At The Digital Catapult Centre Brighton event, Tech Beyond The Screen: Connectivity & Infrastructure on Wednesday 2nd March, Bill Harpley talked about Brighton's Everynet project.

1. Welcome to the Everynet
A dedicated Internet of Things
network for Greater Brighton

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Linux |Cloud | Wireless | IoT
www.astius.co.uk

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Say hello
Bill Harpley MSc MIEE
Founder and Principal Consultant
Astius Technology
bill.harpley@astius.co.uk

4. What is the Everynet?
• It’s a dedicated low-power IoT network for Brighton
– Low-power => battery life of sensor nodes 10+years
– Low-cost to build and operate
– Secure ( 128-bit AES encryption )
– Suited to very low-bandwidth sensor applications
• Smart meters
• Object tracking (e.g. pets, hedgehogs)
• Monitoring (e.g. air quality)
– Employs long-range LoRa wireless technology
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5. Why we love LoRa
• LoRa is a wireless technology developed by a major
semiconductor company called Semtech
• The software that powers the network is called
LoRaWAN
– It’s an open standard developed by the LoRa Alliance
– Supported by major players such as Cisco, HP and IBM
– Open standard means more choice and lower costs
• Commercial solutions ( hardware + software )
• Open source solutions ( hardware + software )
• “Long range” means wide area coverage
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6. Overview
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7. Base stations
Indoors Outdoors
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8. End-points (mote)
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9. How will we build it?
• Inspired by principles of the global Things Network
– Crowfunded / crowdsourced
– Community owned
– Built by volunteers
– Opportunities for citizen involvement (e.g. hackathons)
• Key stakeholders
– B&H Council
– Brighton University
– Sussex University
– Local businesses (tech and non-tech)
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10. Phases of growth
• Phase 1: pilot project covering busy corridor
from Lewes to Brighton Pier ( ~ 18 months)
• Phase 2: build out across whole of Greater
Brighton ( ~ 2 years)
• Using this phased approach provides room for
experimentation and learning
• The Everynet will provide a low cost
innovation platform for Smart City projects
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11. What are the benefits?
1. It will help us broaden our technology base for the
future
2. It will help to raise the national and global profile of
the tech scene in Brighton
3. It will help us to build and retain new skills within the
community
4. These skills will provide the basis for new jobs and
businesses
5. Graduates will find employment for their new skills
6. Teaching and research resource for academia
7. Help DigiCat fulfil mission of ‘Internet of Place’
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12. What skills do we need?
● Wireless / mobile networks
● Hardware design
● Cybersecurity
● Cloud computing
● Databases (SQL / NOSQL)
● Data analytics
● Machine learning
● Data visualisation
● Software development
● IPv6 networking
● Blockchain
● Virtual Reality (VR/AR)
● Business model design
● User Experience (UX)
● Service Design
● Product Design
● The Brighton tech community needs a broader
range of skills in the future
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13. Examples of projects
• Demonstration projects will play an important
role in showing what can be done with new
data-driven technologies
• Projects will help to demonstrate the worth of
emerging technologies to:
– Local businesses
– Civic leaders
• Here a couple of ideas to get you started
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14. Project No.1 : Thingbook
● 'Thingbook' is a concept which is analogous to
Facebook
– Can we develop new ways of interacting and
manipulating hyperconnected objects?
– How to we give a “face” to the 'things'?
● Provides a perfect platform for collaboration
between artists, designers and technologists
● Often known as the Social Internet of Things
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15. Project No. 2 : the Silicon Mile
● Promote the area from Grand Parade up to Preston Park
as a high-tech hub for technology businesses
( the “Silicon Mile”)
● Takes inspiration from:
– Shoreditch High Street in London (centre of Tech Universe)
– Ibeacons Living Lab project in Amsterdam
● Everynet would play a pivotal role in this project
● Silicon Mile would help to regenerate the London
Road area
● Fusebox and new Sussex Innovation Centre would
provide strong technology focus
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16. How you can get involved
• Volunteer your time and skills
– PR
– Marketing
– Legal
– Fundraising ( e.g. crowdfunding)
– Website design & hosting
• Offer to buy and host a base station (crowdsourcing)
• Propose ideas for projects
• Attend future project workshops
• Donate cash to the Everynet fund
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Brighton Powerhouse
● It's important to realise that we have a choice:
– Become an insignificant branch office of London's
Silicon Roundabout
– Develop a vision of Brighton as a major centre for
research and development of cutting-edge technologies & tech
businesses
● I repeat, we have that choice!
● I have a personal vision for this which I call
Brighton Powerhouse
– Everynet is the first stage of this programme
– Develop a global brand for Brighton technology sector
– More info in slides from recent talk bit.ly/20BDQ5z
Bill Harpley

18. Any questions?
Enlightenment awaits the curious.