Category Archives: Smart City Initiatives

Wireless sensor network developers are finding an expanding ecosystem with Internet of Things markets, according to a recent survey by global technology research firm ON World.

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In collaboration with several industry alliances, ON World recently completed a survey with leading WSN equipment/device manufacturers, service providers, software developers, systems integrators, component suppliers and end users.

Participants include members of the Bluetooth SIG, CABA, Continua Health Alliance, EnOcean Alliance, IPSO Alliance, ZigBee Alliance and Z-Wave Alliance.

A few of the key findings were:

  • The smart home is currently targeted by nearly two thirds of the respondents.
  • Energy management and lighting are the most commonly targeted current WSN application areas.
  • 43% are planning WSN solutions for health and fitness
  • Likely high growth markets include personal / lifestyle sensors, home and building controls, and smart city applications such as traffic sensing and parking management.
  • Nearly half of the respondents are using ZigBee followed by WiFi, 6LoWPAN and Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth Smart).
  • Data reliability, equipment costs and battery lifetime are the top three most important WSN adoption considerations.
  • Energy harvesting is ranked as one of the top five most important WSN innovation areas and 40% of the respondents have at least tested energy harvesting.

Smart Lightbulb

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Imagine a smart eco-friendly LED powered bulb that has a tiny electronic brain and some awareness of what’s going on around it. It is clever enough that if you put it in a bedside lamp it could detect that you have woken up and heading for a midnight toilet visit, it knows the time, so it turns on dimly to not hurt your eyes. It could flash an urgent amber to remind you that your pizza had enough time in the oven and most importantly, it can connect to other objects over Wi-Fi.

These smart lights could automatically fade on and off to save energy as your home’s occupants amble from room to room. They could alert you when you’ve got new emails, triggered by signals coming from your PC or tablet, or help you find a mislaid smartphone by detecting its Wi-Fi signature and then steering you to the room where you have left it. This is really useful, this is smart.

By being smart, the traditional lightbulb is transformed into a helpful and interactive Internet of Things device. Its smart powers may contribute to your relaxation, health or happiness, as lighting effects your mood.

This technology is arriving as we speak because multiple developments have happened all at once. Coloured LED lighting is now powerful, reliable and low priced enough to be built into consumer electronic devices and sold cheaply in bulk. Tiny low-processor chips, like those by ARM, and their ancillary circuits are powerful and ubiquitous thanks to innovations in smartphone design. Moreover, wireless radio systems like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are ubiquitous, tiny, cheap, and economical enough to be built into devices like a lightbulb. This technology creates the ability to transform everyday objects into smart and magical items.

The technology could even go into your home’s irrigation system. Imagine a lawn that knows when it needs a sprinkle by detecting the dryness of the grass or a flowerbed that knows it needs water by detecting the soil dryness. This system will then be smart, and will not waste water. Smart lightbulbs could also be used for security systems by placing sensors in the bulbs that detect intruders, and report in real-time.

To conclude, the smart lightbulb could perform all kinds of functionalities to increase our quality of life and assist us in our daily lives. We are keen to follow the next exciting developments for this ‘smart bulb’.

 

 

 

ESSA Academy Bolton

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The ESSA Academy in Bolton created a whole new learning experience for its students and teachers. In addition to a brand new building, the academy states to be a leader in the development of learning technologies.

In order to stimulate creativity and student performance, the academy equipped its students and staff members with iPads, iPods, iMacs, Macbook Pro’s, Macbook Air’s, AppleTV and iPhones. Student’s personal iPad allow them to make notes during lectures, email teachers instantly, search for definitions on the Web, open e-books, and share their notes or drawings with the main screen in the classroom.

By adopting this technology, the academy created an exciting, entertaining, and high performing environment for its students and teachers. Parents can call the teachers on their iPads allowing the teachers to decide whether to take the call or to call back later.

Outside of the classroom, students can film and share each others physical performance during training sessions and can get on a stage and interact with visual objects as e.g. a DNA molecule.

According to ESSA, its agreement with Apple allows the use of 21st Century learning resources and streamlined productivity in a educational setting.