All posts tagged: remote

In this instalment in our series of articles focusing on various Internet-of-things systems, we explore the new Nearbus Open IoT Project. Although not the most complex of systems, Nearbus offers a level of control and interaction with devices and sensors which is ideal for demonstrations, proof-of-concept designs or even simple products where rapid development and low-cost are the main requirements.

Unlike other systems, Nearbus takes a different approach to device control. After loading the Nearbus on the device’s microcontroller, it is considered to be part of the “cloud” and as such transparent to the web services or API. In other words, you can read or write to the MCU’s registers directly from the cloud – which makes control much simpler than other systems. By “virtualising” the hardware in the cloud, it makes it much easier for existing services to interact with the real hardware, and in a more secure manner. Let’s examine the how this is possible with regards to the required hardware and software

Hardware – Due to market forces and age of the system at the time of writing, the Nearbus system only works with the Arduino-Ethernet platform. Thus the end microcontrollers used are Atmel ATmega328 programmed with the Arduino boot loader and interfaced with the Wiznet W5100 Ethernet controller. However this allows you plenty of GPIO, ADCs and CPU speed to complete a variety of tasks, and due to the open-source licensing of the Arduino platform the hardware cost for around A$20 per unit in volume. The main downside to this solution is the inability to use onboard WiFi chipsets, so the agent hardware needs to be connected to a separate WiFi router for true wireless control.

Software – Due to the current hardware requirement, the only code for each Nearbus node is their sketch (code) and the Arduino boot loader – both of which are totally open-source. The rest of the work is in interfacing your own cloud- or server-based applications with the Nearbus hub system. This transfer takes place via HTTP requests.

There are two methods for interfacing applications with the Nearbus system. The first method is the “transparent” mode which allows the agent to send and receive a packet of data over preconfigured periods of time, for example every five or ten seconds. This allows your cloud applications to call functions on the agent hardware as if it was controlling the MCU directly.

The second method is the “VMCU” mode (Virtual Microcontroller) which allows direct control of the basic MCU features such as GPIO, ADC, etc., via a web services API. This is the more complex method that maps the MCU remotely and thus allows direct control of the MCU’s registers and returns data in the raw from for your own web app to work with. The ability to map the registers removes a layer of complexity from the user or designer – as they don’t have to worry about network protocols, instead just be concerned with the microcontroller itself.

Furthermore you can configure, add and remove devices with a web-interface, and also create connections to send data to other IoT services such as cosm or twitter. If you don’t have a server capable of running your own web apps to interface with Nearbus, you can use other free or paid services such as Google Spreadsheet web apps – and demonstrations have been provided to show how easy it is to display, capture and analyse data from the hardware agent.

The Nearbus system is a different paradigm to the usual IoT systems. It may seem awkward or different to more conventional or consumer-oriented ways of doing things, however if you have a strong PHP and networking background it can be implemented easily with your server and applications. Due to the low hardware cost it’s ideal for monitoring or remote-control applications that don’t require complete real-time interaction.

If you’re interested in moving forward with your own system based on the Nearbus, we have a wealth of experience with the required hardware options, and the team to guide you through the entire process – from understanding your needs to creating the required hardware interfaces and supplying firmware and support for your particular needs.

Our goal is to find and implement the best system for our customers, and this is where the LX Group can partner with you for your success. We can create or tailor just about anything from a wireless temperature sensor to a complete Internet-enabled system for you – within your required time-frame and your budget. For more information or a confidential discussion about your ideas and how we can help bring them to life – click here to contact us, or telephone 1800 810 124.

LX is an award-winning electronics design company based in Sydney, Australia. LX services include full turnkey design, electronics, hardware, software and firmware design. LX specialises in embedded systems and wireless technologies design. https://lx-group.com.au

Published by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.

Continuing from our previous articles which are focusing on a range of currently-available Internet-of-Things systems, we now move forward and explore another addition to the Internet-of-Things marketplace in more detail – the system known as “ThingSpeak”. Considered to be one of the first openly-available IoT platforms, ThingSpeak operates on their own free server platform, or you can run the software on your own personal servers – and as the entire system is open-source, it’s easier to work with and customise.

As with the other systems examined, ThingSpeak gives your devices the opportunity to interact with a server for simple tasks such as data collection and analysis, to integration with your own custom APIs for specific purposes. Due to the open-source nature the start-up cost can be almost zero, and unlike other systems ThingSpeak is hardware agnostic – giving your design team many hardware options. However as always, let’s consider the main two components in more detail.

Hardware – You don’t need to purchase special base units or proprietary devices. As long as your hardware is connected to the Internet and can send and receive HTTP requests – you’re ready to go. For rapid prototyping, examples are given using many platforms including netduino, Arduino, mbed, and even with the competitive Twine hardware. This gives you a variety of MCU platforms from Atmel and ARM Cortex providers to work with, and as these development platforms are either open-source or inexpensive, your team can be up and running in a short period of time.

Furthermore creating your own devices can be quite inexpensive – a simple device based on an Atmel AVR and Ethernet interface can be manufactured for less than $20 in volume, and doesn’t require any software licensing expenses. To save on hardware costs, it could be preferable to have various sensors in a group communicate back to one connected device via inexpensive Nordic NRF24L01 wireless transceivers – and the connected device can thus gather the data into the require fields for transmission back to ThingSpeak.

Software – Thanks to the open-source nature of ThingSpeak either working with the existing server software or creating your own APIs isn’t a challenge. Interaction is easy with simple HTTP requests to send and receive data, which has a useful form. Each data transmission is stored in a ThingSpeak “channel”. Each of these channels allows storage and transmission of eight fields with 255 alphanumeric characters each, plus four fields for location (description, latitude, longitude and elevation – ideal for GPS), a “status update” field and time/date stamp. Data sent over the channels can be public or private – with access via your own devices and software finalising the security.

Once sent to the server this data can be downloaded for further analysis, or monitoring using various HTTP-enabled entities – from a simple web page, mobile application or other connected device. Various triggers can be created to generate alerts for various parameters, and can be sent using email, twitter, or other connected services such as an SMS gateway. After being in operation for almost three years, the platform has matured to a reliable service that has exposed many developers to its way of doing things, so support and documentation is becoming easier to find.

Overall the ThingSpeak system offers your organisation a low barrier to the Internet of Things. Creating a proof-of-concept device or prototype hardware interface can be done with existing or inexpensive parts, and the use of ThingSpeak’s free server can make an idea become reality in a short period of time. And once you device on the service, by internalising the server software, you can have complete control and security over your data.

If you’re interested in moving forward with your own system based on the ThingSpeak, we have a wealth of experience with the required hardware options, and the team to guide you through the entire process – from understanding your needs to creating the required hardware interfaces and supplying firmware and support for your particular needs.

Published by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.

Continuing from our previous articles which are focusing on a range of currently-available Internet-of-Things systems, we now move forward and explore another successful addition to the Internet-of-Things marketplace in more detail – the system known as “Ninja Blocks”. An Australian invention, developed only last year and originally released via the ubiquitous Kickstarter crowd funding system – Ninja Blocks are now a commercial product and available for use. It is billed as the “ Internet of things for the rest of us” – however anyone person or organisation can make good use of it.

Like other systems the Ninja Blocks consist of two major elements – the hardware devices and attached I/O devices, and the software environment. Using this combination you can create sets of “rules” that allow interaction between the hardware and the end user with a variety of methods. For example temperature can be monitored remotely, alerts can be sent when a button is pressed, or an image can be emailed from the connected webcam – ideal for remote monitoring, security or personal interest applications.

Furthermore the entire system is open hardware, and can be modified at whim – all the design files are available for download and examination. So creating your own devices to interact using the system is a possibility, and we can easily help you integrate your existing hardware to make use of Nina Blocks connectivity. Now let’s examine the hardware and software in more detail.

Hardware – Housed inside an enclosure (that you’re encouraged to open) is a “BeagleBone”, which is a single-board Linux-based computer running a 720 MHz super-scalar ARM Cortex-A8 processor. Attached is a daughter board which contains an Arduino-compatible microcontroller and a 433 MHz wireless data link. There’s also three USB ports to connect various sensors (such as temperature, motion detectors), actuators (such as radio-controlled AC outlets) and the aforementioned USB webcam. Connection to the Internet is via a typical RJ45 connection or a Wi-Fi USB adaptor.

Included in the Ninja Blocks retail package is a wireless passive infra-red motion detector, a wireless button (similar to a doorbell button), a wireless temperature/humidity sensor and a wireless door sensor (which is a magnet/reed switch, ideal for doors and windows). This allows experimentation and a rapid method of getting familiar with the system.

The wireless hardware operates in the consumer product 433 MHz frequency area, which allows integration with a wide variety of commercially-available products. If you can decode or understand the protocols used by such hardware it can be used with Ninja Blocks. For example the use of wireless AC outlets is a perfect example of how quickly (and safely) almost any device can be controlled remotely. In doing so this also removes the requirement for customised AC wiring and certification.

Software – Getting started is incredibly simple, as the cloud-based environment allows you to create sets of rules that generate actions based on the data coming from the hardware. Like any other IoT system you can also create specific applications for your own needs to work with the cloud service. Further you can also update the firmware on the Arduino-compatible hardware inside the Ninja Block to allow for customised hardware interactions.

Just like the hardware design, there’s no secrets to the software and the Ninja Blocks API is documented including various examples that is growing over time. Any programmer with contemporary experience can get up to speed within a reasonable amount of time. However the system can remain “code-less” as the owner can simply work with the graphical cloud interface if need be.

The Ninja Blocks system spans almost every user type, from the interested beginner to the organisation who knows what they want and doesn’t have the resources to “reinvent the wheel”. It may look like a simple product however there is a huge scope for customisation and adapting existing hardware is a genuine possibility.

If you’re interested in moving forward with your own system based on the Ninja Blocks, we have existing experience with the platform, a relationship with the Ninja Blocks organisation and thus can guide you through the entire process – from understanding your needs to creating the required hardware interfaces and supplying firmware and support for your particular needs.

Published by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.

Continuing from our article last week which examined the Twine wireless sensor blocks, we now move forward and explore another recent addition to the Internet-of-Things marketplace in more detail – the “Electric Imp”. Although the name sounds somewhat toy-like, the system itself is quite the opposite. It’s a unified hardware, software and connectivity solution that’s easy to implement and quite powerful. It offers your devices WiFi connectivity and an incredibly simple development and end-user experience.

That’s a big call, however the system comprises of a relatively simple hardware solution and software development environment that has a low financial and learning entry level yet is quite customisable. Like other systems it comprises of a hardware and software component, so let’s examine those in more detail.

Hardware – Unlike other IoT systems such as Twine or cosm, the Electric Imp has a very well-defined and customisable hardware structure that is both affordable and incredibly compact. Almost all of the hardware is in a package the size of an SD memory card, and the only external parts required are a matching SD socket to physically contain and connect with the Imp card with your project, and supporting circuitry for an Atmel ATSHA204 authentication chip which enables Imp cards to identify themselves as unique unitsin the system.

Connection to the cloud service is via a secure 802.11b/g/n WiFi network and supports WEP, WPA and WPA2 encryption, however due to the size of the Imp there isn’t an option for a wired connection. The external support schematic is made available by the Imp team so you can easily implement it into almost any prototype or existing product. But how?

Imagine a tiny development board with GPIO pins, an SPI and I2C-bus, a serial UART, and a 16-bit ADC inside your project that is controlled via WiFi – this is what the Imp offers. It’s quite exciting to imagine the possibilities that can be introduced to existing projects with this level of control and connectivity. From remote control to data gathering, system monitoring to advanced remote messaging systems – it’s all possible. Furthermore, due to the possibility of completely internal embedding of the Imp system inside your product, system reliability can be improved greatly as there’s no points of weakness such as network cables, removable parts or secondary enclosures.

Software – As each Imp is uniquely identifiable on the Imp cloud service, you can use more than one in any application. Furthermore, your Imp firmware is created and transmitted to each Imp card online – which allows remote firmware updates as long as the Imp has a network connection; and a cloud-based IDE to allow collaboration and removes the need for customised programming devices, JTAGs, or local IDE installations. This saves time, money, development costs and offers a more portable support solution.

The firmware is written in a C-like language named “Squirrel”, which is created using the aforementioned online IDE. Once uploaded to the Imp card the firmware can still operate if it loses a network connection – or if a run-time error occurs and a network is available, the details will be sent back to the IDE. This allows developers the ability to remotely debug Imp applications in real-time – saving on-site visits and unwanted client-supplier interactions.

Furthermore, Imps have an inbuilt LED which can be utilised to display status modes if an application fails or other information which can be used to a clients’ benefit, helping them describe possible issues if a network connection isn’t available. There is a detailed language description, a wide range of tutorials and example code to help developers get started – and although some features are still in the beta-stage, the core advertised features are available at the time of writing.

If you’re interested in moving forward with the Electric Imp, we can guide you through the entire process, from understanding your needs to creating the required hardware interfaces and supplying firmware and support for your particular needs. The up-front hardware cost is much lower than other systems, and with volume pricing the implementation costs can be reduced further.

Published by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.

You may have seen the term “Internet of Things” bandied about recently in the popular press and media outlets, and like many fads considered it to be some sort of “buzzword” or meaningless phrase created by social media gurus that can be safely ignored.

However nothing could be further than the truth. The IoT (as we will now refer to it) is a broad definition for how almost any device around us can be connected to each other and other services over the Internet.

That may sound a little broad, so let’s consider some examples:

Checking the room temperature at home remotely, and control the HVAC if required – so you arrive home to a pleasant environment
Monitoring and controlling water flow levels for irrigation systems in four different states from a central office
Receiving an email from isolated vending machines when they detect possible theft, excess vibration or tilting
Real-time position monitoring of valuable cargo shipments as they travel between warehouses

With fixed or reliable wireless Internet access in all these examples, you can accomplish it all and much more. The IoT allows you to be in more than one place at the same time – to receive data from anywhere – and to control from anywhere – as long as Internet access is available.

Furthermore the volume and types of data that can be collected is only limited by your requirements and device type. With a constant IP connection between a sensor and your IT system – data can be gathered for real-time analysis. Information is power – and the more you know about your assets and their performance – the more agile your decision-making can become.

This type of machine communication isn’t new – for example you’d be familiar with terms such as M2M and telematics for many years. However the concept of channelling all the data over the Internet or a private IP network is what the IoT is about.

Existing sensors and actuators (the devices that send and receive data) can usually be adapted to the new IoT with little effort. For example, a sensor with a 4-20mA current loop output can be engineered with a current sensor that can be read with a basic microcontroller – and then interfaced to the IoT node.

As most IoT environments are skewed towards the consumer and technically-literate hobbyist, there will be work involved in adapting the system for your particular needs. For example, the provider may offer a range of doorbell or simple temperature sensors – but not devices that can transmit or receive data over standard data buses such as IIC or SPI. In situations like these, your engineering team or parter will be required to create interfaces between your current devices and the bridge to the IoT.

Enabling your devices to work with the IoT can be a challenge, due to the variety of systems and standards on the market, each with their own pros and cons. There are many points to consider, and these can include:

The initial costs of interface hardware, staff training and ongoing maintenance

Can you use your existing actuators and sensors – or create your own ones, or must you acquire new ones that are specific to the IoT system under consideration?
Is the required power and communications infrastructure available when upgrading particular areas to the IoT?
Will the data and commands be transferred using an external Internet-based host system, or can you keep the data within internal private networks?
If using an external host system, can they offer you an agreed SLA value?
Is the host system using proprietary data protocols – forcing you to use the host system provider’s engineering team to add your own devices to the system?
What security features are available to stop unauthorised access to the devices and the host system?

The Internet of Things is more than an exciting concept – it exists today, and your organisation can benefit from it. However due to the incredibly combination of systems and options – consider partnering with an independent organisation that has your needs first and foremost.

Here at the LX Group we can discuss and understand your requirements and goals – then tailor anything from a modified sensor to a complete Internet-enabled system for you. For more information or a confidential discussion about your ideas and how we can help bring them to life – click here to contact us, or telephone 1800 810 124.

Published by LX Pty Ltd for itself and the LX Group of companies, including LX Design House, LX Solutions and LX Consulting, LX Innovations.