Advancements in Low Power WiFi Technology

Leveraging Existing Wireless Infrastructures to Increase the Efficiency of WSN Deployments and Reduce Costs

Tuesday, June 7, 2011 1:50 – 2:30pm

Dan Piroli SVP Point Six Wireless

Wireless Sensor Technologies • Proprietary • ZigBee • ISA 100 • Wireless HART • 6LoWPAN • Digi Mesh • What’s Next??

WSN Landscape 

Highly Fragmented 

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Wide Range of Providers 



30 + companies competing in the Hospital, Pharmacy and Laboratory Markets Spans from GE to Garage Outfits

Diverse Offering of Radio Technologies 

Proprietary 



802.15.4   





900 MHz, 418/433MHz, 330MHz ZigBee 6LoPAN Proprietary

WiFi  802.11.b/g compatible  802.11.g/n

Multiple Go-To-Market Strategies   

Direct Distribution Catalog

Partial List of Battery Powered Temperature Sensor Suppliers Name

Technology

Brand

Spinwave

802.15.4

A3 Mesh

Nivis

802.15.4

Mobile Mesh

Accsense

802.15.4

Node-node Mesh

GE Kaye

802.15.4

Dust

Rees

802.15.4

EmberNet

Sensicast

802.15.4

SensiNet

Millenial Net

802.15.4

MeshScape

Newport Electronics

802.15.4

zSeries

Innovonics

Proprietary

EchoStream

CheckPoint

Proprietary

G2

Isensix

Proprietary

ARMS

FreshLoc

Proprietary

MadgeTech

Proprietary

Aginova

802.11

Aeroscout

802.11

All but the last two require installing a separate RF Infrastructure

The IEEE 802 Wireless Space

Regional Area 802.22

WRAN (regional)

Range

Mobile Broadband 802.20

MBWA

WiMax 802.16

(mobile)

WLAN

WiFi 802.11

(local) ZigBee 802.15.4

WPAN

Bluetooth 802.15.1

(personal)

0.01

0.1

1

10

Data Rate (Mbps)

100

1000

The IEEE 802 Wireless Space

Regional Area 802.22

WRAN (regional)

Range

Mobile Broadband 802.20

MBWA

802 Common Characteristics WiMax •Low cost 802.16 •High data rate •Variable Packet Size WiFi •Connectionless Protocol 802.11 ZigBee

(mobile)

WLAN (local)

802.15.4

WPAN

Bluetooth 802.15.1

(personal)

0.01

0.1

1

10

Data Rate (Mbps)

100

1000

The IEEE 802 Wireless Space

Regional Area WiFi and WiMAX 802.22 Common Characteristics • Supports heterogeneous Mobile Broadband network 802.20 operation • Resolves address conflicts WiMax (ARP) 802.16 • Supports Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) WiFi 802.11

WRAN

Range

(regional)

MBWA (mobile)

WLAN (local)

WPAN (personal)

0.01

0.1

1

10

Data Rate (Mbps)

100

1000

The IEEE 802 Wireless Space

Regional Area 802.22

WRAN

WiFi Objectives

(regional)

(circa 1997)

Range

Mobile Broadband The purpose of WiFi is to hide complexity by enabling 802.20

wireless access to applications and data, media and streams. The main aims of WiFi are: WiMax

MBWA (mobile)

802.16 • facilitate access to information • ensure compatibility and coexistence • eliminate cabling and wiring WiFi • eliminate switches, adapters, plugs and connectors 802.11

WLAN (local)

WPAN (personal)

0.01

0.1

1

10

Data Rate (Mbps)

100

1000

Worldwide Acceptance The industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) bands were reserved internationally for non-commercial use of RF electromagnetic fields for industrial, scientific and medical purposes.

WiFi 802.11b

WiFi 802.11g

WiFi 802.11n

2405-2480 MHz

2405-2480 MHz 5000 MHz

No

and/ or

11mbs

1-14

1999

Worldwide

54mbs

1-14

2003

Worldwide

300mbs

1-14

2009

Worldwide Proliferation of WiFi Over 417,246 Commercial Hotspots in 144 Countries (Free and Pay as of 1/24/2011)

Rank

Countries

Locations Rank

1

China

101,888

2

United States

94,760

3

France

30,865

4

United Kingdom

27,918

5

South Korea

26,884

6

Germany

15,157

7

Russian Federation

Type

Locations

1

Hotel / Resort

82,331

2

Public Space / Public Building

64,129

3

Other

59,752

4

Cafe

50,051

5

Restaurant

46,155

6

Hotzone

25,908

7

School / University

21,252

8

Store / Shopping Mall

20,138

14,683

8

Japan

12,590

9

Sweden

7,729

9

Office Building

11,574

10

Turkey

7,097

10

Pub

5,146

WiFi Hotspot Growth - >20% per year

Leverage Investments in Existing WiFi Infrastructures!

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Building Managers take advantage of the investment they’ve already made in 802.11 coverage   

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Ultra low power chip technology 

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Eliminates the need to convince the site to install yet another wireless technology Dramatically lower cost of ownership

Become a “Friend of the Court” 

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Once security and encryption parameters are agreed upon, sensors can be delivered preconfigured. Mount the sensor and turn it on – that‟s it!

Integration versus Overlay Strategy 

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Years of operation on a single AA cell

Easy to expand 

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Sensor nodes communicate directly with Industry Standard Access Points No other devices needed (routers, coordinators, repeaters, hosts, receivers) Eliminate service calls due to unplugged, misplaced or malfunctioning Repeaters

Typically deal with site personnel whose job it is to integrate 802.11 devices

Global Standard

Products Communicate Directly with Access Points

Access Points Thermostat

Building Controller CO2

• Application Reports • Database Mining

Oxygen

Ethernet Server

Temperature/Humidity

Vibration/Motion

Electric, Gas & Water Meter Pulse Counter

Verticals 

Data Centers Optimizing energy usage

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Hospitals Joint Commission Compliance Advanced notification of equipment malfunction

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Retail and Banking   

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Foodservice Health department compliance Advance notification of equipment malfunction

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Sub-Metering Energy monitoring and reporting

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Solar Power 



Monitoring patron activity ATM room temperature Wirelessly connect BAS to Rooftop HVAC

Solar panel current output

Refrigerated Transport 

Monitoring food temperature to insure supply chain integrity

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Ultra Low Power WiFi Solutions 

SoC    

 

Small form factor accelerometer 32 bit CPU Real time clock

802.11b/g 2.5 micro amp sleep current

G2 WiFi vs. ZigBee Power Comparison Recent breakthroughs in silicon chip fabrication enable 802.11 WiFi devices to operate for years on 1.5v AA batteries.

Transmit + Receive Comparison

Energy Consumed (mJ)

100.000

ZigBee 0dBm direct

10.000

ZigBee 0dBm 3 hop G2 1Mb

1.000

G2 2Mb

0.100

G2 11Mb 0.010 1

10

100

Bytes (Received + Sent)

Courtesy of G2 Microsystems

1000

Feature / Benefits Analysis



802.11 WiFi …………….....Zero Infrastructure Costs Lower Cost of Ownership Lower Installation Costs Leverage Existing Investment



G Radio Technology…….…Does Not Slow Down Network Supports Bitrates Up to 54Mbits/s

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Local Alarms…………….….Audible and Visual Indication of a Problem at the Point of Measurement can Speed Corrective Action



Intelligent Transmitters…….Data Backup in the Event of Network Outage Reduced Radio Traffic Extended Battery Life

No Alarm

Standard checkin interval (4min – 4hrs)

))))))))) )))))))))

Principle of Intelligent Transmitter Operation

Active Audible and Visual Local Alarms

Return to Normal State

Push Transmission

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)))))))))

Reset Audible and Visual Local Alarms

Measurement Snapshot (2min. – 2 hr.)

Stores 3072 measurements, events and alarms

Standing by for Database request to dump log

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Benefits: Data Backup Maximize Battery Life Reduce Radio Traffic

Push Transmission

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Sample Input (every 15 sec.)

Alarm Detected

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Alarm Utility

SQL Console

The SQL Console is a database portal that enables wireless sensor configuration and sets sensor logging and downloading parameters.

Set transmit period and retries Chose log period

Activate collection of historical data

Enable and configure alarms

PointViewer Package Wireless Data Retrieval and Configuration

Sensor ID Date and Time Service Mark Datastore Scan Period Channel 1 Raw Value Channel 1 Engineering Value Channel 2 Raw Value Channel 2 Engineering Value Channel 3 Raw Value Channel 3 Engineering Value Event ID Software Events Test Events Auxiliary Events Etc., etc., etc.

Point Six supplies free SQL software (PointViewer Console) that can read and write data and configuration parameters to the sensors. SQL Server

Transmit Intervals (4min – 4hours) Retries High Alarm High Alarm Time Span Low Alarm Low Alarm Time Span Return to Normal Logging Intervals (2min – 2 hours) Hysteresis

Leaders in Ultra Low Power WiFi Chips and Modules

Roving Networks Wi-Fi™ Overview



The Protocol  



Built on the IEEE802.11 standards Conformance testing performed by the nonprofit Wi-Fi Alliance (formed 1999)

Consumer Wi-Fi growth (2009-2010)   

158% growth in Wi-Fi consumer electronics 90% Wi-Fi enabled cell phones 3 in 4 consumers considered buying a Wi-Fi enabled device  



34% laptops 15% Wi-Fi connected 3DTVs

Embedded Systems  

Evangelizes on the huge availability of „hotspots‟ Provides data with a ultra low cost transport

Roving Networks Wi-Fi™ Overview



Roving‟s Wi-Fi Solution 

Industry‟s lowest power, complete systemon-module solution 4uA Sleep 30mA Rx Tx variable depending on PA options

 

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•

Compact surface mount design Quick and simple to integrate Complete TCP/IP solution – No external processor or drivers required

Feature rich, robust firmware 

Standard build: Serial Port Profile



Extensions: 

WebScan™



Sensor

GainSpan Low Power Wi-Fi: Target Applications

Tracking

Commercial

Safety Security

Industrial

Embedded Wi-Fi for Smart Energy and Home Automation 

Wi-Fi will be consumer’s preferred choice for Smart Energy devices – – – – – – –

De facto LAN technology in the home, familiar to consumers, installers Expanding to TV , Appliances Enabling SmartPhones and Tablet PCs to be used as control devices Uses existing infrastructure (AP) Interoperable Profile IP based, secure Connectivity to meters through HEMS

2366 devices certified in 2010

760M devices shipped in 2010 >2B devices shipped overall



Wi-Fi Alliance: Strong certification organization – –

–

Active in Smart Energy, Healthcare and low power embedded Smart Grid Task Group, Healthcare Task Group, Power Conservation Task group being created Liaison agreement with ZigBee on SE 2.0

Summary 

Strong momentum in The Internet of Things eco-system build out   



Wi-Fi is the technology of choice to connect Things to the Internet and connect people to these Things    



Potential huge market opportunity Diverse set of “everyday consumer/commercial” products and applications Fundamental needs: low power, ubiquitous wireless (internet) connectivity and easy to deploy/use

Over 760M devices shipped and 2000 products certified in 2010 De facto LAN technology in the home Leverage internet connectivity – content, ISP‟s, mobile apps…. Easier to deploy

GainSpan‟s production solution is tailored to low power and embedded applications  

Simple user provisioning solutions Comprehensive solution for quick time to market  



Wi-Fi

Easy to design with modules Feature rich embedded networking services software

Launching next generation low power embedded 11b/g/n Wi-Fi solution … GS1500M

Company Overview 

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

 

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Ekahau is the performance leader in providing WIFI-based location tracking solutions. Ekahau‟s award winning products are based on using open and industry standard WIFI/802.11 networks. Ekahau was founded in 2000 in Helsinki Finland and is today a U.S based corporation. Ekahau has received several global patents on it‟s core technology. Ekahau is privately owned with offices in the U.S., Canada, Finland, France, Germany, U.K. Japan and China. Ekahau is privately funded and backed by venture, corporate and institutional investors.

Ekahau Awards

Ekahau Investors

How does it work ? Ekahau RTLS: •

RTLS Server

•

5

•

AP

.……....

Associate & Send data

• •

Site calibration factors in the environment such as walls, elevator shafts, etc. to produce better location accuracy than competitive systems. Sophisticated algorithms factor in changes in the environment, motion, history etc. and adapt to those changes. Tag association to network gives 100% visibility and manageability of 35-40 tag parameters without any real impact on network Full WIFI roaming across multiple campuses Standard data or voice grade network required

Advantages of WiFi over other technologies 

It’s ALREADY a proven industry standard wireless technology 

True interoperability  Off-the-shelf hardware  Robust communications 

Integration versus Overlay Strategy  



Lower cost of ownership No need to convince the site to install yet another wireless infrastructure

Common Platforms – no need for Multiple Device Types 

Eliminates the need for Coordinators, Routers, Repeaters or Receivers  



Ride the wave of Advancements and Product Innovation by Intel, Cisco, et al 



Easier, less costly deployments Lower maintenance costs

Being in the mainstream has its advantages

Becoming Ubiquitous

The Point Six Development Role in the WSN Space

Product Design Options

Sensor

Voltage Current Discrete Leak Detection Temperature Humidity CT

Radio

WiFi ZB Pro ZB XSC Digi Mesh PMP

Enclosure

NEMA 4X Wall Mount VM Series Custom

Channels

One Two Three

Power

1.5v AA 3.6v AA Wall XFMR

Packet Type

Legacy Extended

Final Product

OEMs can chose from a multitude of variations for the right application fit.

Custom Designed Products for 2010 IR Counter Food Probe

• IR Beam Counter • Local Display • Front or Side firing

Auto Calibrating Thermistor Transmitter

• • • • •

• • • • •

Automated temp. measurement Water resistant, triple O ring body Unique, locking cam design User replaceable probe and battery 1 second time constant

Dual channel 10K Thermistor Inputs Dry contact/door input Operates on both batteries and external power Alarms on power outage Patent pending

Questions?