Tech Talk

CSR Set to Release SiRFusion SDK Kit for Android in First Quarter of 2015

2015-01-01

Recently, CSR, who is mostly recognized for their GPS chip technology, has announced a software development kit (SDK) for Android to integrate the SiRFusion library into mobile apps running Android 4.4 or later to enable indoor positioning.

According to Dave Huntingford, director of product management of CSR, the company realized around four years ago that even though the demands for outdoor positioning using their technology were mostly met, indoor was the next frontier. So, CSR began focusing on the problem by utilizing technology currently found inside mobile devices which would not require the installing of extra infrastructure to buildings. These types of technologies included the Wi-Fi radio and the micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) sensors such as the gyroscope and accelerometer. The end result was to attain approximately 5 meter location accuracy.

Here’s how SiRFusion gets the job done. Upon the detection of Wi-Fi access points inside a building, the SDK is designed to capture their SSID or MAC address, determine their specific location and store the points in a database. Trilateration of Wi-Fi access points is one technique to identify position. Limitations include variations in signal strength and quantity of access points available. MEMS sensors provide momentary, inertial measurements such as dead reckoning. The mobile device can identify, for example, the number of footsteps by the user.

According the the CSR press release from today:

The system automatically crowd-sources a venue’s indoor Wi-Fi signatures as consumers walk through the location, and it has also been designed to accommodate future proximity and location technologies such as Bluetooth Smart beacons, Wi-Fi Round Trip Time (RTT), and Indoor Messaging System (IMES).

And so, as Huntingford made clear, the quest when it comes to ever-better positioning is never ending, hence the desire for an architecture that is versatile enough to support new technology as it comes online. The Android SDK for SiRFusion will be released in the first quarter 2015; incorporation of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology will most likely be available by Q2 2015.

The oort “Internet of Everything” Hub puts Bluetooth Front and Center

2014-06-15

oort’s “Internet of Everything” Hub is using Bluetooth Low Energy as its choice of wireless signal to control and monitor all of your smart devices. They make a strong case that Bluetooth Low Energy, also known as BLE or Bluetooth Smart, should be your choice as well.

Just recently launching its entry into the smart home controller market on Kickstarter, this Poland based company is staking its success on using Bluetooth Smart for communicating between its hub and all of the devices on its network. With Bluetooth being the protocol with the highest level of adoption among wireless device manufacturers, and with the advent of CSR making their Bluetooth Mesh open source, this seems like a very wise choice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVXo6px-NgM

Claiming to be “the first complete universal wireless Internet of Things BTLE iBeacon system”, oort is named for the cloud of icy objects that form the boundary of our solar system. Although it is true that there are quite a few choices for wireless home automation, it does seem that oort is the first to dedicate itself to Bluetooth Smart and is focusing its entire ecosystem of compatible products on that choice. Most of oort’s immediate competitors, like Revolv, Mi Casa Verde and SmartThings, are using other wireless formats like ZigBee, Z-Wave, Insteon and WiFi. Although oort uses WiFi to connect and communicate with the internet, all of the communication between the hub, your favorite smart device like a phone or tablet, and all of the sensors and switches on the network are done through Bluetooth.

Even though oort is releasing their system with a very impressive array of companion devices with a near infinite amount of applications, they are going one step further by making their inner workings available so that third party developers can create their own add-ons. That is a smart move that will hopefully guarantee them, and their users, greater choice and the ability to grow as the Internet of Things truly becomes the Internet of Everything.

As outlined in the video above, here are a few of the applications that oort should be capable of right away:

There is even a soil humidity sensor in the works that will send you an alert when your plants need to be watered (not pictured). oort hopes to make the entire selection of their products available by September 2014.

They are claiming that there are no hidden fees or costs to their product, but we have to admit that both their Kickstarter campaign and their website is rather vague about how much their cloud service is going to cost… or if it will be free. Most of companies that offer similar services charge a monthly fee, while with one or two competitors the purchase of their device gives the buyer lifetime access. If QTOOTH finds out for sure one way or the other we will post an update here. (UPDATE!! We have heard back from oort concerning their cloud service. According to CEO Radek Tadajewski, “We don’t want to charge customers for cloud services.” We’ll take that as meaning it will be free. Seems like another smart move on their part. Anything that increases the rate of people adopting your technology increases the chances that they will treat it like the standard in its industry.)

There is a lot that this series of products can do. Products like this are just the tip of the iceberg. According to Gartner Research, there are a “mere” 2.5 billion connected devices today but that number should balloon to over 30 billion in the next six years. For complete details check out the oort website, or better yet, their Kickstarter campaign which actually has more details. Either way, we wish them luck on their campaign and hope to see it on the market this fall.

Wearable Technology LIVE Seeks to Unite Fragmented Industry

2014-06-09

One of the primary goals of the Wearable Technology LIVE Conference, coming to Santa Clara California for November 19-20, is to unify the wearable electronics Industry. According to analysts at IDTechEx, it is very fragmented, especially when it comes to manufacturers. Even mature sub-sectors have no clear leaders in what is projected to be a $70 billion plus business in 2024 with as many as 12,000 developers and manufacturers. For example: there are literally thousands of companies making basic earphones and electronic watches, with nearly all of them in China. There is very little to differentiate them, particularly in the eyes of consumers. Of course there are some leaders In the premium versions on the market, but that is still the exception and remains a very crowded arena. In the newer wearable electronics there are no clear leaders at all, certainly nothing equivalent to the dominance of Samsung and Apple despite some wearable electronics being intimately linked to mobile phones.

Wearable electronics is already a large business and it will be a exponentially larger ten years from now. The new IDTechEx report, Wearable Technology 2014-2024: Technologies, Markets, and Forecasts, notes why so many of the famous names in apparel, electronics and infotainment are involved in an energetic struggle to win in wearable electronics before the sectors mature. Only a few will become winners and stand to generate large amounts of revenue. Thousands of others are competing with them and a shakeout will occur. It’s just a matter of time. Because new sectors will offer genuine volume, for many manufacturers the choice will be to focus on niche or volume. At stake will be huge investment costs often of billions of dollars, just as happened with mobile phones, LCD and OLED displays, and lithium-ion batteries. Brand power and strong routes to market are effective but not necessarily enough on their own.

So where is this all headed? Will there be a clash between the current titans of the electronics industry? Or will it be some upstart that brings a new approach to a new market? There are even companies from many other industries involved. This includes component suppliers such as Qualcomm’s smart watch that puts them in direct competition with their own customers. Meanwhile other component manufacturers are directly investing in startups to make sure that their chipsets will be the choice of platform for these new devices.

Wearable Tech Live is being produced by IDTechEx . They are known for organizing the leading show for Printed Electronics with over 2500 attendees, 150 presenters and 200 exhibitors. They are co-locating a Wearable Technology Live conference alongside their Santa Clara event which takes place on 19 & 20 November 2014.The session on wearable technologies will focus on their applications and commercialization progress. Presentations will cover diverse end-uses and end-user requirements, as well as the latest progress on critical technologies that will shape the future of wearable technology. These include thin, flexible and/or printed electronics, energy harvesting, wireless power transfer, and the Internet of Things.Each of these is a leading event in its own right, attracting high-level decision-makers from across the value chain. Click on the logos below for more info:

For a look at the complete agenda click here. To register and attend this event and take advantage of their early bird pricing, click here. QTOOTH is excited to be a media a sponsor for this event and we look forward to reporting on what takes place. Check back here in November for the lowdown on the Wearable Technology Live conference.

Smart Fabrics and Wearable Technology Conference is Next Week! April 23-25th

2014-04-18

The Smart Fabrics and Wearable Technology Conference is coming to San Francisco next week, April 23-25th. It’s not too late attend. If you are an entrepreneur, developer, hacker or just a fan who is interested in where one of the fastest growing sectors in the tech world is going… you should go!

The conference will bring together over 250 of the world’s top professionals in the smart fabrics and wearable technology industry for three days of networking, hands on experiences, and a chance to listen to the latest developments from a panel of renowned speakers. Here are a few of the previous speakers at this event:

To get the full experience of the Smart Fabrics & Wearable Technology 2014 conference you really owe it to yourself to attend the E-Textiles Hack-A-Thon workshop, hosted by Dia Campbell and Pearce Melcher of Sparkfun Electronics. Spend the morning of April 23rd building, making, and experimenting with DIY e-textiles products. SparkFun will provide an expansive selection of products you are familiar with and introduce you to quite a few more. Collaboration is strongly encouraged, so be prepared to share your artistic and technical talents with your cohorts while you create your own designs. For more information on the hackathon click here.

There will also be a Shark Tank style Panel: Four pre-selected startups presenting a project to venture capitalists, crowd-funding and angel Investors.

You can check out the full agenda here.

This is your opportunity be able to meet face-to-face with smart fabric and wearable technology industry professionals from a variety of industrial disciplines, including textiles, technology, fashion, investment and military. Gain strategic insights from speakers that are changing the industry like Paul Litchfield of Reebok and Paul Brody of IBM.

QTOOTH.COM will be reporting on the event and will post as much as possible here. For better live coverage, follow us on Twitter and search for the hashtags #SmartFabrics or #WearableTech.

Inventors, Developers, Entrepreneurs: Get Yourself to Bluetooth World 2014!

2014-03-31

Calling all inventors, developers, entrepreneurs and ANYONE interested in the rapidly developing markets involving the Internet of Things, Wearable Tech, Smart Homes, and all things wireless: Bluetooth World 2014 is happening next week in San Jose CA.

QTOOTH will be there for both days, April 8-9th, reporting on as much as possible. There are so many great keynote speakers and workshops going on that the promoters had to split the second half of both days into three simultaneous tracks just to fit it all in. Here is a sample of just the the developers’ track:

Agenda Day 1
2:20pm	Bluetooth Fundamentals: getting started with the stack
3:00pm	Optimizing Firmware: Best practices exposed Frank Van Dam, Bluetooth Customer Support Manager, Dialog Semiconductor
3:40pm	Afternoon Break
4:40pm	Creating Hardware: Getting the most out of your design Bill Saltzstein, President, Code Blue Consulting
5:20pm	App Development: creating great experiences that connect to your appcessory Colin Karpfinger, Founder, Punch Through Design

Agenda Day 2
2:00pm	Creating Hardware: Lessons learned Sid Bhargava, CTO, Zuli
2:40pm	Creating Hardware: Sourcing & Manufacturing…or, how to get the right manufacturer on board in less than 40 minutes Chris Herbert, CEO, Phone Halo
3:20pm	Afternoon Break
4:00pm	Application Development Tools: a look at the various options for developers Matthew Calamatta, CTO, Matchbox Mobile
4:40pm	Working with the SIG: getting your device through certification Jason Nydegger, Senior Program Manager, Bluetooth SIG

Bluetooth World has posted the entire agenda for the even and can be found here.

Bluetooth has been continuing to evolve over the last few years and has recently under gone a quantum leap with the advent of a mesh network variation based on Bluetooth Smart. If you have the next great idea for wireless technology and want a turbo boost to go from concept to market and to meet some of the finest minds in the business, this is the place for you.

There’s still time to save money on registration too. Click here or the banner below for more info. If you can’t make it, check back here or on our social media platforms for live updates and followup coverage from the conference.

Got Wearable Tech? Then You Need Apps! Wearables DevCon Exceeds Expectations

2014-03-05

The first edition of the WearablesDevCon kicked off today and it has proven to be extremely popular. So popular that the promoters, BZ Media, announced that next year’s event will be moving to a larger facility to accommodate the expected increase in attendance. This year’s event was originally set for 500 registrants. Instead, there were over 1,200! They will also be changing the name from “Wearables DevCon” to “Wearables TechCon” to better reflect the focus of the event.

There’s good reason for this event to be well-attended. For every wearable tech device that is invented there will need to be dozens, if not hundreds, of apps available for it to be successful. In the smartphone world this is called having an “app ecosystem”. One of the big reasons why people are not buying as many Windows or Blackberry phones is because there are not nearly as many apps available as there are for the Apple iOS and Android phones, both whom have over a million apps each. Having a rich, well-developed ecosystem of apps to get the most out of these new wearable devices will mean the difference between mass adoption and abandonment.

Though not everyone may be able to bring a wearable tech product to market, just about anyone can develop applications for them with a bit of training. The APIs and SDKs for most of these devices are available for anyone to download and to dive right in create their own solutions. There is a lot of promise out there. It will be interesting to see how creative humans will get with this new approach to engaging with our world through these wireless wearable devices.

And that’s exactly where events like Wearables DevCon come in handy. It’s an incredible way to get involved. Just take a look at who the teachers are and what companies are there to support you on your journey. Manufacturers are eager, some may say desperate, for people to put their technology to use in all ways possible, starting with apps. Their success depends on it.

QTOOTH will be reporting on the action from the conference and will follow up with what we think are the highlights. Stay tuned…

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Tech Talk

Agenda Day 1

Agenda Day 2