Feature Pages: May 2016

Mobile Payments by Smart Phone

With all the buzz surrounding the IoT and smartwatches some have dared to suggest that we will soon be seeing the decline of the smartphone. The argument follows the analogy of the desktop computer that morphed into laptops and eventually into tablet computers. However, even after all this the desktop computer lives on.

Smartwatches have a place and might be the next big thing. However for the next decade or two, the smartphone will reign. Innovation in the smartphone has become evolutionary rather than revolutionary. But, I would argue that we are not even half way through the smartphone revolution. Improving services as 4G advances will push new use cases, mobile payments being one such example. Even NFC is beginning to take off. A recent Strategy Analytics report claims that mobile payments made via NFC-enabled handsets will approach $240 billion in total value by 2021, with handset NFC payments users to pass 100 million in 2016.

Nitesh Patel, Director, Mobile Payments, at Strategy Analytics noted, “Transport for London has highlighted the importance of wide reaching contactless payment acceptance in driving adoption and use. With three percent of all journeys paid for using contactless driven by mobile phones in December 2015, just six months after the launch of Apple Pay, it is clear that NFC-based payments have strong potential for future growth.”

The smartphone will live on through added use cases. Potentially these are many. We will see evolutionary changes to the smartphone, such as longer lasting batteries, wireless charging, depth sensing and 3D cameras, more sensors for smarter phones, augmented reality, multi-screen capabilities, gesture control, and possibly flexible screens. It still remains the case that all this is nice but the use case will drive market.

Mobile payments are one use case, but many more exist. Using the smartphone as a home controller is another, and the market here is emerging with heating and lighting systems that are controlled via an app on the phone. Similarly, the security and surveillance camera market would also benefit. Another area that has barely being touched is the medical monitoring market. As 5G begins to emerge there will be a huge boost in coverage and reliability to move medical monitoring from a personal level to a professional level. That being said, legal issues will need to be resolved.

Smartphones could also eventually replace the entertainment hub in cars, as well as provide connectivity. Apple CarPlay is an example of what might be in store for the automotive industry. Just as many industries leveraged the common PC platform, so will many leverage the smartphone app model. Not only can this get products to market quickly, but is ideal for companies with little or no wireless expertise to compete with larger companies that have the financial muscle to develop their own systems.

As the IoT takes hold and wearable technology advances, the smartphone will still be there to provide the raw computing power and connectivity to co-ordinate and communicate with all these new devices. The idea of adding sensors to a phone, either integrated or tethered via Bluetooth is a powerful concept. In some parts of the world, an air quality sensor would be popular, as is the idea of a carbon monoxide sensor for home safety.

We can see this already taking place in many areas of research. For example, last year researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) developed a device that can turn any smartphone into a DNA-scanning fluorescent microscope. The implications for medical diagnostics are profound and show once again how the smartphone can be leveraged to bring down the costs of healthcare as well as bring cutting edge diagnostics to the developing world.

To conclude, the smartphone revolution is just warming up. The market will continue to be driven through use cases and the development of innovative sensors rather than through radical changes to the smartphone itself.

RFID-based sensors as a data source for the IoT

Latest technology advances bring wireless and battery-free sensors based on radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology to act as a data source for the Internet of Things (IoT).

RFID has long been associated to identification. No wonder why: RFID stands for radio-frequency identification and it was developed with the idea to identify assets. As such, the technology has become widely popular for its usage in logistics and supply chain applications, providing advantages over bar codes to uniquely identify items – this allows for track & trace services without the need of line of sight, at distances up to 10 meters and readings of up to 700 items per second.

As such, RFID is a good source of data for IoT just as an identification tool. As an example, items at retails stores are tagged with RFID devices so that companies can take inventories in a fast and reliable fashion and replenish stores to avoid out of stock losses.

Adding sensors to the mix

One of the greatest advantages of RFID – if not the biggest – is the possibility of working battery-free. Obviously, there are active RFID solutions that can communicate over kilometres of distance but being able to track RFID tags at some meters without using batteries at all is very convenient.

Now, the IoT is not just about identification. There is a triad to successful IoT systems: data collection, data processing and data delivery. RFID systems are included in the data collection part but… why limit this to identification?

Latest advances in RFID technology have resulted in wireless and battery-free devices. RFID tags basically harvest RF energy to power up a chip that replies back with a unique identification number. New developments use that harvested energy to power up external devices such as sensors or actuators – which is a new source of data for the IoT.

Temperature sensors, pressure sensors, humidity or soil moisture sensors, voltage or current sensors… you name it. Any of these can be wireless and battery-free and provide an important set of data. Even LEDs can be flashed, mechanical relays switched or displays changed wirelessly and without batteries.

As pointed out previously, IoT is also about processing all the data and delivering it correctly. RFID hardware can provide lots of data. However, the true potential of the RFID systems lies in the combination of data collection and data processing, converting data into meaningful and actionable information.

Rotor temperature monitoring system.

As an example, RFID is a great technology to collect data of hot spots inside motor and generator rotors. In these motors, winding temperature or permanent magnet temperature are key but, as a rotating device, wiring sensors to the rotor is not a possibility. Battery powered wireless devices are technically feasible but the cost of changing batteries is too high when having to stop the motors for this purpose, sometimes affecting the production of a whole manufacturing line.

RFID temperature sensors can be placed on the rotor to collect data from hot spots. These sensors will never require a battery change so the solution works fine.

Still, having the data is only part of the equation. This data has no value by itself. Engineers must process this data to optimize motor design. Maintenance staff at a manufacturing line also need to process the data to enhance maintenance and optimize motor life cycle.

Engineers will have to set up temperature thresholds to automate corrective actions. They will have to apply data mining techniques, digging into the historical data stored during years of operation, with hot spot monitoring sensors being used in a variety of motors. They will also recommend new sensors to be implemented, improving their designs and maintenance routine.

RFID is a helping hand, the key lies on processing

Once again, battery-free RFID sensors and actuators are a great fit for such use cases. You can use them in a myriad of applications such as rotating parts monitoring, hardly accessible area monitoring – think about soil moisture monitoring in large agricultural farms or structural health monitoring in buildings, tunnels or bridges – or high voltage areas – such as switchgear bus bar temperature monitoring.

RFID system for data center infrastructure management (DCIM).

However, it is important to note that the key is not data but information. More data only means more processing power required which will become an issue sooner or later. It would be wise from our side to understand which data is really valuable and which is not before throwing it into the IoT/Big Data pool.

Having a purpose for each data source we implement – or selecting which data to actually process and which data to discard – will be the challenge of the near future. Discussions on which data to process locally or not are also taking place – for example: temperature sensors in cold chain applications may not transfer all 10 days’ temperature measurements but just critical events such as time elapsed above a temperature threshold. With 50 billion connected devices by 2020 as a market estimate, processing needs to be well thought in advance.

Is car-to-car talk done deal in US

Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) technologies — collectively known as V2X — are leaving the test track and making their way onto public streets. Sunnyvale, California is the latest city serving as a real-world V2X testbed, for Nissan, Savari and UC Berkeley.

By gaining the support of the city of Sunnyvale, Nissan, which has a Research Center in Sunnyvale, has effectively shifted its V2X test program into the real world. The pilot project, spanning 4.63 square miles in Sunnyvale, includes three public intersections equipped with Savari’s V2X-enabled road-side units. In Sunnyvale, Savari and Nissan have deployed units at traffic lights to communicate with on-board units in cars. Data on traffic conditions at intersections is collected in real time, for broadcast to cars supporting V2X communication.

DSRC mandate?

Not everyone in the automotive industry is conceding V2X as a fait accompli, however. It’s been taking more than a decade for V2X to get commercially deployed. The Department of Transportation (DOT) has yet to mandate it, fostering a measure of skepticism in the automotive industry.

Roger Lanctot, associate director, global automotive practice at Strategy Analytics, for example, believes that cellular-based V2X deployment over LTE or 5G stand will have a better chance of success as a market-driven solution in the existing infrastructure. “[There is] no need to create an entirely new network—like what’s required for V2X using Dedicated Short Distance Communications (DSRC),” he pointed out.

DSRC uses 75 MHz of spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band, which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set aside in 1999 for intelligent transportation systems (ITS). Others believe that, although the DoT missed the 2015 deadline for a DSRC mandate, the government is moving ahead with it.

In an EE Times Radio show, Craig Aine, ADAS business development director at NXP Semiconductors predicted that the DOT will mandate DSRC by the second quarter this year. Scott McCormick, president of Connected Vehicle Trade Association also believes the mandate will come this year — but later — most likely in the fourth quarter.

Predictive safety

The number of tech companies joining the DSRC-based V2X ecosystem are on the rise. They believe V2X will eventually become a necessary companion tech element for autonomous cars.

Savari, an automotive tech startup, is a good example. The company is developing not just hardware (road-side units and on-board systems equipped with DSRC) but also its own software IPs and safety applications, which it says are available for licensing.

Paul Sakamoto, chief operating office at Savari, in an interview with EE Times, described V2X as “one of the few technologies that offer predictive safety.”

V2X-enabled vehicles and traffic lights will both know “kilometers ahead of time” what’s coming down the pike, Sakamoto said. In turn, this will ensure intersection safety, ease traffic congestion and enhance fuel economy.

With the DSRC wireless technology enabling reliable communication between moving vehicles and fixed wireless infrastructure, cars will be able to alert drivers of upcoming congestion, construction, road conditions, or emergency vehicles. Cars could respond to a sudden slowdown by braking automatically.

Sunnyvale’s Transportation Division hopes to apply data exchanged between vehicles and road-side units to enhance the operation of traffic light intersections. Cars subject to fewer start-and-stop operations consume less fuel. V2X could lead to as much as a 15 percent savings in fuel consumption, according to the DoT.

V2X and autonomous cars

But how will V2X help autonomous cars? Sakamoto acknowledged that automakers already have technologies like “lidars and image sensors” deployed in self-driving cars. However, “Neither can actually see beyond the visual range,” he said. If a driver is not seeing it or paying attention to something, lidars or image sensors aren’t seeing it either, he said.

Although DSRC sometimes gets a bad rap as “more than a 10-year-old technology,” Savari appears to have developed new IPs that might give it a fresh twist.

Savari’s Sakamoto commented, “We didn’t invent DSRC radio, but we have developed a unique way of using DSRC data and processing it as a sensor. It results in actionable information.”

Savari, for example, claims that the company designed a DSRC-based technology that offers location data much more precise than GPS. “GPS offers location accuracy of several meters. We can currently reduce that to 1.5 meters,” said Sakamoto.

Through a similar mechanism used by a Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), Sakamoto said that Savari can eventually attain centimetre accuracy in its location information.

Savari also understands individual cars’ history (collected via V2X). When a thousand cars are stuck in congested area, Savari can filter the information down to the several most safety-critical cars in the jam, explained Sakamoto. “We’ve developed our own filtering algorithms.”

Who’s who in DSRC

Those in the V2X ecosystem that offer DSRC-based radio communication chips include NXP Semiconductors, Qualcomm, and Autotalks. In 2014, Delphi Automotive revealed itself as the first Tier One to supply car-to-car communications modules to General Motors' 2017 Cadillac models. At that time, Delphi said that its V2V and V2I communication platform consisted of application software developed by Cohda Wireless and an NXP wireless chipset running DSRC based on an IEEE 802.11p.

Qualcomm’s strong presence in the in-car cellular modem market is based on the DSRC technology in its WiFi chip, announced as part of its Snapdragon automotive solutions in 2014.

Nonetheless, it was the Cohda/NXP team, not Qualcomm, which snatched up the automotive industry's first big V2V and V2I commercial design win.
GM will be the first car maker to have a V2X system in a production vehicle, with their CTS Cadillac going into production at the end of 2016.

Israel-based startup Autotalks, partnered with STMicroelectronics, designs next-generation V2X chipset families. Its claim to fame is scalability and flexibility. Depending on car OEMs’ plans to design V2X features – some want a complete standalone solution, while others prefer a V2X hardware add-on — Autotalks says it can meet all customer demands with flexible solutions.

Meanwhile, Savari (Santa Clara, California) and Cohda Wireless (North Adelaide, Australia) are the two most notable vendors positioned to offer a comprehensive V2X package consisting of hardware (road-side units, on-board units), software and applications.

Savari’s Sakamoto said that Savari sees its business not necessarily as a V2X hardware supplier. “We’re willing to license our technology to anyone who wants to use some portion of our software running in their own hardware.” It’s entirely foreseeable for a certain part of Savari’s V2X algorithms to run in different places in a car – like an ECU, a center stack or whichever platform an automaker decides to use, Sakamoto explained.

Similarly, Cohda’s CEO said earlier this year in an interview with Telematic News, “As the market grows and matures, Cohda will move away from being a hardware supplier to become a software licensing company.” He added, “This is evidenced by our recent announcements with both u-blox (who will license Cohda’s V2X module) and Siemens (to whom Cohda will be supplying road side units).”

Savari’s Sakamoto, acknowledging that Cohda is Savari’s potential competitor, said that it’s impossible for a single company to cover the whole gamut of V2X. “We are increasingly seeing us working together” depending on projects.

Savari offers advanced ITS applications in the form of plug-ins, which enable applications ranging from e-tolling, collision warning and pedestrian detection to traveller information alerts and transit signal priority. It covers not just V2V and V2I, but also V2P (Vehicle-to-Phone).

Operating systems to support the Savari SDK include Linux OS and now automotive-grade QNX.

Smart city challenge

To improve transportation infrastructure in communities isn’t just a pipe dream. Given the fact that more than 78 medium-sized U.S. cities applied for the DOT’s Smart City Challenge (issued in December, 2015), the idea appears to be catching on.

The DOT has pledged up to $40 million to one city to help it define what it means to be a “Smart City “and become the country’s first city to fully integrate innovative technologies – self-driving cars, connected vehicles, and smart sensors – into its transportation network.

Skin-tight circuits could drive IoT to healthcare

Fabricated in interlocking segments like a 3-D puzzle, the new integrated circuits could be used in wearable electronics that adhere to the skin like temporary tattoos.

Because the circuits increase wireless speed, these systems could allow health care staff to monitor patients remotely, without the use of cables and cords. Image courtesy of Yei Hwan Jung and Juhwan Lee/University of Wisconsin-Madison.

A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers claim to have created the fastest stretchable, wearable integrated circuits, an advance that could drive the Internet of Things and a much more connected, high-speed wireless world.

The engineers have created a platform for manufacturers seeking to expand the capabilities and applications of wearable electronics particularly as they strive to develop devices that take advantage of a new generation of wireless broadband technologies referred to as 5G.

The stretchable integrated circuits feature a unique structure, inspired by twisted-pair telephone cables. They contain, essentially, two ultra-tiny intertwining power transmission lines in repeating S-curves.

This serpentine shape – formed in two layers with segmented metal blocks, like a 3-D puzzle – gives the transmission lines the ability to stretch without affecting their performance. It also helps shield the lines from outside interference and, at the same time, confine the electromagnetic waves flowing through them, almost completely eliminating current loss. Currently, these stretchable integrated circuits can operate at radio frequency levels up to 40 GHz.

Further, unlike other stretchable transmission lines, whose widths can approach 640 micrometers (or 0.64 millimeters), the these new stretchable integrated circuits are just 25 micrometers (or 0.025 millimeters) thick. That's tiny enough to be highly effective in epidermal electronic systems, among many other applications.

Led by Zhenqiang "Jack" Ma, the Lynn H. Matthias Professor in Engineering and Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in electrical and computer engineering at UW-Madison, the researchers published details of these powerful, highly efficient integrated circuits in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.

Ma's group has been developing what are known as transistor active devices for the past decade. This latest advance marries the researchers' expertise in both high-frequency and flexible electronics.

"We've found a way to integrate high-frequency active transistors into a useful circuit that can be wireless," says Ma, whose work was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. "This is a platform. This opens the door to lots of new capabilities."

For example, in mobile communications, the wide microwave radio frequencies of 5G networks will accommodate a growing number of cellphone users and notable increases in data speeds and coverage areas.

In an intensive care unit, epidermal electronic systems (electronics that adhere to the skin like temporary tattoos) could allow health care staff to monitor patients remotely and wirelessly, increasing patient comfort by decreasing the customary tangle of cables and wires.

Other authors on the paper include Yei Hwan Jung, Juhwan Lee, Namki Cho, Sang June Cho, Huilong Zhang, Subin Lee, Tong June Kim and Shaoqin Gong of UW-Madison and Yijie Qiu of the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China.

Google demonstrates gesture control using radar

Using semiconductor devices from Infineon, two prototypes of products controlled exclusively through gestures were demonstrated at a “Google I/O” event on May 20th 2016. The two products, a smartwatch and a wireless speaker, can both recognize gestures to replace physical switches or buttons

Infineon and Google ATAP aim to address numerous markets with “Soli” radar technology. Among these are home entertainment, mobile devices and the Internet of Things (IoT). Radar chips from Infineon as well as Google ATAP’s software and interaction concepts form the basis of the control mechanism. Both companies are preparing for the joint commercialization of “Soli” technology.

“Sophisticated haptic algorithms combined with highly integrated and miniaturized radar chips can foster a huge variety of applications,” said division President Urschitz.

“Gesture sensing offers a new opportunity to revolutionize the human-machine interface by enabling mobile and fixed devices with a third dimension of interaction,” said Ivan Poupyrev, Technical Project Lead at Google ATAP. “This will fill the existing gap with a convenient alternative for touch- and voice controlled interaction.”

In addition to their efforts in the audio and smartwatch markets, the developers’ ambitions are more comprehensive: “It is our target to create a new market standard with compelling performance and new user experience, creating a core technology for enablement of augmented reality and IoT,” said division President Urschitz.

While Virtual Reality technologies could already visualize new realities in the past, users could not interact with these so far. The 60 GHz radar application developed by Google and Infineon bridges the gap, as a key technology enabling Augmented Reality.

For the first time ever, two products for end users have been presented that can be precisely operated – by hand movements alone. Google and Infineon will begin joint marketing of the underlying technology commercially in mid 2017

Gesture control represents the key technology that will be needed to achieve a real breakthrough in augmented reality.

There are lots of approaches to using augmented reality for fusing physical and simulated reality. But what’s been missing till now is a fast, intuitive transmission of commands to the computer. To date, much of the focus has been on touch sensitive touchscreens. These, however, mean the user needs to be in constant “close contact” with the computer. On the other hand, there’s speech recognition – this allows greater flexibility, but it’s largely limited to individual users.

Gesture-based control of devices by hand signals closes this gap. Consequently, gesture control opens up the 3rd dimension, breaking free of the two-dimensional user interface. This technology was developed by Google and Infineon over the last few years under the internal name “Soli”. A 9 x 12.5 mm radar chip from Infineon sends and receives waves that reflect off the user’s finger. Fine hand movements, like winding a watch, can be detected at a distance of up to 15 meters. Just a few decades ago it took a parabolic antenna with a 50 m diameter to do what the chip’s technology can do today.

The chip is made by Infineon in Regensburg, Germany. It operates with the algorithm developed by Google’s ATAP (short for Advanced Technology and Projects Group). The combination is used in the smartwatch from LG and the JBL wireless speaker. Beginning in mid 2017, both companies will co-market the hardware and software as a single solution.

AMCS

AMCS on-vehicle technology solutions are designed by our highly skilled team of engineers, specifically for the recycling and waste management industry. AMCS on-vehicle technology covers the front cab back to the lifter as well as mobile solutions for the driver. AMCS on-vehicle technology has registered over 5 million bins and has been fitted on over 5,000 vehicles across local authorities and private recycling and waste management companies. Our On-Vehicle technology includes:

FEL Weigh

AMCS FEL Weigh accurately weighs each lift and captures pertinent data in order to optimise waste collection & increase profitability. With the onboard FEL Weigh you can track and optimise driver, route and customer management.

The Front End Loader (FEL) weighing system has been developed by our R&D team from the ground up, using the latest technology in the market. It can be easily retrofitted to any lift as no fork modification is required. No major fabrication is needed, preserving vehicle warranties and it has a highly efficient installation method ensuring minimal vehicle downtime. Additionally remote calibration provides for quick maintenance & support.

Key Benefits of FEL Weigh

Guarantee ROI
P&L analysis by customer
Reduce customer call-backs
Identify & eliminate unauthorised lifts
Identify lifts not being invoiced
Identify heavy weighing customers

AMCS Weighing

Accurately weigh each lift & capture data to optimise your collection service & increase profitability.

AMCS has designed an approved dynamic weighing system certified to EU standards for the recycling and waste industry. Monitoring your customers’ weights and profitability has never been more essential and the AMCS Weighing system is available for use on most vehicle and lift types such as split bin lifts, trade bin lifts and FEL vehicles. Each lifter is installed with a weighing loadcell enabling two different household bins or a container to be weighed independently and simultaneously. The dynamic design removes the need to stop the lifter to gain an accurate weight reading.

Key Benefits of AMCS Weighing

The data collected provides a P&L for each individual customers.
Maximise profits by identifying profitable and loss-making customers.
Implement a stoplist for unpaid customers
Maximise fleet performance and increase productivity by optimising each collection route and preventing vehicle overloading.
Implement a stoplist on collection bins or containers over a certain weight.
Collect data on recycling participation. Recognise areas with high levels of recycling contamination.
Implement recycling initiatives such as reward schemes to encourage increased recycling rates.
Prevent unauthorised collections by comparing accumulative weight per round against weighbridge readings

AMCS Tracker + IO – On-vehicle fleet tracking

AMCS Tracker provides a low cost way of tracking your fleet and confirming lift events. This solution in conjunction with AMCS Dispatch will provide you with:

Real-time vehicle location
Vehicle events – start time, idle time
Lift events – number of bins/containers lifted
Service verification using vehicle location information and lift events

The data produced from AMCS Tracker allows you to map the route taken by drivers and confirm which locations/streets have been serviced by the vehicle that day.

AMCS Vision – On-vehicle camera technology

Using an integrated camera solution, drivers can have 360 degree view around the vehicle. When cameras are deployed with DVR solution it providers for up to 30 days of recorded video which can be accessed remotely to view events or incidents during that period.

The AMCS on-vehicle camera technology also provides the driver with the ability to take a photograph of a location or bin/ container to prove issues like blocked access or broken bins/containers.

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) – Monitor, validate and optimise your collection services

Proof of Service

RFID is in many ways the ultimate proof of service and allows for better asset tracking and data collection management. The record of a customer’s RFID is significantly more reliable and largely irrefutable as proof of service than a signature. Realise savings of up to 25% from reduced recall rates and increased fleet efficiency.

Invoices are more difficult to dispute
Delayed payment by the customer is reduced – no time wasted gathering signed tickets
Credit notes are reduced, saving both their value and the administrational cost of authorising and producing them

Denial of Service

RFID technology also provides denial of service when integrated with the controls of the bin lift. Configure the lift to prevent it from operating in the following circumstances:

The bin has no chip
The bin’s chip is not recognised as “one of ours”
The chip is recognised but corresponds to an entry on a credit stop list

Availability of Data

Customer service operators have information available in real time regarding the service occurrence. They can provide details on the precise number and times of lifts when used with GPS the precise location.
With the appropriate use of an onboard computer or handheld device it is also possible to facilitate driver feedback where drivers can report on a bin not present, bin contamination or blocked access.

UHF – Long Frequency Identification

For containers requiring long range reading technology such as skips and roros
The additional read distance allows larger objects to be tagged and identified from up to 7m away for improved container tracking, service verification and asset management
Highly accurate reports can show the location of all 20 yard open containers, age, last emptied, last repaired and total level of service

The sweep of the Internet of Things, garbage cans and all

Who could imagine being wowed by a garbage can? In our age of technological whiz-bang, not much floors us anymore. But I confess, I couldn’t stop thinking about the lowly garbage can.

Embedded with smart sensors, it alerts city workers when it’s ready to be emptied, which slashes fuel costs and avoids unnecessary garbage pickups. That may not sound so impressive — at least compared to driverless cars or sending regular folk into space — but when the dumbest of items gains intelligence, we need to pay attention.

We are entering a phase in the cleantech revolution where we are reaping efficiency value from even the most mundane items.

“The garbage app reduces energy costs by 50% to 60%. That’s not pie-in-the-sky — those are real savings for real cities that can make them even more livable and enjoyable for residents,” says Tim Wolf, Global Director of Marketing for Smart Grid Solutions at Itron.

Call it Cleantech 3.0 or Energy Democracy, this new iteration takes us beyond solar energy and the early technologies that kicked off the clean energy revolution. Now bits and bytes are infiltrating everyday objects, allowing them to “talk” to each other and make smart energy decisions. Dorothy, we’re not in Kansas anymore — or at least its wind farms.

Enter the Internet of Things

Why is renewable energy now old school? Credit the Internet of Things, or IoT. Green is still good, but digitally connected green is even better.

IoT is a network of physical objects — devices, machinery, vehicles, buildings and other items — embedded with electronics, software and sensors that enable these objects to collect and exchange data.

Connecting our disparate “things” — and giving them intelligence — creates autonomous systems that are convenient and user-friendly in ways that can drastically improve home and work environments — as in the garbage can that can signal to city trash collectors.

In the energy arena, IoT brings together all kinds of things to create smart networks, such as hot water heaters, home thermostats, solar panels and microgrids. These networks can automate anything that generates, consumes, measures, switches or stores energy.

IoT also helps consumers collect granular data so they can track their energy consumption in real time. What you can see, you can save. So now consumers are better able to lower their energy bills.

All of these changes upend the old way of doing business in the energy industry. The power of controlling energy distribution no longer resides with just utilities; it’s become decentralized. You and I gain more control over energy generation and usage.

Putting energy management into the hands of individual consumers and businesses is forcing utilities to rethink their business models. Rather than fighting decentralized energy, forward-thinking utilities are embracing it.

“As the grid moves toward a more distributed model, the command-and-control infrastructure is moving to a more distributed model as well,” Wolf says.

How IoT makes Cleantech 3.0 possible

IoT has made its way into the public consciousness through devices like the Nest thermostat, and it will soon be universal. Businesses of all sizes are starting to realize its power to transform how they handle their energy needs — to save money, improve resiliency and reduce carbon footprint.

According to Tom Willie, CEO of Blue Pillar, IoT is at the foundation of Cleantech 3.0. “Without IoT, you can’t effectively deploy onsite energy solutions,” Willie says. “People are realizing that if you’re going to build a behind-the-meter grid, you need on-site command-and-control.”

Green is still good, but digitally connected green is even better.

“The growth of on-site generation has started expanding exponentially in the past 10 years, but most on-site energy systems are still disconnected and working in silos,” he adds. “You need the ability to centrally connect, control and optimize everything from renewables and back-up generators to microgrids, energy storage and traditional building automation systems. That’s why the new energy IoT solutions are so critical — we need a ubiquitous, connected energy ecosystem.”

What’s truly amazing, Willie says, is that new energy IoT solutions will even allow connection and control of older equipment that was installed before the Internet was around, positively impacting energy usage and costs.

“It’s an exciting time to be at the intersection of IoT and energy management,” he says. “The future is limited only by our imaginations.”

What it means to you

Here’s what Cleantech 3.0 means for those it will affect most:

Utilities: Many utilities and energy service providers struggle to integrate renewable energy and energy efficiency into aging 20th century business models. Cleantech 3.0 will prepare them to compete in the 21st century by drastically improving their ability to manage and dispatch distributed energy. This will allow unregulated utilities to embrace behind-the-meter distributed generation to their advantage. For example, by treating their customers’ solar panels, microgrids and other distributed energy resources as an extension of the traditional electricity grid, they can increase resiliency and reduce the burden on the aging infrastructure. Better still, legacy utilities can leverage the IoT to create new services that they can then offer to end-customers, adding additional revenue for shareholders and keeping businesses relevant.
Industry: Improving connectivity, access to data and control of energy devices will help industries improve energy efficiency, resiliency and self-sufficiency. In practical terms, IoT can help reduce energy waste, improve operational efficiency and hedge against power outages and rising energy costs. As individual industries realize the benefits of controlling their own energy, this nascent trend will expand to everyone — from healthcare and big-box retailers to data centers and beyond.
Consumers: Cleantech 3.0 will help consumers by putting the cost of energy in their hands. Not only does it allow them to choose how to spend their energy dollars, it gives consumers control of every electrical device in the home through smart phones, and increases comfort as these devices “learn” their patterns. It is going to revolutionize how consumers handle their energy needs — and thereby revolutionize energy distribution.

“Cleantech 3.0 will democratize the way people consume energy, and that’s a good thing,” says Robert Cooper, CEO of Embue. “The awareness of what your energy costs are and how you consume it will empower people to use energy more efficiently and cost-effectively. The revolution is coming, and those who are on the cutting edge will be the biggest winners.”

A reshuffling of responsibility

Cleantech 3.0 is causing a reshuffling of responsibility across the energy landscape — and has the potential to affect entire city infrastructures, leading to the development of so-called “smart cities” that rely on IoT.

“The killer IoT apps that will revolutionize cities will be for smart energy and water systems,” Itron’s Wolf says. “Right now, we lose 25% of water we pump through the streets — unacceptable in a world that will soon run short on water resources. And you can reduce street light energy costs by up to 80% if you combine LED replacement bulbs with network-controlled monitoring applications.”

The roles and relationships between energy production, distribution and consumption are changing, and the end-user will ultimately win. How quickly this shakes out will depend on the speed with which utilities and their customers embrace the transition.

Meanwhile, keep an eye on your household devices — even boring ones like garbage cans — they soon may surprise you

Computex IoT

No longer the niche industry it once was, the wave of IoT has grabbed embedded computing by the scruff of the neck and dragged it into the consumer space. Well acquainted with the importance of IoT, Computex 2016 (May 31 – June 4, in Taipei, Taiwan) has introduced SmarTEX, an area tasked that’s specifically for parading innovative IoT applications. Within SmarTEX and throughout the show floor, Computex will highlight the latest advances in Smart Homes, Wearables, 3D printing, and an abundance of the new IoT subsets that are imagined almost daily.

SmarTEX will showcase existing platforms and ideas alongside IoT solutions for business. Much like the invention of the laser, there’s no doubt the proven technology exists. However, identifying and deploying applications in use cases that not only reduce operational costs, but generate revenue themselves is the key to unlocking the potential of IoT and overcoming the industry’s natural nervousness of implementing cutting edge technology.

With technology companies regularly queried as to what their IoT strategy is, SmarTEX seeks to clear the fog and further understand where your business fits into the IoT ecosystem. Almost 160 companies invested in IoT will present their vision within the dedicated show floor.

The IoT vision gaining real traction and this is most visible within the industry behemoths. I expect to see comprehensive end-to-end IoT solutions from the embedded stalwarts of Intel, Microsoft, ARM, and NXP, while Dell, relatively fresh to the IoT scene, has rapidly expanded its claim to a stake in this debatably ‘new’ market.

Staying within the theme of traditional enterprise computing giants, expect big announcements from the likes of Acer and Asus, desperate to clamber into the Smart Home and Entertainment markets. Mercedez-Benz will be presenting its achievements in V2X connected automotive electronics, alongside less familiar names of MiTAC and E-Lead Electronics.

Manufacturers quickly growing on the back of IoT subsets include ThroughTek and BeSeye Cloud Security, driving connected home security applications. Tatung Technology will display its depth in numerous smart solution applications.

One thing we do know is, as each advance in IoT implementation spurs a new generation of ideas, growth will be exponential, with 35% year-on-year growth predicted, and with no one wanting to be left behind!

Predicting the Future of Payment Methods

We hear it with the emergence of every new payment technology: “This is the new payment technology that will revolutionize the way we pay for products and services! In X years, previous payment methods will be so passé and will wane. RIP cash and current technologies…”
OK, maybe it is too much of a dramatization, but effectively this is the tone we heard when credit cards were introduced as a method of payment for public transit, and this is the tone and excitement we are hearing with the emergence of NFC as the next exciting payment technology for public transit; and smart cards before that.
So let’s take some time and consider what happened in the evolution of payment systems at the ticketing point of sale at public transit stations and try to draw conclusions on what the future might hold in this regard.
Payment technologies at the public transit points of sale
The point of sale for a public transit service could be either at a booth manned by a human teller, or can be an automated pay station. Since the desire of most operators is to phase away the booth in favour of automated methods of payment, we will focus here on the latter. Automated pay stations can be a Ticket Vending Machine (TVM), Add Value Machine (AVM), or a fare box. For the purpose of this discussion, let’s consider what happened at the TVM.
First, it was cash payment, then magnetic stripe-based credit and debit cards. And yes, these two cashless payment methods were forecast to eventually completely displace cash. Then payment for ticketing using the PC over the internet, then contactless credit cards (at least in some countries). Not long ago, we saw the introduction of ticketing using applications on the mobile phone. And now comes NFC on the mobile phone as the new method payment on the block, promising to become the new king of payment for public transit.
Think of the above, and then take a look at TVMs today, and what you will see is a machine that, more often than not, enables all of these payment methods combined. Cash payment is still offered at most TVMs as is some form of cashless payment. Each time a new payment method is added, the capital and operational costs of Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) systems increase for the operator, which is increasingly finding itself unable to phase out any existing payment method.
There have been instances where some operators wanted to phase cash away from their TVMs, but they did that by enabling their ridership to alternatively purchase tickets with cash at designated retail locations, thereby simply shifting the channel, perhaps even at a higher operational cost than would have been if the operator processed cash at its own premises (after all, those retailers want a cut).
In fact, when one abstracts the different payment methods into two main categories: cash and cashless, and regardless of whether the consideration is payment share in public transit or any other industry (like retail for example), an observable pattern
emerges. Cash did indeed, in the past few decades, lose significant market share to cashless, but that share loss is now tapering off and has stabilized. What is evident is that the different cashless payment methods are now simply stealing market share from each other.
A word about NFC
This now brings us to the next big question: will payment with NFC technology using the mobile phone change all of this? Will it take over all the other cashless means of payment and then completely run cash over?
This is the multi-million dollar question for operators that are looking to add NFC payment as an option to their new TVM deployments. Can the operator afford to not offer NFC payment?
This is a debate that has been raging on in NFC forums for some years now. NFC has been successfully and unsuccessfully trialled at various retail outlets and also at some public transit stations. Transit for London, Europe’s biggest transit operator, tried it not long ago. Different trials in different industries yielded various degrees of success. A discussion on what is going on in the NFC ecosystem would take numerous pages, but suffice it to say that the NFC technology and business ecosystem is not yet completely figured out. There are many competing value chains and business models (which in turn may need different elements of technology). We should be of the opinion that all technical problems would eventually be ironed out, and a dominant value chain would emerge, making NFC a seriously viable payment option.
But then the next thing to look at here is the other side of the coin. Will consumers or riders actually adopt NFC payment en masse like they have done with plastic? No one really knows what the future will hold, but experts are now formulating a consensus on this: NFC payment will become a much more prevalent form of payment in the developing world and not as popular a form of payment in the developed world.
One can see why that is anticipated. To pay with a credit card, all you need to do is whip it out of your wallet, wave it in front of, or insert it into, the credit card device, and off you go. To pay with NFC, on the other hand, you have to take out your phone, key your PIN code or use your fingerprint to get in, launch the NFC application and enter its PIN, select which card the payment will go through, and finally wave the phone in front of the transceiver at the point of sale. Clearly, it is much easier and more expedient to pay with a credit card.
Proponents of NFC payment, though, say that eventually all these steps will become second nature as we migrate towards the virtual wallet. But who seriously thinks that e-, or m-, or virtual wallets is really the future? What would I do if I lose my phone? What will I do if the battery dies out? There are many real-life complications with NFC. The value proposition for the virtual wallet has yet to be resolved.
What will happen in the future?
So what will the payment share landscape be in the future? Nobody knows, but if history is an indication, then cash will maintain a certain (but steady) share, and cashless methods of payment will continue to exchange market share amongst each other. The same predicament operators face today will exist in the future: having to support multiple payment methods. NFC will have its adopters, but in the UK and America for instance, it will not rule.
Andrew McArdle Booker, Marketing Manager, Transport
For

People are 33% more alert out of home

Research into people’s purpose, mood and mindset, suggests a higher level of alertness when people are Out Of Home (OOH).

The Mindset experiment was run by a consumer insight company, COG Research and Dr Amanda Ellison, doctor of Psychology at Durham University. The research, said to be the first on its kind, analysed 140 continuous hours of monitored skin conductance readings by 20 subjects who also wore eye tracking glasses throughout their day. Matching the skin conductance highs and lows to actions and places in their daily lives, COG and Dr Ellison were able to ascertain that people out of home have a 33% heightened alertness than people in home. Heightened alertness can lead to higher absorption and recall of advertising images.

“This ground breaking research puts numbers to what we all sense, namely that we move around out of home in a sharper and more focused frame of mind,” says Mike Baker, CEO of the Outdoor Media Centre. “That has a real benefit to advertisers, who can use the Active Space to target consumers at different points in their day. Contextual planning is a real benefit of the outdoor medium, and now we know that our audience is one third more attentive.”

COG Research also teamed up with OnDevice Research to measure people’s Mood. 3,563 individuals were researched via their mobiles at different times of day and in different places. A consistently higher percentage of those out of home claimed to be feeling energetic and active, and indeed took action at a higher rate for outdoor ads compared to other media. 23% searched for more information on a mobile device after seeing a recent outdoor ad, compared to 16% for other media.

Guy Phelps, Retail Sales Manager at NEC Display Solutions believes that all owners of digital assets should reap the benefits: “Even the smallest retailer with just one or two screens can access additional revenue streams through new Digital out of Home ad-serving platforms such as NEC’s unique Vukunet software, giving them the opportunity to offer their screens to be part of an attractive network to advertisers.”

The ‘WOW’ factor in digital signage

Digital signage operators are urgently looking for the ‘WOW effect’ to create awareness and transfer an innovative image. A large proportion of digital signage to date has been a video feed or a slide-show, where it is almost like a poster replacement. Those ways of delivering content are not catching consumers’ attention any longer. Building brands and relationships with customers can only happen when value is added to their experiences. Next generation digital signage is about creating rich and immersive user experiences. Operators of digital signage networks, location owners, media agencies and brands need dynamic solutions. Successful digital signage applications are driven by market and users’ needs, helping brands engage and inspire audiences in ways never previously imagined.

The underlying premise of Steven Spielberg’s movie Minority Report is that by 2054 our way of life has been transformed by highly sophisticated technology that recognises us by name; it knows our likes, dislikes and interests. It can read our minds, know our innermost secrets, and anticipate how we will behave. The technology utilises super intelligent computer screens, monitors and holograms which are an integral part of the environments in which we live.

John Underkoffler, chief scientist at Oblong Industries designed most of the film’s interactive techniques after Spielberg told him to make it “like he was conducting an orchestra”, said “it would be hard to identify anything in the movie that had no grounding in reality”. Although this may seem a little far-fetched, technology is being developed to bring this kind of world closer to reality. And we may be even closer than we think. The film was released in 2002 and, ten years later, several technologies featured have made their entrances into the world of interactivity and outdoor signage. These include multi-touch surfaces, retina scanners, RFID, gesture and motion sensing, gender and age recognition and electronic paper.

A range of newer technologies are under development or in the early stages of release. In the words of William Gibson, American/Canadian writer and futurist who coined the term “cyberspace”: “The future is here. It’s just not widely distributed yet”. Technologies such as full facial recognition and personal identification, crime prediction algorithms that assess human variables and estimates the probabilities of imminent offences, emotion recognition – ‘gladvertising/sadvertising’ techniques that assess a viewer’s mood and respond with appropriate advertising, augmented reality that combines real and virtual worlds to give a mixed view of reality and proximity communication – personal messaging from screens using social media.

The gap between technology, marketing and sales is closing. This gap, from inspiration to purchase is narrowing at such a rapid rate with so many different methods of engagement and so many points of purchase that no longer can one media tell the story. It is not just TV, Internet, Mobile, Cinema and DOOH; it’s all screens, all of the time. As technology evolves in today’s competitive market, advertisers now have increasingly diverse options when it comes to putting their message in front of and engaging consumers. It is now necessary to present a mixture of price comparison, product description, peer review and usage examples in front of the customer prior to purchase. This has been done through the web but is increasingly being found through touch screens within retail environments. Interactive retail signage solutions are no longer simple vending machines; they are information hubs and omniscient virtual sales associates.

A further advantage to retailers and manufacturers lies in the ability to measure the impact of advertising through audience metrics in a much deeper way. This includes the accurate measurement of audience presence, notice and dwell time. It is also possible now to link the messaging on retail digital screens directly to sales data from the tills in the store. This allows near real-time automated assessment and optimisation of the impact of digital advertising in store, akin to bringing the level of measurement and accountability normally associated with on-line advertising to the high street.

• The industry is growing across the world and in some advanced market areas forecasts are for annual compound growth in double digits.
• Technological innovations are leading to the integration of communications channels on one screen. Distinctions between DOOH and other media will become irrelevant.
• The capital and operating costs of establishing and running networks have declined in recent years, substantially shortening the timeline to profitability.
• Major holding companies are making equity investments. It takes about 10 years for any industry to mature, and that’s really about the length of time that DOOH networks have been established in any significant number.
• Between 2009 and 2050, the population living in urban areas is projected to gain 2.9 billion, increasing from 3.4 billion in 2009 to 6.3 billion 2050. Overall, the world population is expected to be 69 per cent urban in 2050. There will be a massive increase in out-of-home transit, making interactivity in this field even more relevant.
• Emerging technologies such as NFC, wearable computers and neural interfaces will further integrate and communication between information providers and consumers in as yet undetermined ways.

IPTV delivery of high resolution video over wide area networks

IPTV provides an efficient and highly effective method of delivering live and pre-prepared video content over large buildings using the in-house IP network. Steve Montgomery investigate its growing popularity.

Businesses, public organisations, educational establishments and entertainment venues increasingly appreciate the benefits of delivering live video content, digital signage and emergency messaging using their in-house audiovisual systems. One of the most effective and efficient delivery methods of is by means of an IPTV system, which enables the capture and transmission of many different types of video and text content throughout a large complex.

“IPTV is essentially the delivery of media content, video or live television over an IP network. This can either use the public internet or a private local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN). An IPTV service can be delivered to an IP-enabled TV, mobile phone, tablet, laptop or PC and can be easily incorporated into a video-on-demand solution,” explains Steve Rickless CEO of Tripleplay. “IPTV is commonly used by businesses and organisations to deliver TV and digital signage to waiting areas, reception and common rooms. It is also a popular solution for the provision of television services within hotels, hospitals and sports stadiums.”

The major benefits of IPTV systems over customised video distribution networks lies in their use of the existing IP network infrastructure within a building, rather than requiring a dedicated network. This reduces the installation overhead, reducing the expensive cabling cost and allowing the system to operate over existing wired and wireless transmission links. “An IPTV receiver can be located anywhere an IP connection can be made,” points out Colin Farquhar, CEO of Exterity. “The system is completely scalable: users can add sources and users whenever they need, while maintaining the very highest quality. It works with all types of screen, using a standalone receiver with a direct connection to a display device and equally easily can be delivered to individual personal computers, standard TVs, digital AV projectors, interactive whiteboards, digital signage or any other video display device. Channels, end points and users can be added virtually without limit – an Exterity IPTV solution provides fine grained control over what content is available, where it can be displayed, and who can see it.”

IPTV systems work by creating, by means of an encoder, a multi-channel TV and AV source which is distributed over an IP network to compatible decoders (receivers). Any combination of services can be included from digital terrestrial TV, such as Freeview, digital satellite TV, such as FreeSat, Pay TV services such as SKY and locally generated content, such as PowerPoint presentations, JPEGs, PNGs and HTML pages. Content within the multi-channel network can be scheduled by a playlist and targeted at specific receivers, enabling passive digital signage systems to be created that show individual content in different areas. The encoding device generally comprises standalone or rack-mounted encoders (or gateways) that transform incoming content to a form suitable for transmission over the IP network.

Transmission of off-air TV signals throughout an office complex is a major application of IPTV distribution; typically in broadcast organisations where the station’s own channels are widely distributed to staff, and in large sports venues where sports TV channels are licensed from third-party broadcasters or created internally and shown to supporters. A wide range of TV gateways is available to enable this. Colin Farquhar: “AvediaStream TVgateways capture live digital TV and radio from any terrestrial, satellite or cable source and stream it directly across an IP network. They support the widest range of digital TV standards: DVB-T/T2, DVB-C, DVB-S/S2, ATSC, Clear QAM, ASI, de-scramble encrypted content using standard Conditional Access Modules (CAMs) and provide hassle free, intuitive setup and an easy to manage web interface offers extensive control and monitoring. AvediaStream Encoders take any source and make a channel available on the network. They support MPEG-2 to MPEG-4/ H.264 encoding up to 1080p to create a single MPEG channel from the output of various video devices. These include video cameras, DVD/Blu-ray players, digital signage systems, personal computers or set-top boxes delivering premium TV channels.”

Advanced compression algorithms and encoding techniques like variable bit rate encoding allow encoders to operate at very high levels of efficiency and achieve the highest levels of bandwidth utilisation. This is important within business institutions, even though network capability is expanding at a phenomenal rate, as it allows greater numbers of HD channels to be distributed. Coupled with multi-purpose encoder technology it means that a vast array of user devices can be used within the same system. New applications such as in-stadia video replays direct to spectator mobile devices and in-car entertainment delivered over the 4G communication network are based on IPTV delivery methods and will greatly expand the future application of this technology.

Digital signage and large screens in shopping centres

Steve Montgomery investigates the use of large format public displays and digital signage applications in shopping centres.

One of the downsides of the boom in online shopping is that high streets and shopping centres are losing trade to internet businesses as consumers shop for each and every commodity; whether electrical goods, fashion items or groceries from the comfort of their armchair. Customers do not need to travel to the shops and trade, and consequently revenues, of shop owners is falling.

However these alternatives are not necessarily regarded as an ‘either-or’, as Jane Hollinshead, partner at law firm Addleshaw Goddard said: “The recession and move to online shopping clearly meant both retailers and shopping centre landlords were forced to change their approach. But companies need their customers to interact in a hands-on fashion with their brands. New technology takes this to a whole new level and what we’re seeing is a genuine blurring of online and offline shopping.”

An approach used by shopping centres is in making their complexes more ‘experiental’. The large malls of today are owned by landlords who rent out the retail spaces to individual chains and stores. In conjunction with lease-holders they are deploying all the digital tools that are on offer to attract, entertain and engage the customer; attracting them back to the retail location and turning it into a venue for a day out, rather than simply a shopping destination. They do this by creating a ‘multifunction mix’: integrating entertainment, restaurants and leisure facilities with stores to encourage shoppers to spend a full day there.

Chief amongst the tools deployed is digital signage displayed on large public displays. Placed in areas of high footfall and visibility they are often the first stage of interaction experienced by visitors, their role is one of primary communication: establishing first contact between the shopping centre and visitor and then maintaining that contact throughout their passage through the centre. This requires an integrated strategy across the multitude of screens of varying shapes, sizes and positions throughout the site; each capable of delivering messages that are appropriate, not just to the local vicinity, but to the overall offering of the centre as well as the time-of-day.

Westfield Statford City, one of the largest centres in the UK, is adorned with over 350 digital signage screens installed by Esprit Digital. Included are twelve double-sided wafers, four inside and six out, four wall mounted 55in digital posters, ten 12 screen bulkhead video walls above each of the main concourses, a 5×5 screen array in the Vue Cinema foyer and two, 27 screen walls, one above the other outside Marks & Spencer. Its crowning glory is the centrepiece, 5 tonne, 102-screen double sided video wall outside the John Lewis store: the largest LCD video wall in Europe.

The integrated digital signage network is used to display in-house interactive marketing messages and centre and store information, as well as information about events, exhibitions, dining and store and centre offers. “The on-going inclusion of digital signage is now seen as a fundamental component of shopping centre operations,” says Westfield Marketing General Manager Myf Ryan, “and is vital in enhancing the shopper’s customer experience by educating them on product offerings, brand awareness and reinforcing a positive shopping experience at the mall.”

Content is crucial to the success of the communication. It must be relevant and timely, which, at its most basic level simply means running content that relates to brands or amenities on the site and that is scheduled to meet the demographic of the audience and their likely interests at that moment: techniques that are well understood and simple to deploy with digital signage. Opening the systems up to local viewer input and the use of data analytic processing linked to a variety of sensors and external triggers arms them with a far greater level of ability to communicate with the audience.

Visitors and advertisers can influence the content of a display directly using social media tools, such as Twitter and Facebook, leaving personal messages on the screens or updating them with highlights from external events: images from live fashion shows for example. Both techniques add to the immediacy and personalisation of the displays, making them more attractive and relevant to shoppers.

Another technique that has evolved recently is in the use of audience recognition, using facial detection tools, such as NEC’s FieldAnalyst, to analyse the audience using a video cameras. “Facial detection was used in malls last Christmas to identify the gender and ages of shoppers,” explains Richard Malton, marketing director of Ocean Outdoor. “There were a lot more men on Christmas Eve than other days but a marked absence at lunchtime when they were in the bars, which recovered mid-afternoon as panic buying of last-minute Christmas shopping began. Content for the large display was then selected to help them choose presents was automatically triggered on head counts when they were in the mall.”

Digital signage plays a key role in delivering the dynamic experience crucial to enticing visitors to shopping centres. Its role is evolving and will in future expand even further as it becomes even more integrated with digital technology throughout the centre, including interactive wayfinding, product browsing, virtual changing rooms, customer identification and personalised voucher delivery. The goal is, as Peter Millar, chief operating officer for Westfield UK and Europe points out: “To use digital technology to provide a seamless shopping experience from web to mall which are focussed on core shopper needs.”

Displays in Airports

Displays in airports

Steve Montgomery looks at the different applications for displays at airports, from flight information systems to apron training facilities.

The old ‘flap-panel’ destination displays are now almost never encountered in airports as they are upgraded en-masse to more versatile and reliable LCD panels to display flight information. In the same way, many of the internal billboards and paper- and transparency-based advertising screens are being replaced by large LED displays, video walls and networks of LCD panels.

It is unsurprising; airports are very busy locations: the world’s busiest terminal (in terms of passenger numbers), Atlanta, Georgia, handled over 93 million passengers in 2013, a massive captive audience requiring information, physical guidance and commercial services. Electronic displays can be used for multiple purposes and offer considerable advantages over single, fixed purpose displays.

In addition to the crucial airport information infrastructure, modern airports are full of retail concessions competing for both business and leisure passengers’ attention: restaurants, shops, currency services. With some airports generating over 70% of their revenues from commercial operations; advertising through digital signage can effectively be used to drive retail sales within the terminal. The vast size of airports means that complex distribution networks are required for data.

Limited access to screens in inaccessible locations instils the need for professional, highly reliable equipment. The paramount requirement for the flight information display system in an airport is accuracy of information and reliability of display. If the system fails, the airport is highly unlikely to be able to function efficiently for any period of time as passengers rely on the displays for gate and boarding information. As many airports operate on a 24 hour per day basis, the displays typically used above check-in desks, for wayfinding, in departure lounges, at gates and within departure and arrival halls must be rated to the highest level of operation and must remain legible despite displaying static images over extended periods of time.

According to Richard Wilks, aviation business development manager EMEA at NEC Display Solutions Europe: “Displays used in airport flight information display systems must be designed for long term operation. This means they should consist of ‘A’ grade panels in cases that have been sealed for dust ingress and employ cooling technology to maintain optimum operating temperature and uniformity. Light within the airport concourse varies during the course of the day so each display should have its own LED backlighting technology and ambient light sensors that automatically adjust required brightness so the screen is readable at all times and help reduce power consumption and save costs. Thin bezels help create more attractive display groupings, particularly in large multi-panel departure and arrivals boards, whilst slim depth displays are ideal to fit into existing cabinets and back-to-back use.”

Different approaches are taken to distribute and display data on screens situated around airports. One is to provide digital signage solutions based around discrete media players connected through wired or Wi-Fi links to the digital signage controller. The Open Pluggable Specification (OPS) provides airports and media owners with a single platform that allows the airport to maintain one OS image for any display in the airport, reducing time to manage the display estate and minimising inventory.

Digital signage display data can also be transmitted throughout an airport concourse by means of an IPTV distribution system. Aeropuertos Espanoles y Navegacion Aerea (Aena) adopted the Exterity IPTV system to distribute content via the LAN at several Spanish airports. Along with the digital signage content, DTT services are streamed to AvediaPlayer receivers mounted alongside the LCD screens throughout the terminals. “The essential departures and arrivals information system was optimized and the commercial opportunities for shops, restaurants and bars within the airport improved as they were able to promote themselves by offering commercial TV, scheduled play TV channels and promotional messages. Access to channels can be controlled locally by viewers using remote controls or can be controlled from a central management point.” says Colin Farquhar, founder & CEO.

Keyboard, video and mouse (KVM) extenders and matrix switches are invaluable to airport operations in a variety of areas. “IHSE KVM equipment is used at Frankfurt airport to distribute data to operator workstations in the airside coordination and data centre which provides analysis, processing and coordination of central flight information for ground and airport surface traffic control and in the apron control training simulator where virtual, complex images are shown on monitors and a curved multi-projection screen to simulate both apron control centres,” says Markus Drautz, sales director of IHSE. “At Jersey airport, operator displays and consoles at the top of the control towers are separated from the large, noisy and heat-generating computers located at the base of the towers and interconnected over KVM draco extenders, whilst at Barcelona the airport management centre operators work at workstations remotely connected to computers located over 50 metres away in a data centre.”

One of the most impressive airport videowall installations can be found at Vienna airport. This is an interactive art installation designed for the new terminal at Vienna International Airport by the Ars Electronica Futurelab. ZeitRaum consists of a series of stations that accompany departing passengers on their way to their gates. Travellers’ initial encounter with ZeitRaum is in the check-in area, where an imposing wall of 78, 46“ NEC monitor screens forms a wall 5 metres high, straddling the entrances leading to the security hall.

A further series of ten more artworks accompany passengers as they make their way along the concourse to the gates, each artwork comprising 12 NEC public display panels, again using 46“ public displays. These displays include sensors that respond to viewers, allowing interaction between passengers and display, further enhancing their appeal and offering greater opportunities for creative design. Again, IHSE Draco extenders are used to distribute video content to the displays from video processing computers located up to 800 metres away, over copper and fibre connections.

The Mobile Flight Information Display from Parity Aviation is a mobile, completely wireless flight information display podium that can be deployed quickly in most indoor locations. Using battery power and Wi-Fi communication the MFID can be used to provide passengers with information in the event of main system disruption or temporary circumstances. As it is compatible with leading flight information displays FIDS software information can quickly and easily be made available to passengers without the need to deploy staff on the ground to undertake the task.

New technologies are evolving and many are entering the airport sector. Near Field Communication technology (NFC) is likely to become more available in airports as the NFC Forum and IATA have recently developed a reference guide for air travel which provides details about implementation of NFC in this environment. Amongst other applications, it can be used for: reading of boarding passes on mobile devices; “tap-and-go” access to lounges; access for staff to secure areas via their mobile devices; baggage identification and tracking; as well as well-established payment applications for parking and purchases in airport shops and on board the aircraft.

Useful links:

NEC Displays – Airport Solutions

Industrial IoT and Industry 4.0

Quick to distance itself from consumer IoT, Industrial IoT (IIoT) or Industry 4.0, by definition, heralds the forth industrial revolution which promises to transform industry as we know it. Computex 2016 will demonstrate how those promises of unprecedented efficiency, autonomous manufacturing, and preventative maintenance will alter the landscape of how we do business, from inception to deployment, forever.

IIoT places demands on data integrity, security and reliability that are far higher than its consumer counterpart, where consequences of failure anywhere in the chain can be financially catastrophic, or worse. The potential value of disruption or profit to malicious 3^rd parties is magnitudes greater than in traditional IoT which places huge pressure on the security of every link in the vast digital chain.

Arguably the heart of global manufacturing, the Far East is perfectly placed to host this exhibition of smart factories. The traditional manufacturing hubs of Taiwan and China are joined by less prominent but expanding local countries, all desperate to improve productivity and efficiency, and satisfy the demands of the increasingly environmentally conscious west.

Following a three-year absence, the smart manufacturing trendsetter Siemens returns to the fold, unveiling its vision of Industry 4.0, including an intelligent manufacturing vision. The company postulates that the key to realizing Industry 4.0 is “to thoroughly integrate production networks among the enterprises and their suppliers and digitalize all assignments in the value chain so as to minimize the possibility of miscommunication.”

ABB’s IIoT focus increasingly appears to satisfy just that, with tag lines of “running the world without consuming the earth,” demonstrating how seriously these industry behemoths take their environmental responsibilities.

Expect to see keynote speakers from both organisations, alongside ARM CEO Simon Segars introducing ARM’s collective vision of the IIoT landscape at the CPX Conference (31^st May - 1^st June, TICC, Taipei) where more than 1500 attendees seek inspiration for their businesses.

Market Segments

Foxconn, Invests in Sharp to Strengthen its Position

Despite its recent financial struggles, Sharp remains one of the world’s most innovative display makers and still holds an intellectual property advantage in advanced liquid crystal display (LCD) technologies, particularly for high-resolution low temperature polysilicon (LTPS) smartphone displays, low-power oxide LCD panels and extra-large TV panels.

Hon Hai (Foxconn) is the largest systems integrator and subcontract manufacturer in the world, as well as a key component supplier for many other brands. Furthermore, Hon Hai’s scope has expanded from being an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to creating its own brands, like InFocus, and offering component manufacturing and smart system integration for smart homes, robotics, the internet of things (IoT) and smart cars.

Hon Hai has been shaping its display business for years. Innolux, one of the largest thin film transistor (TFT) LCD manufacturers, also belongs to the Hon Hai group. Currently, the company owns half of Sharp’s Gen 10 TFT LCD, which is dedicated to large-size LCD TV panel production. If Hon Hai is able to gain control of Sharp’s Gen 10, it will have well-armed capacity for LCD TV, notebook, tablet PC, monitor and automotive displays. This vertical integration would allow Hon Hai to win key projects from customers like Apple, Sony, Vizio, Xiaomi and Huawei.

Hon Hai currently has three Gen 6 LTPS TFT LCD fabs under construction in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and Guizhou and Zhengzhou, China. These investments total over US$10 billion and may also extend to OLED. However, Hon Hai needs to acquire more advanced technology and engineering resources to support its ramp up. With Sharp as the leading LTPS and oxide maker, a takeover would provide Hon Hai with the advanced display technology it needs for these three fabs.

Sharp controls 22% of global LTPS and oxide LCD display shipment revenue for smartphones, which would strengthen Hon Hai’s stance considerably in mobile phone displays. Through its GIS subsidiary, which is a leading touch panel supplier and systems integrator for mobile products, the Hon Hai group has been aggressively expanding into touch panel technology and assembly integration. Sharp also owns many leading touch panel technologies and capabilities, so the business synergy in this area would be strong.

Sharp’s position in LCD TV, home appliances (especially in Japan), solar energy, business solutions, LED and electronic components would also provide Hon Hai with the know-how, capability and technology needed to strengthen its systems integration and manufacturing business lines.

Sharp’s LCD panel capacity and capability coupled with its successful history in electronic components and devices are important to Hon Hai. These would aid the company’s vertical integration efforts. Compared to Pegatron, TPV, Qisda and other electronics manufacturing service (EMS) competitors, Hon Hai would be able to offer complete solutions, including key components.

As one of the oldest electronics enterprises in Japan, Sharp possess a wide range of patents. Some of the patents are critical to the industry, such as multi-domain vertical alignment (MVA) wide view angle technology and many oxide (IGZO) processes. The patents are not only display related, but also include technology used in consumer electronics, solar, industrial engineering, light-emitting diode (LED), semiconductor and medical solutions.

Hon Hai has clearly defined its strategy for systems integration and EMS without the possession or license of brands. However, Hon Hai has to rely on these capabilities and its superior supply chain management to win orders from leading global brands.

The LCD TV is the most important consumer electronics device for Sharp and also licenses its brand to Hisense and Best Buy in North America and UMC in Europe.

Sharp’s branded products also include smartphones, notebooks, medical devices, tablets, interactive white boards, public displays, digital multi-functional printers, desktop monitors, air cleaners and solar systems, all of which interest Hon Hai.

A takeover of Sharp would mean more cooperation between Sharp’s branded business and Hon Hai’s EMS manufacturing. One possible scenario would be for Hon Hai to focus on manufacturing and supply chain management while Sharp focuses on panel manufacturing and brand marketing.

Global AMOLED Annual Capacity Growing at 16.5%

It is thought global annual production capacity for small - to medium-size AMOLED panels will reach 5.9 million square meters in 2016, growing 16.5% on year. This capacity will keep increasing to 14.4 million square meters in 2019 with a compound annual growth rate of 30% during 2015-2019.

Samsung Display, with AMOLED capacity utilisation rising from 75-80% in 2015 to over 90% in 2016, has dominated global supply of AMOLED panels and plans to expand the capacity over the next few years.

China-based panel makers BOE Technology, China Star Optoelectronics Technology, Tianma Micro-electronics, Visionox, EverDisplay Optronics and Truly Semiconductors have all been establishing or will expand AMOLED capacity.

BOE is setting up a 6G LTPS / AMOLED factory in Chengdu, western China, with investment of CNY22 billion (US$3.4 billion) and will invest another CNY24.5 billion to expand AMOLED capacity.

CSOT is setting up a 6G LTPS/AMOLED factory in Wuhan, central China, with investment of CNY16 billion. Tianma has a 4.5G AMOLED factory and will set up additional AMOLED capacity at an existing 6G TFT-LCD and colour filter factory. Visionox and Truly are setting up a 5.5G AMOLED factory and a 4.5G one respectively, while EverDisplay Optronics will establish a 6G AMOLED factory in addition to a 4.5G one already in operation.

Japan-based Japan Display and JOLED are likely to start AMOLED panel production in 2017-2018, while Taiwan-based AU Optronics (AUO) has begun small-volume production of AMOLED panels for smart wearable and VR (virtual reality) devices.

Taiwan-based EMS provider Foxconn Electronics will have Sharp devote efforts developing OLED technology.

IoT Home Automation

The Internet of Things (IoT), the connectivity of everything, is really all just hype. We’re getting excited about something that’t not actually possible yet. Certainly, it isn’t secure and there isn’t any demand out there, right?

This is the opinion of many sceptics and when it comes to the hype aspect, they may have a point. The IoT is certainly a buzzword right now. However, the demand is there and so is the technology. Hence, the IoT is ready to far beyond the hype.

When we go back to 2011 and project forward to 2020, the growth curve expected by the IoT is phenomenal (see the figure). While this growth is not as steep as that of smartphones, the starting number in 2011 is six billion. Smartphones are projected to reach six billion in 2020. Note that six years ago, the number of connected devices surpassed the number of people on earth.

Skeptics might throw in that predictions are not yet fact. Plus, for the most part, only those folks at the leading edge are connected right now. However, if you look at the home and building automation, 70% of the connected market is expected to be made up of intelligent building and consumer electronics. Here, two billion devices were already connected at the end of 2011 and this is predicted to grow to 18 billion by 2022, according to Machina Research. European sales of smart home thermostats increased by 96% in 2014 to 700,000. And 68 million homes are estimated to be smart in Europe and North America by 2019, according to Berg Insight.

Security is a major concern, one that IoT platform vendors are actively tackling. The message across the board of vendors is clear—work with experts to ensure that your solution is secure; and build OTA (over-the-air) functionality into your solution so you can push upgrades out at any time. Secure standards are available and IoT-enabled products are being developed with these standards every day.

While the initial numbers may look smallish now, make no mistake: The market is ready. Demand is growing and so are the number of smart manufacturers.

Now that I have you convinced that the IoT is more than hype, don’t run off to hire a new engineering team to build connected products. Let’s take a step back and look at all the options, such as in-house development. And if you have access to developers who can build, maintain, and update embedded software, then this will work well for you. You need to keep the development time, cost of labor, and ongoing maintenance in mind.

The alternative is to work with an external IoT platform or embedded web server that can plug into your product. The solution you choose will have to work within your development team’s capabilities. The ideal solution should be software and hardware agnostic, so that it suits your existing structures and future changes. It should be as light as possible, allow for over-the-air updates, and come with best in class security standards.

There are some great Wiki pages out there like this one for embedded web servers that offer comparisons. But generally, we recommend getting in touch with vendors and checking on their support structures, as well as questioning them on functionality and solution roadmaps. This applies whether you go for a full IoT infrastructure or an embedded web server.

With the right support, nothing should hold you back from grabbing your slice of the IoT market.