M2M : Machine to Machine

Blog Move

2007-03-27T01:00:00.000-07:00

I am moving the blog to a hosted platform as the Blogger platform was limited in what it allowed me to do. The new URL is
http://m2m.orangeom.com
Please continue visiting and sending in your comments from this new location.
Thank you.

M2M Tutorials

2007-03-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

M2M Tutorial European Commission Leonardo da Vinci Community action programme maintains a web site for wireless technologies in the field of M2M (Machine-to-Machine) communication. This site requires registrations and a great set of introductory articles on what is M2M.

http://www.m2m-elearning.com/

By using mobile networks (GSM/GPRS) various devices and machines can be controlled and reported in buildings and industries with wireless M2M systems. Devices like Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), CPU devices and building automation systems as well as data networks will be interfaced together with wireless technologie

Remote Wireless Sensors for M2M Applications

2007-03-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

M2M Module Supplier - t-Mac provides always on GPRS data collections end points to monitor assets.

t-mac Technologies Ltd in partnership with FAW Electronics Ltd manufactures, markets and distributes the t-mac device, a leading intelligent system for remote, Internet monitor and control of assets including heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R), plant and machinery, fire and security systems, energy management as well as consumables such as water, air, gas and electricity.

The t-mac product collects and uploads information as to asset conditions, status and alerts via GPRS to a central server to which users log-on, via any Internet enabled PC, to view live and historic readings.

M2M System Compromised??

2007-03-23T12:30:00.001-07:00

Can your M2M deployment be compromised?

There is widespread agreement on the benefits that are provided by M2M applications. You see a lot of buzz around cost saving, new service initiatives, Customer Satisfaction and more. M2M now puts your asset on the network – intranet, corporate web, Internet. In the past there were a limited number of people who had access to the asset. Now anyone on the network has access to the asset and has the potential of accessing data that they should not be looking at. This problem becomes acute when information is being sent over the Internet.

Does this mean I should not implement M2M services?

Certainly not!! You need to take the right precautions that you would normally take to protect your corporate network. All the best practices that are in place for securing and fortifying you network apply to any M2M deployment. In addition to that you need to identify security holes that are unique to you application. These are dependent on the technology you use for communicating to your asset, the level of remote access you provide and the network safeguards that you have placed around your Remote services.

I came across this article that talks about how thieves are using wireless doorbells to jam remote locking systems on vehicles. The doorbell transmitters are used to block the signal from the motorist's key fob, leaving the car unlocked Crooks wait until the owner has walked away and can then take the car or steal anything the owner may have left inside the vehicle।

M2M

M2M Expo

2007-03-23T09:07:00.000-07:00

M2M Expo will be held in Chicago from May 22 - May 24

2007 Event

4th year defining M2M (Machine-to-Machine)
The first and only M2M Expo reaching global issues and subjects with global players
Held in partnership with Harbor Research, the thought leader in M2M and Pervasive Internet

Target Audience

Technologists, product and component makers as well as system and service providers
OEM adopters and industry experts from the breadth of M2M application segments
Integrators, IT consultants and M2M-centric service providers
Thought leaders in the evolution of M2M, Pervasive Internet and the second generation Internet

Expected Demographics

Executive-level stakeholders (CEO, Presidents, Vice Presidents and divisional / area managers)
Strategic decision makers, with high-level buying authority
Experts in device-centric technology from IT, Wireless, device management and applications

2007 Conference Topics

Focus on Service enabling products and technologies
Applying M2M in energy and sustainability issues
M2M as a Grand Integration methodology of multiple industry segments
Strong case studies and success experiences from thought leaders in many segments
Discussions on new and relevant technologies for M2M applications

M2M Paper

2007-03-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

Goals - Plan to publish at least one paper a month on the emerging M2M trends focusing on

Why shoudl you care about M2M?
M2M value Chain - How does this fit into your overall Corporate ecosystem
M2M Security
M2M Hurdles
Technology Trends that Support M2M
M2M Case Studies , Examples of live M2M Deployments.

Remote Control for Untility companies

2007-03-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

Came across this company that uses rudimentary technology to enable remote monitoring. THe beauty lies in its simplicity. The company creates a box that plugs into your asset. The black box has a built in pager that responds to pages that it receives. Based on the page that it received it performs an action - turn of the power supply, turn on the power supply, turn the motor on etc. I am sure they must have built in some sort of security mechanism - could not find any information on that on the website.

System like this that are simple are much more likely to succeed in the short term than sophisticated mesh systems. The reason for this type of set up to succeed more than other M2M applications is that it is an incremental evolution in the existing infrastructure. Customers get it, Minimal changes to their operations and you are able to see the benefits at a much lower price point. They offer solutions for telecoms, Utility companies and Amber alert systems.

Quote - The NH100 allows a user to remotely control power to any device that can be plugged into a standard household outlet. Simply page the unit just as you would an ordinary pager—it’s completely wireless, no phone line is required. The NH100’s smaller size makes it perfect for rebooting and simple on/off applications. Convenient installation options include an audible alarm and serial data port allowing for printed messages which makes it a popular choice for emergency notification applications.

Cellular Modems for M2M

2007-03-22T13:32:00.000-07:00

Data Remote Inc provides cellular modems that allows you to connect your asset via the cellular network. They have customized vertical specific solutions such as -

Remote Meter Reading
Fleet Management
Power Station Monitoring Control
Gas Water and Oil flow Monitoring
Cellular ATM transactions and more

Cellular Modems from DataRemote, Inc. have consistently been at the forefront of cellular data transmission technology since 1991. Our self-contained CDMA, GPRS cellular, PCS and analog Cellular Modems have been successfully deployed across diverse applications including automatic meter reading (AMR) remote telemetry, SCADA, automatic vehicle location (AVL) and remote point of sale (POS). And as one of the first companies to design, build and market cellular modems that operate on CDMA and PCS networks, we use cutting-edge technology to tailor our solutions to the individual needs of our customers. Our cellular modems and other real-time technologies provide communication capabilities that are cost-effective, flexible and efficient. Plus, not only do we provide these outstanding cellular modem solutions, but we back them up with the most reliable, skilled technical support in the industry.

M2M provider expands into the US Market.

2007-03-22T13:23:00.000-07:00

ConnectOne a provider of IP connectivity for IP based M2M applications has opened up a branch office in the US.

Connect One manufactures semiconductors and device servers that facilitate easy, reliable and robust Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity for machine-to-machine (M2M) applications. The firm is positioning itself to secure a leading role in the US M2M market, which analysts predict will account for approximately 40% of the $63 billion worldwide M2M market by 2009.

Connect One is a major contributor to the widespread adoption of IP-based communication in M2M applications. It has become a major player in the M2M industry, with over 1,000,000 iChip™ IP controller chips deployed in more than 50 countries — many of them installed in point-of-sale (POS) terminals, medical devices, security systems, and fleet management terminals. Connect One’s field-proven embedded chips, modules and external device servers enable manufacturers of non-PC devices to easily, quickly and cost-effectively IP-enable new and existing designs.

Connect One Semiconductors’ new office is located at 560 Winchester Blvd., Suite 500, San Jose, CA 95128. Tel: 408-572-5675, Fax: 408-572-5601.

The cost of automation - M2M vs Manual Inspection

2007-03-21T17:25:00.000-07:00

The question posed in one of the blogs is the cost of Automation - M2M is automating the collection and analysis of data. The author give s a great example of Qualtiy Vs Quantity.
Quote >>

Many photographers like to develop their film by hand too. If Hillman Curtis did that with his movie, for every frame, he’d definitely get a richer result. He’d also never finish.

I think it comes down to a simple trade-off — every time you flick an “auto” switch off, development time goes up, but quality goes up too - people always do things better than machines. Which switches you flick is a judgment call that has to be made for each switch and for each project.

M2M Systems face the same problem . Where do we draw the line between autonomous machine communicaitona nd decision making versus applying physical human inspection - see, touch and feel the asset to diagnose the problem. A truly successful M2M Application will balance out the above conflicting needs..

M2M Deploymenet challenges - Vending Industry

2007-03-21T17:16:00.000-07:00

Cantaloupe systems provides M@M services to the vending industry. The concept is very simple - you as a customer have hundreds of vending machines at various locations. Cantaloupe provides the infrastructure where by you can get realtime upddates on these vending machines - are they out of stock, which is the fast moving product in the machine by location, Which machines have operational problems (mechanical etc). HAs a unique value proposition for the vending industry.

The only problem is that the vending industry is a mature industry and has the old way of doing thing - I have delivery guy that does the rounds on schedule and restocks the machines. The work load is know in advance and all the operations can be scheduled. This works for the industry - why invest in new technology that is cutting edge($$).

In addition to this the field operations would need to be realigned with the M2M system to be reactive as opposed to the current system where everything is routine? This is the biggest challeng of any M2M deployment.

Company Profile:
Cantaloupe Systems specializes in providing wireless, technical solutions for the vending industry. Wireless systems are crucial for the continued success of the vending industry. By tracking and analyzing data seamlessly wireless systems will help the vending industry become increasingly efficient and help implement cost saving procedures.

CalAmp : M2M Consolidation

2007-03-21T16:58:00.000-07:00

CalAmp firms ups its position in the M2M space by acquiring AirIQ. CalAmp Corp. (Nasdaq: CAMP), a leading provider of wireless communication solutions, announced today that it has agreed to acquire the Vehicle Finance division of AirIQ Inc. (TSX:IQ), a leader in global wireless security, for cash consideration of $19 million. The transaction is expected to close today. The Vehicle Finance division, which generated 2006 revenues of approximately $15 million and currently operates under the Aircept brand, sells Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) and cellular-based wireless asset tracking products and services to vehicle lenders that specialize in automobile financing for high credit risk individuals. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to CalAmp after excluding amortization of intangible assets arising from the acquisition.

About CalAmp M2M/MRM : CalAmp is a leading provider of embedded cellular transceivers and GPS modules for Machine-to-Machine (M2M) applications. You may think of our transceivers as cellular phones for machines, where they keypad and earpiece are replaced by a serial interface optimized for a machine/processor to communicate with. Our modules are industrial hardened and designed for the unique rigors of machine environments. CalAmp's Skybility brand is recognized as a pioneer in M2M communications, having enabled partners throughout North America to deploy solutions that monitor and control assets across the continent.

In addition to embedded wireless modules, CalAmp offers design and development services, as well as manufacturing services, leveraging our experience with cellular, WiFi, satellite, MMDS, and other wireless technologies.

MWA Intelligence

2007-03-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

Here is a company that provides solutions for the making the customer service process more effecient by providing - automated data collections, Replenishment Service, Meter Reading, Service Dispatch and more. This is a spin of from a company that has a patent on the Print Controller - in your printer. So every printer that gets made gives back a few $$ to EFI .. Good business to be in..

MWA intelligence is a spin off from EFI that provides remote management services.
MWA Intelligence solutions include asset and resource management tools and related software, hardware and communication technologies to manage your employees, assets and business operations in a more efficient manner. Our Intelligent Service and Intelligent Workforce modules enable remote management of mobile workers, dispatch automation, service operation automation, business information reporting for executive management and more. These modules leverage wireless and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) communication technologies to deliver greater operational efficiencies, reduce expenses and increase customer satisfaction.

M2M connectivity

2007-03-21T15:59:00.000-07:00

I was referred to this website by a friend of mine. Reviewing their product portfolio it looks like they provide the necessary elements that connect your assets to the enterprise. Their Technology offering is based on bringing the following 3 elements together

Embedded Computing
Wireless Networking
Web Services

Quote >>
Arch Rock Primer Pack is a complete, out-of-the-box wireless sensor network (WSN) that allows for the rapid development and deployment of pilot networks. It is simple enough to be deployed in an hour, yet sophisticated enough to be seamlessly integrated into enterprise applications as a set of standards-compliant web services. With its service-oriented architecture (SOA), Internet Protocol (IP)-based services and tools, and responsive, low-power mesh networking, the Primer Pack provides seamless integration with the IT enterprise. Users can now realize the power of wireless sensor networks immediately.

Why is M2M important for you?

2007-03-21T10:10:00.000-07:00

Remote Management / Remote monitoring is the the way of the future. There are plenty of reasons as to why a company would want to integrate a M2M system into their corporate eco-system. A company in UK recently rolled out a System that allows employees to work securely when they are away form the office.

Business Continuity and flexible working requirements are among the key drivers which have prompted the Institute of Directors (IoD) to begin rolling out secure remote working technology from policy-based networking leader AEP Networks.

Here are some threats that were listed as the driver for the Remote Management system. Some of these are also applicable to any M2M / Remote management system.

"We face a number of potential threats, partly as a result of our location in Pall Mall, Central London," said Richard Swann, the IoD's IT Infrastructure Manager. "They range from terrorist activity blocking off access to our offices, through to poor weather and the everyday transport problems that can affect a big city. The possibility of an avian flu epidemic is another emerging risk we are aware of and we wanted to have effective remote working systems in place as a contingency. We are also keen to encourage flexible and home working."

Train Telematics

2007-03-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

Stone India is working on a prototype that allows a on board telemetry control device to monitor 24/7 the brake performance on the train. What this could do is instead of the periodic inspections of the brake system now you have a continuous feed on the health of the braking system and be able to identify problems by looking at the data and schedule repair. The next extension to this would be to integrate the data collected to other sub systems on the train.

This device is an advanced solid-state telemetric safety product and is interfaced with existing air brake system, for which the company is a prime supplier. This system not only improves the brake system integrity but has a number other added advantages - viz continuous brake system performance monitoring & data logging, brake application at the end of the train by the train driver, remote GPS / GSM communication, train parting information etc. In addition, the system can replace the brake van at the end of the train with a wagon, thereby generating additional revenue for Railways.

If found successful, Indian railways plan to install such a system in all the goods train over a period of time. This is one of the major future products of the newly formed railway electronics division of the company.

Mind-Controlled M2M System

2007-03-21T09:09:00.000-07:00

This is not truly related to M2M but the concept of using your thoughts to control a network of assets remotely sounds so good. As I am commuting to work my thoughts are transmitted to my M2M Application - Replenish the consumables on all printers before 9:00 AM, Issue commands to run self diagnostics on machines that are reporting failure etc etc .. :) :)

Duke researchers on the other hand have more practical uses for this - Using the brain signals to control weapons in nearby locations. Here is the patent that Duke recently acquired
"In "Apparatus for acquiring and transmitting neural signals and related methods," researchers at Duke University are laying claim to a device that can use the brain's thoughts to control an array of mechanical and electrical devices, up to and including weapons:"

Broadband growth extends non-PC threats - M2M Bots

2007-03-19T22:05:00.000-07:00

I seem to be on a roll - identifying potential pitfalls that one needs to be aware of with M2M deployments. The next one on the list is Remote Assets being used as Zombies to spam / Generate Denial of service attacks. Here is an article in the Australian Press that talks baout the threat of viruses and malicious code extending beyond the traditional PC environment to internet connected devices..
Quote >>

Broadband internet's growth to include devices beyond the PC will make Australians increasingly vulnerable to a range of net nasties, a report says.

Software security vendor Symantec's Internet Security Threat report for the second half of 2006 has flagged a number of threats on the horizon that extend beyond the home and office network.

While Australia's lagging high-speed internet services have been something of a defence against widespread cyber attacks, new advances in connectivity could herald a new wave of malicious attempts on devices.

He said the push forward in third generation mobile technology in Australia presented a new, vulnerable front for consumers with many devices inadequately protected.

Bots can be set up on any piece of hardware to generate spam or malicious code to be sent out across the network.

The report said the growth of bots had helped establish a large infrastructure network that was able to support a widespread black trade in credit card numbers and identity theft.

With faster and smarter mobile devices now able to perform a wider range of functions such as email, browsing and file download, the pick-up in traffic is expected to carry more bits of nasty software with it.

Securing enterprise endpoints

2007-03-19T21:44:00.000-07:00

When you deploy a M2M system you need to also consider how you are going to secure your remote assets. This is a challenge in the traditional IT environment of today with a significant amount of corporate data being stored on and viewed via mobile devices – laptop’s, Smart Phones, PDA’s and Mobile Storage devices (USB Drives etc). This challenge that IT managers face in managing their mobile data points gets amplified in a M2M deployment.
The challenges of today’s distributed IT end point includes

Enforcing the right policies
Enforcing the Right Access Controls
Enforcing the integrity of the Device has not been compromised
Updating the device with patches
User access and control of the Device after it has been released to the field.

The above listed elements are all items that are relevant to the M2M Asset that you plan to deploy in the field.

How do you ensure that the M2M end point is reporting the right data, Has not been compromised, Has the latest version of the software and more..

Food for thought..

M2M going too far and the Big Brother Syndrome

2007-03-19T13:52:00.000-07:00

In one of my recent posts I had looked at the short comings and risks associated with M2M. I decided to follow up on that post with a review of what would a end to end M2M system mean to a car driver of the not so distant future where majority of the Car Operations can be monitored via Telemetry.

Let’s start by looking at some of the major elements of a car that are/can be monitored

Cruise Control – Vanilla cruise controls of today are replaced by location aware cruise controls that react and adapt to Road Speed Limits, Weather Conditions and Other vehicles on the Road. Negatives – A Machine knows what is best for you Good and Bad

Navigation Systems – Now you have a personalized guide by your side as you cruse along the roads and it helps you get most effectively from point A to Point B and along the way might serve up location based advertisement for restaurants, entertainment, etc. Cons’ – Big Brother knows where you are driving and is force feeding/enabling you to get information that is relevant at the moment. This also ties into point one – based on your location the GPS system will tell the cruise control system how to govern the speed limit. Here we start seeing the cascading effect of introducing new technology to what was once a simple system.

Road Monitoring – Here in California there are cameras at most major intersections to capture traffic signal violators. Similar cameras can / will be installed on most major freeways and transportation corridors. Most of these cameras will be semi-autonomous taking pictures, video footage of you as you merrily drive by. In the old days you were the only one who knew where you were now everyone who gets access to this Road Monitoring system – Legal (Law Enforcement) and Illegal Elements – can now get to you. A field day for Stalkers..

Creating Safe Corridors – Some time in the future there will arise a need to enable only emergency vehicles to use certain roads and restrict vehicular access to other users. Another view of it is – premium roads – if you have the capacity to pay for the road use you can drive on it or else you are free to use the old clogged roads. Good and Bad – Allow emergency crew to go where they need to go in a short span of time, At the same time we could end up creating a divided society where rich travel I style and middle class gets stuck in daily traffic jams. Something like this is present would be of great use in Iraq and other conflict zone for the reigning power to create “safe corridors”

And more and more…

The net is with more and more systems being interconnected there is a ever present danger of a large organization using its resources to gather data from disparate sources to piece together your life and know more about you than you know about your self. The challenge is that pulling these pieces of information together is a difficult and technically challenging task. As long as we don’t; have any more major break thoughts in computing –our privacy will be safe till then.

Best Practices for Deploying Remote Support Solutions

2007-03-19T11:49:00.000-07:00

Came across this Article that talks about the challenges of deploying a Remote Support System in a ever changing Network environment. The challenges laid out for todays Remote IT support systems also apply to any M2M deployment. Here are some questions raised - which when answered shoudl help ease the pain of a M2M deployment

HOW DO REMOTE SUPPORT SOLUTIONS AFFECT TODAY'S ENTERPRISE ENVIRONMENT?
Your M2M system is part of an Enterprise Eco-System. How does it change the process of Support and Diagnostics, Integrate with your CRM and /or ERP systems.

WHAT ARE SOME VITAL COMPONENTS TO LOOK FOR WHEN SELECTING A REMOTE SUPPORT SOLUTION?
What is the physical network environment going to be like. What the critical moving parts of your M2M deployment - The device, The Network, Policies, How do you handle changes as they occur in your ecosystem and react to it.

WHY IS CROSS PLATFORM SUPPORT IMPORTANT?
Today your M2M deployment is for a particular Device/Asset Type. As you succeed you need to adapt and evolve to support a heterogeneous mix of assets that interact with one another.

WHAT TYPES OF MANAGEMENT TASKS DO REMOTE SUPPORT SOLUTIONS PROVIDE?
M2M parlance - What administrative control does the system provide to you. Does it address your present needs and provide the flexibility to grow as your systems evolve.

LASTLY, WHAT CAN A REMOTE SUPPORT SOLUTION DO ?
Here is your ROI question. What will be the benefits of this system to you and your customers.

Consumer M2M

2007-03-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

I got an email form a friend of mine that pointed me to Chumby..
Chumby what?? Chumby is a small low cost wireless internet device. The device platform is open and hackable which means you can reprogram it to collect / operate based on your needs.

One way to view this product is as a natural extension of the automated collected world coming into your personal space. Now you can personalize the experience you desire of by setting this up as say your bedside clock that allows you to get

Personalized RSS feed ( Throw away the old news paper)
Your updated Photo Frame
Your schedule
Your email viewer
Your Daily Horoscope (For the superstitious among us)
Your traffic report
Your local weather
and more...

Rephrase M2M -Man to Machine :)
Let the Machine be programed to be of service to you and give you a rich personal experience..

M2M Risks

2007-03-19T10:20:00.000-07:00

In most of my posts I am very bullish on M2M and its positive impact on the way we operate. As with all things good there are some downsides as well. In one of my previous posts I have listed the benefits of M2M and potential Business Opportunities associated with it. Here are some of the drawbacks that I can perceive with M2M.

Security – Potential for some one taking control of your remote assets, Designer Viruses, etc.
Functional – M2M interferes with the operations of your machine
Faulty Data Recording – Costs associated with incorrect M2M data recording
The cost of Automation – Human and Technical
Loss of Control – Machines gone wild. M2M systems operate on define rules – Similar to auto trades on the stock market on the day the market drops thousands system will kick into auto-mode and execute trades – some good some bad.
Support Cost increase – Poorly defined/Designed M2M modules could be a source of support calls
Lawsuits – If there are problems with the design / operations of your machine the courts can look at the factual data provided by M2M to hold your company liable. In the past there was limited to no data available for these type of litigations.
Big Brother Syndrome – There is always someone watching you (other than your conscious)
Extreme scenario – The machines intelligence knows more than its Human Operator and we are not able to determine why things are operating in a way they are – What was once a simple operation is now a series of interdependent processes..

And more..

Having said this I do believe that some of the thoughts listed above are surmountable with the right tools and processes.

M2M Revenue Generation Ideas

2007-03-16T09:27:00.000-07:00

As with any project there are multiple stages

Is the M2M project feasible for my company?

Technical Challenges
Environmental Challenges
Political Challenges
Customer Sensitivity
and More

Implementation of a M2M project

New Product/Service development Challenges

Getting Benefits out of your M2M Investment
Growing your M2M business Organically.

Lets assume you overcome the first 2 hurdles, and now you need to plan for how are you going to generate returns on your M2M investment?

Some M2M revenue generation ideas

Sell Remote monitoring service as a product
Pay per use based model to sell your product
Automate Consumable Replenishment
Usage based service of the equipment
Condition based self Service
IP Benefits to you - Build your knowledge repository of machine operation parameters from data int eh field

Mean Time between Failure

Yield Maximization : Use Collected information to Increase the yield from you Machines.
Access to new Markets - M2M allows you to provide Remote Support in new Markets in Asia/ Africa/ Latin America at a lower cost than traditional support systems.
Cost Saver - Remote Trouble Shooting (Operator Error's, Training, Equipment configuration, etc)
Cost Saver - Remote Software Update delivery
Cost Saver - Warranty enforcement
Let your appliance do the talking and more ideas will flow ...

And More ..
Will add more suggestions under Ideas as they come to me...

Industrial M2M Evolution

2007-03-16T09:06:00.000-07:00

The 1768 CompactLogix programmable automation controllers (PLC's) have been enhanced so that they can be access via TCP/IP which allows for a simplified way for Machine builder to access device data and provide Remote Diagnostics services. This is the classic M@M evolution in the Industrial Automation world - where the OEM's are upgrading existing products and retrofitting it with system that allow for unified data access which opens up a host of new opportunities in M2M applications

Securely integrate your device into existing Networks (No more need get tied down proprietary networks)
Rapidly build and integrate new applications
Ease of Data collection
Remote Diagnostics
Integrate with existing Web Based applications

ERP
CRM
Billing
Pay Per Use
Support and Training
Upgrades

With the EWEB module, machine builders can create custom Web pages containing control system data, and set different access levels for different groups of users to access or manipulate the data. Any user authorized to access the information can do so on any computer with Internet access and a standard Web browser — regardless of access level, all users will draw from the same data source.

About the product

"There is 2Mb of storage space on the EWEB module to store custom Web pages and documents such as drawings and user manuals. This provides users quick and easy access of system related information on the plant floor, saving valuable time when troubleshooting a problem on the line.

Additionally, the EWEB module supports the Open Socket feature which allows the 1768 CompactLogix controller to connect to any standard Ethernet device, such as RFID scanners or printers."

Selecting a M2M Vendor

2007-03-16T08:04:00.000-07:00

There are a slew of companies out there that are hawking M2M products, Services and Applications Selecting a product or vendor to build your M2M solution can be a very challenging decision – for a technology / market that is still defining and redefining itself. How does a company select the right vendor?

The set of companies that offer M2M products fall into the following major categories

SCADA Companies that have Internet Enabled their solutions
Software Consulting Shops – That see a value in the M2M Vertical offer customized solutions. These companies typically integrate the disparate sensors, Communications devices and a Middle Ware together to offer a solution.
Hardware Sensor Vendors – Extend existing sensor modules by adding a TCP/IP stack and allow the device to communicate via HTTP
Traditional Embedded Software Companies –Repackaging their existing services as M2M. They have been doing M2M in a closed loop eco-system in the past – e.g Plant Automation – Now they take this one step further and provide the necessary tools to access this same information via secure external link.
Pure Play M2M – These are companies that have been recently formed or morphed into a pure M2M service provided. They are typically focused on the Software side of M2M ,but there is a fair sprinkling of companies that are also working on wireless sensors and mesh networks.

Which type of company to partner with to start defining and building your M2M initiative?

New M2M Industry Report

2007-03-16T07:59:00.000-07:00

A new report has been released by Berg Insight on the evolution and growth of M2M as it relates to the penetration of Mobile Broadband.

M2M is an abbreviation for machine-to-machine, or a technology that supports wired or
wireless communication between devices. Wireless M2M comprises all wireless network
technologies, even though the term is generally used in reference to systems connected to
cellular networks. Mobile broadband is defined as high-speed Internet connectivity delivered
on cellular network infrastructure. As 3G mobile networks become prevalent, hardware
platforms for wireless M2M and mobile broadband increasingly converge. This report is
aimed at describing and analysing the market for wireless M2M and mobile broadband
communication devices using cellular network technologies such as GSM/GPRS/EDGE,
WCDMA/HSPA and CDMA2000/EVDO.

M2M Demo

2007-03-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

HiTECHnologies an Industrial Automation company has set up a live demo of their client side M2M Control modules that allows user to contorl water levels in a a Sewage tank via the a Web Dashboard.

Looks functionaly and gives you an idea of what can be achieved with some of the technologies that are available today. Simple demos like this are easy to set up with the infrastructure available today - The challenge is alaways in interconnecting them together so that it forms a Intelligent network that can respond to events within the network and take corrective actions.

Play with the Demo and see for yourself ..

Wireless M2M Devices

2007-03-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

Per research by Berg Insight there are 9 million active Wireless M2M devices in US and Canada. The majority of these devices are used in Telematics - tracking vehicles: Freight, Rail, Public Utility vehicles (Garbage etc). The does not account for the work that is being done by companies in Industrial monitoring. This is a far more fragmented market and difficult to measure. But this is the segment where there is a likely progression for wireless M2M based automation and control. The current report focuses on the usual large suspects

Telematics - as offered by Car Manufactures (OnStar etc)
Utility Meter Reading
Security Market ( I disagree with this for now as there first needs to be a solutions for a secure / fault tolerant Wireless connection)

The report continues to claim that market will grow to 66 million by 2011 which may very well be true - But if you account for all the fragmented M2M initiatives that are takign place in teh market this number will be higher.

Want to try out a packaged M2M Application?

2007-03-15T08:09:00.000-07:00

Round Solutions a value added M2M reseller in Europe has a M2M starter kit that includes a GSM modem and access to a web portal to track and view all your data. From the company Web Site -

The latest positioning package from Round Solutions is based on customers' access to the www.track4free.com website. The track4free server relies on Google Maps and offers free global GPS positioning and, to use the online platform, a function-enabled GPS device is needed that can transmit geographical data via HDCSD, GPRS, EDGE or UMTS. Following registration with track4free, the user is shown examples of a map that illustrates his or her positional data along with a range of other information. This is enhanced by extensive documentation about the movements made by the user's device. Users can register up to two applications per account.

System integrators also have the option of using the Round Solutions starter kit when developing their tracking application. The Basic Board S3 is based on what is currently the 'world's smallest' combined GPRS-GPS module, equipped with extremely small embedded antennas. The starter kit's core component is a licence-free Phython interpreter with a free-of-charge Phython code. This transmits the device's GPS position to the track4free server. The HTTP protocol is provided free of charge.

The starter kit has been developed completely as a BGA design. It assists developers in their mission to create very small and inexpensive positioning devices for various fields of application.

Round Solutions supports system integrators with design-in services and bespoke adaptations for integrated antennas. If developers have any queries, they can access 24-hour support from the world's biggest GSM / GPRS / UMTS / GPS user community, which has more than 3,000 members from all over the globe.

Premium customers can also have their designs and devices checked and tested free of charge by Round Solutions. The package is supplemented by a free marketing service, which establishes contact with several thousand companies. “Our services make it significantly easier for our customers to sell their products," explains Ben Hoelke, CEO of Round Solutions.

M2M – The social network for machines

2007-03-12T16:22:00.000-07:00

The Web 2.0 movement is allowing us to think in new ways in which we interact with computers, networks and information. The mashups are providing valuable tools in the way we look at static data. E.g – Rental properties – Instead of looking at tabular listing of apartments of rent – now we can see the apartments for rent on a map with contextual information about them. The whole apartment hunting experience has been turned on its head.

Can a similar paradigm exist for machines? For ages machines have collected and recorded tabular data – e.g in Process control you have equipment that is taking a reading of the ambient temperature every 2 minutes, reading the pressure every 5 minutes etc etc. All this process data is being squirreled away in a large database. Usage of this data is limited to – Trigger events, alarms when the process goes out of bounds. This is fine for the applications of the past where all the user cared about was ensuring the process was working as designed. Fast forward to today where costs have fallen across the board for – Data Storage, Data Communication, CPU power, Memory. You can define process that use all the historical data to determine the best possible process conditions for the next batch you are about to run, Correlate operations parameters with input raw materials to solve quality / production issues, Optimize your process to get the best quality end product – e.g you could have a multiple batch process – now you can share data across batches to determine the best way to compensate for the past batch run and more..

There is a lot of data – How do we change this to Information for Humans and Machines so they can act and respond to it in the most efficient fashion?

M2M Opportunity

2007-03-12T16:01:00.000-07:00

In the previous posts I have discussed the role of M2M in reducing the cost of providing health care services. The following graph shows the potential of providing M2M services to the health care sector to help it contain costs. The rate at which the costs are rising there must be a market in this segment that is looking at new (M2M ) services to help lower the cost of providing patient care. The areas that M2M can help in the medical vertical are

Remote Patient Monitoring
Equipment Monitoring and Servicing
Remote Training Support on Equipment
Expert guidance on usage to minimize errors
Lab Automation

These are some of the areas that M2M can have an immediate impact. The possibilities are endless - As HMO / Care Givers are squeezed on cost - they will be looking to get equipment on a pay per use basis to reduce capital expenditure, expect 24/7 uptime, As equipment gets complicated - users will expect to get their questions answered in near real time and more...

Automate your Home

2007-03-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

If you are looking to automate your house here is a company that provides most of the tools required for your to wire - From there on the possibilities are endless

INSTEON™ is a powerful, wireless home-control networking technology that simply, affordably and reliably integrates systems in the home for improved comfort, safety, convenience and value.

Applications

Scene and remote control lighting

Security alarm interfaces and sensors

Home sensors (e.g. water, humidity, temperature)

Access control (e.g. door locks)

Heating and cooling (HVAC) control and management

Audio-video control

Appliance management

Energy savings

What will M2M mean to us in 5 years?

2007-03-09T16:23:00.000-08:00

What will M2M mean in 5 years?

Iridium - M2M Service

2007-03-09T15:56:00.000-08:00

Iridium announced its full year financial report last month which lists M2M as one of the growth areas. Iridium;s initial growth plan called for banking on voice traffic which did not succeed due to host of different reasons. Now the company is banking on the new Short Burst mode 2 way data service which is ideal for M2M.

Snip from their 2006 annual report

    Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Market
    An increasing number of Iridium's data applications are M2M, in which data is communicated
between machines without voice or human intermediaries.
    In the important area of tsunami detection, for example, Iridium is being used to transmit data
from ocean buoys to the National Data Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). NOAA's ocean buoy system detects and monitors tsunami waves in the
open ocean using pressure- sensitive tsunameters on the seafloor, and buoys on the ocean
surface. The Iridium network transmits these pressure measurements to NOAA warning centers.

Growth in Networked Devices

2007-03-09T15:39:00.000-08:00

Growth of M2M Devices - The graph tells us that mainstream M2M Application are around the corner.

M2M Device Service

2007-03-09T13:08:00.000-08:00

WEB-Engine is the first WEB, WAP and SMS server on the market, for remote control and M2M operations.
Industrial automation systems can have great benefits from Internet technology and networking, opening new scenarios in tele-control and tele-diagnostic applications. Through embedded WEB servers industrial plants and machinery can be accessed from any web browser and from any place in the world.

NETHIX WEB-Engine is a single-board WEB,WAP & SMS server targeted to system integrators, software developers and industrial automation systems manufacturers, equipped with an onboard dual band GSM modem for direct connection to the GSM network.

M2M for the Energy Market

2007-03-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

Amplex provides M2M Energy Management solutions thereby minimizing costs and CO2 emissions (Green Thumb Company :)

The products that they offer fall into the following major categories

· AmpLight – For Street Light Monitoring and Control. It provides Energy savings through on/off control, dimming functions and area differentiated light - with options for selecting optimum methods to control on/off and dimming functions. Reduced maintenance costs by immediate reporting on defects and by monitoring burn-hours, i.e. enabling the operator to rationalize the replacement of luminaries. It provides a web interface that minimizes time spent on system surveillance and control. For service purposes the system can also be controlled from cellphone.

· AmpMeter combines operational reliability with a competitive, low price per meter. The wireless 2-way system additionally offers new opportunities in cost control and customer service. Performs all basic meter reading functions including on-request readings, scheduled readings and final readings in a few seconds. 2-way communication offers new opportunities: Remote disconnect in response to unpaid bills, load balancing through appliance and utility control, remote consumer control of appliances, billing by prepaid scratch-off cards, etc.

They also have a web portal where the above applications can be viewed and monitored. Companies like this that target niche markets and provide solid end to end solutions provide the best value for you’re your M2M investments.

M2M - Software consulting firms

2007-03-09T08:57:00.000-08:00

It is good to see that there are software solutions houses out there that are now offering M2M consulting services for companies that want to build M2M products. This is a good indication that the market is slowly maturing. Companies like these come into play to offer their services if they believe that there is a large enough market for developing custom M2M solutions. The services offered by these companies are typically centered on standard Software Development Lifecycle – Definition, Design, Development and Delivery.

Here is a list of consulting companies that offer offshore/onshore M2M Software development Services

http://www.tanlasolutions.com/m2m-applications.asp

http://www.a1technology.com/

http://rndinfo.com/embedded-software-design-india.html

http://www.anyware-tech.com/en/m2m/m2m_offer.html

M2M Evolutions

2007-03-08T13:53:00.000-08:00

M2M Evolution is typically traced as follows

1. Collect Data from your Assets
2. Send it to a central server for analysis
3. Trigger a event that gets a human to look at the collected information
4. Respond to the alert and take corrective action to fix the issue.

Of the above steps the last 2 involve inefficient humans to react to the notification and fix the problem. It woudl be great if these steps could be automated and have the machine intelligence kick in and take corrective action. Lantronix has come out with just such a system for the last mile that recognizes a problem and takes corrective action.

IntelliBox®-I/O 2100 is a breakthrough in truly automated control of remote equipment. Powered by Lantronix EventTrak™ technology, this highly-advanced, programmable device server connects your equipment to an IP network and monitors it to watch for events at specified intervals. When an event occurs, IntelliBox automatically sends pre-determined, user-defined command(s) to the equipment causing it to take appropriate and/or corrective actions – without any user intervention. IntelliBox can send email notification that the event was detected and handled accordingly.

M2M modules for fleet management

2007-03-08T13:25:00.000-08:00

Alpha Micro Components has received a contract to develop a M2M telemetry solution for Mileage Management. Alpha Micro designed, tested and implemented new in-vehicle 'black boxes' - this ultracompact hardware allows fleet managers to track and manage their mobile workforce and its vehicles via GPS and GPRS technologies, to monitor distances traveled, which linked to the Mileage Management web based systems alerts fleet managers via a number of vehicle reporting tools.

About Alpha Micro: Alpha Micro’s past projects include datacoms, telemetry, points of sale, telecommunications and security with new contracts in the financial and banking sectors, global asset management and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication, implementing new GPRS and GPS technologies. Alpha Micro’s customers include market leaders such as: Dione, Honeywell, Hewlett Packard, Blackspot, Axalto, Irish Broadband, Verifone and GE Security.

Sierra gets into M2M with AirLink purchase

2007-03-08T13:18:00.000-08:00

Sierra Wireless a provider to wireless PC cards and Modems has steped into the M2M arena via the purchase of AirLink a leading provider of M2M applications in several key verticals: mobile data, infrastructure, and utilities.

The consolidation continues in this space - here is the press release

The combination joins AirLink, a leading provider of fixed, portable and mobile wireless connectivity devices, embedded software and remote device management software, with Sierra Wireless, a leading provider of wide area wireless solutions for mobile computing. The combined entity is expected to be a leader in mobile computing as well as rugged, intelligent mobile and M2M connectivity solutions. The combination is expected to deliver significant benefits to both entities, including:

Challenges in Healthcare - Remote Patient Monitoring

2007-03-07T10:16:00.000-08:00

Remote Patient Monitoring seems like a such an obvious choice for implementing M2M systems. To convince our selves just take a look at our medicare cost as a percentage of GDP - it is growing and expected to continue growing for the next few years. Given this why have we not seen more commercial products out in the market that allow provide remote patient monitoring.
The market could be segmented based on
* Type of monitoring
* Duration of monitoring
* Data analysis of by a nurse / doctor. (if this gets standardized more of the routine tasks can be done by the nurse)
* Extend coverage to remote areas.

Things that are in place that will aid this growth
* Universal Broadband access
* Computer prices are falling
* Medical sensor equipment (Blood pressure, insuling , blood analysis equiment is becoming smaller and more portable)

With the confluence of the above things why has the market not taken off?

Analyzing M2M Data Stream - Predict when an Instrument is going to fail.

2007-03-07T09:29:00.000-08:00

With any M2M system comes a flood of data that needs to be analyzed and monitored. Glean trends and patterns out of it to deduce what is about to fail and what is working right. This the most critical part of any M2M deployment - This drives your ROI - How many failures that were prevented.

Software Applications that process streams of data and detect trends, patterns, failures etc have been in play for some time - Trading platforms, Scientific Data, Pharma Research and more. Similar systems could very well be deployed to act on the M2M stream of data to determine when a remote monitored asset is going to fail. Progress Soft provides an event processing platform to various industries. Here is brief blurb of the product

" Event Stream Processing (ESP) is a form of distributed computing that enables organizations to monitor fast moving data streams, quickly seek out patterns of significance, and respond with actionable results – all within milliseconds. Also called Complex Event Processing (CEP) or simply Event Processing – ESP is a key component within an emerging class of real-time Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) solutions, providing the intelligence that enables BAM to deliver true operational intelligence. With ESP, organizations can monitor their performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and quickly detect and respond to rapidly changing conditions. As an expression of event-driven architectures (EDAs) – event processing is highly complementary to Service Oriented Architectures (SOA). With event processing, organizations achieve real-time performance by eliminating the latencies inherent in traditional computing architectures."
.

M2M Identity Management

2007-03-05T13:48:00.000-08:00

M2M identify management has/had been a nagging problem in past M2M deployments. How do you guarantee that the remote device you are managing /monitoring is the one you think it is. We had worked on a number of software based solutions - all with a known issues and back doors allowing devices to be spoofed. A sure shot approach to solving this M2M identity management problem would be via embedded hardware solutions or some sophisticated Software solution that prevents malicious users from compromising the system.

Wavecom (The french company that acquired all of Sony-Ericson's M2M Assets in 05/06) has launched a wireless GPRS modem with embedded SIM cards. The solution here is that since the SIM is burnt into the chipset it would be difficult for a person to steal / swap this out. Seems like a promising solution. This does nto address the needs of people who are looking to retrofit their M2M installations.

By integrating the SIM at the chip level, both customers and operators benefit from a simplified and faster cellular subscription. The robust industrial design ensures proper functioning in harsh climatic conditions which reduces the risk of disconnected devices that are often linked to high-value, time-sensitive transactional data. In addition, with the SIM embedded into the Wavecom Wireless CPU, logistics and management issues associated with the SIM card inventory becomes easier, more cost effective and more secure, thus reducing the risk of potential SIM card theft, especially once it is installed.

The WiSIM answers customer needs from several industrial segments including automotive for toll collect and emergency call applications and the market for automatic meter management (AMM). It will complement all of Wavecom's existing technology including the Wireless CPU, the Open AT Software Suite, and RDMS (Remote Device Management Services).

M2M is 180 billion a year business

2007-03-05T13:42:00.000-08:00

Hope the title garbed your attention... 180 billion $$$'s a year - now you have my attention. With a market predicted to be this large there will be a host of companies jumping onto the bandwagon of M2M. This makes the jobs of people wanting to buy or implement M2M even more difficult. How do you select the right M2M partner? Who has the complementary M2M technology that meets your product needs?

180 billion number may be exaggerated- but there is some truth to it based on the number of consolidations and take overs that we have seen in this space. The existing large industrial automation players have been quick to gobble up promising startups in the hopes of getting into the action of a "predicted" high growth M2M market..

Quote:

"M2M is all about creating new service opportunities. So, when you look at the M2M world, you look across several sectors - how they're connected and the services created by devices," says Robin Duke-Woolley, principal at Harbor Research. "We see over time the service opportunity becoming more important than the technology, and there are more innovative approaches driving more value in the M2M space."

M2M opportunities in emerging services such as health care, fleet management and a host of others being enabled through more than 300 devices, are driving the M2M market, Duke-Woolley notes.

Hosted M2M Services

2007-03-05T13:37:00.000-08:00

For those of you out there who are tasked with getting M2M (Machine to Machine) benefits incorporated into your products there is a new hosted service by M2M Data corp called "iServices" . This would be a get way to get your feet wet to see if the M2M promise holds true for your product. This is also a cheap way to catch up with competition that might have built out a significant M2M infrastructure.

iServices :

iServices™ - a suite of web-based, hosted operational services that increase uptime, simplify preventive maintenance, and optimize resources for almost any equipment manufacturer or operator.

The suite of web-based, hosted operational services allows subscribers to monitor and control their assets wherever they are located, plan and track preventive maintenance, and optimize human resources to ensure the right skills get to the right place at the right time.

The iServices™ suite comprises:

iSCADA® is a turn-key remote monitoring and control service (includes communications)/li>
iPM™ is a preventive maintenance management service
iTrac™ is a resource optimization service
iPortal™ is a secure, customer-specific web portal used by subscribers to access iServices™

Remote Monitoring of the Body Fails to impress FDA

2007-03-02T12:46:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I had posted a story where using M2M related technology we were able to monitor vital human body functions 24/7. Obviously this would create a data overload for the doctors - but isn't a doctor looking for this type of data when he is evaluating a patient. I want to know the trend of you blood pressure - That is one reason whey we do annual medical checkups - Build a health history so that doctors can safely say if the jump is blood pressure is normal or shoudl I be concerned.

With the technology that Medtronics is developing this type of routine analysis can be done very efficiently - but the FDA is concerned with data overload for the doctors and hence are turning down the proposal saying that it does nto provide any significant benefits over the traditional patient treatment method. Isn;t the solution to this a robust BI system that can take the information chomp through it and give a concise dashboard view of the patients health based on the monitoring data that has been collected 24/7

Quote from FDA rejection article -

Medicine's march toward remote monitoring of patients hit at least a temporary roadblock yesterday.

An implanted wireless device intended to continuously monitor patients with weak hearts — and then provide the data to doctors via the Internet — did not keep enough of them out of the hospital to prove its effectiveness, according to a panel of experts assembled by the Food and Drug Administration.

The device's manufacturer, Medtronic, has been developing wireless data- gathering technology for implanted therapeutic devices like defibrillators and insulin pumps. It aimed to make the product reviewed yesterday, a device the size of a pocket watch and known as the Chronicle implantable hemodynamic monitor, the first major implant approved solely for diagnostic monitoring.

Machines Talk and Machines Take action

2007-02-28T16:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterdays spectacular 400+ point drop in Dow drop brought into sharp focus the role played by Computers in making decisions for us. As the index nose dived - Computers trades kicked in selling of security adding even more sell orders pushing the DOW down. In the M2M world as people jump ahead to make the transition to intelligent networks and decision making systems - Incidents like this serve as a reminder about teh complexity of this task. M2M products that bring on incremental integration with lower risk would be the ones most likely to succeed.

Computer Glitch

The Dow's decline accelerated throughout Tuesday, and stocks saw a huge dip in late afternoon trading as computer-driven sell programs kicked in, and also as a computer glitch caused a delay in the recording of a large number of trades.

The Dow fell 546.20, or 4.3 percent, to 12,086.06 before recovering some ground in the last hour of trading to close down 416.02, or 3.29 percent, at 12,216.24, leaving it in negative territory for the year. Because the worst of the plunge took place after 2:30 p.m., the New York Stock Exchange's trading limits, designed to halt such precipitous moves, were not activated.

Remote Health Care

2007-02-27T13:48:00.000-08:00

Far Flung / Remote Communities are taking advantage of technology to solve their Health Care needs. Communities in Montana are at the fore front of using technology to bring health care to the people who in the past would have to trek/drive long distances to see a specialist. They are getting better health care than the rest of us ...

In Montana, the medical community has managed to stay ahead of the curve and become a national leader in telemedicine.

That's given patients in the far-flung reaches of the state, Northern Wyoming and even western North Dakota better access to care than ever before.

Mental health professionals in Billings can evaluate people in Eastern Montana without either party having to travel.

Local emergency department physicians can consult with specialists in Salt Lake City before deciding how to treat a severely burned patient.

Montana's handful of infectious disease specialists can diagnose patients just about anywhere in the state and consult with one another about trends and potential outbreaks.

Oncology, cardiology, neurology, radiology, orthopedic surgery, high-risk pregnancy care, stroke care, hospice care, dispensing prescriptions - it all can be done remotely.

"What I love is, I really have seen the health-care system in Montana integrate this technology into the way it does business," said Thelma McClosky Armstrong, director of the Eastern Montana Telemedicine Network at Billings Clinic and past president of the American Telemedicine Association.

"It's part of the fabric now. It's not surprising. People think about using it now."

M2M Applications - Pay As You Drive

2007-02-26T22:04:00.000-08:00

Here is a true M2M Application that is being rolled out commercially that will impact you. The application allows users to pay for car insurance based on usage. You pay for as much as you consume - you drive 100 miles you pay insurance for 100 miles - you drive 100,000 miles you pay insurance for 100,000 miles. This is could change the face of the car insurance industry and if widely adopted / deployed on a standardized platform will allow other ancillary products and services to be offered to car drivers - Internet, Yellow Pages, Drive By/Localized Ad's (won't we love that), Streaming Music (everyone one wants a radio on the car) and more.

The application (PAYD) as you go is being used by insures in UK/Europe to offer drivers a means to pay for insurance based on actual miles driven. The cars have a built in GPS system that track the movement of the vehicle in real time - where you drive, when you drive and how often you drive (AKA Big Brother). Cool technology concept - but to make it a commercial success it needs to assuage consumer fears about Big Brother is watching.

Quote from the insurance Company
"Pay As You Drive"™ insurance couldn't be simpler. You pay a fixed monthly fee, plus a variable charge that's based on your personal driving habits such as when you drive and how far.

An in-car device (that uses GPS technology) records and transmits your cars journey information to our central computer.
You receive a monthly bill (itemised billing is an optional service).
Your premium is based on where, when and how far you drive.

Moviquity - M2M Solutions Review

2007-02-26T21:16:00.000-08:00

Company Snap: Moviquity is a custom Wireless Software Solutions Shop that has a focused practice for M2M Applications. They are based out of Spain and have a decent customer Roster.

Company Goals: To provide advanced and highly innovative solutions and services within the areas of mobile and wireless technologies, IP/internet applications and systems integration, communications and networks, helping our customers to improve their business processes and their competitive position

Sample Solutions: None Provided on the Site.

Ratings - 1 Star. Custom engineering shop. 1 Star rating as they do not have any products listed for M2M on the site. The company seems to be in the midst of trying to find the market that it can attack.

Wireless Automation Styandards Committee

2007-02-26T18:10:00.000-08:00

Wireless Automation ( I call it a flavor of M2M) has a standards committee to define standards for Industrial Wireless Automation.

Goals for the Standards Committee
"The User Working Group (UWG) was formed to ensure that the ISA-100 standard will be consistent and provide maximum benefit to the market. The UWG will review, comment on, and provide recommendations for the work of all SP-100 technical working groups. The group will focus on both current and future industrial applications for wireless technology, and provide input that will help drive the development of ISA-100 compliant devices from multiple suppliers. The UWG will act as a single, global voice of the end user community."

M2M demand is going to grow

2007-02-26T13:45:00.000-08:00

Came across a report that predicts growth of wireless enabled devices which in turn will spur growth in M2M ( You can use any other acronym that suites you needs) Applications. One trouble I have with frequent reports like this is - There is no question that connected devices are going to grow - Who is asking for connected devices and what do they want their connected devices to do? A report that answers this questions would surely sell. Anybody listening??

M2m Forum at IP Convergence Expo

2007-02-23T15:56:00.000-08:00

Here is another seminar dedicated to M2M in Paris in October 2007
Does not seem to have a large list of sponsors or Exhibitors. Woudl be interested in hearing what comes out of this conference

Conference Blurb:

Machine-to-Machine : a world of new services

Connecting Machines …for new business uses and processes
The past decade mostly developed « human oriented » devices and connectivity. The next decade will see the explosion of new solutions enabling machines to communicate with each others or with distant information systems.

The applications of this new market have no limits as every industry is designed to increase efficiency and productivity

The Machine-to-Machine is the logical combination of existing tools and services (RFID, GSM,GPRS, Bluetooth, WIRELESS, SMS,CDMA,LAn or Cellular, iDEN, IP , 3G) applied for new business uses and processes

Field Collecting data
Automatic Transmission to monitoring facilities
Remote control and analysis
Polling functions back to the field in real time

M2M Solution provider - Fleet, Waste & Vending Management

2007-02-23T15:48:00.000-08:00

InfoMob has built a suite of applications on top of Seimens One Platform for the Following verticals - FleetMAnagemetn, WasteManagement and VendingManagement.

M2M Forum - 2007

2007-02-23T15:43:00.000-08:00

M2M Forum 2007 @ a glance

M2M FORUM 2007, May 22nd - 23rd, Crowne Plaza Hotel Milan

The communication between machines is matter of a growing interest on the side of the net mangers and creates a concrete meeting point between the “old economy” of the industrial automation and the “mobile economy” represented by the mobile apparatus nets (mobile phones, pads, navigators, …).

The spread of wireless technologies (ZIG-BEE, GSM/GPRS/GPS, rf-id, wifi, W-Lan, Bluetooth) and the costs’ reduction of the transmittant apparatus allow lots of builders to make the machines installed on a landscape reachable from a center of remote control (such as counters, burglar alarms, parking meters and distributors).

The importance of this business field is also higlighted by the forecast of a recent survey conducted by Strategy Analitics, according to which in 2007 the M2M market could arrived to value 40 thousands of dollars.

That is one of the reason why Wireless s.r.l. has decided to renovate the appointment of M2M FORUM, on May 22nd - 23rd 2007, at Crowne Plaza Hotel Milan, Italy.

We're waiting for you!

M2M is one of the top 10 mobile trends?

2007-02-23T15:25:00.000-08:00

A clear sign that M2M is getting its due attention. A recently published article lists M2M as one of the top 10 trends to watch out for in the Wireless Space.

Ten mobile trends

1. FMC
2. Salesforce automation
3. VoIP
4. Payments
5. 3.5G - HSDPA
6. Location-based services
7. TV
8. Device management
9. M2M
10. Antivirus

The blurb associated with M2M covers the standard uses of M2M - telemetry, back up alarms and notification. Should have included some more eye catching examples from the M2M application space. Still I am happy that M2M has found a place in the top 10. I would rate it at # 5 in the list - but 9 is not too bad ehh.. ?

Wireless, of course is not just about the device in the hand or even the user. Sometimes it's all about the machines. Machine-to-machine communications, also known as M2M or telematics (in some instances), is often associated with freight - using sensors to monitor the conditions of cargo in transit and then alter conditions to suit.

Go Green ( Indirectly related to M2M)

2007-02-23T14:29:00.000-08:00

With this post I cross the 125 post mark. This post is about saving energy - reducing emissions and saving some part of the planet for future generations. M2M when applied correctly does lead to cost savings, improves efficiencies, improved reliability - all which point to more effecient use of energy. Use less energy to get the same amount of work done, or use the same amount of energy but get a better quality work product.

Here is a way for you all out there to save some energy -
http://www.18Seconds.org is a coalition that is urging consumers to replace incandescent bulbs with more energy effecient CFL bulbs. Not M2M but common sense for us all to do our part to reduce energy wastage.
Potential Energy savings from CFL just for my American centric world :) but it does apply to all
"What kind of difference can one CFL make? Consider this: If every American swapped just ONE bulb for an ENERGY STAR labeled CFL, it would collectively save more than $8 billion in energy costs, prevent burning 30 billion pounds of coal, and remove 2 million cars worth of
greenhouse gas emissions from our atmosphere. Just imagine the difference we could make if we replaced all of the lights we use most! "

I do have one open question - I look at energy saving from the following perspective: Amount of energy used to produce the bulb and the amount of energy consumed over the life of the bulb. Does the production of CFL bulbs cost the same in terms of energy as compared to incandescent bulbs?

Remote Comtrol all your lights

2007-02-23T13:59:00.000-08:00

Houston we have a problem … we already know!
When your lighting has a problem, Houston knows about it before you do!
LSC Lighting Systems, Australian designer and manufacturer of lighting control equipment, has just released its Houston Software – a PC based application that allows for remote monitoring of your venues dimmer systems.

This is a close loop system - which we won;t be seeing in our homes any time soon. There is potential for this technology to move down the application chain. With the right extensions you can tweak and optimize your light usage and eventually could build up an artificial intelligence based learning system that knows you light usage patterns and helps light up your work living areas based on your past usage.

Taking this to the next level - if all the homes in the region are wired up to optimize their electricity usage, then the collected information from the group can be used by the local utility to predict power needs for the region well in advance..

M2M = (Wo)Man to Machine

2007-02-23T13:45:00.000-08:00

M2M is defined as a system for Machine 2 Machine communications which allows devices to communicate with each other and make intelligent decisions and also provides their handlers (us Humans) additional data to help formulate our decisions.

Guidant corp is running a LATITUDE Patient Management System trial - where implanted defibrillator are monitored 24/7 and data communicated to the doctor. Information flows from Man(Patient) -> Machine -> Man (doctor). It this trial is successful it will open up a lot more doors for remote patient care..

Trial Information - "The patient with the implanted defibrillator is given a device called the "Communicator" (not to be confused with the sound-alike Star Trek gadget), a home monitoring machine that looks a lot like the cradle of a cordless phone. Data stored on the defibrillator — heart rate and rhythm, delivered treatment, even weight and blood pressure if the doctor requires it — is automatically downloaded to the home monitor on a daily basis when the patient stands next to it. The physician can then access the information remotely and on demand by logging onto a secure, password protected internet site. He or she can also test the device remotely at any time, check the battery, and determine when and if it's necessary for the patient to come in for a visit."

Patient Care - using home monitoring

2007-02-23T11:26:00.000-08:00

Came accross this article that talks about a Pharmacy that is expanding the level of service it provides by enabling the patients to monitor their health and medicine intake. It attaches off the shelf health monitors that are freely available in the market today - digital blood pressure monitor, insulin level monitor, weight monitor and a video phone. Bundle them together and you are able share a view of the patients health with the care giver. As the population around the world ages this could be an industry that would be ready for take off..

" Local pharmacist and Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy franchisee, Brian Jensen, said the program helps patients monitor and maintain their health and medications from the comfort of their homes.

The expansion to Northland Lodge, 2500 Garfield St., will include the addition of a videophone in the facility's library to enable residents to participate in interviews and counseling with their health care providers. "

EZURiO - Intelligent Wireless Modules and M2M monitoring solutions.

2007-02-23T10:56:00.000-08:00

EZurio provides modules for data collection. The wireless access can be via one of the following channels - cellular, Wi-fi, Bluetooth or ZigBee .

EZURiO’s M2M solutions help you to get more value from your assets by providing the means to retrieve data from remote devices. Whether the asset is a vehicle, a vending machine, a sensor or a medical device, we have the building blocks to monitor it and securely save the data it produces. We offer total solutions for M2M and MRM applications along with world leading embedded wireless technology for product designers. Our M2M solutions expertise includes:

More on Home Monitoring

2007-02-23T10:52:00.000-08:00

The baby bells have the data pipes comming into your house. The primary revenue stream of voice plans is falling. Are value added services like home monitoring, video conferencing (which in the recent past seemed like non essentials) going to become the next set of must haves for every home owner? Will this save the baby bells and other telecom companies?

Bell Canada launches its nationwide Home Monitoring service. Enabled by Northampton-based Intamac System's revolutionary secure internet portal technology it is an innovative new residential home monitoring service that uses the Bell wireless core network to deliver the ultimate in 'made to order' home safety and security.

"Home Monitoring from Bell combines intelligent in-home hardware with a highly-secure digital wireless network and Intamac's internet portal to deliver reliable, safe and user-friendly home monitoring." says Jeff Crews, Vice President and General Manager, Bell Monitoring Services Inc. "Using the secure internet portal, clients can tailor what types of events about which they wish to be alerted, who should be alerted and how they should be contacted."

Completely wireless service
Home Monitoring from Bell is simple to install and easy to use. The service is completely wireless – both inside and outside of the home - and so cannot be disabled by skilled intruders that could cut the home's wired phone. This provides an enhanced level of security to homeowners over traditional home security systems.

By basing Home Monitoring on the Intamac secure internet portal Bell puts the homeowner in complete control. In addition to the benefits of a home monitoring service designed to provide timely information about any unexpected entry or event, clients can remotely manage and monitor routine events in real-time that occur within the home every day. For example, clients can customise their home monitoring service to be alerted via phone, e-mail or text message to monitor and act on the following:

Monitoring to the Masses

2007-02-23T10:24:00.000-08:00

Who does not want to see what their baby is doing at the day care or at home while they are away. Streaming video to cell phone has been around for some time now. The "Homesite" system combines this streaming capability with a in house web cam to allow you monitor your house while you are away. If the price is right for the whole package a lot more of us will be interested in taking this up. And now combine face, object recognition to this and you have your own mini surveliance system. I am sure some of the security compaine out there must be taking a close look at developments like this.

Challenges I see to this - The availability to free/cheap bandwidth to send data.

M2M Take - This application can now be combined with the existing monitoring. Case in point - A typical industrial M2M sensor is monitoring tank levels. If the levels cross a threshold - Alarms are generated and you get pages, flashing alerts on your screen. Add to this the ability to trigger the video feed and take a direct look inside the tanks content. This allows you to visually verify the problem - if possible pin point the source of the issue and get a person over there with the right tools to fix it...

Applications of this
* Simplifies taking care of elderly/disabled remotely
* Tele medicine : Obtain expert opinion as needed
* Visually monitor remote assets - No need to physically wire up an asset to get remote monitoring (e.g Traffic cameras)
*

Here is a great example of how existing technology is being pushed to the main stream consumer market.

M2M wireless hardware

2007-02-22T21:24:00.000-08:00

Offers a point solution for M2M.

To offer the best M2M solution based on GSM and GPS technology we have invented what we call the "RTCU concept". The RTCU concept has been developed right from the beginning as an extremely general and flexible platform for fast implementation of applications within the area of security, remote meter reading, remote monitoring, mobile tracking systems, alarm systems, vending machines + much much more. There are really no practical limitation to what the RTCU concept can be used for, is used and will be used for!!

Remote Monitoring / M2M Solution Provider

2007-02-22T21:21:00.000-08:00

A Company focused on providing M2M solutions

Company Mission Statement -
" RF Monolithics, Inc. designs, develops, builds, and markets Wireless Solutions enabling our customers to provide products and services that are both cost effective and superior in performance. Solutions are targeted toward companies within the Automotive, Consumer, Industrial, Medical, and Communications Markets for a wide-range of applications. RF Monolithics, Inc.’s value-added solutions will be supported by industry leading customer service and compelling intellectual property."

Critical Wireless - Another M2M Company

2007-02-22T18:07:00.000-08:00

CriticalWireless Corporation is headquartered in Austin, Texas. The company has established itself as a leader in the development of web-enabled, wireless machine-to-machine (M2M) communications technology that adds lasting customer value with minimal cost and complexity.

Our development team designs turnkey remote monitoring, control and data acquisition solutions that help stretch limited resources, maximize operational uptime, improve equipment service response times, and streamline regulatory data capture and reporting.

Wireless Data Collection

2007-02-22T18:00:00.000-08:00

Wireless Data Collection module from Critical Wireless.

I like the pitch of this product - goes right to the area that I am interested in - but the open questions are : Connectivity , reliability and power supply in a remote operating environment. Overall it looks good. If some one does check it out let me know of your results.. Here are some applications of this module..

"Drastically reduce manpower, energy, field service and downtime costs with continuous
access to your remote equipment--wherever it is--from any web browser, wireless device, or
phone. Easy to install and configure, and compatible with a wide range of applications:
Pumps and Tanks
Lift Stations
Generators
Security Systems
Irrigation Equipment
Environmental Monitoring
Flood Warning Systems
Remote Data Acquisition
"

2007-02-22T17:57:00.000-08:00

Augusta Systems - Another M2M Company that I came accross

2007-02-22T17:35:00.000-08:00

Here is what they say about themselves --

"Augusta Systems, Inc. (Augusta Systems) provides technologies to engineers and software developers to reduce deployment and management costs of sensor systems, networks, and applications. These technologies enable the most efficient and effective use
and convergence of sensor data to assist business, industry, and government with managing the data overload resulting from wide-scale sensor deployments for security, monitoring, and asset tracking."

ABi REsearch REport on wireless M2M Networks

2007-02-22T17:16:00.000-08:00

This newly released report from ABI wireless predicts that the wireless sensor market is poised for take off in the Industrial monitoring Arena. The report makes a convincing point about the value proposition of wireless sensors - you now have the ability to get wider coverage using wireless sensors as you are no longer tied up with physical wired connections to your sensors.

Is the value of this applicable to all Industrial monitoring applications? Will customers be willing to move away from tried and tested wire line solutions to a new technology - which if it fails could bring the entire plan down?

There sure is promise in for innovative applications for wireless sensor networks - but the uptake for this might most likely be limited to new systems that are beign built from ground up.

Quote from the publication
" Clearly, reliable industrial monitoring systems are critical, and according to ABI Research senior analyst Sam Lucero, "Wireless monitoring systems increase the number of monitoring points that you can deploy. You can get more information about your processes, using fewer employees, and without having to check instrument readings manually."

A new study from ABI Research analyzes the global market for wireless, networked industrial monitoring. Two of the leading wired industrial monitoring system vendors — Emerson and Honeywell — have introduced wireless monitoring technology, and more wireless product introductions are expected in the next few years from other vendors, as well."

What is the killer App for M2M?

2007-02-22T17:11:00.000-08:00

What is the killer App for M2M?

What environmental factors need to be aligned to make the M2M application take off?

Similar to what email / IM did for the internet - Which M2M application will bring this in the main stream?

Net connected Wine Bottles (Why not have M2M on all other things in between)

2007-02-21T11:13:00.000-08:00

The future lies in Internet-enabled surfboards, socks, wine corks, refrigerators and picture frames.

So before we reach the stage where our wine bottles are on Net Accessible - Why not take the first small step and get all the energy hogging machines on the net for monitoring that will enable us to operate them efficiently.

Google's Vinton G Cerf, vice-president and chief internet evangelist , considered one of the founding fathers of the Internet. Speaking on the future of the Internet in Bangalore on Tuesday, Cerf, 63, said, “Days are not far when we can connect our socks or wine corks to internet.”

Wavecom Presents Remote Device Management Services

2007-02-20T11:55:00.000-08:00

After acquiring all of Sony - Erickson's M2M assets - Wavecom has launched a new end to end Remote Device Management service. This service combines the existing Wavecom platform components to provide the customer with a suite that allows them to launch and operate turn key M2M service. Services like this have been launched in the past by Siemens through their eco system of partners and technology providers -

Wavecom’s offer is based on a powerful, field-proven, OMA-DM-compliant (Open Mobile Alliance – Device Management) client-server software suite. This builds upon existing Wavecom DOTA (Download Over-the-Air) capabilities, enhanced by compression technology, reducing the size of the downloaded software and air-time costs by up to 95%. It will be combined with remote-monitoring features in a range of existing and new Wavecom Wireless CPUs, pre-programmed to accept remote activation anytime and anywhere.

Cheap M2M Devices

2007-02-20T11:01:00.000-08:00

Following up on the previous Lantronix Post - The pricing for the new XPort device networking module is set at $20 for volume orders of 20,000 units.

Low cost M2M device networking

2007-02-15T10:04:00.000-08:00

Lantronix have released the XPort® Direct", an embedded networking device gateway module targeted at applications that need to move commands, status and information over IP networks or the Internet, to or from remote devices.

The XPort® Direct" is a component that is mounted onto a manufacturer’s printed circuit board, enabling “drop-in” network connectivity. According to the company, building upon the ease of use found in the XPort® product family, XPort® Direct" can be quickly integrated into existing or new products with minimal hardware and software engineering investment, a critical factor for most designers.

Industrial M2M

2007-02-14T14:41:00.000-08:00

Great Article on M2M in the Industrial Space...
Embedded Intelligence & M2M
Increasingly this coming year, equipment will contain embedded intelligence and communications. Machine-to-machine (M2M) communications will start to generate increasing efficiencies and productivity in the coming year. Equipment will communicate operating information to provide significant benefits: improved asset-management, dramatic cost reductions and enhanced service initiatives.

Embedded intelligence and connectivity is what M2M and pervasive computing are all about. The information coming from a device can be just as valuable, if not more valuable, than the device itself: for example, when it was installed and by whom, uptime & downtime, critical specifications, diagnostics, availability of spares, replacement alternatives, repair instructions, usage patterns, and more. All this invisible machine activity makes the information about assets, costs, and liabilities vastly more visible to managers and to the decision-making process.

Automation equipment will increasingly have self-diagnostics — not only showing causes of failure after failure has occurred, but also predictive (before failure), preventive (precautionary and deterrent) and advisory (providing maintenance instructions). Key advances in this arena are closely linked with M2M, which provides external remote links for advanced operation.

Glen Allmendinger of Harbor Research has a penchant for verbal images that make good sense. Says Glen, “M2M will bend the traditional linear value chain into a feedback loop through which the heartbeats of manufactured objects will continually flow back through complex business alliances that create, distribute, and service those objects.”

M2M makes the information about assets, costs, and liabilities vastly more visible to managers and to the decision-making process. This will unleash a wave of productivity and efficiencies previously unseen. “Smart services” represents the biggest organic growth opportunity for industrial automation equipment suppliers.

M2M Updates from 3GSM in Spain

2007-02-14T14:30:00.000-08:00

3GSM World Congress 2007

BARCELONA, Spain--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The M2M specialist Telit Wireless Solutions and the Spanish network operator Telefónica Spain today announced a groundbreaking strategic alliance to provide customers with a turnkey M2M solution based on Telit’s innovative modules and Telefónica’s ‘Mundo Máquina’ and Smart M2M Platform. As part of the alliance, Telefónica will embed Telit modules into its M2M projects, which will result in enhanced performance for Telefónica customers looking to deploy their M2M project on time and within budget.

Telefónica selected Telit’s new UMTS/HSDPA module, announced at 3GSM. Both companies are currently working on the integration of Telit products into Telefonica’s M2M Smart Platform, a dedicated server for users of M2M technology.

”Telefónica is Spain’s leading network carrier and one of the world’s largest telecom companies with a strong focus on the M2M market,“ explained Roger Dewey, President and CEO of Telit Americas. ”Telefónica’s constant commitment to generating new services and supporting systems integrators in developing innovative applications is of high importance for us. This perfectly matches Telit’s strategy of offering its customers the latest M2M technology worldwide.”

As a result of this partnership, users will benefit from the close cooperation of these two leading players in M2M, securing solutions that include Telit’s M2M modules with corresponding support bundled with Telefónica’s data transmission and services. Customers benefit from Telit’s three core values: business scalability, ease of integration and investment protection.

”This is an important advantage for us. Through this close cooperation with Telit we can respond flexibly to our customers’ requests,“ said Raquel Perez Serrano, Product Manager of M2M at Telefónica.

Crossed the 100 post Mark

2007-02-12T14:10:00.000-08:00

Crossed my 100 post mark. Looking back I should have crossed this land mark a long time ago.
I have decided to set my self some goals for the blog
Over the next 3 months generate a section devoted to M2M vocabulary. I have a lot of terms floating around in my head will get them down on paper (Blog)
Post at least once a day
Post a case study of what is possible with M2M once a month.
Respond to emails / comments
Cross the 1000 post mark.

M2M in Main Stream - A Machine-To-Machine "Internet Of Things

2007-02-12T14:08:00.000-08:00

Don't know how I missed this - But way back the main stream media had picked up on Machine 2 Machine communication.

In this dated Business Week article the author talks about the quite rise of the machine networks in several large corporations

"A Machine-To-Machine "Internet Of Things"

For years, tech visionaries have spun dreams of a world of connected, communicating machines -- what they call the Internet of Things. Some gurus predict that within a few years, there could be more gizmos chattering away over the Net than there are people. New wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi and ZigBee that can link computers, consumer electronics, vehicles, and millions of other devices are vastly speeding the process. "This is going to be very big," says Ian Barkin, managing director of researcher FocalPoint Group in San Francisco. By 2008, he figures, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication could drive a $180 billion annual business in hardware, software, and services, up from about $34 billion today.

Smart Updates - FOTA

2007-02-12T14:01:00.000-08:00

Came across this - Some numbers on expected cost savings on using M2M for remote updates..

Telit Wireless Solutions has licensed Red Bend Software’s client software for use in its m2m product portfolio.

The agreement between Telit and Red Bend could lead to new capabilities for m2m applications, including eliminating manual field software updates, enabling cost-efficient remote application maintenance and improving the reliability and lifespan of m2m modules.

The m2m sector is growing rapidly, and is expected to be worth $285 billion and reach 500 million modules deployed worldwide by 2010, according to market research firm IDATE. This represents a significant new market opportunity for Red Bend

"The introduction of FOTA upgrade capability significantly increases value to our customers by reducing onsite visits and keeping recalls of remote applications to a minimum. With FOTA, only hardware-related failures, which happen less often, will need to be fixed manually in the field," said Telit President Dominikus Hierl. "This is an important development for the m2m market where product lifecycles span 5 to 10 years."

M2M - Using Video and VOIP

2007-02-12T10:36:00.000-08:00

Came across this system that completes the M2M loop by providing visual contact with the remote site for diagnostics and troubleshooting field equipment...

FieldView™, a high-resolution mobile video system that enables remote workers to visually collaborate and troubleshoot field issues with centrally-located experts. By bringing the problem to the expert, organizations are better able to maximize the valuable time of their workforce – scaling expertise to many locations instantly.

FieldView, a wireless hand-held device, transmits detailed video streams to remote experts who communicate in real-time with the onsite worker, saving time and money. Many industries stand ready to benefit from this type of mobile visual communication solution:

Manufacturing workers onsite can visually share and illustrate line equipment malfunctions with remote experts.
Construction workers can immediately address a site’s structural problems with engineers at headquarters.
Oil and gas platform workers can walk through repair procedures with a vendor onshore.
Medical technicians in the field can discuss patient conditions with specialists at regional hospitals.

Industrial Strenght Wireless Routers for M2M Connections

2007-02-11T22:29:00.000-08:00

Came across this product that provides secure Remote VPN connections for Industrial environments...

Westermo Data Communications has released two industrial routers designed to be compatible with the current and future requirements of remote telemetry and industrial control systems applications. They can also be used for remote sites access, allowing the user to browse WEB pages, monitor / edit PLCs or access any device connected to the LAN. They will allow devices on the LAN side to send emails or connect to FTP servers for transferring files.

The MR-200 router is a GPRS router with an integral Ethernet port and a 25 pin RS-232 serial interface for local connectivity. The Ethernet interface supports Multicasting (IGMP), VLAN, SNMP, SNTP, FTP, SNMP as well as all the standard TCP, UDP and DHCP protocols. The inbuilt RS-232 port can be used to connect legacy serial based equipment such as PLCs, RTUs or Intelligent Electronic Devices. Alternatively the internal serial port can be used as a backup connection to the remote site when used in conjunction with a suitable Westermo Modem.

Link to DR-200
Link to MR-200
...

AirQ & Seimens Partnership for M2M

2007-02-08T13:27:00.000-08:00

AirQ to use Seimens One Platform Services ... PR
02/06/2007

TORONTO -- AirIQ Inc announced its intention to enter into a strategic agreement with the Siemens Wireless Modules Division of Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. to work together to provide digital solutions to North American machine-to-machine (M2M) markets.

Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Siemens M2M ONE, a global full solution provider of M2M technology and services, will become a lead channel partner for the AirIQ solution. AirIQ will utilize Siemens products across the breadth of its markets including AirIQ service for fleets, vehicle finance, consumer vehicles and personal tracking.

Save some electricity!! using M2M

2007-02-07T09:38:00.000-08:00

What is the M2M Problem of the day?
As a environment conscious citizen of the earth I take public transit to work to do my part to take one car of the road. The station I board the train from has an escalator that is always on. The station also has an elevator in case passengers don’t want to use the escalators. Trains arrive at my station every 15 minutes. During the 15 minute interval there are hardly any people on the station. And all the while we have this escalator running. The thing that bothers me is why have these escalators running when there are no trains arriving / departing.

What is the Solution?
About 10 feet away from the platform is a train signaling pole – with red and Green lights. The light turns green approximately 2-3 minutes before the train arrives. This can be used as a mechanism to trigger when the passengers are going to arrive on the platform. Use this indicator to start the escalators – for the passengers to use. When the train departs the signal becomes red – Use this to stop / slow down the escalator. The technology to implement is available using of the shelf components – A switch that is triggered by the Train Signaling system, 100 feet of wiring, Escalator Slow Down ( A way to slow down and stop the escalator – this should be available or built into current escalators – needs some research)

Saving?
So now instead of having the escalator run continuously for 15 minutes it will be operational for 7 minutes. Simple math tells us that this is resulting in 50% energy saving. On top of that you have managed to extend the life of the escalator by ~ 100% as you are now operating it only when needed

Greenhouse emissions reduced = 50%

A simpler low tech solution would be to install a motion detector at the entrance of the escalator to start it. Similar to that installed on doors at Mall Entrances that automatically opens the door when you walk towards it.

Looking at the future

2007-02-06T09:22:00.001-08:00

I have been hosting this blog on M2M world for the past 1 year. Over this period there has been major consolidation in this space – the early stage companies that were successful to some extent in this space such as Tridium, nPhase etc have been acquired by larger established companies such as Honeywell that are looking to get into this space. It is safe to say that this concept of using the Internet to monitor devices, assets on a 24/7 basis is catching on. But the wide spread adoption of this has been limited or hindered due to lack of standards, availability of global connectivity
– Most of the assets of value that need monitoring are not readily connected to the intent.
– Even if they can be connected; there is a concern about security and safety.
– The reliability of the Internet as a whole – case in point the last big earth quake near Malaysia – damaged some of the key undersea internet backbone pipe – resulting in entire countries experiencing slow or non availability of Internet services. This highlights some of the inherent risks on relying on one medium to manage your devices.

Up to now I have been focusing on news and articles that show the growth and adoption by companies. I will continue to post these articles as I come across them, get emails from the reader community. The focus of the next few months will be on where are the areas that I see , that we can take current off the shelf technology and apply it. In my mind M2M is focused on
• Reducing Cost
• Eliminating unnecessary usage
• Extending the life of the asset
• Increasing productivity
• Better user Experience.

Tying into the recent uproar over global Warming – M2M could be useful in reducing / slowing down our consumption of natural resources that are leading to global warming.

Stay Tuned for more to come..

M2M in your Heart

2007-02-05T11:49:00.000-08:00

It's finally here. A M2M Solution to monitor and record your heart beat from within your body - 24/7. Your physician will get to monitor you via wireless/ Internet link and will be notified at the first sign of any problems.

An easy-to-use in home monitoring device for patients is changing the way doctors monitor the health of patients with implanted defibrillators. Rush University Medical Center is participating in a pilot study of the LATITUDE® Patient Management system to determine if the wireless home monitoring system can decrease hospitalizations for heart failure.

A mini-antenna built into the implanted defibrillator sends data to a wireless system placed in the patient’s home. The data is automatically transmitted to a secure Internet server where the physician can access this medical information anytime, from anywhere.

Unlike other remote devices which only transmit data if certain parameters are out of range, the LATITUDE system uploads health information that can help physicians monitor the day-to-day changes in patients. In addition to the data stored before, during and after an arrhythmia, the system employs a wireless weight scale and blood pressure monitor to record vital statistics crucial for the management of cardiac failure patients. An abrupt change in weight could indicate worsening heart failure.

“This sophisticated system allows physicians to manage the patient much more closely. The same information that would normally require a visit to the office every few months can now be downloaded to the physician at anytime without the patient ever leaving home,” said Dr. Kousik Krishnan, a cardiac electrophysiologist at Rush.

According to Krishnan, the LATITUDE system provides added peace of mind for the patient. The physician can remotely check if the defibrillator is working correctly and assess battery life. If the patient feels the defibrillator activate, he or she can transmit the rhythm information immediately. The physician can quickly analyze the data and determine if the shock was appropriate or if the patient needs to go to the hospital.

WIreless Carriesr to pay attention to M2M

2007-01-29T10:55:00.000-08:00

Looks like with this type of data coming out - the wireless carriers will start looking closely at offering M2M related products and services. Not only do they get higher revenues , but this could also result in longer term service contracts which is good for their bottom line.

Juniper Research Report -
With businesses waking up to the operational benefits and efficiency savings of real-time data monitoring, wireless telemetry or Automated Meter Reading (AMR) will lead the evolving growth in M2M markets over the coming three years and beyond, according to industry analysts Juniper Research. A Juniper study forecasts revenues rising from $11.6 billion in 2006 to $25.3 billion by 2009.

According to Juniper, the substantial rise in revenues -- expected to quadruple by 2011 to $40.8bn -- will contrast with limited growth in telematics from $6.4bn to $11bn in the same period, owing to current widespread usage in many commercial vehicles due to legislation. Other outlets, including security and surveillance, highway and public transport signs, and health care will show encouraging signs. The analysts predict revenues rising from a cumulative low of $2bn in 2006 to over $9bn by 2009.

Juniper's Dr. Therese Cory, author of the study, believes the figures represent a great potential for real-time electronic data to transform enterprise performance and efficiency: "The utility industry is a prime example of how, by networking and remotely monitoring machines, data can be analysed and collective behaviour understood in new ways. For example a real-time unified view of how power is used will help safeguard this increasingly rare resource. And what can be measured can be controlled, and ultimately optimised."

To date however, growth has been restrained. M2M projects are notoriously long-term investments taking years to initiate, due to large budgets, the length of the decision making process, and time needed to put together a custom solution from several supply chain players. Despite these hurdles, Dr. Cory insists the signs are positive: "Earlier in 2006 the Italian energy company Enel completed an installation of 30 million AMRs. The cumulative cost of this project up to 2005 was $4.48bn. In the same year, only 6 million meters were providing readings, increasing revenues by $1bn."

Juniper expects similar cost and benefit patterns across the whole of the wireless AMR segment. the analysts note that making a business case will become easier, as more companies bite the bullet and provide success stories for others to learn from.

Remote Device Monitoring & Management Conference in Spain

2007-01-26T10:05:00.000-08:00

Remote Device Monitoring & Management
March 20 - 22, 2007 · NH Podium, Barcelona, Spain

Why should I attend?

By attending this conference you are going to hear the key strategies to improve service and saving costs using remote device monitoring and management. Learn how to build the service business and increase your revenue. Insight into the benefits for your organization of this technology: reduce responses times, increase customer satisfaction and create customer loyalty.

Who will I meet and who is speaking?

Hear presentations and share the expertise of these leading companies:

M2M FORUM 2007, MAY 22ND - 23RD, CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL MILAN

2007-01-25T12:51:00.001-08:00

The importance of M2M business sector is one of the reason why Wireless s.r.l. has decided to renovate the appointment of M2M FORUM, on May 22nd - 23rd 2007, at Crowne Plaza Hotel Milan, Italy.

The communication between machines is matter of a growing interest on the side of the net mangers and creates a concrete meeting point between the “old economy” of the industrial automation and the “mobile economy” represented by the mobile apparatus nets (mobile phones, pads, navigators, …).
The spread of wireless technologies (ZIG-BEE, GSM/GPRS/GPS, rf-id, wifi, W-Lan, Bluetooth) and the costs’ reduction of the transmittant apparatus allow lots of builders to make the machines installed on a landscape reachable from a center of remote control (such as counters, burglar alarms, parking meters and distributors).
The importance of this business field is also higlighted by the forecast of a recent survey conducted by Strategy Analitics, according to which in 2007 the M2M market could arrived to value 40 thousands of dollars.
That is one of the reason why Wireless s.r.l. has decided to renovate the appointment of M2M FORUM, on May 22nd - 23rd 2007, at Crowne Plaza Hotel Milan, Italy.

SMS For Wireless M2M -

2007-01-24T10:51:00.000-08:00

Numerex Corp.,recently announced the launch of SMSXpress a wireless network service optimized for remote monitoring and M2M applications. Designed to simplify M2M network deployment and reduce network costs, SMSXpress represents the ideal wireless network solution for a wide variety of fixed and mobile applications.

For Numerex solution partners and customers, SMSXpress provides the best price-performance network option available for M2M applications. The solution delivers a range of benefits to customers, including rapid application development through a network interface that facilitates quicker time to market. In addition, SMSXpress features extremely low-latency message delivery appropriate for a wide variety of critical applications, including security, telematics, environmental, and asset tracking.

SMSXpress's architecture and Numerex's network switching and operations centers are designed to support mission critical applications in high production. Featuring a geographically redundant, multi-server architecture, the SMSXpress Gateway provides load sharing redundancy, eliminating single points of failure. With multiple servers, SMSXpress is fully scalable for growth, eliminating capacity concerns. In addition, SMSXpress features flexible electronic billing for all active devices as well as continuous 24x7 customer support and care.

"SMSXpress is the latest wireless network solution announced by Numerex as the Company continues to lead the M2M industry with a portfolio of network offerings for both fixed and mobile solutions," said Chuck Horne, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Numerex. "With the industry's lowest-latency message delivery and auto-acknowledgement of messages, SMSXpress features the pricing, reliability, and service that our customers demand and are cornerstones of Numerex Network offerings."

In support of SMSXpress, Numerex also announces the launch of the DigiCell AnyNET network modem. A multi-network device, the AnyNET modem is an integral component of the Uplink wireless security solution, deployed in March 2006. With thousands of AnyNET devices deployed, the AnyNET device for SMSXpress provides a proven product that further streamlines and simplifies SMSXpress deployments.

Examples of M2M as implemented by Texas Instruments And Rockwell Automation

2007-01-23T12:43:00.000-08:00

Industrial Device Networking in Action: Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation is one of the leading global providers of industrial automation power, control, and information solutions that help customers meet their manufacturing objectives. One of the company’s leading brands is Allen-Bradley®, a manufacturer of automation controls and a provider of engineering services. Allen-Bradley control solutions have set a high standard in industrial automation, helping the industry apply programmable logic controller (PLC) technology for the past 30 years.

Rockwell’s customers needed to remotely access and manage their PLCs where only a serial interface was available. To meet their needs, Rockwell designed an industrial device networking server to provide Ethernet/IP connectivity. Their device server provided a gateway from their controllers serial port to an Ethernet network. This allowed their customers to upload/download programs, communicate between controllers, and generate email messages via SMTP (simple mail transport protocol). The result: Rockwell Automation enhanced the capabilities of their PLCs and allowed their customers to remotely access their controllers from anywhere in the world.

Industrial Device Networking in Action: Texas Instruments
In the case of Texas Instruments, the world leader in digital signal processing and analog technologies that drive semiconductor engines, the company needed secure remote access to all its process control equipment at the company’s Support Center, while keeping costs and wiring at a minimum. The company needed to measure and read the concentration of contaminants in water samples. Before deploying industrial device networking, the process used by the company was complicated, involving the transfer of a signal from a water analyser to a PLC to an HMI where reading of the measurement was often flawed. While the company’s Facility Control Centre operated process control equipment on a legacy network, independent of their LAN, they needed to network-enable all of the process control equipment at the Support Centre which would have required 1,500 feet of wiring and conduit spanning multiple buildings for added expense and time.

By implementing an industrial device networking solution on multiple key pieces of equipment such as airflow, water and gas detectors at its fabrication facility, its Support Centre can now remotely monitor and control critical elements of the fabrication factory (airflow, water treatment and gas detection) in an adjacent facility. By integrating the industrial device networking solution, all of its equipment in the Support Centre is Ethernet-enabled, allowing more than 500 PCs in the centre to have access in real-time to information as it is generated by the process control equipment. As a result, it was no longer necessary for a technician to patrol the floor of the fabrication to monitor each device individually and response time was significantly improved whenever a failure was detected.

These are just two examples of how industrial device networking can revolutionise the world of industrial manufacturing. By quickly and reliably connecting virtually any piece of factory equipment to a network or the Internet, industrial manufacturers gain the ability to interactively access, manage, control, evaluate and utilise data transmitted from the devices. This powerful, yet simple to implement technology allows manufacturers to perform real-time diagnostics and repair, automate data capture and gain immediate notification of problems, virtually from anywhere over an Internet connection.

Wireless Telemetry Leading Growth in M2M Revenues, Reaching $25.3bn by 2009, as Enterprise Wakes up to 'Real-Time' Efficiency Savings

2007-01-22T13:33:00.000-08:00

With businesses waking up to the operational benefits and efficiency savings of real-time data monitoring, wireless telemetry (or AMR -- Automated Meter Reading) will lead the evolving growth in M2M markets over the coming 3 years and beyond - according to industry analysts Juniper Research -- with revenues rising from $11.6bn in 2006 to $25.3bn by 2009.

According to Juniper, the substantial rise in revenues -- expected to quadruple by 2011 to $40.8bn -- will contrast with limited growth in telematics from $6.4bn to $11bn in the same period -- owing to current widespread usage in many commercial vehicles due to legislation. Other outlets including security and surveillance, highway and public transport signs, and health care will show encouraging signs rising from a cumulative low of $2bn in 2006 to over $9bn by 2009.

To date however, growth has been restrained. M2M projects are notoriously long-term investments taking years to initiate, due to large budgets, the length of the decision making process, and time needed to put together a custom solution from several supply chain players. Despite these hurdles, Therese insists the signs are positive: "Earlier in 2006 the Italian energy company Enel completed an installation of 30 million AMRs. The cumulative cost of this project up to 2005 was $4.48bn. In the same year, only 6 million meters were providing readings, increasing revenues by $1bn."

"Similar cost and benefit patterns are expected across the whole of the wireless AMR segment. Certainly, making the business case will become easier as more companies bite the bullet and provide success stories for others to learn from."

Revised M2M 100 list

2007-01-19T10:36:00.000-08:00

The 2007 M2M 100 is a list of the most important and influential machine-to-machine technology providers as determined by the editors of M2M magazine and its editorial advisory board. It is designed to provide a snapshot of the market as it exists today and the companies with the greatest impact on its direction. The M2M 100 is published annually.
http://www.specialtypub.com/m2m/m2m100/listing.asp

Another link in the M2M Chain

2007-01-19T10:34:00.000-08:00

As unobtrusive as a small electric clock, the PowerCost Monitor™ is a powerful real-time direct feedback display device for domestic energy consumers. It tells them at a glance, in real-time, how much electricity their home is using in dollars and cents and in kW.

Domestic energy use studies have demonstrated that real-time feedback yields energy savings anywhere between 10 and 20 percent. The savings at the high end of this range are realized when a tabletop energy display device, such as the PowerCost Monitor™, is used.

The PowerCost Monitor™ technology consists of two discrete functional units:

1. A detection unit, known as the transmitter, is affixed to an existing household electromechanical utility meter with a simple ring clamp.
This transmitter tracks the energy consumed by counting turns of
the meter disk. This is the only component of the PowerCost Monitor™ that will be in direct physical contact with the utility's electromechanical meter and the clamp mechanism allows it to be attached to the outside of the meter glass. It can also be quickly attached and detached without making any changes to the existing meter.

2. The display unit, located inside the home, receives a wireless signal from the transmitter and displays the consumption information in real time and in dollars and cents for the end user. Other information is also displayed such as time and outside temperature.

Another Interesting M2M Company

2007-01-18T10:42:00.000-08:00

Came across this company while researching Bluetooth connectivity options for local area M2M connectivity. This eliminates the need for physical cabling ..

SENA's Bluetooth-Serial products enable a serial device to communicate with another serial port adapter or other Bluetooth enabled devices such as mobile phones, handheld computers and laptops. They are suitable for industrial applications that require data logging, wireless sensor control and monitoring in production facilities. Also in medical applications, physicians with hand held devices are able to view and update medical databases and patient's charts instantly reducing redundant paper work, increasing efficiency and lowering hospital costs. Other applications include retail POS, bar code scanners and credit card readers, restaurant order and receipt printers, security systems, gas pumps, and outdoor sign boards.

Monitor your devices using wireless

2007-01-18T10:41:00.000-08:00

Next Generation WiBox Wirelessly Networks Existing Equipment in Minutes and Delivers New Standards, Greater Flexibility and Ease of Deployment

Alpha Micro has launched the latest version of the award-winning WiBox® wireless Device Server™ from Lantronix for the remote management and control of appliances and machines over a wireless network. The new WiBox delivers support for the latest generation 802.11g standards and adds wired Ethernet connectivity for increased configuration flexibility in the field. Specialised features offer additional options and ease of configuration,

Alpha Micro

making serial or Ethernet device connectivity possible in just minutes regardless of the application. WiBox provides an ideal solution for companies looking to network-enable a variety of machines and appliances, ranging from plant equipment to corporate security systems.

The enhanced dual-port RS232 WiBox now provides 802.11 b/g wireless capabilities for higher bandwidth and superior data throughput performance. The WiBox also provides a unique bridging capability which allows an Ethernet device to be connected to an 802.11 wireless network. This increases connectivity options, allowing greater flexibility when dealing with a mixed (Ethernet or wireless) device environment in a single solution.

In addition, the new WiBox is industrial-grade (robust with a wide temperature range), making wireless communications possible in harsh outdoor or factory environments. It is also fully RoHS (Restriction on Hazardous Substances)-compliant and backwards compatible with the 802.11 b wireless standard.

Numerex Launches SMSXpress For Wireless M2M

2007-01-09T23:42:00.000-08:00

Numerex Launches SMSXpress For Wireless M2M 1/9/2007

Atlanta, GA - Numerex Corp.,recently announced the launch of SMSXpress a wireless network service optimized for remote monitoring and M2M applications. Designed to simplify M2M network deployment and reduce network costs, SMSXpress represents the ideal wireless network solution for a wide variety of fixed and mobile applications.

NASA Ames and M2Mi Corp. to develop 'Automated M2M Intelligence

2007-01-03T18:17:00.000-08:00

To help enable chines to make choices and efficiently communicate with one another without human interven- tion, NASA Ames and M2Mi Corp. have agreed to work together to develop automated 'machine- to-machine (M2M) intelligence.' An agreement between the center and M2Mi Corp. calls for the two organizations to cooperate to evolve 'automated M2M intelligence' for space missions. A satellite that would repair itself in low orbit is an example of how the new, automat- ed M2M intelligence could be used in the very near future. M2Mi is located in NASA Research Park, a dynamic research and education community adjacent to NASA Ames that cultivates collaborative partnerships with academia, industry and non-profits to stimulate innovation and education in science and research disciplines critical to space exploration.