Trend Report from Light + Building 2018

Connectivity, connectivity and connectivity… A trend report from Light + Building 2018

What was the main topics at Light + Building 2018 and what can we learn from historic trends within the lighting industry? Don´t miss our CTOs trend report from the intense Frankfurt week.

10 years ago we discussed how and when the LED was going to be used and adopted by the market and I think many of us was surprised how fast the LED revolution happened. The LED is now commoditized and something we take for granted for sure.

At the 2018 edition of Light + Building, one thing stood clear, there was a massive interest around the “Connected fixture” and I recognize the same excitement and hunger for knowledge as I experienced with the LED, back in the days.

The IoT-revolution

But the connectivity revolution has a main difference from the LED technology revolution. The LED was a direct replacement of the light bulb and therefore a technology quite easy for the lighting manufacturers to understand – Connectivity is not.

With the LED we discussed CRI, color temperature and lumen/W which everyone in the lighting industry understands. But when we now talk about connectivity we use expressions like IPv6, network scaling capabilities and latency. Expression and quality indicators new to the industry.

However we are in the middle of the IoT-revolution, the future for the fixture manufacturer is wireless connectivity on a massive scale. What we see is a business driven requirement that more or less says: “– Connect or die”

Connectivity providers

This means that the lighting business needs to adapt to a technology radically different to any other technologies seen before… and it needs to happen now. The lighting business obviously needs help and there are many connectivity providers trying to get a share of the market.

Unfortunately I see that many of these connectivity providers does not really know the requirements of the lighting business, nor how to deal with them. This reminds me a little bit about the excitement when the HF-ballast for fluorescent lighting was introduced. A great technology indeed, but it attracted suppliers that shouldn’t really have entered the lighting industry. Many of the luminaire manufacturers got a cold shower when lower quality HF ballast literally burned in the field, resulting in huge costs.

Understanding wireless lighting

Connectivity for the lighting business has been LumenRadio’s core focus since the start 10 years ago, and we are today the de-facto standard of wireless lighting controls within professional lighting. Our many years of experience within lighting and IoT has given us a lot of knowledge;

  • We know that in a commercial building the number of luminaires easily scales beyond thousands.
  • We know that when you flick the switch all the lights should turn on instantly, not with a few seconds delay with fixtures turning on randomly like popcorn pops.
  • We understand that scaling also means low maintenance complexity.
  • We also understand that scaling means that the luminaire needs to be integrated in the regular IT infrastructure talking standard IPv6.

At LumenRadio we have the technology for connecting the luminaire from basic room control to massive scaling for building wide control. We know wireless light controls! Interesting times lie ahead and if you want to learn more about connectivity please contact us.

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Going from smart buildings to intelligent – trend report from SBC2018

Winston Churchill once said “We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us”. At this year’s Smart Building Conference, SBC, we learned that dramatic changes lie ahead and we need to question that old truth. Smart buildings turn intelligent and we keep on changing them…. to adjust to us. This post will give you an insight in what we discussed at SBC and what inspiring changes lie ahead.  

 

How we plan and build commercial buildings is profoundly changing. The driving forces are people and the focus on enhancing human productivity. The technology of today can improve our wellbeing which naturally leads to an improved productivity, after all we come from nature so why not make the buildings more humancentric?

 

Workspace – as important as the paycheck
Millennials will comprise more than 75 percent of the workforce by 2025, a generation where the Internet revolution and digitalization has been a natural part of life and at SBC we learned that this generation has a different view of the workspace which will have a huge impact on the design of the workplace.

Open workplaces where co-working and creativity come naturally is highly desired by this generation still a personalized workspace is equally important. Studies show that this generation will not have the same loyalty to the employer as previous generations and the workplace environment is as important as the paycheck.

The EDGE building, Amsterdam

A personalized yet open workspace is possible to combine. The EDGE building in Amsterdam is a good example. Their success lies in breaking up the traditional silo thinking that for example light control systems and a HVAC systems only can be used for the original purpose and nothing else.  Thanks to smart use of technology the EDGE building is claimed to be the most sustainable building in the world and probably also the best workplace.

 

Wellbeing leads to increased productivity
The requirements on the modern office is amplified by the increased focus on productivity represented by the $3-$30-$300 rule. That is $3 of the spending in a building is related to energy, $30 to assets and $300 of that spending is related to productivity. One percent increased productivity or one percent savings on assets or energy… what would be most beneficial…? Well you do the math.

Productivity and a good workplace environment goes hand in hand. We come from the nature and bringing in some elements of nature into the commercial building will have a significant impact in the right direction. So how will this effect Light and HVAC controls?

 

The human in focus
The future of humancentric lighting and controlled indoor climate is to break the silo thinking and let the technology serve the humans on a personal level.

Personalized controls is the way forward which means that not only should I as an individual be allowed to adjust the indoor environment up to my preference, it shall also follow me from one work place to another in the building. For example, air temperature, light color temperature and light level should be the same wherever I work in the building. And this must work in the future creative and humancentric open work spaces.

What do we need to require from technology in making smart buildings intelligent? Everything needs to talk standard IP – when things can communicate across the silos, the silos will break!  Edge computing is identified as one of the key technologies for IoT by Gartner and indispensable in an intelligent building.

Thousand and thousands of sensors connected together will resemble the neurons of the human brain….connected with the synapses… making the building intelligent.

Want to know more about these underlying technologies? Keep an eye out for my next blogpost From smart buildings to intelligent – The key technologies.  

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Smart buildings – The gains of adding connectivity to your products

[Smart buildings – part 2 of 2] Right now, there is an opening of exceptional magnitude for you as product manufacturer to revitalize your business and outrun your competitors by adding “smart” to your products and services. The question is no longer when buildings are transitioning from dumb to smart – instead it’s how and with what. This article will guide you through the essentials and help you launch your business into action.

Savings up, costs of entry down

IoT-enhanced solutions that focus on solving real problems for smart buildings is the holy grail for manufacturers wanting to get ahead of the competition. When you digitize your products, you will instantly broaden your present customer focus. Going from selling “just” core-ware to installers, your value-added products and services will instead attract a wider customer base – not just to real estate owners and contractors, but also the end users. To get that first foot in the door you should definitely be able to cut costs for your customers.

The beauty of the IoT and wireless connectivity is that it adds higher flexibility and lower installation costs by, for example, eliminating (or at least lessen) the need for complex cabling.

The business case: increased value for an extended customer-base

To really understand what IoT and wireless connectivity can bring to the table we will take a brief look at the stakeholders in the smart building ecosystem:

  • Construction companies – large-scale multitasking companies that plan and assemble a building. Also responsible for the original sustainability perspective. Overall design together with architects, engineering companies and construction managers
  • Real Estate owners (or entrepreneurs) – the buyers of a property. They invest, repair and improve the property in order to sell it for a profit
  • Installers – license and sell building equipment, material and systems (cables, clamps, connectors, etc.).
  • Building operators and facility managers –  rent out space and are responsible for the day-to-day care of the building
  • Businesses – lease office space
  • Consumers, employees and tenants (surprisingly heavy opinion makers with a strong say-so power)

It’s also important to get an elementary understanding of what the real value of going smart and green is:

  1. Lower operational costs
  2. Energy savings (sustainability)
  3. Increased property value
  4. Building and asset performance (easier maintenance and repairs)
  5. Improved occupant comfort, productivity and health
Lower operational costs

Upgradeable software replaces inflexible, cabled and time-consuming tasks. There will be less need for expensive staff that troubleshoot around the clock.

Energy savings and sustainability

After the installation of an automated building system there is a profound reduction in a building’s energy spend and the carbon footprint of the building literally shrinks with every equipment data sensor.

Increased property value

An improvement in technology and sustainability leads to a higher property value as the building now can be certified on a higher level growing rental rates by up to 24.9% compared to a conventional building.

Building and asset performance (easier maintenance and repairs)

An automated asset management system will pay for itself quickly by measuring different property life-cycles, which in turn will lessen expensive repairs down the road.

Improved occupant comfort, productivity and health

This is a pretty obvious one: when a building can keep its tenants comfortable, healthy, productive and happy, the more likely it is that they’ll thrive – and stay.

Picking the low hanging fruits

The initial steps towards intelligence in buildings are pretty straight-forward; cool the air, turn off the lights, lock the door, alert me when there’s a fire and so on. Upgrades and retrofits of run-of-the-mill systems, like lighting, security, fire detection and HVAC are the true low hanging fruits.

Smart lighting

A smart lighting system retrofitted with very-low-power, short-range wireless technology and non-invasive, low-cost sensors can automatically regulate the energy use by measuring light levels, motion and temperature.

Optimized HVAC Systems

The obvious drawback of older legacy HVAC-systems is that they spend extreme amounts of energy that in many countries come from fossil fuels which, as we know, cause high carbon dioxide emissions.

A retrofitted, demand-controlled HVAC-system will automatically set heating (or cooling) to a minimum when employees aren’t there, for example at night. Consequently, when there are zero people in the building, the energy use is also next-to-zero energy.  With a demand-controlled HVAC-system in place, a real estate owner can save up to 80% in fan electricity and 40% of heating and cooling energy compared to a constant airflow and unfluctuating temperature.

Indoor climate as a service

People is a forceful reason to go green. Occupants’ and company employees comfort, health and productivity is a high priority for most real estate owners. A study by Harvard University says that the indoor environment is affecting cognitive function and that better air quality increases the cognitive function performance of employees, suggesting that the same goes for other tenants.

Building security

Automated intrusion detection systems that are interlinked with other critical building management systems, like fire detection, simplifies security and safety-monitoring of company employees, tenants and building assets.  Another important dimension is that they have the potential to save money by preventing unnecessary energy-waste.

An option-roadmap for smart product manufacturers

Depending on what product business your in – smart commercial- or industrial buildings, healthcare or retail – you may have specific requirements of what your IoT-enabled product should deliver. So, in order not to get lost in the mountain of alternatives to digitize your products, we compiled a handy Q&A available in our final article. It is a checklist that gives you an overview of available options and hopefully an idea where to start.

Learn more by joining our webinar

Adding connectivity to your product offers will definitely give you a competitive edge. As opposed to be “just” an equipment manufacturer you are now a smart buildings supplier and that makes all the difference in the world to your customers. To get more in-depth knowledge, be inspired by the opportunities and learn about the pitfalls, you are welcome to register for our webinar.

This article is part 2 of 2 of our Smart Building series. Read part 1 here.
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Smart building conference
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EVENT | Smart Building Conference

Smart Building Conference (SBC) is an event that explores the latest technologies, business strategies, market research and case studies from more than 30 of the world’s leading smart building experts and thought leaders. We are proud to announce that LumenRadio is participating as both a sponsor and a keynote speaker.

SBC takes place on the 5th February at the RAI Amsterdam, the day before Integrated Systems Europe 2018 and is a must-attend summit for professionals working in smart buildings, smart cities, smart homes and smart offices.

The conference has an omni-disciplinary approach and brings together experts from IT, AV, building, architecture, facilities management and others. This year’s theme is From Smart Building to Smart City with two twin tracks; Residential and Commercial.

LumenRadio’s CTO Niclas Norlén is a keynote speaker talking about Value creation at the networks Edge; “I really look forward to SBC and to share our experience in how you can create competitive advantage with IoT and what values are created at the Edge. Our patents and technology is the motor behind for example Swegon’s new revolutionary IoT enabled HVAC system. The first system of its kind on the market, built on commercially available products” says Niclas Norlén.

“We’re looking forward to the keynote by Niclas Norlén, founder and CTO at LumenRadio,” says Bob Snyder, Content Chairman for the Smart Building Conference. “As wireless connectivity experts, LumenRadio products have been used in everything from big Hollywood movie productions to heavy industry installation. So many companies are talking about IoT solutions, but LumenRadio is one of the few that can discuss real solutions at the networks’ Edge.”

Alexander Hellström, CEO of LumenRadio comments the participation in Smart Buildings Conference; “I would say that SBC is one of the leading European events for smart buildings and as such we are off course delighted that our offer for Future-Proof Connectivity is recognised. He continues; “As the future smart building will be overwhelmed with wireless technologies, it’s very important to be able to adapt. With our technology our customers products are Future-Proof as they will coexist along with other wireless technologies, not being interfered and not causing interference.”

Key note from LumenRadio at SBC on the 5th of February:  

Value creation at the networks Edge

The Edge is much talked about today but what is it? Why are huge enterprises like Microsoft, Intel and Dell intensifying development of technologies for the Edge? We will answer these questions from the viewpoint of what values are created at the Edge and how you can get a competitive advantage in IoT for Smart Buildings.

Benefits:  

  • What is the Edge?
  • Real use case experience of how value is being created at the Edge.
  • Pitfalls to avoid and what to consider for a Future-Proof Edge offer for Smart Buildings

The speakers and panellists for Smart Building Conference 2018 is now revealed. You find can find the programme schedule here

Related: Whitepaper | Become Future-proof with Cognitive Coexistence.

 

 

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Predictive-Maintenance

Take predictive maintenance to the next level!

Many manufacturers are today looking at the possibilities of implementing predictive maintenance and embracing digitalisation. With this post we want to explain the importance of choosing a wireless connectivity that can take your predictive maintenance solutions to the next level!

Already in the 1950s the concept “condition-based monitoring”, CBM, was introduced in the industry to predict impending failures early enough to save components and over time the concept predictive maintenance has evolved. However, the final target is still to determine the condition of a machine and detect problems before they cause downtime. To me, the big difference between condition based monitoring and predictive maintenance is the amount of gathered data and how the data is used. Simply – The more historical condition based data that is available, the better and more accurate predictive maintenance can be done.

High installation costs

It’s easy to see the beauty in predictive maintenance and one may wonder why the method is not used everywhere when the advantages over planned maintenance are so significant. The simple answer is because of high installation costs. When the decreased maintenance cost is less than the increased installation cost the willingness to invest in new systems is very low.

Until now, wired sensor has been the only reliable alternative but it entails disadvantages such as purchasing of expensive cables, hours of installation work and limitation in scalability.  Not to mention all the instruments equipped with diagnostics about the process that is unused because of the difficulties it implies to install wired connections in the field. I could go on but I guess you got the point.

The right wireless technology

Now imagine if countless different sensors could be mounted wirelessly anywhere in a harsh industrial environment. All connected to each other in a perfectly applied meshed network,  running on battery or energy harvesting technology. Then picture yourself that the wireless connection is even more reliable and robust in comparison to wired solutions.

With LumenRadio’s Cognitive coexisting technology in combination with a meshed network and firmware-over the air updates (FOTA) this scenario is not fictive anymore but rather the reality of today.

With Future-Proof radio technology predictive maintenance will be applied more widely than ever. For the end customer, this means easier installation, lower installation cost, increased flexibility and scalability but also improved profitability as the service life of the machine will be optimally managed.

It is the ability to collect and process large amount of information that will boost your manufacturing. With wireless technology more sensors can be connected gathering more data for your decisions. More connected sensors implies a higher demand for interference management. This is why choosing the right wireless connectivity technology will be crucial for the future success of your business, so don’t settle for mediocre standards.

 

If there is anything else you’d like to know regarding wireless technologies for predictive maintenance, you can always contact me directly:

Christian Sahlin

International Sales manager

E: christian.sahlin@lumenradio.com

T: +46 (0) 703 40 89 00

 

Remember to also check out our Whitepaper – Future Proof with Wireless standards, which will give you an overview on the standards that are relevant to consider related to wireless communication and give you guidance and knowledge in choosing a wireless IoT standard.

DOWNLOAD NOW

 

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Start with a tangible problem! – Latest episode from IoT-podden

How are the major Swedish manufacturing companies dealing with IoT and digitalisation and how can we strengthen the innovation process in the manufacturing industry? These were important topics at the Elmia Subcontractor tradeshow in november, a tradeshow dedicated to product development and purchasing.

The Swedish magazine Ny Teknik’s podcast IoT-podden was recorded live at the tradeshow and the focus was how small innovative tech companies can kickstart the bigger manufacturers IoT agenda. Three young and promising innovation companies with the aim to revolutionise the manufacturing industry with their IoT solutions were invited to discuss this topic. Alexander Hellström, CEO of LumenRadio was one of the interviewed as well as Carl Elgh from H&D wireless and Olof Samuelsson från Addsecure. All three shared the same view that Swedish manufacturing companies really need to ignite their IoT agenda by starting to evaluate new solutions today since there will be no time to spare regarding digitalisation if you want to stay ahead of the competition.

Listen to the podcast episode here (In Swedish) 

 

 

IoT-podden-event   

“The most important factor in digitalisation and enabling your product for IoT is to focus on solving real tangible problems. What challenges are your company, products and solution facing today and how could you solve this with new technique? Doing this you will early in the project have a solid business case to rely on. Then you can later on focus on the larger opportunity at hand by creating a broader more cross functional digitalisation agenda” – Alexander Hellström, CEO of LumenRadio.

“It is often believed Sweden is at the forefront, but reports shows that digitization is slow, and that Swedish companies are below the European average. This does not apply to all, but many Swedish companies in the manufacturing industry are approaching IoT in a rather slow pace. It needs to go faster – competition is rock hard now, especially from Asia and the United States” – Carl Elgh, R&D Manager at H&D Wireless

 

If you are interested in Wireless Connectivity for your product, apply for an inspiration workshop here

 

READ MORE

 

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Stranger things poster

RC4 Wireless shines a light on Netflix’s Stranger Things

Stranger things poster


RC4 Wireless shines a light on Netflix’s Stranger Things

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LumenRadio customer RC4 Wireless provides wireless lighting and motion technology for theatre, film and television. When they were recently asked by Netflix to solve a specific flashlight issue for the series ‘Stranger Things’, they turned to the most trusted and reliable wireless solution in the industry – LumenRadio’s CRMX technology.

With a title like Stranger Things, one might expect a world that’s intense, mysterious, and dark. And one would be exactly right. However, dark isn’t always metaphorical; the Netflix series often takes literal forays into the dead of night, darkened rooms, and ink black tunnels. When it was time to shine a light into the void, the Stranger Things lighting team turned to RC4 Wireless who offer customers the option of LumenRadio CRMX integration.

“On season two, we were told a couple days into principal photography that there was going to be a lot more lighting effects than season one, especially involving flashlights and other custom-build fixtures. Not only that, but we were going to need to start to modify the flashlights not just to flicker and pulse on command, but to swell and get brighter during the scene. And all of this had to happen in a much smaller package so it could easily be carried in a flashlight by multiple members of the cast,” explains Jeff Harkes, lighting console programmer — Stranger Things 2.

Stranger things flashlight

To make those flashlights work, Harkes and his co-conspirator on set, fixtures foreman Antimo Ponticello, turned to the LumenDimM2micro from RC4 Wireless.

“The LumenDimM2micro was a good choice for this project because it’s a Swiss Army knife for portable applications of this nature. Because of its size [2.9″ x .77″ x .4.3″], it is the obvious answer, but it’s also extremely responsive on a cue. The LumenDimM2micro’s CRMX integration through the LumenRadio transmitters and its ability to be remotely managed with RDM is unparalleled right now. There isn’t anything like it on the market for portable handheld lighting control,” Harkes states. The LumenDimM2micro features two channels of dimming, includes multiple PWM frequencies, as well as the majority of the RC4Magic harmonized design features that RC4 Wireless users know and love.

To create the flashlights, “We basically made it all fit into the flashlight sleeve and soldered it all back together so that the power signal from the RC4 dimmer was feeding the flashlight directly. That gave us full control to flicker, pulse, swell or dim the bulb on command all while allowing the actors to complete their actions unencumbered by wires up their sleeves or having to rely solely on visual effects to complete the look,” says Harkes.

Intensity control was also critical to the show. “This came in handy in a lot of applications — not only was Jeff able to run any effects he had programmed on the lighting console through the RC4 LumenDimM2micro we built into the flashlight, but we could also turn it off or dim the bulb down between takes to save the lithium batteries. Being able to dim the bulb would allow us to set the level for the camera and it took some of the responsibility of handling the flashlights out of the hands of the actors by letting us handle that remotely,” explains Ponticello.

There are over a dozen flashlights used on Stranger Things. Harkes notes: “Each flashlight across the whole show acted as its own separate project. No solution was going to work perfectly for all of the flashlights so each one had to be approached in its own way. However, in the end, every flashlight ended up using a LumenDimM2micro.”

This is the second year with RC4 on Stranger Things. Harkes explains: “In season one the work with the RC4 LumenDims started in episode one with the bike lights. Jim Dornemann, our dimmer board operator, wanted to use the RC4’s to control the lights on the bicycles remotely during the scenes. We did, and it went off without a hitch.”

As for the future, Harkes notes, “RC4’s products can really solve some of the common problems that we face every day in dealing with fixtures. Their technology is reliable and their customer support is very knowledgeable, helpful, and very quick to respond.”

“It´s great to hear RC4 getting well deserved recognition for providing the film industry with sensational products for special lighting effects and we are honoured to know that LumenRadio’s CRMX technology is helping to get the job done. RC4’s LumenDimM2micro is a fantastic product and its ability to be remotely managed with RDM makes unparalleled right now” says Roberts Larsson, Sales manager at LumenRadio.

For more information about RC4 Wireless products:

www.theatrewireless.com

www.rc4wireless.com

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Nicolas Hassbjer – New board member at LumenRadio

LumenRadio is excited to announce that Nicolas Hassbjer is a new member of the LumenRadio board. Nicolas is an established name on the Swedish entrepreneur and business scene and has been a part of the successful development of many high-profile companies within Internet of Things .

Nicolas is the founder of HMS Networks, one of Sweden’s fastest growing companies for several years and awarded to Sweden´s best export company by H.M. the King of Sweden. Today he is working as an independent non-executive director, specialized in international rapid-growth companies.

The board of LumenRadio sees that Nicolas knowledge in rapid growth management and his experience in successfully leading companies from earliest startup to internationalization will be an extraordinary asset.

“It is with great pleasure that we welcome Nicolas as a board member at LumenRadio. We see Nicolas as an important strengthening to the Board in establishing LumenRadio as a global leader within ultra-reliable and Future-Proof wireless connectivity. Nicolas has done this growth journey before and has extensive knowledge in the domain” says Håkan Krook, Board Member at LumenRadio and Fund Manager, Chalmers Innovation Seed Fund AB

“LumenRadio has a wireless mesh communication technology that has been proven in very demanding applications. The technology is very well suited also for Industrial applications. I look forward to contribute in the next phases of growth”, says Nicolas Hassbjer.

Nicolas is Dr h.c. of Information Technology and has 21 years experience as CEO and from the board of several tech-companies. He has been elected as Businessman of the year and Entrepreneur of the year. Today he is the Chairman of Sigicom, Slottsmöllan, Tequity and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Southern Sweden. He is also a board member of Cybercom, Chalmers University Foundation and Almi Group board.

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Don’t let the connectivity solution determine your product’s end of life

RIP

Don’t let the connectivity solution determine your product’s end of life

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Wirelessly connected products are found everywhere nowadays and wireless connectivity is on the top of many R&D managers’ agenda. At LumenRadio we are witnessing just that, we see an ever increasing demand for wireless. But you don’t want the wireless connectivity solution you chose to determine your product’s life cycle. It should simply work until the end of life of your product, right?

But there are some pitfalls to consider for sure! In this blog post I will discuss how to avoid them.

Wireless is exploding

I would say that almost everyone agrees that wireless connectivity is the future.

We see sensors and actuators being connected all around us. Wireless connectivity is exploding and is a key enabler technology for IoT. It’s not only us saying that, I mean after all we are somewhat biased at LumenRadio, we are passionate about perfecting wireless connectivity. So you wouldn’t expect anything else. But you can read this in reports from Ericsson [1] and Gartner [2], to mention a few. They are all pointing into the same direction – massive wireless connectivity lays ahead! Of course these are predictions and predicting the future is hard, it has always been. But the trend is pointing upwards, very very steep upwards. And it is all happening now!

Choosing the right connectivity technology

In this world of predictions, how do you make sure that you are choosing the right connectivity technology?

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post about The Frequency Spectrum: massive connectivity means massive use of frequencies. Your wireless enabled product might be working fine and dandy today. But imagine that a couple of years after your product was installed, a new wireless sensor system is implemented in addition, or the IT department decides to install more WiFi. If your system can’t cope with the new competition it will risk failing, resulting in poor quality of service. You can imagine the support burden when the customers start calling. This could very well lead to you having to redesign the product…

Firmware updates over the air!

Let’s move on to something that should be a given. Firmware updates over the air! It’s crucial!

I mean, what do you do if you implemented an undocumented feature? You know, a feature that product management would call a bug… Or imagine the same product management being über-excited about a new feature they want implemented, a feature that the customers just have to have. Imagine you have to say “not possible” Firmware updates over the air are crucial!

Does it work in real life?

But you need to watch out! Some vendors claim they have FW updates working, but we have witnessed quite a few systems that don’t work in real life. I would say that anyone can get FW updates over the air working in a lab environment for a few units. But what happens in real life when you have to update thousands of units and some of them are battery powered? Ask for proof before you buy into a vendor’s wireless connectivity solution!

FW updates over the air is a focus area for LumenRadio R&D. Even if you have thousands of units in the network, a FW update is just a push of a button away. Thanks to our patented method a FW update that can take hours and hours won’t drain the battery-powered nodes. These are not just empty words, we have proven ourselves in the field. For example this building, Torsplan 2 in Stockholm.

About 3000 wireless sensors and actuators installed are in the network. We stress-tested the system doing multiple FW updates, and it worked flawlessly in an environment where the frequency spectrum was saturated by other wireless systems. And you know what: FW updates were running in the background while the system continues to be 100% operational. The customer won’t notice any degradation of performance, just that great new feature. This is a result of years of research, development and testing at LumenRadio!

Frequencies, a scarce natural resource

I mentioned that the frequency spectrum is becoming saturated. Our Cognitive Existence technology excels even though the spectrum is saturated. The main reason for us to develop the Cognitive Coexistence technology was to be able to offer Future-Proof wireless connectivity. In this world of massive adoption of wireless connectivity and the explosion of mobile data, we have the technology that won’t keep you awake at night after a product launch. Our Cognitive Coexistence technology will make intelligent predictions of the future and adapt, always using the best available frequencies.

If you want the full details about our Cognitive Coexistence technology please see my blog post about Our most valuable natural resource – The Frequency Spectrum.

Future-Proof Coexistence Connectivity

We are witnessing an explosion in wireless connectivity, driven by IoT. LumenRadio is your partner in connecting your products, helping you throughout their full lifecycle.
We know the importance of choosing the right technologies, making sure your products are future-proof. Best-in-class firmware upgrades over the air and ultra-reliable connectivity through Cognitive Coexistence are technologies from LumenRadio that will ensure just that.

We call this FPCC – Future-Proof Coexistence Connectivity.

Fortunately for you, we have written a more in depth whitepaper around this called “Becoming Future-Proof with wireless cognitive coexistence”, which you can download here.


DOWNLOAD WHITEPAPER

SOURCES:
[1] https://www.ericsson.com/assets/local/mobility-report/documents/2017/ericsson-mobility-report-june-2017.pdf
[2] http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3598917

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How will mesh technologies help you in becoming Future-Proof?

City_Mesh_1500

How will mesh technologies help you in becoming Future-Proof?

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Some people claim mesh is the new hype, the new magic bullet. Why is that, and what is mesh anyway? And most importantly – how will it help in designing your products?

First we need to set the scene – what’s the situation when not having mesh? Well, think about your WiFi. To get good coverage and quality of service you’ll need to install several WiFi access points across a building, and tie them together though a building wide network (most commonly Ethernet).

Star Network_WiFi

[Star network -WiFi]

This approach is both labor intensive and expensive since there is hardware and wiring needed, with the sole purpose of creating network coverage.
An extremely important factor in these cases is the link range, since that will limit how far away a device can be from an access point.

Mesh networks on the other hand are networks where the devices themselves creates the coverage, and help forwarding the data. This eliminates the need for separate infrastructure; the devices will create the infrastructure themselves – reducing cost and complexity.
Since data is forwarded from node to node, the range from a device becomes less important, since the range now does not have to cover all devices, but instead is only required to cover the distance between two devices.

Mesh network

[Mesh network] 

Furthermore mesh networks are most often self-healing. In layman terms this means that if the link is bad (for instance due to a device failure or in case the surrounding environment has changed), the network will find a new route for the traffic. The network is thus not sensitive to changes made in the building. In other words, the network is future-proof!

Self-healing_1Self-healing_2

[Self-Healing] 

With self-healing networks and no need for special infrastructure it easy to see why mesh is considered a magic bullet – it simply helps in creating Future-Proof systems.

Read more about how we create Future-Proof Connectivity on our blog.

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