The sensor technology behind the Internet of Things

It would be redundant to rehearse the arguments about hype that invariably attend any mention of the Internet of Things, since discussions of the hype surrounding it have become almost as ubiquitous as the hype itself. More useful, perhaps, is to look at the reality rather than the hype. And a key aspect of the Internet of Things lies in the sensor technology that will – and indeed is – underpinning it. Some examples come from Silicon Labs, which has introduced two economical, easy-to-use development kits to accelerate the design of environmental and biometric sensing applications for a wide range of Internet of Things (IoT) products. Target applications for the kits include home security systems, smart thermostats, smoke detectors, weather stations, smart watches, fitness bands, heart-rate earphones and other wearable products. Silicon Labs' SLSTK3201A environmental sensing development kit streamlines the process of developing IoT products that sense relative humidity (RH), temperature, ultraviolet (UV) light, ambient light, proximity and human gestures. The development kit combines an EFM32 Zero Gecko microcontroller (MCU) starter kit with a sensor expansion board. The kit also features a gesture-controlled weather station application that tracks RH, temperature and UV index. The company's new biometric sensing development platform makes it easier to measure heart rate and blood oxygen level (Sp02), as well as UV index, relative humidity and temperature. The platform includes the BIOMETRIC-EXP-EVB expansion card featuring Silicon Labs' Si114x optical sensors and Si701x/2x humidity and temperature sensors. The sensor card plugs directly into Silicon Labs' EFM32 Wonder Gecko MCU starter kit. Silicon Labs also offers an optional wearable-form-factor that supports wrist-based heart rate monitoring and connects to the biometric sensor card through an I2C mini-flex cable. The environmental and biometric sensing kits operate on coin-cell batteries, demonstrating the industry-leading ultra-low power consumption of Silicon Labs' MCU and sensor IC products for battery-powered IoT and wearable applications. Each sensor expansion card features Silicon Labs' TS3310 boost dc/dc converter to help minimise energy consumption. The award-winning Si701x/2x relative humidity and temperature sensors combine a single-chip, mixed-signal IC with a proven technique for measuring humidity using a polymer dielectric film. The integrated CMOS design ensures long-term reliability and superior ease of use, reducing manufacturing cost and complexity. An optional, factory-installed filter cover provides added protection against sensor contamination throughout the device's entire life. The Si701x/2x sensors offer best-in-class low-power consumption and exceptional RH sensing precision. The Si1132/4x optical sensors are the industry's first single-chip digital UV index sensor ICs designed to track UV sun exposure, heart rate and blood oximetry for wearable and smartphone products. The devices also provide ambient light and infrared (IR) proximity sensing capabilities for health and fitness applications. Conventional UV sensors combine UV-sensitive photodiodes with an external MCU, ADC and signal processing firmware. Advantech's new, comprehensive IoT solution is the UTX-3115 fanless and wide-temp embedded box coupled with the Intel Gateway Solutions for Internet of Things. The solution features a pre-integrated software and hardware platform containing a Linux operating system, security and management features. This out-of-the-box solution simplifies customer deployment of IoT products and it allows secure data aggregation, filtering, and analysis from edge devices to the cloud through WiFi and/or even 4G technologies. Advantech is a premier member of Intel Internet of Things Solutions Alliance. Miller Chang, Vice President of Advantech Embedded Computing Group says: "Advantech understands customers require readily-available solutions to tackle the complexity of IoT infrastructure. That's why we've worked with Intel to develop the new UTX or Ultra Thin ITX form factor system integrated with the Intel Gateway Solutions for IoT as an ideal gateway product. This joint effort is a demonstration of Advantech's capability in offering a full lineup of IoT centered products, from Wireless Sensor Networks and Gateways, to Intelligent Systems and IoT Software." Kumar Balasubramanian, general manager, IoT Solutions Group, Intel, says: "Intel and Advantech have been working together to accelerate the development and deployment of the Internet of Things, which in turn helps drive business transformation. The UTX-3115 embedded box is an excellent showcase of our joint efforts. It is a gateway product that connects legacy systems and provides seamless communication between devices and the cloud." UTX-3115 is a mini-size system supporting a wide-range of operating temperatures from -20 to 60°C, and rich I/O expansion. It's designed for IoT applications such as factory automation, smart buildings, logistics and environmental monitoring. It offers one serial port, which can be connected to sensors or control devices for data aggregation, dual gigabit LAN ports, 1 USB 3.0 port and two USB 2.0 ports. In addition, it also comes with one half-size miniPCIe slot and one full-size miniPCIe slot that supports Wi-Fi and 3G /4G proprietary WWAN networks. Running on the UTX-3115 fanless and wide-temp embedded box is the pre-integrated Intel Gateway Solutions for IoT, which bundles together Wind River IDP2.0 technology, McAfee security functionality, and a wide variety of connectivity protocols, developer tools, and programming environments. This brings the benefits of IoT to legacy infrastructures with local device management and data sharing through a system of systems approach. Embedded system customers can enjoy benefits such as not needing to replace existing infrastructure equipment and devices, being able to securely aggregate, share, and filter data from the edge to the cloud, and being able to focus on adding new value-added services. UTX-3115 is also bundled with Advantech SUSIAccess which provides remote device management and system recovery powered by Acronis, and system protection powered by McAfee, allowing users to easily monitor, configure, control, and even recover multiple systems through a single console from a remote site. For example, in building energy management, UTX-3115 is able to acquire data from local or remote sensors or actuator devices, send it to the cloud to be turned into actionable information, and have it received back for processing. SUSIAccess allows users to easily check this information to control and monitor all the sensors or actuator devices inside buildings and alert in case of any abnormal energy distribution. Another real-world 'Internet of Things' development comes from innovative technology and design consultancy Cambridge Design Partnership, which has successfully launched a new company Gmax Technology to commercialise advanced connected and wearable devices that revolutionise sports training. Focusing initially on the elite equine sports market, Gmax is manufacturing a range of connected products that deliver unprecedented insights into the physiological effects of training. This allows sports scientists to optimise performance and create a winning edge. Gmax technology has been working for over five years to overcome the challenges to create practical and effective connected monitoring devices in the demanding commercial equine training environment. Supported in the past by both Technology Strategy Board SMART awards and Knowledge Transfer Partnership grants, the company has been able to bring this disruptive innovation to the horse racing industry. The Gmax product range is initially targeted to exploit some potentially lucrative niche markets. The Gmax 'Vetcheck' is the first hand held equine ECG and is currently in use at Dubai International Endurance City. The flagship product, the Gmax 'Trackwork' is used to gather live performance data from groups of training horses, allowing owners and trainers to monitor fitness during training anywhere in the world. It is currently in use in the UK by the Coral Champions Club allowing over 4000 of their members to follow the training of their horses over the internet. Finally, Gmax 'Treadmill' monitors horses during treadmill exercise sessions so that a complete history of training responses can be created. Gmax came about as a result of Cambridge Design Partnership's expertise in designing medical diagnostic devices and products for the IoT. The company's multidisciplinary team was able to overcome not only the technical challenges of developing novel sensors and wireless communications systems to operate in harsh environments, but also the data analysis and usability challenges that are key to making these systems really compelling and valuable to trainers. Horse training methods have remained virtually unchanged for 150 years, now Gmax has the opportunity to provide a completely new approach. In human athletics, it has become increasingly commonplace for athletes to rely on technology to reduce injury and maximise performance. Through the use of Gmax's innovative systems, horse trainers can now bring this same approach into a sport that is worth billions of dollars globally. Will Bradley, managing director of Gmax says: "The demand for connected devices for the IoT is growing rapidly. The multidisciplinary approach of the Gmax team has allowed us to create products that combine novel sensors with wireless communications, which deliver valuable insights into the physiological effects of training. "These innovative solutions are already in use by the horse racing industry and we expect similar products to be developed for a variety of markets such as human healthcare and sports training."