MIRAOS RELEASE 2.3: Concurrent MiraMesh and Bluetooth operation – a killer feature within wireless connectivity

With LumenRadio’s new release of MiraOS – their operating system known for reliable wireless connectivity, they have solved a problem that has been a well-known challenge for years. MiraOS can now run concurrent Bluetooth and MiraMesh seamlessly during operation, something that opens up for totally new possibilities, flexibility and cost savings for wireless products.

Bluetooth is today the number one technology for short range point-to-point connectivity for smart devices, but it is not suitable for creating a reliable building-wide network. It simply lacks the scalability and range needed to offer complete coverage of today’s commercial and industrial buildings.

The common solution to the problem has been to simply add two wireless chips into the product (a Bluetooth-chip for user interaction and another chip for the building-wide network) – adding cost, hardware size and complexity and increasing the power consumption of the device.

In the connectivity industry, it has been a well-known fact that running multiple protocols with stringent timing requirements, concurrently on the same chip by time-sharing the radio, poses a huge challenge. LumenRadio’s Research and Development team has through dedicated and hard work now cracked the nut and solved the problem. Through the latest release of MiraOS it is now possible to, on the same chip, concurrently combine Bluetooth with the ultra-reliable, low energy, IPv6 capable, meshing network of MiraOS.

Enabling smart device interactions

What this means is that interactions between a wireless product and a smart device is now possible at the same time as the wireless mesh network is being fully operational. Concurrent Bluetooth operation opens up many desired possibilities such as intuitive and hassle-free commissioning and maintenance, locally extracting larger data sets, or possibilities for end user interactions through a smartphone or tablet.

User interactions on the edge within a smart building solution is becoming increasingly important, as we see a trend where workplaces, buildings and production flows are no longer static – rather dynamic, with a need to allow more frequent and easy user interaction with all kinds of equipment. Local control loops can enable individual preferences, something that tomorrow’s activity-based workplaces will require.

“Enabling concurrent Bluetooth and MiraMesh connectivity will give our customers the best of two worlds. This feature can unleash their creativity for smooth, intuitive user experiences while not compromising on reliability and performance. Life at the edge will never be the same again.” Niclas Norlén, CTO, LumenRadio

“Combining Bluetooth and ultra-low energy 6lowpan mesh operation concurrently in the MiraMesh stack has been a complex challenge to solve. Knowing how hard it is to run multiple protocol with stringent timing requirements, concurrently on the same chip makes me even prouder of my team. The knowledge, effort and hard work they have showed in this project is impressive.”
Michael Karlsson, R&D manager, LumenRadio

At LumenRadio we see an ever-increasing demand for concurrent Bluetooth operation and by adding this to our MiraOS we offer the most reliable, low energy consumption and Future-Proof wireless technology on the market.

 

For more information, please contact:

LumenRadio

Niclas Norlén

CTO

niclas.norlén@lumenradio.com

+46 (0)766 278 728

 

About MiraOS

LumenRadio’s operating system MiraOS enables large scale and easy-to-install wireless meshing networks and is developed with a focus on reliability and ultra-low power communication. With patented FPCC (Future-Proof Coexistence Connectivity) technologies for mesh, coexistence, ultra-low energy, over the air FW-updates, commissioning, large scale networks etc MiraOS is today the most resilient and low energy consumption on the market.

Key benefits

  • Ultra-Low energy meshing mode
  • Easy commissioning using NFC or Bluetooth for very low installation cost
  • Large scale communication with thousands of nodes in a network
  • Scalable & flexible setup (from small to large-sized installations)
  • Best in class firmware update over the air
  • Open application layer for customer application development

 

About LumenRadio

LumenRadio is a wireless connectivity company based in Gothenburg. They develop, market and sell a low-power and ultra-reliable embedded operating system for wireless IoT-applications based on their patented FPCC (Future-Proof Cognitive Coexistence) technologies. From high-profile professional lighting to heavy-duty industrial equipment, LumenRadio has a solution that works in environments where others fail. www.lumenradio.com

 

 

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As cool as “Beam me up, Scotty”

Bluetooth is today the number one technology to connect your peripherals. It can be found in any smart device out there, but when it comes to smart buildings… the Bluetooth point-to-point technology is not suitable for creating a reliable building-wide network. But what if you could use Bluetooth together with your reliable building automation technology? Wouldn’t that be as cool as “Beam me up, Scotty”?!

The classic scene from Star Trek was breathtaking for kids in the seventies. The coolest technology you could ever imagine. Maybe we are not there yet, but technology is developing at a rapid pace and cool things are happening everywhere – and definitively at LumenRadio!

Bluetooth is a well-recognized standard and has been around for years, allowing you to connect your smartphone to everything from your car entertainment system to your headset. It is the number one technology to get a point-to-point connection but has its shortcomings. To have a reliable meshing network in a building with thousands and thousands of nodes, you need a more reliable, energy-efficient meshing technology.

At LumenRadio we offer ultra-reliable wireless connectivity, verified and proven by some of the most well-known companies within HVAC, Smart Lighting, Physical Security & Access Control and Industrial Sensor Networks. Our MiraMesh communication stack together with MiraOS is the most energy-efficient and reliable connectivity technology available according to our customers. But, our technology has not yet found its way into the smartphones we all carry in our pockets.

A smartphone is the perfect device for commissioning, maintenance and user interaction for your wirelessly connected products. Imagine always having your control device in your pocket, no need for extra equipment in the form of a dongle, a custom tablet, etc. Imagine combining the world of an ultra-reliable, low energy and building-wide wireless mesh technology with the simplicity and flexibility of a smartphone app. Easy some say: “Just add two radio chips!”, but that is hardly a cost-efficient, viable solution. Imagine combining the technologies on the same chip – can the best of both worlds be combined for parallel operation?

Would concurrent Bluetooth and MiraMesh operation be possible? Well as we say at LumenRadio, challenge accepted!

 

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Low energy mesh: The new industrial era

I guess nobody has missed that LumenRadio recently not only outperformed the competition, but also set a new standard for low energy mesh technology. Let us explain in detail what this means for Industry 4.0 and what incredible benefit it may entail for your business.

Real-time condition monitoring of critical equipment is a rule rather than an exception. At the same time less critical functions are disregarded due to cost or complexity aspects. However, sudden failure of these unmonitored assets might cause major damages to equipment, unplanned shutdowns or slowdowns with large expenses as a result. Actually, it is the installation of wireless sensor networks that is predicted to grow at an exponential rate over the next few years and among the fastest-growing sensor types are the simple temperature sensors*.

Many of you reading this are probably familiar with the tough requirements that need to be fulfilled to receive IP, IECEx and ATEX-certification for industrial devices. These certifications defines the essential health and safety requirements and conformity assessment procedures to be applied so that critical applications are protected in demanding environments.

 

Zero-wire sensor solutions

After these devices are installed and put in operation in Hazardous Locations, they must not be opened or affected – hence changing batteries after a few years in operation is not an option. You don’t want to put anything at risk in an explosive atmosphere and the products need to be designed to withstand extremely harsh conditions during its complete life cycle. This is one of the main benefit with having wireless products running in industrial applications; eliminating the need of changing batteries through the whole lifecycle. A technology which solves this problem is in strong demand and by some it’s considered a dream – we just made it a reality.

By releasing improved ultra-low energy consumption for battery operated solutions, we made it possible for industrial players to break new ground and take the next step within zero-wire sensor solutions.

 

Low energy mesh for sensor technology

MiraOS v2.1 enables ultra-low energy consumption for battery operated solutions. The current consumption for meshing nodes is now reduced to less than 16uA, which enables more than 15 years operation in routing mode from an AA-sized battery.

MiraOS enables low-powered sensor technology to become smart and connected through large-scale wireless mesh networks. Finally, product manufacturers can get an ultra-reliable and Future-Proof wireless solution with the most resilient technology on the market – justifiable for a much broader range of equipment. Decreased energy consumption means that sensors and devices can be designed for industrial requirements running on small batteries for a complete product lifecycle. Another main driver of low energy mesh technology in battery powered devices is retrofit. Industrial machines are retrofitted with wireless sensors to attain lower installation cost, lower product costs and to have an increased service life of the product.

Low-power radio technology is a fundamental requirement in the design of communication protocol for wireless sensor networks. Only by doing that we can achieve autonomous sensor networks that are flexible and can be installed at low cost.

We have said it before – choosing the right wireless connectivity technology will be crucial for the future success of your business, so don’t settle for mediocre standards.

 

If you are interested in learning more about wireless technologies for predictive maintenance, please contact:

 

Christian Sahlin
christian.sahlin@lumenradio.com
+46 (0) 703 40 89 00

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Become IoT ready with connected fixtures

Today, smart lighting and connected fixtures is on every luminaire manufacturers agenda and a quick time-to-market solution to become “IoT ready” is crucial in order to retain or create your competitive advantage. But how do you get smart and rid yourself of  connectivity panic?

 

10 years ago we discussed how and when the LED was going to be used and adopted by the market and many of us were surprised how fast the LED revolution happened. The revolution we see now is within connected fixtures and not only is smart lighting a strong trend for achieving sustainable buildings and energy efficient cities, but today, luminaires in general are expected to be able to do more than just turn on and off.  But the most pressing question regards how fast these new features can be implemented.

 

The LED revolution happened fast and this coming lighting revolution will progress even more rapidly – there is no time to waste. A quick time-to-market solution, to have your luminaires become IoT ready, is crucial in order to retain or create your competitive advantage. But how do you add value to your fixtures and have them become IoT ready now, without having the in-house capabilities and knowledge it takes to develop your own reliable radio communication solution? The answer to this problem is one of the “ready-made” products for easy integration on the market. But the fact is that an IoT implementation is a big change and it requires future possibilities and business development needs to be weighed in in the decision making. So how do you combine rapid time to market and the option to do future developments?

 

With Lumenradio’s AirGlow®, your fixtures will be IoT ready in a matter of minutes. But the main gain, which separates AirGlow® from other wireless lighting controls, is that AirGlow® has unique scaling abilities; it allows for light control of individual rooms but also the possibility to scale and allow for building wide control – all using the same product. This means that you can have your fixtures IoT ready in an instant, and still keep the options open for future developments and expand your offer further on – enabling even more ways to save energy and creating a better tomorrow.

 

Compared to other solutions, in almost every case, you have to choose between either a ready-made product for light control of individual rooms or an operating system for building wide control. With AirGlow® you don’t have to choose – you get both options!  

 

Want to know more about this unique scalability and how AirGlow® with minimum effort gives you maximum possibilities? Stay tuned for next blogpost or visit us at Lux Live (booth K11) to see AirGlow® in real life and stop by for a “Coffee and connectivity” chat.

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Low Energy Mesh – Zero Wires for Zero Energy buildings

EU’s goal of making all buildings so called nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) by 2020 to reduce our carbon footprint creates a demand for low energy mesh technology in battery powered devices.

 

According to EU, buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions. Currently, about 35% of the EU’s buildings are over 50 years old and almost 75% of the building stock is energy inefficient, despite this, only 0.4-1.2% (depending on the country) of the building stock gets renovated each year.

 

Environmental action

On June 19 2018 EU voted for a new revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPDB) where one of the six additions states:

Smart technologies will be further promoted, for instance through requirements on the installation of building automation and control systems and on devices that regulate temperature at room level.

Already by 2020 member states must transpose the revised EDPD into national law. This might sound too ambitious and even aggressive but we cannot wait any longer. We need to act now for our wellbeing of tomorrow and the planet we are living on. We need implement smart building technologies.

 

Retrofit

To be able to meet the revised 2020 binding EDPD legislation, a massive retrofitting and renovation of existing buildings must take place. A improvement of these old buildings energy efficiency will significantly reduce CO2 emissions and help us fight global warming.

At LumenRadio we are already seeing an effect of this ambitious yet necessary directive among our customers. For manufacturers within HVAC and Building Automation there is today a huge demand for retrofit friendly wireless technologies.

 

Zero Wires

With this massive retrofitting, the demand for wireless connectivity for sensors and control gears is exploding! But wiring all sensors and control gears will be very expensive and replacing the data cabling with wireless connectivity will only take us half the way. It has to be Zero Wires.

For instance retrofitting a sensor measuring Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) will be very expensive if you still would need a power cable. The only way of solving this is by choosing an ultra low power connectivity technology that let’s the sensor run on small batteries for years or alternatively utilizing small size low cost energy harvesting technologies.

 

Low energy mesh

With the MiraOS version 2.1 release LumenRadio has taken low energy mesh to a new level. Building wide battery powered meshing connectivity for building automation is now for the first time feasible. In the ultra low energy mode LumenRadio is pushing the envelope of what is possible.

A sensor part of a meshing network can be powered from a standard small size coin cell battery beyond 10 years sending 5 sensor messages once every minute! This is significantly better than any other competing wireless technology and enables battery powered products to run on the same battery through the whole lifecycle.

For us this technology push is a matter of saving the planet.

Do you want to know more about LumenRadio’s ultra low energy mesh technology and help us reducing CO2 emissions? Call us today!

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Let’s add some real Edge to the Edge

– A trend report from IoT Solution World Congress (IoT SWC) Barcelona.

What are the tech giants discussing, what is the IoT technology of tomorrow and what are the main takeaways from one of the leading  IoT industry events? Our CTO Niclas Norlén gives you his thoughts and reflections of IoTSWC 2018.

At this year’s edition of IoTSWC the trend was quite clear and even stronger than last years edition – all the actions happens on the Edge of the network. Today we are seeing the tech giants Microsoft and Google fighting for attention for their Edge technologies, whilst a few years ago the battle were rather about their Cloud technologies.

The intensified investments in Edge technology does not come as a surprise. For example the chip giant Arm predicts to have shipped 1 trillion IoT chips within a 20 year period. The majority of the ARM chips are used in applications at the Edge, in everything from sensors to gateways.

 

Crunching data at the Edge

So why this enormous investment and this massive amount of IoT chips prediction by ARM? I think it can be explained by just mentioning one of the cases I heard about at the congress;  The elevator manufacturer Schindler have 1.5M elevators connected on a global basis, each generating 2.5G of data every day. You can do the math but the conclusion is that there is an overwhelming amount of data that needs to be crunched every day.

Now ask yourself:
Where is the best place to crunch all this data? In the cloud, sending the data through a Telco? Or locally at the Edge with low latency and thus no cost for sending data to the cloud (which for Schindler would be a significant cost…)?

Well you’re right, the majority of all data has to stay at the Edge. And this is the reason why the “Cloud” giants as Microsoft and Google are making significant investments into what they call Edge technology. They are on a mission to make it easy to crunch data and send the data that brings value to the cloud. And all this data is generated by sensors many times having an ARM core.

The tech giants have extended their offering now not only covering operating systems and technology for the Cloud but also offering for the Edge gateway that normally has the processing power required for those operating systems.

 

A missing piece in the puzzle

But wait, there is a missing piece in the three piece puzzle Edge device (sensor) – Edge gateway – Cloud. This piece is one of the most important ones and the very foundation of IoT.

You need an operating system for the ever so constrained devices, devices which are is the very source for all data; an operating system for the sensors and actuators. In those constrained devices we often see the low cost CPU’s, the majority of those from ARM with the prediction of 1 trillion of devices within 20 years. Those CPU’s have very limited resources compared to the CPU’s in the Edge gateways. An operating system for those devices must have a very small footprint yet provide an easy way to develop an application for processing of sensor data.


The IoT tech giants offering stops at the Edge gateway today – the device with significant processing power that connects the sensors and actuators to the cloud. But even further to the left in the picture you have the real Edge devices that is the very source of the data – the majority of all devices are found here, the temp sensors, presence sensors and vibration sensors to mention a few.

 

Retrofit demands Zero Wires

But there is more needed from the operating system for the constrained Edge devices. There is a strong trend in retrofitting sensors and actuators especially within Smart buildings, driven by green legislations, and Industrial Sensors networks, driven by predictive maintenance. Two industries that got much attention at IoT SWC, having separate focus tracks at the congress. For this retrofitting to become cost efficient the devices needs to be Zero Wire, i.e. either battery powered or powered by energy harvesting technologies. This means that energy efficient hardware and an operating system providing an energy efficient connectivity and data processing (i.e. Edge Computing) is a must.

In our product strategy the retrofitting trend is one of the main driving force. Our R&D focus to stay on the cutting Edge of technology developing our ultra low energy operating system and an ultra reliable communication stack for constrained devices.

Leaving IoT SWC I’m even more confident that we are on the right path adding some real Edge to the Edge.

 

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How to start your IoT initiative – solve your tangible problem!

Starting your IoT journey is as exciting as it is overwhelming. Digitalization is booming, but there is still a big gap in the information to be found and many companies are left irresolute. In all of this confusion, the most important issue is often forgotten; before you start your journey, you need to know where to start it.

 

Start with a tangible problem
Our most important recommendation of all (which is the foundation of every successful IoT solution) is ”Start with a tangible problem!”.

Today a lot of companies are asking “What’s your strategy when it comes to digitalization of your business?” or “What does your future IoT solution look like?”. Our recommendation is to wait with those questions. Instead, start where there are real problems.

If you start with a tangible problem, you will have a solid business case to rely on early in the project, and you will also face less internal resistance with the rest of your team. If your team understands the benefits of the IoT initiative, they will be more eager to start up the development journey. For example, let’s say you have problems with high installation costs; everybody in your organisation understands that this is an issue. If you decide to address this issue in your solution, you will have a solid business case and a motivated team.

The key in every IoT initiative is to not create problems – instead, focus on solving real ones. You can’t always predict what kind of needs your customers will have until you roll out your product in the field, so why spend resources on creating solutions that may not even be useful? Don’t worry, there will be room for improvements later on. Identify your tangible problem and build a business case around it where you clearly can see benefits such as reduced cost, reduced downtime, increased utilization rate, less time spent on support/installation, energy savings, etc.

So we ask again, what’s your problem?

 

New guide released
Now you know where to start, but how do you go from there? Luckily, we have years of experience in reliable connectivity and helping big companies in their IoT development. It is our goal to provide you with the knowledge needed to fully benefit from the possibilities of IoT, and that is why we have created a guide called 7 steps to launching a successful IoT solution.

Download our free guide today to get valuable insight in the process and technology. 

We hope that you, once you have read these 7 steps, feel confident that your IoT journey will be a success story!

 

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Low Energy Mesh – an unofficial world record?

Reduced energy consumption in wireless connectivity is a strong demand in many industries. LumenRadio’s focus in perfecting wireless has led to unique results within low energy mesh. Having wireless products running on the same battery through the whole lifecycle is a demand which could, by some, be considered a dream – we just made it a reality.

 

For manufacturers within HVAC, Building Automation or Industrial Sensor Networks, the main drivers of low energy mesh technology in battery powered devices is retrofit. Old buildings need to be retrofitted with modern technology to meet the requirements within energy efficient buildings, and industrial machines needs to go Zero Wires to attain lower installation cost, lower product costs and to have a increased service life of the product.  

 

At LumenRadio this has been a focus for our R&D department for some time. When we launched the MiraOS v2.0 in April we were proud of the results within low power mesh but today, five months later, we are even more proud since we have reduced the energy consumption even further in the MiraOS v2.1. We have not only outperformed the competition, but also set a new standard for low energy mesh technology.

 

MiraOS v2.1 enables ultra low energy consumption for battery operated solutions. The current consumption for meshing nodes is now reduced to less than 16uA, which enables more than 15 years operation in routing mode from an AA-sized battery. And a leaf node on a coin cell battery can easily last for 10 years. This consumption is calculated when sending a 160B data message every minute. This low energy consumption gives manufacturers the possibility to significantly lower their product- and/or their maintenance costs either by reducing battery size or having long maintenance intervals of the sensors.   

 

Meshing mode Leaf node
Coin cell battery 3 years 10 years
AA-sized battery 15 years* 15 years*

*Battery life will be limited to 15 years due to the self-discharge rate of batteries.

 

No other wireless technology can today match our ultra low energy mesh offer. Some have succeeded with 5 years of battery life when you have a 5 minute interval on your data collection, but we have gone far beyond that. In fact, with MiraOS, the only limitation is the pure shelf-life of the battery; as of today’s specifications, no AA-sized battery can last longer than 15 years, due to self-discharge. So, when the lifespan of batteries increases, we will gladly accept the challenge and provide you with an even longer running time! We call our dedicated low energy focus Zero Wire technologyTM.  

 

As shown above, this is significantly better than any other competing wireless technology. And in fact, the best possible with today’s batteries. Could it be a new unofficial world record? We think so.

 

 

Want to know more about our technology? See our collection of Whitepapers and guides here:   

 

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Visit from Lithuanias ministry 2018
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Innovation in focus for Lithuania’s minister of economy

Last week, we had a noble visit from Lithuania’s Minister of Economy and Innovation, Virginijus Sinkevičius. Together with three colleagues they came to Sweden to seek lessons on innovation and entrepreneurship.

 

Lithuania is focused on offering a dynamic and innovative business environment and many international companies are currently assembling quality research and innovation teams in the country. The country has a strong and committed governmental support for R&D and a longstanding focus on developing highly educated talents.

 

The purpose of Mr Sinkevičius visit was to meet some of the leading Swedish technology companies to better understand the trends as well as look at partnership opportunities. We at LumenRadio are proud to be chosen for a visit together with leading companies in Stockholm and Gothenburg, together with Nasdaq and Volvo Trucks.

 

LumenRadio’s research and development department was in focus during the visit and Michael Karlsson, R&D Manager, explained:

“We are always looking to further strengthen our position when it comes to technology leadership and innovation. It was an honor meeting with Mr Sinkevičius and his team to talk about the future of IoT and hear about their initiatives within our field of technology. It really helps in getting a picture of what possibilities we have.”    

 

“We are most impressed with the long-term vision, competence and passion LumenRadio team demonstrates. The IoT market is expanding rapidly and this company is well positioned to take a lead in secure wireless communication. Lithuania has a lot to offer in embedded software and hardware engineering fields, and we hope to partner in the future.”

said Virginijus Sinkevičius, who has been the minister of economy since 2017.

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Industry 4.0 | Creating self-predicting electric drives with ABB and Ericsson

LumenRadio is excited to start collaborating with ABB, KTH, Ericsson and Imagimob to tackle the Industry 4.0 vision of Self-predicting, inter-communicating electric drives.

The project is coordinated by KTH (Royal Institiute of Technology) and involves a number of industrial partners (ABB AB, Ericsson AB, Imagimob AB and LumenRadio AB) with competences in electric power, artificial intelligence and communication systems in order to build a value chain that completes each other’s core competence and business.

 

Improving energy efficiency
As a continuation of the Vinnova-financed feasibility study “Smart current sensor for a network of electric drives”, this project aims to realize a proof of concept of a new way of achieving industrial process reliability by using wireless mesh connectivity, smart electric drives and Edge AI.

In broad terms the project outcome shall improve energy efficiency and reduce down-time of industrial processes by focusing on increased intelligence, inter-communication capabilities and autonomous operation of electric drives in an industrial process.

 

Cutting edge predictive maintenance
It is expected that achieving a proof of concept will show the possibility of performing condition monitoring and predictive maintenance of winding insulation ageing in the drive control board. By using new predictive maintenance algorithms based on artificial intelligence in combination with wireless mesh inter-drive connectivity information does not have to be sent to a higher cloud to be processed. This aspect is important when talking about autonomous electric drives.

Finally, it is an honor for LumenRadio receiving this opportunity to show the greatness of wireless mesh in the quest for self-sensing and self-monitoring electric drives.

Sincerely,

Christian Sahlin

Niclas Norlén, Christian Sahlin and Peter Lindkvist

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