2. Short info about me
Information & Communication Systems Engineer
PhD in Biomedical Informatics
Author of: “Building Internet of Things with the
Arduino”, ISBN: 978-1470023430
Community Evangelist for Flyport Technology
Startup Entrepreneur - IoTango
Expert in:
Sensor networks, cloud applications, wearable
computing, sensor data mining
4. IoT for Makers
Challenges
Easy to use -
Cost
learn
H/W
Power Communication
Connectivity
Plug n WiFi vs
Play RF
5. IoT for Makers
Numerous prototyping platforms:
Arduino
ioBridge
Flyport (Stay for the Demo!)
Libelium
…
6. IoT for Makers
Arduino for (Home) Prototyping:
Comes with Plug n Play modules
Shields
Supports various com. Interfaces
BT
WiFi
ZigBee (famous XBee modules)
3G
RF
7. IoT for Manufacturers
Build from scratch option Use a prototyping
platform and save time
Microcontroller Family - I/Os
Arduino
Sensors
Flyport
Communication
Libelium
Power
….
Design
Simulate / Prototyping
9. Hardware Challenges Overview
Networking
Security Data
(Communication)
Resources (CPU/Microcontroller,
Interoperability
RAM)
Power Consumption
10. The Networking Challenge
From the networking perspective - Which RF technology?
Sure, Ethernet could be used in some cases
11. Questions to answer
PROTOCOL
RANGE
SUPPORT
POWER
CONSUMPTION
DATA RATE SECURITY
12. The WiFi vs RF Debate
WiFi pros:
Internet gateways (i.e. WiFi access points) are already
established
IoT devices can have direct connectivity to the Internet without
the need for additional infrastructure (setup cost, maintenance
cost, etc.).
Almost every smartphone is WiFi enabled
An established standard, supporting a full TCP/IP stack
Focus only on the application level programming for message
and information exchange.
Integrates security
13. The WiFi vs RF Debate
WiFi cons:
Cost (even the Electric Imp at 25$ is much more
expensive than a pair of RF transceivers)
Even low power WiFi has more power consumption than
RF (and also the communication protocol introduces
much unnecessary overhead)
Low power has poor indoor performance
14. Attenuation: ‘real world’ problem that
needs to be considered
Source: http://www.wirevolution.com/category/wi-fi/
15. The WiFi vs RF Debate
RF: Great benefits over WiFi in the context of M2M:
Higher transmission range and better indoor
performance
Better price
Standards like ZigBee and 6LoWPAN include security
implementations and mechanisms for error
corrections/retransmission, etc. so that developers can
focus just on the application level as well.
16. WiFi vs RF: Who is the winner?
Depends on the application / use case
For instance, if an IoT system relies on a
limited number of devices and direct mobile
communication, then WiFi currently looks the
best solution.
The Hybrid Solution
Use RF for sensors
Use a WiFi Enabled GW for Internet
Connectivity
18. WiFi vs RF: Poll results
WiFi vs RF for IoT: I would currently develop a product using:
1 RF
WiFi
20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60
19. WiFi vs RF: Poll results
WiFi vs RF for IoT: Which one will eventually win?
Low Power WiFI
1
RF (existing)
New RF for IoT
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
20. WiFi vs RF: Poll results
ZigBee is almost dead, there is no way it will be used in future IoT
products
1 Yes, ZigBee
ZigBee, not...
20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
21. The Power Consumption challenge
Back to RF challenge!
Some modules offer:
Hibernate / Sleep modes
Consumption is Use case specific
Sensor monitoring
Information polling
Routing issues…
22. Security Issues
Security isn’t just software
Key encryption
Where does key reside
How firmware is protected?
Link encryption may be required to protect from
eavesdropping and data tampering
23. Answers (?)
No global solution
Use Case – Specific
RF vs WiFi
Low/High Power
Security
IoT Gateways can provide solution to
RF/Networking issue
Security issue