific club.

The system also advertises itself as a platform that will "soon allow you to compare your swings to many others including professionals and coaches" and it will be interesting to watch how this type of technology spreads itself across other sporting activities.

Pick one up yourself ($130) or learn more about the swing data analysis details at: golfsense.me

Additional Coverage: WSJ, Golf Digest

Postscapes: Tracking the Internet of Things

UbiComp 2013

Bytes and Atoms Event

Internet of Things Books

Internet of Things Related Books

Overview

Shaping Things

Meta Products

Everyware: The Dawning Age of Ubiquitous Computing

Trillions -

DIY

Building Internet of Things with the Arduino

Making Things Talk - Using Sensors, Networks, and Arduino to see, hear, and feel your world

Environmental Monitoring with Arduino

Building Wireless Sensor Networks

Distributed Network Data

Getting Started with the Internet of Things

Business & Design

Smart Things: Ubiquitous Computing User Experience Design

Designing the Internet of Things

Built Environment

City of Bits: Space, Place, and the Infobahn

Check In Check Out: The Public Space as an Internet of Things

Technical

Interconnecting Smart Objects with IP

The Internet of Things: Key Applications and Protocols

The Internet of Things in the Cloud: A Middleware Perspective

Architecting the Internet of Things

Internet of Things: Legal Perspectives

Critique and Issues

To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism

REALWSN 2013: Real-World Wireless Sensor Networks

Internet of Things Hardware

Internet of Things Hardware

Additional:

Articles & Resources:

Raspberry Pi Wireless Options

Raspberry Pi Wireless Options

USB WiFi

RF:

WiFi Shield:

USB WiFi/Bluetooth Combo:

Bluetooth:

Cellular:

Additional Resources:

Projects:

2013 Internet of Things Day

IoT Interview Series: 9 questions with the CEO of Libelium Alicia Asín Pérez

You can follow Alicia's latest posts at @aliciaasin or view a complete list of Libelium's offerings at: Libelium.com.

esIoT-2013 - International Workshop on Extending Seamlessly to the Internet of Things

Internet of things market size

Internet of Things Market Forecast:

Big Players:

Analysts:

Paid Reports:

Related Articles:

IoT Interview Series: 8 questions with Dr Florian Michahelles

Florian Michahelles talks with us about:

Interview:

If you would like to contact Florian visit his research page, blog, or follow his latest news at @fmichahelles.

Smarter play with a smart Toy - ATOMS

Turn To Clear Vision: A New Kind of View

Open world gaming: Ingress

Immersive live data feed visualizations: Datascape

Smartphone-controlled heating: tado

Wifi Smart Pen: Sky

Open source active RFID project - OpenBeacon

Remote Health Monitoring with BodyGuardian

Golf Glove Sensors: GolfSense