IoT 101

Internet of Things by definition require the internet. By definition "things' are lightweight so we can rule out Mobile devices, Set Top Boxes and Content Streamers. If the device is expensive it is not an IoT device. If the device is power hungry it is not an IoT device. If the device requires a lot of data transfer it is not an IoT device. So what is a "thing" ? An IoT device should be :

• Compact and low maintenance: Which means small form factor
• Inexpensive : Rules out powerful compute devices
• Low Power : Primarily living on battery for months if not years
• Intermittent Data requirements : Does not require GB or MB of Data per day, can survive with a few KB.

There is a lot of talk on IoT devices , with projections of the device numbers in Billions. But how will these multi Billion Devices connect ? Lets look at some options:

• Ethernet : By Far the most popular till now, Ethernet requires wired connectivity which in turn means an existing infrastructure to support. Too Expensive , too power hungry.
• WiFi : Another popular option , WiFi relies on a short range high data rate communication and presence of a router to connect. WiFi Modems on the other hand are expensive and power hungry if they have a decent range. Not suitable for battery powered devices.
• Bluetooth : Bluetooth is the poor mans WiFi. It Can connect to a cell phone or other devices either 1:1 or in a star network. It is power optimised but the range leaves a lot desired.
• Cellular : 2G/3G/4G/NbIoT modems are also coming up to be very popular. With a long wireless range , good to decent data rates they are the de-facto standard for some IoT use cases such as tracking. However Cost and power hunger of these devices cause a limited power-on time with batteries with a maximum of a few days lifetime.
• LoRa / Sigfox : These standards work in the ISM [ Industrial , Scientific, Medical ] band and the good news is they are wireless and long range with Low Power. However , a network is only good as its coverage and unfortunately in India the coverage leaves much to be desired. The adoption rate in turn has been hurt which causes the module costs to be also high.
• SmartMotes Network : SmartMotes [which we propose] also works in the ISM band providing the same benefits of LoRa/Sigfox in terms of low power and long range. The difference lies in two parts :

a) To enable full adoption in a city we are providing the modules at a significantly lower cost to the customer.

b) SmartMotes uses a proprietary protocol for the communication enabling higher data rates than LoRa and has an inbuilt security module for every radio thus enabling a faster and more secure connection.

In conclusion, customers should think about their requirement priority before signing up with an IoT solution. Does your use case really fit in the IoT domain ? Is the vendor providing a real IoT solution ? If you think your use case fits and the current market solutions does not , look us up , we may be able to help .

(c) 2019, SmartMotes IoT Solutions Pvt. Ltd.