It may be somewhat surprising, but the latest generation of cellular technology, LTE, is the most successful standard in telecom history. Overcoming the geographical challenges of GSM by reaching across the US, and bringing high-speed data to all manner of wireless devices, the adoption of LTE is phenomenal by any standard. With over 500m subscribers [...]
As a means of bringing wireless to simple and inexpensive devices, Bluetooth Low Energy, otherwise known as BLE or Bluetooth SMART, is impressive. It uses just a tenth of the power of classic Bluetooth by utilising fast connections, longer sleep modes and a concise messaging structure. The most rapid growth of BLE has initially been [...]
What do car parking slots in New Brunswick, Canada, the snow pack of California's Sierra Nevada and a prescription drugs manufactory in Cork, Ireland have in common? Dust. Not the dust that we spend time chasing around the house, but Smart Dust, from Dust Networks; tiny, self powered elements working together in networks. The history of smart dust began [...]
For the average driver, pin-point precise location and navigation are handy tools that save time and mileage. But for the emergency services, fleet management and stolen vehicle recovery, reliable, uninterrupted, three-dimensional positioning that doesn’t rely on regular map software updates can be the difference between success and failure, and sometimes life or death. However, the [...]
A defining decision in developing for the Internet of Things (IoT) is the choice of communication channel for the Things (the nodes with sensors etc., at the edge of the IoT). In choosing the protocol you have to bring into consideration the board footprint and power consumption - both critical for the small, often battery-powered [...]
