<p id="isPasted">The IoT will be one of the planet&#39;s largest and most complex machines. And its economic impact will be huge. In a 2022 report, analyst McKinsey <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-the-internet-of-things#" rel="noopener" target="_blank">suggested the IoT&rsquo;s value</a> could be as much as $12.5 trillion by 2030<sup>[1]</sup>. But the IoT can only reach this size if all the components are built to global engineering standards.</p><p>Without standards, there&rsquo;s no way to guarantee that parts of the network&mdash;potentially made by different companies and situated a long way from each other&mdash;will work in harmony.</p><p>Nordic has been an enthusiastic advocate for wireless standards for decades. The company realized that low-power wireless connectivity would be a big business from the beginning. Still, it also realized it would be much more significant if everyone worked to standards.</p><p>Mainstream adoption of wireless technology has consistently been greatly accelerated if customers can see it is internationally backed and there&rsquo;s a healthy ecosystem of competing suppliers.</p><p>Moreover, standards adoption gives customers confidence that the technology will thrive and they are not subject to the whims of a single supplier. They are also reassured that a device compatible with a given standard will seamlessly interoperate with other devices built to the same standard from various suppliers. &nbsp;</p><h2><strong>Reaching a consensus for the IoT</strong></h2><p>Apart from being the son of William the Conqueror, English 12th-century monarch King Henry I was known for his talent for administration and an early realization that standards were a good thing. At the time, the &ldquo;yard,&rdquo; a distance measure similar to the meter, was anything but consistent. Henry decided it needed defining and decreed it should be the distance from his nose to the thumb on his outstretched arm. While this was somewhat arbitrary, it was at least a definition everyone could agree upon.</p><p>That is what standards represent: a consensus among experts regarding the best way of measuring, defining, testing, or achieving something. The rules and regulations are written down and officially adopted so everyone knows exactly how everyone else will implement things. In the manufacturing sector, if everyone sticks to the standards, everything we make will work seamlessly together no matter who constructed it.</p><h2><strong>Why standards are a good thing for the IoT</strong></h2><p>Standards make sense today, but that wasn&rsquo;t always the case. &ldquo;When things don&rsquo;t work as they should, it often means standards are absent,&rdquo; says an ISO (International Organization for Standardization) spokesperson. The organization&mdash;a global standards group&mdash;could have been talking about the early railways in the U.K. Two rival engineers, George Stephenson and Isambard Kingdom Brunel, tried to impose their respective gauges (the distance between rails) on the countrywide network.</p><p>Stephenson chose 4 ft 8.5 in (1.44 meters) for his gauge based on the axle width of the horse-drawn carts of the day. Brunel chose 7 ft 0.25 in (2.14 meters), arguing it would lead to smoother and faster journeys. The result was that passengers and freight had to change trains whenever the two gauges met. In 1892, the U.K.&rsquo;s rail authorities adopted Stephenson&rsquo;s gauge as the standard and ripped up Brunel&rsquo;s railways. It was a good move; by 1914, around 32,000 kilometers of 1.44-meter gauge track were used daily by rolling stock from 120 competing companies.</p><p>The ISO recently analyzed the impact of standards and came to three major conclusions:</p><ul><li>Standards reduce the time needed to perform specific activities in the various business functions, decreasing waste, reducing procurement costs, and increasing productivity.</li><li>They served as the basis for innovating business processes, allowing companies to expand their suppliers&rsquo; network or to introduce and manage new products effectively. In other instances, standards helped mitigate the risk to companies of introducing new products onto national markets.</li><li>Standards have been used as the basis for developing new products, penetrating new markets (both domestic and export), supporting the market uptake of products, and even creating markets.</li></ul><h2><strong>Getting things organized</strong></h2><p>Standards organizations come in all shapes and sizes. For example, the ISO was founded in 1947 to answer a fundamental question: &ldquo;What&#39;s the best way of doing this?&rdquo; Starting with the obvious things like weights and measures, the organization now administers over 24,750 standards covering all aspects of daily life.</p><p>In the wireless sector, bodies such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) develop, maintain, and administer specifications that detail exactly how wireless tech should be built. The IEEE, for example, produces a standard that details how wireless local area network (WLAN, also known as Wi-Fi) media access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) must be designed. The WLAN standard, IEEE 802.11, encompasses a suite of standards, including 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6), and is part of IEEE 802, a set of local area network (LAN) standards.</p><p>Another example of an important standards organization in the wireless IoT sector is the 3<sup>rd</sup> Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The group was initially set up to define standards for 3G networks and is mapping out 5G and 6G standards today. These include those for cellular IoT specifications such as LTE-M and NB-IoT, which build on cellular networks as a foundation for massive IoT.</p><h2><strong>Nordic helps define standards for the IoT</strong></h2><p>Nordic is much more than just an IoT solutions company. Rather it is an active and enthusiastic participant in wireless IoT standards bodies. As far back as 2006, the company contributed core ultra-low power wireless design expertise to the Bluetooth Low Energy standard. Bluetooth LE subsequently became one of the fastest-growing wireless technologies in history. Today, Nordic&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Bluetooth-Low-Energy?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nRF52 and nRF53 Series SoCs</a> meet the requirements of the latest version of the specification, Bluetooth 5.3. Similarly, the <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/nRF9160?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nRF9160</a> cellular IoT SiP complies with the 3GPP&rsquo;s latest <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Low-power-cellular-IoT?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">LTE-M and NB-IoT</a> standards, and the <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/nRF7002?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nRF7002</a> complies with IEEE&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/WiFi?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wi-Fi</a> 6 standard.</p><p>Nordic continues to play a key role in developing the open standards that underpin the IoT. In addition to being an associate member of the Bluetooth SIG, Nordic is a member of the ANT+ Alliance, Thread Group, Connectivity Standards Alliance, Wi-Fi Alliance, and GSMA. And our engineers have significant input into the specifications behind many of today&rsquo;s IoT technologies. For example, Nordic has played a recent key role in the Matter specification. Matter brings order to the fragmentation of smart home tech. Thread and DECT NR+ are other important standards that Nordic is helping to develop and promote.</p><p>From the 12<sup>th</sup> century until the 21<sup>st</sup>, standards have ensured that the best engineering minds work towards the same objective, even if competing companies employ them and they live in different countries. That makes for rapid technological advances while ensuring end products are robust, reliable, and interoperable. The alternative approach leads to fragmentation, lack of innovation, and stalled progress.</p><hr><p>This article was first published on Nordic&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" id="isPasted"></a><a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Get Connected Blog</a>.  &nbsp;</p>

The IoT will be one of the planet's largest and most complex machines. And its economic impact will be huge. In a 2022 report, analyst McKinsey suggested the IoT’s value could be as much as $12.5 trillion by 2030. But the IoT can only reach this size if all the components are built to global engineering standards.

How global standards underpin the IoT

<p id="isPasted">The smart home network continues to expand. Homeowners are now using wireless technology to operate the lights, window shades and HVAC, as well as entertain, manage energy consumption and make sure the house is secure. And this is just the start.</p><p>Technologies such as <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Bluetooth-Low-Energy?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bluetooth LE</a> and <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Thread?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Thread</a> offer robust and reliable connectivity with decent range. Together with <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/WiFi?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wi-Fi</a>, the wireless technologies form the foundation of <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Matter" target="_blank">Matter</a>, a standard which is bringing harmony to the previously fragmented connected home market.</p><p>But there are times when consumers want a little more from the domestic network. For example, consider the family pet with her Bluetooth LE tracking collar. All is well as she sniffs around in the yard for lost toys, but what if boredom sets in and the four-legged friend decides to leap the fence and explore the rest of the neighborhood? She&rsquo;ll soon be out of range of the domestic Bluetooth LE network and on her own.</p><h2><strong>A free-to-connect community network</strong></h2><p><a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Amazon-Sidewalk?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amazon Sidewalk</a>, which has recently been launched in the U.S., offers an answer. By combining Bluetooth LE and sub-GHz radio technologies, Amazon Sidewalk offers a free-to-connect wireless infrastructure that significantly extends the range of the home network.</p><p>Amazon Sidewalk over Bluetooth LE suits applications in the home and promises to improve wireless device performance by making it easier to connect Bluetooth LE devices to AWS (Amazon&rsquo;s Cloud computing service) while ensuring data privacy and enhancing security. Bluetooth LE also enables consumers to add Amazon Sidewalk devices to their network using their smartphones.</p><p>For operation beyond the home, Amazon Sidewalk uses sub-GHz radio technology because it offers longer range than 2.4 GHz technologies. Which is very useful for tracking escaped pets and other missing items. The trade-off for longer range is lower throughout.</p><p>You can think of the longer range version of Amazon Sidewalk as a &lsquo;community&rsquo; network that sits between the Bluetooth LE/Wi-Fi home network and kilometer-plus range LPWANs such as <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Low-power-cellular-IoT?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">cellular IoT</a>. This community network provides greater neighborhood coverage than home Wi-Fi alone and connects all Amazon Sidewalk devices to AWS - without incurring the data costs associated with cellular connection.</p><h2><strong>Based on Echo and Ring</strong></h2><p>Amazon Sidewalk is based on devices such as the company&rsquo;s Echo smart speakers and Ring security cameras. And it brings extra value to the huge installed base of these products. According to tech publication <em>GeekWire</em>, over 20 million U.S. households own an Echo, while about 8 million U.S. households have multiple Google Home units. The company owns around 69 percent of the U.S. smart speaker market.</p><p>Because of this installed base of Amazon smart speakers and security cameras, Amazon Sidewalk is immediately available for use with compatible devices &ndash; there&rsquo;s no need to wait for the roll-out of additional infrastructure to support the new technology. The company has published a coverage map that shows the technology already extends to over 90 percent of the U.S. population.</p><h2><strong>The gateways to the network</strong></h2><p>Echo and Ring products act as &ldquo;Sidewalk Bridges&rdquo; to form the basis of Amazon Sidewalk networks. The devices share a small portion of their Internet bandwidth to operate as gateways &ndash; allowing any Amazon Sidewalk product&mdash;for example, a <a data-lf-fd-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true" href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/-/media/Publications/Wireless-Quarter-pdf/2021/WQ_Issue_3_2021.pdf?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">pet tracker</a>,&nbsp;a seniors wearable or a utility meter&mdash;to communicate with AWS to reveal information such as location.</p><p>Sidewalk Bridges also support applications such as smart outdoor lighting, environmental sensors, asset trackers, and domestic appliances such as washing machines&mdash;that are often kept in basements or garages&mdash;as well as healthcare and commercial devices.</p><p>You don&rsquo;t even have to own an Amazon smart speaker or security camera to take advantage of Amazon Sidewalk. Compatible devices can leverage the gateway services of neighbors&rsquo; Sidewalk Bridges (if they have opted-in to the network) to connect with AWS.</p><h2><strong>Nordic support for both versions of Amazon Sidewalk</strong></h2><p>Nordic has officially completed &ldquo;Works With Amazon Sidewalk&rdquo; qualification for the <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/nRF52840?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nRF52840</a> Bluetooth LE SoC. In addition to leveraging Bluetooth LE to allow Amazon Sidewalk end devices to effortlessly access the cloud, the nRF52840&rsquo;s smartphone-interoperable connectivity allows consumers to use their mobiles for simple authentication of new devices onto the Amazon Sidewalk network.</p><p>The longer range Amazon Sidewalk variant will use the Nordic SoC&rsquo;s processor to supervise operation of the sub-GHz Semtech SX1262 LoRa and FSK transceiver. Nordic also has Works With Amazon Sidewalk qualification for the nRF52840 and Semtech SX1262 combination.</p><p>The use of the Semtech transceiver enables two further operational modes for the Amazon technology: Amazon Sidewalk over LoRa (LoRa is a type of LPWAN) and Amazon Sidewalk over FSK (using frequency shift keying modulation and offering higher throughput than LoRa but with shorter range).</p><h2><strong>Development made simple</strong></h2><p>The nRF52840 uses Nordic&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Development-software/nRF-Connect-SDK?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nRF Connect SDK</a> for Amazon Sidewalk software development. The scalable, unified software development kit can be used by developers to immediately get started on Amazon Sidewalk projects. Future versions of the SDK will integrate the latest version of the Amazon Sidewalk software repository.</p><p>Amazon Sidewalk applications can be evaluated using the <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Development-hardware/nRF52840-DK?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nRF52840 DK</a>. This is a versatile single board development kit for Bluetooth LE, Bluetooth mesh, and other low power 2.4 GHz protocol development on the nRF52840 SoC.</p><h2><strong>Complementary technology</strong></h2><p>Amazon Sidewalk is designed to complement<strong>&nbsp;</strong>other wireless technologies. For example, Amazon is a key supporter of Matter, which will sit alongside Amazon Sidewalk in the company&rsquo;s Echo smart speakers.</p><p>Where Amazon Sidewalk will really come into its own is beyond the home. An errant pet&rsquo;s Bluetooth LE tracker, for example, will connect to AWS using the local community&rsquo;s Sidewalk Bridges ensuring the dog&rsquo;s owner knows exactly where it has wandered. There are currently few other free-to-connect wireless technologies that can do that.</p><hr><p>This article was first published on Nordic&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" id="isPasted"></a><a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Get Connected Blog</a>.  &nbsp;</p>

The smart home network continues to expand. Homeowners are now using wireless technology to operate the lights, window shades and HVAC, as well as entertain, manage energy consumption and make sure the house is secure. And this is just the start.

Using Amazon Sidewalk to improve wireless device performance indoors and beyond

<p id="isPasted">Warehouse inventory management can be complex enough on modest scales, but the exponential surge in online shopping triggered by the pandemic and continuing has made things much more challenging. Volumes of warehouse stock have gone through the roof &ndash; or at least right up to the rafters.</p><p>In 2020, the U.S. alone experienced e-commerce sales of $791.7 billion, a 32.4 percent increase on the previous year, according to data published by the U.S. Census Bureau. Online retailers&rsquo; promises of tighter delivery schedules&mdash;from warehouse floor to customer door in as little as 48 hours&mdash;only make things harder. It&rsquo;s a new reality that demands even more precise asset management and just-in-time warehousing operations.</p><p>Together with the number of deliveries, the number of warehouses has also increased. They&rsquo;re getting bigger too. In 2020 there were 150,000 warehouses worldwide offering space of 2.32 billion square meters, says Warehouse Building Stock Database&mdash;a comprehensive assessment of the global warehouse industry&mdash;with this figure expected to climb to 3.07 billion square meters by 2025. For example, the average Amazon fulfillment center takes up over 74,000 square meters.</p><h2>Inventory management challenges</h2><p>Larger warehouses make it increasingly time-consuming for humans and machines to locate a specific unit. Without guidance, packages can be very hard to find and stored incorrectly, damaged, or even shipped to the wrong location.</p><p>In the worst case, staff can&rsquo;t locate an item, which leads to the purchase of unnecessary replacements, creating financial and environmental waste. Powerhouse AI estimates that inventory issues cost the economy a staggering $1.1 trillion yearly. Yet only 20 percent of warehouses use any form of automation, says analyst ResearchAndMarkets.</p><h2>Keeping track outdoors&hellip;</h2><p>The IoT can provide a platform for automation and promises to revolutionize logistics. Products such as Nordic&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/nRF9160" rel="noopener" target="_blank">nRF9160 SiP</a>, a cellular IoT solution, working with <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Cloud-services?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nRF Cloud</a> Location Services, can track moving assets before they reach the warehouse and then on the way to the customer. The SiP uses GNSS when location precision is paramount and single-cell and multi-cell locationing for when the absolute position is not so critical but saving battery power is.</p><p>With the addition of the Nordic&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/nRF7002?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nRF7002</a> companion IC, Wi-Fi locationing can be added for when GNSS coverage is patchy. The Wi-Fi IC checks the service set identifier (SSID) of nearby access points (APs) and the nRF9160 uses its cellular IoT connection to check-in with nRF Cloud. nRFCloud then checks a Wi-Fi AP database and reports back the location.</p><h2><strong>&hellip;and inside</strong></h2><p>In a large warehouse with a widespread Wi-Fi network, the nRF7002 can be used again with nRF Cloud Location Services to reveal the position of stored items relative to the warehouse APs. But greater accuracy can come from Bluetooth networks and Bluetooth beacons.</p><p>Network nodes and beacons can comprise a Real-Time Locationing System (RTLS) that can use various methods or combinations of methods (for example, <a href="https://webinars.nordicsemi.com/measuring-distance-with-the-nordic-4?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nordic Distance Toolbox</a> (NDT), <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Bluetooth-Direction-Finding?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bluetooth Direction Finding</a> with Angle of Arrival (AoA) and Angle of Departure (AoD), and/or Ultra Wideband (UWB)) to support a very accurate and reliable RTLS.</p><p>NDT includes several phase-based algorithms to determine the distance between two Nordic <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Bluetooth-Low-Energy?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bluetooth LE</a> devices. Bluetooth Direction Finding beacons use AoA technology to identify the location of tags on pallets and parcels precisely. UWB systems use Time-of-Flight of the RF signal to establish the exact distance between the beacon and the target tag. Beacons can be used to track packages and offer indoor navigation assistance for employees trying to locate a particular item.</p><p>NDT and Bluetooth Direction Finding is supported on Nordic Semiconductor&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/products/nrf5340?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nRF5340</a>, <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/products/nrf52833?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nRF52833</a>, <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/products/nrf52820?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nRF52820</a>, and <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/products/nrf52811?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nRF52811</a> SoCs. All Nordic Bluetooth LE SoCs also support received signal strength indication (RSSI), which can also be combined with AoA/AoD in positioning applications.</p><p>One successful implementation of this tech is the <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/News/2020/10/Blue-IoT-employs-nRF52833?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">BlueIoT</a> Bluetooth LE AoA positioning system that employs the nRF52833 SoC to provide sub-meter location accuracy for indoor use, including tracking in warehouses and factories &ndash; even in the case of non-line-of-sight applications. The nRF52833 SoC-powered tags can be placed in key locations throughout a facility, or attached to assets in a warehouse, enabling customers or staff to navigate their way to a specified location or item via an accompanying app.</p><h2>Automating processes, saving space</h2><p>Beyond locating items, other warehouse processes can be improved too. By using sensors to monitor heat, light and humidity, warehouse managers can ensure stock is not exposed to any potentially detrimental conditions. Weight sensors can be used as part of &lsquo;smart shelves&rsquo;, which can identify when a particular section is running low on stock and send a reminder to place a new order.</p><p>A compelling benefit that comes from introducing the IoT to solve problems, such as locating assets, are the insights that can be gleaned from the data generated by sensors. Sensor data related to the location and movement of products, and even the movement of workers and machinery, can help operators optimize operations.</p><p>By using machine learning (ML), operators can identify potential bottlenecks in the movement of goods and calculate more efficient routes for workers and machinery &ndash; supporting both productivity gains and reducing risk of collisions and accidents. ML can also use data on product retrieval frequency to optimize where products should be located for the most efficient storage and retrieval.&nbsp;Using precise beacon locationing, robots can then locate and remove one item from a pile of identical boxes without having to check each one individually.</p><p>For example, the AutoStore automated system, which uses robots to make selections from vertically stacked bins, is deployed by companies including Puma and Lufthansa to improve their warehouse management and save an estimated 75 percent of available warehouse space.</p><h2><strong>Making a busy job easier</strong></h2><p>The average warehouse can ship up to 200,000 boxes a day during a peak holiday season, which makes a warehouse manager&rsquo;s job of coordinating incoming and outgoing stock, reconciling orders in databases, and managing teams of warehouse staff a busy one.</p><p>Employing wireless tech in the form of cellular IoT, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth LE enables warehouse management to constantly track movements in real-time via web-based warehouse management software running on tablet computers.</p><p>The result is that the IoT transforms inventory management and warehousing procedures one fulfillment at a time.</p><hr><p>This article was first published on Nordic&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" id="isPasted"></a><a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Get Connected Blog</a>.  &nbsp;</p>

Warehouse inventory management can be complex enough on modest scales, but the exponential surge in online shopping triggered by the pandemic and continuing has made things much more challenging. Volumes of warehouse stock have gone through the roof – or at least right up to the rafters.

Transforming warehouse management

<p><span data-token-index="0" id="isPasted"><em>From low power MCUs, radio modules and (e-)SIMs, to real-time operating systems, security mechanism and FOTA. From Radio technologies, wireless protocols and data standards to core networks, roaming agreements and cloud integrators.</em></span></p><p id="isPasted">IoT is complex. There are so many different elements that make up an IoT solution. Even though most of the pioneering is done, selecting the right building blocks and integrating them seamlessly is challenging - if not impossible - to realize by yourself. <span data-token-index="1" id="isPasted"><strong>Becoming successful in IoT means finding the right partners</strong></span>. Knowing which suppliers to work with allows you to focus on the real value of IoT without getting lost in the labyrinth of wireless standards, security layers and device management protocols.</p><h3 id="isPasted">Get ready for MWC and Embedded World</h3><p>Two big connectivity conferences coming up: <span data-token-index="1" id="isPasted"><strong>Mobile World Congress</strong></span> in Barcelona, and <span data-token-index="3"><strong>Embedded World</strong></span> in Nuremberg. These events present the ideal opportunity to find the partners for your next IoT solution.</p><p>To prepare yourself for the upcoming events, a tool was designed to support you in designing your IoT Stack while finding the right partners that can provide you with the missing building blocks.</p><p><strong>IoT Stars presents IoTetris, the tool to build your next IoT solution.</strong></p><h3 id="isPasted"><a href="https://iotbuilder.iotstars.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Have fun and build your own IoT stack with IoTetris!</strong></a></h3><p><strong><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 766px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjc2NDU0MDIyNzExLVBsYXkgSW9UZXRyaXMgbGFuZHNjYXBlLnBuZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTUwLCJmaXQiOiJjb3ZlciJ9fX0=" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-inner">Build your IoT Stack at iotbuilder.iotstars.com</span></span></span></strong></p><h2 id="isPasted">Meet the IoT Stars Community</h2><p>IoT Stars is a community of IoT professionals who gather during industry-events to share knowledge and experiences. The community consists of entrepreneurs, developers, engineers, investors, industry players and press working in the IoT ecosystem.</p><p>For building real-world partnerships, we&#39;re inviting you to IoT Stars at <strong id="isPasted">MWC</strong> (Feb 27) and <strong>Embedded World</strong> (March 14). Join the IoT Stars networking events to find the right partners that will make you succeed in IoT.</p><h3 id="isPasted"><a href="https://iotstars.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Get Tickets</strong></a></h3><p><em>25% discount code: <strong>FRIEND-OF-WEVOLVER</strong></em></p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 768px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjc2NDUzMjgzODQ2LVBhbmVsIE1XQy1sYW5kc2NhcGUuanBlZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTUwLCJmaXQiOiJjb3ZlciJ9fX0=" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-inner">IoT Stars Panel during MWC 2023 with Iotcreators, Ubidots, SODAQ and The Things Network</span></span></span></p><h2>What to expect at IoT Stars</h2><p>Four main topics will be discussed during the IoT Stars events.</p><h3><strong>Private / hybrid IoT networks</strong></h3><p>Cellular networks are becoming ever-cheaper and easier to build and manage. New shared or unlicensed radio bands (see for example <a data-token-index="1" href="https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/35-ghz-band/35-ghz-band-overview" id="isPasted" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CBRS</a>) are removing the obstacles for running your own network. As a result, private LTE and 5G network are becoming a competitor to WiFi systems, as well to LoRa(WAN) networks.</p><p><span data-token-index="0" id="isPasted"><strong>Multitech</strong></span> offers reliable hardware to build private LoRaWAN or LTE networks. During IoT Stars, they will share their experiences with realizing private networks. In addition, <span data-token-index="2"><strong>RAK Wireless</strong></span> will be presenting their latest 5G small cell. These hardware components work well with <span data-token-index="4"><strong>Monogoto</strong></span>&rsquo;s cellular core which processes cellular data and routes it to the right endpoints.</p><h3><strong>Abundant Cellular Connectivity</strong></h3><p>The number of connectivity providers are hitting an all-time-high. More virtual network operators (MVNOs) are entering the market as the demand for cellular connections keeps growing. MVNOs are doing the best they can to simplify the use of cellular communication and management of IoT devices in volume. At IoT Stars, meet the digital operators <strong>Iotcreators</strong>, <strong>SORACOM</strong> and <strong>Monogoto</strong> to find out about their unique perspective on the IoT market.</p><h3><strong>IoT Lifecycle Management</strong></h3><p>As the IoT market matures, more attention is being paid to lifecycle management. This includes management of device fleets, remote configuration of devices as well as over-the-air firmware update mechanisms. New partners have entered the scene including <span data-token-index="1" id="isPasted"><strong>Blues Wireless</strong></span> which recently released their out of bound FOTA capabilities, and <strong>AVSystem</strong> which goes all-in on the novel LwM2M standard.</p><h3><span data-token-index="0" id="isPasted"><strong>Simplifying</strong>&nbsp;</span><strong>Hardware Development</strong></h3><p>One of the biggest challenges in today&rsquo;s IoT market, is finding the embedded developers capable of building the billions of expected devices. The number of embedded developers around the world is limited, and hardware development is complicated and time-consuming.</p><p>IoT suppliers are taking their responsibility to counter this challenge. <span data-token-index="1" id="isPasted"><strong>Ignion</strong></span> enables people to integrate antennas without the need for expert RF skills. <span data-token-index="3"><strong>Zephyr</strong></span> is abstracting away much of the complexities of embedded programming. And <span data-token-index="5"><strong>Kallipr</strong></span> is providing off-the-shelf hardware products, ready to be implemented at scale.</p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 768px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjc2NDUzMDkwODEyLUlvVCBTdGFycyBQYXJ0bmVycy5wbmciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-inner">IoT Stars partners</span></span></span></p><h3>Join IoT Stars and meet the IoT community</h3><p>IoT Stars is hosting networking events at MWC (Feb 27) and Embedded World (March 14).</p><h3 id="isPasted"><a href="https://iotstars.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Get Tickets</strong></a></h3><p><em>25% discount code: <strong>FRIEND-OF-WEVOLVER&nbsp;</strong></em></p>

Meet the IoT Stars community at MWC and Embedded World, and find the partners to build your next IoT Stack.

Build your IoT Stack with IoTetris

<h2 id="isPasted">Bluetooth Classic vs. Bluetooth Low Energy</h2><p>Bluetooth was originally designed to exchange a lot of data at close range in continuous, streaming data applications. The devices are able to both send and receive data at the same time. This is perfect for many common consumer products, such as computer headsets, where the two devices are close together.</p><p>When Bluetooth LE (formerly called Bluetooth Smart) hit the market in 2011, the key advantage over earlier versions was <a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected/the-importance-of-average-power-consumption-to-battery-life?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">lower power consumption over the same range, but with lower bandwidth</a>. It&rsquo;s intended for devices that only need to exchange small amounts of data periodically, extending battery life by months or even years.</p><h2>Bluetooth range compared</h2><table><thead><tr><th>&nbsp;</th><th>BLUETOOTH<br>V2.1</th><th>BLUETOOTH 4.0<br>(LE)&nbsp;</th><th>BLUETOOTH 5<br>(LE)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td data-label=" "><strong>Range</strong></td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH            v2.1">Up to 100 m</td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH 4.0            (LE) ">Up to 100 m</td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH 5            (LE)">Up to 400 m</td></tr><tr><td data-label=" "><strong>Max range</strong><br><strong>(free field)</strong></td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH            v2.1">Around 100 m<br>(class 2 outdoors)</td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH 4.0            (LE) ">Around 100 m<br>(outdoors)</td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH 5            (LE)">Around 1,000m<br>(outdoors)</td></tr><tr><td data-label=" "><strong>Frequency</strong></td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH            v2.1">2.402 &ndash; 2.481 GHz</td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH 4.0            (LE) ">2.402 &ndash; 2.481 GHz</td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH 5            (LE)">2.402 - 2.481 GHz</td></tr><tr><td data-label=" "><strong>Max data rate</strong></td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH            v2.1">1- 3 Mbit/s</td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH 4.0            (LE) ">1 Mbit/s</td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH 5            (LE)">2 Mbit/s</td></tr><tr><td data-label=" "><strong>Application</strong><br><strong>Troughput</strong></td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH            v2.1">0.7-2.1 Mbit/s</td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH 4.0            (LE) ">Up to 305 kbit/s</td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH 5            (LE)">Up to 1,360 kbit/s</td></tr><tr><td data-label=" "><strong>Topologies</strong></td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH            v2.1">Point-to-point,<br>scatternet</td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH 4.0            (LE) ">Point-to-point,<br>mesh network</td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH 5            (LE)">Point-to-point,<br>mesh network</td></tr><tr><td data-label=" "><strong>Network</strong><br><strong>Standard</strong></td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH            v2.1">IEEE 802.15.1</td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH 4.0            (LE) ">IEEE 802.15.1</td><td data-label="BLUETOOTH 5            (LE)">IEEE 802.15.1</td></tr></tbody></table><h2 id="isPasted">Range depends on surroundings, radio performance and antennas</h2><p>There are many factors affecting Bluetooth range, typically:</p><ul><li>The output power of the transmitter</li><li>The sensitivity of the receiver</li><li>Physical obstacles in the transmission path</li><li>The antennas</li></ul><p>While the radio performance and antennas are pretty static for a given Bluetooth device, the surroundings can vary a lot. Outdoors, in an open field, you can get a range of up to a hundred meters. But that is a rare situation. Indoors, obstacles like concrete walls will attenuate the radio signal and the effective range will be drastically reduced. In normal use, ten meters is a good guide to what can be achieved between two Bluetooth devices indoors.</p><p>When developing a Bluetooth device, you can give your device a better range by selecting the Bluetooth chip with the best receiver sensitivity and output power, and making sure that you use a good antenna.</p><p>Sometimes you may need to use Bluetooth over hundreds or thousands of meters. In the next section we will discuss how to extend Bluetooth range using networks.</p><h2 id="isPasted">Typical use of Bluetooth and Bluetooth LE</h2><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Bluetooth v2.1</strong></p></td><td><ul><li>Wireless headsets</li><li>File transfer between devices</li><li>Wireless printers</li><li>Wireless speakers</li></ul></td></tr><tr><td><p>Bluetooth LE</p></td><td><ul><li>Medical devices for monitoring and reporting</li><li>Sports and fitness device<strong>s</strong></li><li>Industrial monitoring sensors</li><li>Home automation</li><li>Geo-based, targeted promotions via beacons</li><li>Public transportation apps</li><li>Remote controls</li><li>PC peripheral devices like wireless mouse and keyboard</li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 id="isPasted">Bluetooth 5 enhancements</h2><p>Version 5 of the Bluetooth specification brought with it a number of improvements, all aimed at making the low energy part of Bluetooth more flexible:</p><ul><li>2Mbps &lsquo;high speed&rsquo; mode, allowing you to increase the data rate or reduce the average current consumption, at the cost of a small range reduction</li><li>125kbs or 500kbps &lsquo;long range&rsquo; mode, allowing you to increase range at the cost of reduced data rate and increased average current consumption</li><li>Advertising extension feature, allowing up to 8 times the data throughput in broadcasting applications (like beacons)</li><li>Maximum output power increased from +10 dBm to +20 dBm, allowing more powerful power amplifiers to be used, boosting range further</li><li>New channel selection policy added (CSA2), making it possible for more devices to co-exist in the same environment without interfering with each other</li></ul><h2>How to improve Bluetooth range with networking</h2><p><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1675423565043-cloud-network-internet.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"></p><p id="isPasted">You can connect Bluetooth devices to multiple distributed gateways connected to the internet. The Bluetooth devices can communicate with each other, and with online services, via these gateways.</p><p>This is an ideal solution if the devices are spread over a large geographical area. Each hub can usually only handle a few directly connected devices, which is another limitation of Bluetooth. You are&nbsp;likely to&nbsp;run into a situation where you want to handle hundreds or even thousands of Bluetooth devices in a relatively small area, such as an office building. For this you need to use a Mesh Network to connect the gateway and the local Bluetooth devices.</p><h2>The power of mesh networks</h2><p><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1675423594720-mesh-network-internet.jpg" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"></p><p id="isPasted">The number of devices that require low-power operation and communication with other devices - and online services - is growing daily. In order to support this,&nbsp;Bluetooth LE&nbsp;introduced support for Mesh Networks.</p><p>A Mesh Network allows you to connect a large number of Bluetooth devices over a wider area. In this situation, all devices, or &ldquo;nodes&rdquo;, in the same mesh are able to communicate with each other, either directly or via one or more intermediate nodes, as long as each node is close enough to at least two others.</p><p>This way, the network does not depend on a central gateway to pass all traffic.</p><p>Just like the Internet, data packets can find the most efficient route via any nodes between the sender and the receiver.</p><p>In a Mesh Network you can also use a &ldquo;broadcasting&rdquo; approach, where all nodes within the Mesh Network receive the same message, and then interpret it and take appropriate action.</p><p><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1675423629908-room-lights-on-smart-lightbulb.png" style="width: 766px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"></p><p id="isPasted">One example could be a smart lighting system. Each switch or bulb is a node on a Mesh Network using&nbsp;Bluetooth LE. Each bulb is configured to know which room it&rsquo;s in.</p><p>The message is broadcast from Node 1, a light switch, via the mesh. The connected light bulbs in Room 1 receive this message, but they will not act upon it, as they know they are not in Room 2. The message is passed along and when it reaches the bulbs in Room 2, they turn on. Room 2 could be hundreds of meters away from Room 1, but will still receive the message via the other nodes in between. This way there could be a thousand or more rooms, all with lighting controlled from anywhere, using a Bluetooth LE network.</p><hr><p>This article was first published on Nordic&#39;s <a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" id="isPasted"></a><a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Get Connected Blog</a>.  &nbsp;</p>

Like all communication technologies, Bluetooth is a better fit for some applications than others. If you're considering using Bluetooth, here’s an outline of the primary factors that determine the effective range of Bluetooth communications, plus some ways to improve it with networking. This article is now updated with the addition of Bluetooth 5 performance.

Things You Should Know About Bluetooth Range

<p id="isPasted">The world needs educated children to help solve major challenges. But what does a well-rounded, effective education look like? There is scientific evidence to suggest that the key developmental benefit of play is an important part of a holistic education.</p><p>One study looking at brain scans of participants over the course of two decades, conducted by the Center for Neuroscience and Society at the University of Pennsylvania, demonstrated that cognitive stimulation from parents in early childhood&mdash;using tools such as educational toys and children&rsquo;s books&mdash;has a positive effect on brain development later in life.</p><h2><strong>Child&rsquo;s play</strong></h2><p>A child&rsquo;s play means much more than fun and games alone; it is recognized as a critical element of learning and development from an early age through to young adulthood.</p><p>Play helps children reach important developmental milestones related to their physical, social, cognitive and emotional health, along the way providing them with the skills they need to interact positively with others, manage their own emotions and understand the world in which they live.</p><p>Engagement in play and recreational activity appropriate to the age of the child is so essential to human development that the UN High Commission for Human Rights recognizes it as the right of every child.</p><h2><strong>Developing minds</strong></h2><p>About 90 percent of preschool children&rsquo;s play in the U.S. involves a toy of some sort, says the National Association for the&nbsp;Education&nbsp;of Young Children (NAEYC). And there is no more fundamental or invaluable ingredient to play than toys and games, according to researchers from the Center for Early Childhood Education at Eastern Connecticut State University.</p><p>From 2010-2019, the researchers conducted the TIMPANI (Toys that Inspire Mindful Play And Nurture Imagination) Toy Study, an empirical investigation of toys for preschool children. The study found that nearly all meaningful play includes toys, with a single, engaging toy able to &ldquo;transform a child&#39;s play from simple to symbolic, from repetitive to inventive, from solitary to social&rdquo;.</p><p>Even the most basic toys come with lessons to learn. For example, when a child builds a tower with blocks, then eventually knocks it over, they are experiencing valuable concepts of physics like gravity, momentum and inertia. In time they start inventing solutions to prevent the tower falling in the first place.</p><h2><strong>Wireless connected toys and games</strong></h2><p>Based on this body of research, it is perhaps little surprise that smart toys and games, which inspire mindful play and nurture imagination through interactive and immersive experiences, are fundamental to the development of children in the digital age.</p><p>As such, contemporary toy manufacturers are keeping pace with the rapidly changing world by creating wirelessly connected products to challenge young people&rsquo;s creativity and imagination. Moreover, tech built-in to modern toys is helping teach kids invaluable motor skills &ndash; particularly fine motor skills, the coordination of small muscles in movement of the eyes, hand, fingers and thumbs for completing everyday tasks like handwriting.</p><h2><strong>A wireless smart wand</strong></h2><p>A recent example of the advance in toy technology is a wireless smart wand from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment that enables an interactive, multimedia, multisensory spell-casting experience for child wizard Harry Potter fans.</p><p>Created in partnership with design firm New Peak Interactive, the <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/News/2022/10/Interactive-smart-wand-from-Warner-Bros-Home-Entertainment-uses-nRF52832-SoC?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Harry Potter: Magic Caster Wand</a> uses Nordic-enabled <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Bluetooth-Low-Energy?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bluetooth LE</a> wireless connectivity to relay touch and motion sensor &lsquo;spell&rsquo; data to an associated smartphone app. From there, the user can review their unique user profile &ndash; for example levels and experience attained &ndash; as well as a spell book with over 50 spells and multiplayer duels.</p><p>According to the makers of the collectible platform, the product is the only smart wand on the market able to recognize multiple spell gestures and connect to smart home devices for rich lighting animations and unrivalled depth of play.&nbsp;</p><h2><strong>Space-constrained power delivery</strong></h2><p>Central to the design and functionality of many smart toys is the integration of hardware and software that provide the required processing power, robust connectivity and low power consumption &ndash; all in a compact form factor to meet the size constraints of handheld products.</p><p>Mike Goslin, CEO of New Peak Interactive, says the Wafer Level Chip Scale Package (WL-CSP) version of Nordic&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/nRF52832?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nRF52832</a> SoC with Arm Cortex-M4 processor&mdash;in combination with a proprietary RF layout&mdash;provides the Harry Potter: Magic Caster Wand with the necessary processing power, memory allocation and PCB footprint to create the desired system functionality in the ultra compact space needed to honor its prop replica dimensions.</p><p>In addition, both the wand and the box comprising the solution integrate Nordic <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/nPM1100?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nPM1100</a> dedicated power management IC (PMIC) with a highly efficient dual-mode configurable buck regulator and integrated battery charger, ensuring reliable power delivery and stable operation whilst maximizing battery life.&nbsp;</p><h2><strong>Levelling up with wireless technology</strong></h2><p>Nordic&rsquo;s technology is allowing developers to take advantage of a lucrative and expanding sector. U.S. parents buy about 10 toys on average for their child each year, with the annual spending on toys per child around $329 on average, according to a 2021 Premium Joy study of 1000 parents with kids aged 3-12 years. And the&nbsp;global toy market&nbsp;has grown by over 13 percent since 2018 (data by Statista).</p><p>While traditional toys and games still have a role to play, wirelessly connected gameplay has the potential to take learning and development to a whole new level.</p><hr><p>This article was first published on Nordic&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" id="isPasted"></a><a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Get Connected Blog</a>.  &nbsp;</p>

The world needs educated children to help solve major challenges. But what does a well-rounded, effective education look like? There is scientific evidence to suggest that the key developmental benefit of play is an important part of a holistic education.

Smart toy manufacturers enhance wireless educational gameplay

<p id="isPasted">The natural resources around us represent the basis for all human activity on Earth. We use these resources to produce food, clean drinking water, clothes, electrical energy, and everything else we need to survive. But these resources are limited.</p><p>Fortunately, innovative developers are doing more than simply considering environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors when designing their solutions; they are actively aiming to create solutions that cut down the world&rsquo;s &lsquo;ecological footprint&rsquo; &ndash; the total amount of resources we consume.</p><p>This was recently evidenced by the results of a design challenge in which the winners demonstrated solutions for smarter sustainability using the power of sensors and wireless connectivity.</p><h2>Smarter sustainability with Bluetooth LE</h2><p>The <a href="https://www.hackster.io/contests/smarter-sustainable-world" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Smarter Sustainable World Challenge</a> with Nordic Semiconductor&mdash;launched in conjunction with hardware education community hackster.io (an Avnet company)&mdash;called upon participants to plan, design, and prototype cutting-edge solutions that reduce humanity&#39;s ecological footprint. Over the four-month contest period, 468 participants from 63 representative countries joined the contest, with 50 final qualified submissions.</p><p>Participants were provided with Nordic Thingy:53 multiprotocol prototyping platforms to help them realize their innovative ideas. The <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/Products/Development-hardware/Nordic-Thingy-53?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nordic Thingy:53</a> is an easy-to-use, battery-powered, multi-sensor IoT prototyping platform based on Nordic&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/products/nrf5340?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nRF5340</a> dual-core Bluetooth 5.3 SoC. With integrated sensors for motion, sound, light, and environmental factors, Thingy:53 is an ideal platform for building Proofs-of-Concept (PoC) and developing new prototypes quickly without building custom hardware. It also offers embedded machine learning (ML) directly on the device, powered by Edge Impulse.</p><p>According to Bj&oslash;rn Spockeli, Senior Project Manager, Nordic Semiconductor, and a member of the challenge expert jury, alongside Robin M. Saltnes, Senior&nbsp;Product Marketing Engineer, Nordic Semiconductor, all the winners and participants of the Smarter Sustainable World Challenge should be commended for their dedication to sustainability innovation and their impressive ability to take advantage of the Thingy:53 prototyping platform.</p><p>Nordic&rsquo;s support of this challenge showcases the company&rsquo;s ongoing commitment to supporting the UN&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals" target="_blank">Sustainable Development Goals</a> (SDGs). Since 2015, Nordic has monitored and improved its own carbon footprint, and since 2020 has been committed to the SDGs, including <em>SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation</em>, <em>SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy</em>, <em>SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities</em>, <em>SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production</em>, and <em>SDG 13: Climate Action</em>.</p><p>So how did the winning projects address the ecological footprint challenge?</p><h2>A smart water tap leakage controller</h2><p>Water is a scarce resource that needs to be used sparingly. Across the globe, people go for days without this very basic need. Due to climate changes and other factors, we are gradually running out of underground water while rainfall is steadily decreasing.</p><p>Yet countless liters of water continue to be lost through water taps either left unclosed or not appropriately closed every day, representing a major concern for the world at large. We all have a duty to save water and, by doing so, save lives. The good news is wireless technology can help make this objective a reality.</p><p>To this end, the overall winner of the Smarter Sustainable World Challenge, Elijah Maluleke from South Africa, created a smart water tap leakage controller that automatically closes a valve whenever there is an abnormal flow of water through the water tap. The IoT device communicates the gathered water usage information to the tap owner and monitors daily water usage of the tap on which it is installed. Maluleke showcased the final installation at a local farm.</p><p>This solution demonstrated innovation and engineering skills by implementing a valve shut-off controlled by a servo motor. With the tap left open, when a person moves away from the water supply, the Thingy:53 automatically shuts off the flow of water via the servo until a person is once again detected. The volume of water saved, when scaled to the myriad number of water supplies, could have a huge impact on conservation efforts.</p><p>With limited resources available in the rural context, the judges were impressed with this accomplishment from a hardware and software development perspective. The simple prototype has great commercialization and impact potential, the judges said, as it is applicable to all the water taps in the world. Moreover, the affordable solution can be implemented in under-developed regions.</p><h2>A vertical self-regulating soilless farm</h2><p>Mateusz Pająk from Poland created a vertical self-regulating soilless farm built to fight the food storage crisis and achieve maximum yield with the power of the IoT, as well as control engineering for the application of soilless vertical farming. The project takes advantage of the environmental sensing and ML capabilities of the Thingy:53 &ndash; a board Pająk describes as perfect for low-power environmental sensing.</p><p>The judges were impressed by the technical detail and feasibility of the prototype &ndash; including the CAD renderings and 3D printed parts to maximize airflow, the maximized density of crop placement, the software &lsquo;stack&rsquo; provided and the thorough documentation &ndash; which they said could certainly be scaled to make an impact on food production capability.</p><p>According to Pająk, vertical farming methods combined with state-of-the-art control systems and available embedded hardware can aid quality and ethical food production.</p><h2>A sustainable irrigation automation platform</h2><p>The AgroNordic team from Mexico, comprising Luis Eduardo Arevalo Oliver, Victor Altamirano, and Alejandro Sanchez created a sustainable irrigation automation platform with predictive analysis that addresses urban farming and crop health. It provides the community with a complete solution that could be used out of the box. The team built a full software stack, including all sensors and the Thingy:53, as well as connectivity to the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud platform and a web-based dashboard to view the status of all components and crops.</p><p>The judges were impressed by the project&#39;s water usage reduction capability, the source code availability, and the extensive and well-written project documentation.</p><hr><p>This article was first published on Nordic&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" id="isPasted"></a><a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Get Connected Blog</a>. &nbsp;</p>

The natural resources around us represent the basis for all human activity on Earth. We use these resources to produce food, clean drinking water, clothes, electrical energy, and everything else we need to survive. But these resources are limited.

Winners aim to build a smarter sustainable world with Bluetooth LE

<p id="isPasted">The global agricultural and farming industry is facing a perfect storm. Earlier this month, the world population hit eight billion for the first time, in the two weeks since it has grown another 1.5 million. That is a lot of extra mouths to feed when there are already 690 million people going hungry, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).</p><p>At the same time, agricultural production is literally and figuratively getting battered due to climate change. Increasing temperatures, weather variability, reductions in water availability and extreme weather events are causing mayhem for a sector trying to keep up with demand.</p><p>A recent study published in <em>Nature Climate Change</em> claims climate change is costing the global farming sector 21 percent of its productivity each year.</p><p>For the UN&rsquo;s Sustainability Development Goal (SDG) of &lsquo;Zero Hunger&rsquo; by 2030 to have any hope of success, the agriculture sector is being asked to ramp up farm production in the face of climate change.</p><p>At the same time the industry is being warned that a &ldquo;farming-as-usual&rdquo; approach won&rsquo;t work because of the environmental toll agriculture itself puts on our natural resources. For example, the World Bank claims the sector is already responsible for up to a third of total greenhouse gas emissions.</p><p>Evidently, a new approach is required, and the industry is betting big on smart farming practices and connected technologies offering a solution.</p><h2>Today&#39;s cellular IoT smart farm</h2><p>Smart farming&mdash;or precision agriculture, as it is also known&mdash;is focused on providing the sector with the infrastructure to leverage advanced wireless cloud-connected IoT technologies for tracking, monitoring, automating and analyzing operations.</p><p>More succinctly, a smart farm is one that can generate maximum yield with minimum resources, with little or no human interaction. Or at least that is the goal.</p><p>How achievable that goal is relies heavily if not entirely on the technology supporting it. Using a combination of connectivity solutions, sensors, autonomous machines, drones and data analytics, farmers can receive a real-time picture of their crops and livestock and can respond instantly to that data to maximize yield.</p><p>For example, <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/News/2022/11/The-leova-SMART-employs-the-nRF9160-SiP?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">field-mounted devices</a> packed with microclimate measurement sensors can use cellular IoT connectivity to instantly report data to a cloud platform to alert of an impending frost or a potential fungal disease. This enables farmers to take remedial action immediately or harvest early.</p><p>On a beef or dairy farm, animal ear tags can also host a range of sensors to record an animal&#39;s behavior and location, wirelessly relaying that information over long distances to a rancher.</p><p>That data can be used in a host of different ways, for example, to trigger health alerts if an animal isn&rsquo;t moving or even for estrus detection, identifying when a female animal is ready to breed.</p><h2>Farms the size of countries rely on cellular IoT or Bluetooth LE</h2><p>The ability to relay this data over long distances using low-power cellular IoT or Bluetooth LE in combination with a cellular gateway is fundamental. Australia, for example, has no fewer than eight beef farms over 12,000 km<sup>2</sup>, each the size of a small country where physically inspecting cattle daily is impractical.</p><p>Arable holdings, while not entirely on the same scale, still defy in-person inspection, with the largest single-fenced field sown with wheat measuring 141 km<sup>2</sup>.</p><p>IoT infrastructure is still lacking in some regions, but according to McKinsey, by 2030, advanced IoT connectivity of some type will cover 80 percent of the world&rsquo;s rural areas. This should enable the smart farm to really hit its stride. It&rsquo;s already a sleeping IoT giant.</p><p>In 2000, there were exactly zero connected devices on any of the world&rsquo;s farms; by 2020 that number was two billion. According to analyst reports, by 2035 the world&rsquo;s 525 million farms will employ more than 20 billion wirelessly connected smart devices to help them maximize yields and productivity.</p><h2>Everything automated with cellular IoT and Bluetooth LE agriculture</h2><p>Tomorrow&rsquo;s farm will also increasingly rely on autonomous vehicles. Machine learning algorithms and GNSS positioning are being used to develop self-driving harvesting machinery.</p><p>The combination of precise positioning and onboard machine learning would allow farmers to focus on the technical side of processing and harvesting. At the same time, it could significantly boost yields, reduce harvesting losses and avoid unnecessary passes and fuel consumption by plotting the most effective way to reap a field.</p><p>Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)&mdash;otherwise known as drones&mdash;are becoming increasingly common for real time data gathering for surveying and mapping, keeping pests away, monitoring water levels, and checking the health of the crops using optical crop sensors. Meanwhile, on the ground, autonomous robots resembling miniature monster trucks can maneuver around fields, scanning crops for signs of pests and disease, stripping away weeds, or even harvesting crops. These solutions may not eliminate human interaction in farming, but they enable farmers to allocate their time to more profitable, less manual tasks.</p><h2><strong>Cellular IoT and Bluetooth LE agriculture has a sensor for everything</strong></h2><p>This is only the beginning. Bluetooth LE and cellular IoT wireless devices can monitor crops and automatically switch irrigation on and off based on soil moisture. <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/News/2020/06/CoreKinect-farm-storage-tank-level-monitor-employs-nRF9160?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Connected level sensors</a> can ensure farms never run out of fuel or fertilizer. Wireless vibration and temperature sensors can successfully predict the need for maintenance or the impending breakdown of any one of a number of machines, from bailers and threshers to sorters and planters. And water quality sensors can be used to protect freshwater ecosystems from spills or agrochemical discharge, enabling proactive risk management and pollution control before the water even leaves the farm.</p><p>The introduction of this technology cannot come too soon. Agriculture is no stranger to innovation, and connected technologies based on the IoT will help farmers feed an expanding global population while increasing environmental sustainability, aims that frequently come into conflict with each other. It will also ensure the livelihood of the 40 percent of the world&rsquo;s population who work in agriculture, and one hopes, lift millions out of poverty.</p><hr><p>This article was first published on Nordic&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" id="isPasted"></a><a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Get Connected Blog</a>.  &nbsp;</p>

The global agricultural and farming industry is facing a perfect storm. Earlier this month, the world population hit eight billion for the first time, in the two weeks since it has grown another 1.5 million. That is a lot of extra mouths to feed when there are already 690 million people going hungry, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Agriculture gets smart with cellular IoT and Bluetooth LE

<p id="isPasted">While we live in an increasingly tech-focused world, we still face many of the same dangers and threats to our personal safety that we did centuries ago. How can we turn our technology to help mitigate those dangers?</p><h2>Updating wearables</h2><p>Many regions of the world are experiencing rising rates of crime, particularly against women and children. A greater number of crimes is seeing an associated rise in the demand for electronic personal safety devices based on wearable tech. According to analyst Market Research Future, the sector is predicted to reach $5.5 billion by 2025 and will include products influenced by other segments and of increasing sophistication.</p><p><br>For example, the recent shift towards using wireless technology for workplace safety has seen many of the same ideas turned to address personal safety challenges. Thus, we are now seeing consumer wearables, previously designed primarily for exercise monitoring, sporting safety features.</p><p>Many smartwatches now include &lsquo;panic buttons&rsquo; &ndash; inbuilt personal alarms that can notify the police or nominated contacts of the wearer&rsquo;s location in an emergency. And several new wearables can now alert designated contacts if the user experiences trauma such as a fall.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/News/2022/09/SalusWear-employs-nRF9160-SiP?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">SalusWear</a> device, for example, is a wearable designed to track and monitor individuals suffering from Alzheimer&rsquo;s, dementia or autism. The solution employs Nordic-powered LTE-M connectivity and GNSS to report the wearer&#39;s location to family, friends, or caregivers in the event they go missing or have potentially been subject to a fall.</p><h2>Adding tech to personal safety devices</h2><p>The traditional personal safety market has also evolved thanks to technology. For example, there are now personal alarms and pepper sprays that not only act as panic buttons, but can take images or record sound when activated.</p><p>However, such products come with some potential issues, as they are often carried in a bag, making them difficult to find in an emergency. And a device can&rsquo;t be activated if the person is already injured or is being prevented from accessing it. They also tend to look like obvious personal safety devices.</p><h2><strong>Devices in disguise</strong></h2><p>Wireless technology can help by enabling discreet solutions designed to deescalate a situation or simply provide an increased sense of security (with the means of backing this up, of course). One of the main trends in the personal safety marketplace is a hidden panic button disguised as an everyday item, such as a necklace or bracelet.</p><p>For instance, <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/News/2017/12/Kwema-employes-nRF52832-System-on-Chip?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&lsquo;Eve&rsquo; and &lsquo;Pacific Ocean&rsquo;</a> are jewelry collections by Kwema, designed to send the wearer&rsquo;s GNSS location to preselected safety contacts when activated. And the <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/News/2017/04/Nordic-Bluetooth-low-energy-powered-designer-jewelry" rel="noopener" target="_blank">&lsquo;IVY&rsquo;</a> by Smartfuture can be worn either as a necklace or a bracelet and activated by tapping the stone twice to emit a loud alarm or three times to send an SOS audio message and the user&rsquo;s location to preselected contacts. Tapping the stone four times triggers a phone call to the nominated contact. Other solutions can activate a call to the wearer&rsquo;s phone to deter would-be attackers by making them think a friend or colleague is making contact.</p><h2><strong>Untethering safety</strong></h2><p>Bluetooth LE remains the most popular technology for connecting wearables to user smartphones because it uses little power, enabling compact wearables, and is interoperable with most handsets. The smartphone can then be used to forward alerts to the cloud via Wi-Fi or the cellular network.</p><p>However, some versions operate in other ways, in case the user finds themselves without a smartphone. For example, the <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/News/2019/07/Montr-employs-nRF9160-LTE-M-NB-IoT-SiP?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Montr Emergency Button</a> uses NB-IoT connectivity to transmit the user&rsquo;s location directly via the cellular network in the event of an incident.</p><h2><strong>Danger everywhere</strong></h2><p>It&rsquo;s not just the criminals that can bring harm. Everyday activities can be dangerous. Even something as unremarkable as cycling can result in anguish if an accident occurs. But if the worst happens, the <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/News/2019/02/ANGi-sensor-based-device-transforms-cycling-helmet-using-nRF52832?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ANGi</a> (Angular and G-Force Indicator) helmet will send an alert through Bluetooth LE connectivity with the user&rsquo;s smartphone if it detects a significant impact.</p><p>Elsewhere, to reduce the danger children can face in automobiles, Swedish company Halmstad has launched a &lsquo;smart&rsquo; children&rsquo;s car seat. The <a href="https://www.nordicsemi.com/News/2022/06/Holmbergs-DigitalSafety-uses-Nordic-nRF52832-SoC?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Holmbergs DigitalSafety</a> system will notify parents via the accompanying app if the child unbuckles themselves. If the child is left buckled but unattended in a parked car, then an anti-abandon alert is sent, and if the child is still left alone for a period of time, a text message with their location will be sent to an emergency contact.</p><p>While we might be some way from the perfect tech solution to prevent every possible danger or accident, wireless personal protection devices have made the world a much safer place than it was just a few years ago.</p><hr><p>This article was first published on Nordic&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" id="isPasted"></a><a href="https://blog.nordicsemi.com/getconnected?utm_campaign=2021%20wevolver" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Get Connected Blog</a>.  &nbsp;</p>

While we live in an increasingly tech-focused world, we still face many of the same dangers and threats to our personal safety that we did centuries ago. How can we turn our technology to help mitigate those dangers?