connecting the internet of things

October 2014Issue 198

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PLUS BLUETOOTH DECLARATION FEES: OPEN LETTER TO BLUETOOTH SIG MEMBERS

UL ASSESSES APPLE PAY – WHAT DO WE KNOW?

2015 INCISOR.TV US WIRELESS ROUNDTABLE PROGRAMME LAUNCHES!

2014 SHORT-RANGE WIRELESS REVIEWIncisor’s annual review of developments across the SRW sector

plus ça change, plus c’est la même choseFor those Incisor readers who don’t have a grasp of the French language, the phrase above means ‘the more thingschange, the more they stay the same’.

I’m using this phrase in two connections. First, because it sums up, for me, the review we have been carrying out ofdevelopments in the short-range wireless industry over the last year. For the most part, there have been no majordevelopments. Pretty much every technology is looking to address the Internet of Things (IoT) or machine to machine(M2M) opportunity by presenting low power wireless solutions. While many technologies originally intended forPAN/WLAN applications are now being crow-barred into this sector, only one really new and completely designed-for-purpose contender has presented itself, and that is Weightless. Originally aimed at white space spectrum, Weightlesshas in the last month signalled its intention to also operate in unlicensed spectrum – the ISM band. This should allowWeightless to enter the market much more quickly, as it can do so based on existing silicon solutions.

But my ‘plus ça change...’ observation also applies to the ongoing un-rest in the Bluetooth community followingchanges to the system and charges relating to Bluetooth product declarations. Incisor has been covering this mattersince July, and there is no sign of a resolution to the dispute between SIG members and the SIG staff. On one sidethere seems to be a willingness to brazen it out, and on the other side (the members), the problem seems to be thatmany are restricted as to what they can do by cautious company regulations and a fear for their own jobs.

This can’t be right, and neither can an outright war. There may be a glint of hope on the horizon, and you can learn alittle more by reading my open letter to Bluetooth SIG members on p12 of this issue.

And finally, I am delighted to say that in this issue we kick-off the marketing for our 2015 US Wireless Roundtable,which will take place alongside the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. We would be delighted foryour organisation to be part of this must-attend event, and the sooner we know you are in, the sooner you can be partof the promotional programme.

Vince HoltonPublisher & editor-in-chief, Incisor / IncisorTV

EDITORIAL CONTACTS

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CONTACT DETAILS:Publisher/Editor-in-chief:Vince Holton · vholton@incisor.tvTelephone: +44 (0)1730 895614

Business Development Director:Nick Kohn – nkohn@incisor.tvOther enquiries – sales@incisor.tv

Contributing writers: Rebecca Russell, Manek Dubash, Paul Rasmussen, Mads Oelholm.

Views expressed within are those of the Incisoreditorial and management representatives, andof the representatives of sponsor companies.Incisor is distributed on a monthly basisto companies and individuals with an interest inshort range wireless technology.Subscribe to Incisor free of charge at:http://www.incisor.tv/subscribe-incisor.phpShould you wish to stop receiving Incisor,please send a message titled 'UNSUBSCRIBE' to:mailto:incisor@incisor.tv

The Bluetooth word mark and logo are registeredtrademarks and are owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc.Incisor and the Incisor brandmark are trademarksof Click I.T. Ltd. All other logos and trademarksare the property of the relevant companies.

© Copyright Click I.T. Ltd 2014

CONTENTS

2015 SHORT-RANGEWIRELESS REVIEW

Who is doing what, and your chance tocomment.

OPEN LETTER TOBLUETOOTH COMMUNITY

There is movement to try to ease tensionbetween the SIG and members

UL ASSESSES APPLE PAY Looking at Apple Pay in both technicaland organisational context

2015 INCISOR.TV USWIRELESS ROUNDTABLEPROGRAMME LAUNCHES

Our biggest video event of the year, andhow you can be part.

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INCISOR.TV FOCUS THIS MONTH

One for the automotive industry – reviewingNextGen’s four stage interoperability testprocess.

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New Weightless-N IoTstandard launches The Weightless SIG has announced thelaunch of Weightless-N, a new open standardfor the Internet of Things (IoT). TheWeightless SIG's central mission to date hasbeen to co-ordinate industry players to fosterthe development of a new communicationsstandard (called Weightless) to enablemachine-to-machine communicationsoperating in TV white space and otherspectrum bands that enable the 95% of theIoT opportunity denied by the high cost andpower consumption characteristics oftraditional cellular alternatives. This latestannouncement complements the existingWeightless-W standard through extensioninto license-exempt frequency spectrum.

Commenting on the announcement,Professor William Webb, CEO of theWeightless SIG said, "Enabling the vision of50 billion connected devices requires chipsetcosts below $2, battery life of 10 years ormore and a range of 5km or more to ensureubiquitous coverage from a low costnetwork," adding that, "The currentWeightless standard delivers on this promiseusing the TV white space spectrum andprovides a feature rich solution, but issubject to regional licensing limitations.Weightless-N aligns with Weightless valuesand offers geographical ubiquity, right now".

Webb noted that TV white space is notavailable everywhere and that there are someuse cases where the full feature set ofWeightless-W, which works in TVWS, isunnecessary. For this reason the WeightlessSIG took the decision to commencedevelopment of a variant of the currentstandard termed Weightless-N. The twovariants of the standard, Weightless-W andWeightless-N will coexist offering benefits todevelopers and users according to theirspecific use cases.

Weightless-N will typically be deployed inunlicensed spectrum in the region 800-

900MHz such as the 868MHz band in Europeand the 900MHz ISM band in the US. It isalso designed to work in licensed spectrumaround these frequencies. These bands arenarrower than the TV white space channelsand dictate the development of a revised airinterface. This work is apparently underwayand being progressed through the WeightlessSIG working groups and is anticipated to becompleted rapidly. The Weightless SIG isinviting new members to contribute to theevolution of this new standard and invitesproposals from non-members in the draftingof the specification.

The development of the new specification ispredicted to be completed in a 3-6 monthtimeframe and the Weightless SIG is invitingcompanies that currently have proprietarysolutions in this space to engage and adaptthese to comply with the new standard. Thiswill enable trials in the first half of 2015 withdeployments forecast for the second half ofthe same year.

Start-up expertbecomes new CEO ofEnOcean EnOcean has appointed Dr. Wald Siskens, anexpert in managing innovative technical start-ups, as the company’s new Chief ExecutiveOfficer (CEO). The plan is apparently for himto further develop EnOcean’s business in linewith the company’s long-term growthstrategy for the core markets of buildingautomation and smart home. He succeedsLaurent Giai-Miniet who left to pursue otherinterests in the high-tech sector.

Before joining EnOcean, Siskens held theposition of CEO at the Munich-basedcompany BEKON, a provider of dryanaerobic digestion technology for bio-wastein Europe. To support global expansion, Waldinstalled a highly profitable technologyprovider business model, demonstrated withtwo projects secured in the USA.

“It’s an exciting time to join EnOcean, thecompany that freed wireless sensors andswitches from batteries,” Dr. Siskenscommented. “I’m looking forward to activelybuilding the company’s future path based onthis inventiveness. Besides the establishedbuilding automation market, I see tremendousgrowth opportunities for the self-poweredtechnology in fields where the batterylessapproach brings additional benefit, such assmart homes and the Internet of Things.”

Today, over 350 companies are members ofthe EnOcean Alliance, and there areapparently now more than 1,200interoperable products based on theEnOcean technology.

Home audio segmentgoes from strength tostrength Worldwide home audio shipments are on theup, according to a new quarterly researchprogramme from Futuresource Consulting.The latest Q1 report shows that the marketfor home audio - integrated audio systems(IAS), wireless speakers and soundbars - onlydeclined 10% in Q1 2014 after the strongholiday season in Q4 2013.

Rasika Iyer, Market Analyst at FuturesourceConsulting told Incisor, "Wireless connectivitycontinues to remain an important feature asthe share of wireless products increased from74% in Q4 2013 to 79% in Q1 2014. Theshare of Bluetooth remains dominant at 82%of overall wireless audio shipments assoundbars and IAS models increasinglyfeature Bluetooth as a basic functionality inaudio products."

As the home audio market develops,Futuresource research indicates thatsoundbars and wireless speaker prices willstart to drop through to 2018, however IASprices will remain relatively flat during thesame time period.

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adidas FIT SMARTwristband tracker syncswith Bluetooth SmartReady smartphones Nordic Semiconductor tells us that adidas hasspecified Nordic's nRF51822 System-on-Chip(SoC) to provide the Bluetooth Smart wirelesssynchronization to the adidas miCoach apprunning on any Bluetooth Smart Ready iOS orAndroid smartphone in the latest addition tothe adidas miCoach digital fitness ecosystem:the adidas FIT SMART wristband tracker.

The adidas FIT SMART is a real-time trackerhoused in a soft-touch silicon strap with a 17 x11 LED matrix display, integratedaccelerometer, and optical heart-rate sensor(mounted on the reverse of the display) that isdesigned to be an 'all-in-one' solution forrunners, fitness enthusiasts, and athletes.

The FIT SMART also features an LED 'lightpipe' on the side of the tracker to give usersreal-time intensity guidance (e.g. speed up,maintain, slow down) of their running pace toenable them to train at the right intensity forthe best results.

According to Nordic, the ultra low poweroperating characteristics of its nRF51822 helpenable the adidas FIT SMART to run for up tofive days on a single charge from its internal200mAh lithium-ion rechargeable battery(under typical usage conditions).

Simon Drabble, Senior Director of ProductCreation at adidas Digital Sport told Incisor,"The adidas Fit Smart brings a new level ofsimplicity to runners and fitness enthusiasts.To get the combination of parameters it canmeasure simultaneously would typically requiremore than one device which involves morepreparation before use.

"In contrast, the adidas FIT SMART is a singledevice wrist-worn tracker that's comfortable,accurate, and as easy to set-up and use asputting on a regular wristwatch. And in

combination with the miCoach fitness appallows users to set goals, track progressagainst those goals, and/or follow a miCoachtraining plan of their choice designed by aprofessional athlete or elite coach."

Global navigation andsensor hub combo chipfrom Broadcom Broadcom Corporation has announced what itis claiming is the industry’s first low-powerGlobal Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) andsensor hub combo chip to deliver new always-on location applications for a full range ofmobile devices.

Broadcom describes the BCM4773 asminimizing battery drain and adding a newlayer of intelligence to location technology onmobile devices by integrating the GNSS chipand sensor hub into a single combo chip. Thechip’s architecture enables information fromWi-Fi, Bluetooth Smart, GPS and microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS) to becalculated on a single system-on-chip (SoC)instead of the application processor (AP).Broadcom states that this design drives morethan 80 percent power savings by offloadingfrom the AP and lowers cost by reducingboard area by 34 percent.

Mohamed Awad, Broadcom Director, WirelessConnectivity told Incisor, “Broadcom todayextends its leadership by announcing theindustry’s first combo chip that brings GNSSand sensor hub technology together torevolutionize mobile apps in areas such ashealth, fitness and lifelogging. We are proud tomake all mobile platforms even smarter byenabling them to dynamically predict and reactto consumers’ needs.”

Additionally, Broadcom claims to be bringingmore intelligence to context awareness byintegrating GNSS and providing a directconnection to the Wi-Fi combo chip. Thisallows a mobile device to know where a user isand what the user is doing to further

personalize the experience. For example, aBCM4773-based smartphone can useinformation from Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Smart, GPSand MEMS to recognize when a runner isoutdoors versus inside on a treadmill anddynamically manage these technologies tosave battery life and optimize the userexperience, all without involving the main AP.

Proliferation of wirelesstechnologies stokesdemand for RF testequipment Researchers at Frost & Sullivan (F&S) believethat telecom operators’ increased adoption ofwireless technology for mission-criticalapplications has revved up the global marketfor dynamic electronic general purpose (GP)test equipment. As the link between cloudnetworks and devices (mobile phones, tablets,notebooks) results in more complex devicesunder test (DUT), F&S predicts that the needfor radio frequency test equipment will onlyintensify.

The company finds that the market earnedrevenues of $3.45 billion in 2013 and estimatesthis to reach $4.64 billion in 2018. The studycovers the product segments of oscilloscopes,signal generators, spectrum/signal analysers,network analysers, power meters, logicanalysers, electronic counters and multimeters.

Frost & Sullivan Measurement &Instrumentation Research Analyst PrathimaBommakanti told Incisor, “Faster connectivitythrough the deployment of 5G will also escalatethe demand for higher frequency bands. This,in turn, will drive the demand for GP testequipment in the microwave range.”

In product categories such as multimeters,which have demonstrated minimaltechnological progress, F&S believes thatpurchases are based on price and availabilityrather than functionalities/features, and thatthis affects the overall growth of the market.

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Wireless Market access froM a naMe you trustAs wireless technologies and regulations evolve, so does UL. In addition to product safety certification, we also provide industry leading wireless testing, covering cellular, microwave, Bluetooth® and radio technologies.

UL is widely known for our technical expertise, attention to detail and market access solutions. From GCF and PTCRB approvals for cellular devices to Bluetooth qualification, in country approvals and SAR testing, UL has the accreditations, range of testing services and knowledge to help you achieve global market access and success whatever your wireless device.

To get started with UL, go to ul.com/hightechor email to sales.uk@ul.com

UL and the UL Logo are trademarks of UL LLC © 2014

suPPortinG successful ProDuct launcHes

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Estimote Stickerbeacons create new'nearables' techcategory Nordic Semiconductor tells us that beaconspecialist, Estimote has specified Nordic'snRF51822 SoCs to provide the BluetoothSmart wireless connectivity in its newlylaunched Estimote Stickers that Estimote saysherald the arrival of a brand new 'nearables'beacon product category.

Estimote Stickers are small (approximately3mm thin), low cost (sub-$10) ready-madebeacons with built-in accelerometers andtemperature sensors designed to be stuck oneveryday nearby objects that Estimote calls'nearables'. Estimote Stickers can then beused to provide microlocation and contextualdata about nearables to any Bluetooth SmartReady device. This allows developers viaEstimote's accompanying SDK (SoftwareDevelopment Kit) to build new types ofcontext-aware apps and help drive growth inthe wider 'Internet of Things' trend.

"Imagine walking down a busy city street,"explained Steve Cheney, Estimote Co-Founder and Senior VP of Business. "As youwalk your eyes and brain cognitively processthe equivalent of terabytes of informationabout the world around to you to give youcontext and to help you navigate [e.g. there'sa slow moving cyclist about three metersaway travelling towards me; there's a ladywalking ahead of me wearing a pink sweater,skinny jeans and suede shoes; there's a delion my left where I might get my lunch; at thenext road junction I am approaching thepedestrian crossing sign currently says 'Don'tWalk', etc.]."

Cheney continues: "But if you were to closeyour eyes, you can only walk a few stepsbefore your brain loses its context andeffectively forces you to stop because you nolonger feel confident you know enough aboutwhere you are or where you are going.

"That's the world your smartphone currentlylives in everyday. It's a powerful computer butit's mostly 'blind' to the world, people, andobjects around it and our mission is to givesmartphones the ability to recognize theirimmediate surroundings and so enable awhole class of apps that can be built on top ofthe physical world."

Estimote did all the design work in-house inpartnership with Nordic Semiconductor toachieve the required sticker-sized level ofintegration required without sacrificingoperational reliability or battery life (one yearunder typical usage conditions).

"In terms of the inner workings of the StickerBeacons," explains Co-Founder and CTOLukasz Kostka, "it was super important forNordic's nRF51822 SoC to have a 32-bit ARMCortex M0 microprocessor and 256 kB ofFlash memory on-board to enable both us andour customers to run pretty much anyapplication they require from the Nordic SoC.”

... and nRF51822 beaconimplementations continue

Nordic Semiconductor has also announced that Polish startup, Kontakt.io, has specifiedthe nRF51822 to provide the Bluetooth Smartwireless connectivity in Kontakt.io's CloudBeacon pre-integrated beacon hardwareplatform.

Kontakt.io says its Cloud Beacon platform willeventually include a wearable rubber wristbandoption (that will also incorporate Nordic wirelesstechnology) for tracking people such as childrenin schools or while out on a school day trip,healthcare patients, and workers in manufact-uring facilities for health and safety purposes.

In operation, Kontakt.io works with itscustomers to custom-build the beaconhardware infrastructure required for theirparticular application (right down to the beaconcasing design, color, and logo branding).Kontakt.io says these beacons are thendelivered as ready-to-go devices that are aseasy to configure as sending an email from aweb browser.

CSR dual modeBluetooth platformsdesigned as turnkeysolutions CSR has launched a series of dual modeBluetooth 4.1 compliant platforms, aimed at developers looking to create low latencyand ultra low-power wireless gamingcontrollers.

Anthony Murray, Senior Vice President,Business Group at CSR told Incisor, “Withthe CSRB534x series we are delivering apowerful, flexible and feature rich platformthat can be used with multiple operatingsystems. The CSRB534x softwaredevelopment kit will enable MFi licenseesdeveloping accessories to bring products tomarket ahead of the competition with theCSR MFi v4.0 SDK add-on. The CSRB534xseries integrates much of the gamecontroller system, enabling cost effectivedesigns and fast time to market fordevelopers.”

The first of the new series of gamingsystem-on-chips, the CSRB5341 andCSRB5342, are Bluetooth Smart v4.1qualified. The new CSR platforms apparentlymake use of a highly efficient baseband,ensuring that system level powerconsumption is minimized, giving optimizedperformance.

By offering dual mode Bluetooth capability,integrating the microcontroller, batterycharging capability and much of theanalogue and power management, CSRclaims that there is a significant bill ofmaterials (BOM) savings over traditionalwireless gaming controller system designs.In order to help developers bring newproducts to market quickly, the newCSRB534x series launches with a dedicatedsoftware development kit (SDK) anddevelopment board that supports SPP andGATT and enables flexible data transferincluding HID over GATT.

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Smart wearablesmarket to generatehardware revenues,driven by watches andglasses New findings from hi-tech analysts atJuniper Research has revealed that theglobal retail revenue from smart wearabledevices will treble by 2016, before reaching$53.2 billion by 2019. The market will bedriven by an increase in sales of premiumsmart watches and smart glasses over thenext five years.

The report – Smart Wearable Devices:Fitness, Glasses, Watches, Multimedia,Clothing, Jewellery, Healthcare & Enterprise2014-2019 – asserts that the recent entry ofkey industry players within the wearablessector has helped fuel an explosion of newdevices in this increasingly crowded market.However, it argues that vendors still need toget over the ‘technology first’ attitude andthink in terms of consumer benefits for anincreased product adoption.

The research observed that consumers arestill unsure about the use case for manywearable devices, including watches andglasses. In particular, consumers arehesitant to adopt wearable companiondevices with functionality that is very similarto that of smartphones.

Many of the recent developments, and muchof the hardware, in the sector have comefrom start-ups and smaller companies. Keyplayers have begun focusing on platformpromotions, such as Google’s Android Wear,Samsung’s SAMI data architecture or Intel’sEdison design platform. This enables themto respond easily to new devicedevelopments, rather than developing thedevices themselves.

Meanwhile, Juniper anticipates that many ofthe more advanced technologies for

wearables will be developed first for theenterprise and healthcare segments, whichhave clearer use cases. These segments willdrive wearable technology forward, beforebeing adapted for the consumer sector.

TI shows haptic +Bluetooth kit Texas Instruments (TI) has introduced awireless haptic development kit, providingsystem designers with a way to prototypeeccentric rotating mass (ERM) motor andlinear resonant actuator (LRA) haptic effects.Using Bluetooth low energy (BLE) and a freeiOS app, the Haptic Bluetooth Kit enablesdesigners to create haptic sequences andLED patterns for tactile feedback,notifications and alerts from a pre-licensedlibrary of more than a hundred distincthaptic effects, eliminating wires and theneed to design haptic waveforms.

System designers can use the HapticBluetooth Kit to select and test hapticeffects from the Immersion-licensed libraryfor virtually any touch-enabled application,from wearables and portable medicalequipment to human machine interface(HMI) panels and augmented reality. Itfeatures the DRV2605 haptic driver forERM/LRA and a SimpleLink Bluetooth lowenergy CC2541 wireless microcontroller. Thekit also includes an LRA and alkaline batterysupport, which enables designers to mountthe board to any surface for quickprototyping and integration. The iOS appallows designers to control on-board LEDsfor attention-grabbing lighting effects.

A TI Designs reference design enablesdesigners to add haptic technology tospace-constrained, low-power wirelesssystems, such as touch remote controls,smart watches and portable insulin pumps.TI told Incisor that the Haptic Feedback withBluetooth Low Energy and iOS AppReference Design (TIDA-00266) includesschematic design and layout files, test

results, sample code and complete userdocumentation, as well as a CAD file for awrist-worn form factor.

Rohde & Schwarzannouncesmanufacturing testlicense agreement withBroadcom Rohde & Schwarz has entered into aManufacturing Test License (MTL) agreementwith Broadcom. Through the MTL agreement,Rohde & Schwarz can provide certifiedverification test solutions to Broadcom WLANand Bluetooth customers.

The Broadcom Manufacturing Test Licenseagreement is a license and validationprogram that gives test equipment vendorsaccess to Broadcom WLAN and Bluetoothsoftware tools and Broadcom technicalsupport resources. The program is designedto provide Broadcom OEM customers withvalidated test systems that reduce time-to-market and improve manufacturing efficiencyand product quality.

The R&S CMW500 wideband radiocommunication tester from Rohde & Schwarzplays a key role in these systems. The multi-standard platform offers testing capabilitiesfor consumer electronics equipment based oncommon wireless communications standardsincluding LTE, WCDMA, GSM, CDMA2000and TD-SCDMA, and is capable of testingWLAN and Bluetooth wireless connectivitystandards and positioning standards such asGPS. The R&S CMWrun sequencer softwarecontrols the platform with turnkey test cases.R&S told Incisor that users can also adaptthe flexible solution to their own needs andtest environments.

As a result of the MTL agreement, Broadcomcustomers gain access to the global Rohde &Schwarz service and support network.

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GainSpan is enabling the "Internet of Things" with Wi-Fi chips, modules and software. And its latest low power GS2000 Wi-Fi/ZigBee chip makes possible a whole new class of battery or line-powered connected devices.

Connecting things with Wi-Fi isn't just a tagline, it's our vision for the future!

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www.gainspan.com

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Apple expected to facetough competition inmobile payments The Apple iPhone 6 hit the shelves in Europeamid much fanfare and media attention. AsApple’s share of the smartphone market facesstiff competition from the likes of Android andSamsung, the company has decided to enterthe final frontier of eCommerce, which ismobile commerce, with Apple Pay. This moveto enter an already crowded mobile paymentsmarket, has met with scepticism from someindustry observers.

The eCommerce landscape in mobilepayments is expected to be worth more than£721 billion by 2017. The sector is alreadysaturated by a variety of different playersincluding banks, retailers, and technologycompanies all offering their own solutions,leaving companies and merchants with abewildering array of options.

Dan Wagner, CEO and founder of PowaTechnologies told Incisor, “Consumers arefinding themselves increasingly swamped bymobile payment apps. They don’t wantthousands of different apps that can each beused in a couple of different places - theywant one universal app they know they canuse anywhere. Just as wallets are stuffed withstore cards, users are being asked to fill theirsmartphones with individual payment appsthey will rarely use.”

“Retailers are likewise faced with the difficultdecision of which mobile payment service tochoose, with no assurance that the systemwill go the distance and be worth theinvestment. Without a clear and universalchoice, how can they be sure they havepicked a VHS and not a Betamax?”

Wagner concluded, “Consumers will beseduced by the ease and convenience ofusing one app across all platforms and thewinner will be the app that secures universaladoption right across the retail landscape.”

Unsurprisingly, then, Powa Technologies hasa solution. The company’s PowaTag appapparently offers a union of differenttechnologies fused into one application -consumers need to only download one appand the service requires no infrastructurecosts on the part of retailers, and allows forseamless adoption into current retailerinfrastructure.

PowaTag uses a variety of triggers, with salesfinalised using pre-entered payment andaddress information. By using a variety oftechnologies, including QR codes, java script,iBeacons, near field communication (NFC)and embedded audio tags, Wagner believesthat PowaTag has the potential to be aubiquitous app serving as a commonstandard for both retailers and consumers.

CaddieON improvesyour golf gameSTMicroelectronics tells us that the world’sgolfers can enjoy their sport even more usingthe new CaddieON electronic golf-playanalyzer, which uses STM’s sensing, control,and wireless communication chips.

Launched by tech startup CaddieON Inc., thispersonal electronic caddie help golfers auto-matically track and analyze their game. Itcomprises a smart-sensor wrist device, RFIDtags for identifying each club, the smartphoneapp, and a player portal in cloud service.

The wrist device reads each club’s tag andautomatically records the round stroke bystroke, and sends data to the app viaBluetooth. ST technologies used in theCaddieON wrist device electronics include theRFID reader IC for identifying tagged clubs, atiny single-chip accelerometer for accuratestroke detection, and an ultra-low-powermicrocontroller for system control. TuomoLalli, founder and CEO of CaddieON toldIncisor, “ST’s proven technologies, easy-to-use development tools, and competitive

pricing helped us overcome tough budgetaryand time-to-market constraints, and achievea successful result. CaddieON will greatlyenhance enjoyment of the game for golfingdevotees worldwide. I should know, becauseI am one.”

“CaddieON is cutting-edge in so many ways,not only in technological terms but also in itsuse of crowd funding and incentives forcustomers to help map large numbers ofpopular golf courses around the world,” saidIain Currie, Vice President North EuropeSales, STMicroelectronics.

TI delivers high-temperature BluetoothSmart microcontroller for industrial and lighting applicationsTexas Instruments (TI) has announced theSimpleLink Bluetooth low energy CC2540T, alow power wireless microcontroller (MCU)that offers an extended temperature range of-40C to 125C and USB connectivity forindustrial applications. The CC2540T is acomplete solution for development with TI’sBLE-Stack software and sample applicationsincluding over-the-air download support forin-field updates.

TI told Incisor that the SimpleLink Bluetoothlow energy CC2540T’s features and benefitsinclude xExtended temperature range,allowing for lighting designs with highjunction temperature (and any other designsrequiring to work at conditions above 85C),and a 97dB link budget delivering linkreliability for long-range applications withoutan external front end.

The SimpleLink Bluetooth low energyCC2540T wireless MCU is part of TI’s freesample program and is apparently availablenow.

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INCISOR.TV

2015 Incisor.tv US roundtableprogramme opens

The fourth annual Incisor.TV USA Roundtable will take place alongside theconsumer electroinics show in las vegas on wednesday the 7th January 2015.

We are inviting all key players in the wireless and technology sectors toparticipate in this must-attend industry event, which focuses on innovation andcommunication in the Internet of Things.

Since the first Roundtable event in 2012, the programme has rapidlyaccelerated its global reach. Just look at the statistics below to see how onlineviewings of the roundtable have been growing with each successive event.

Time since published: 2 years, 8 monthsViews: 6,773

INCISOR.TV

Time since published: 8 monthsViews: 12,869PLUS: Preview movie - views 8,666

INCISOR.TV

Time since published: 1 year, 8 months Views: 7,653

INCISOR.TV

Time since published: 2 monthsViews: 5,599

EVENTS

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he Incisor.TV video Roundtablehas now become a wellestablished and key event in the

technology industry calendar.Conceived originally as a standaloneIncisor.TV event that brought togetherthe most important wireless industryorganizations, put them into an openforum, and required them to debateimportant issues affecting this ultra-competitive industry, the Roundtablehas grown and developed.

As you can see from the Roundtableviewing figures that we have published onthe previous page, the Roundtable’spopularity as a global window ondevelopments from leading techcompanies is growing extremely quickly.In just two months, our latest EuropeanRoundtable movies have achieved 83%of the cumulative viewings of our firstRoundtable, which took place nearly

three years ago. Impressive, eh? Andthese numbers just keep growing.

Our focus for the 2014 US Roundtablewas ‘The role of wireless in machine tomachine communication and the Internetof things’. This year, in response toapproaches from a broad view ofpotential participants, we are expandingthe focus of the Roundtable event. Weretain our core interest in wirelesstechnology, and open the doors to otherplayers who are innovating in the IoTsector.

Be a participant, AND make yourown movie

We continue to add value for allparticipants, too. As part of theRoundtable package, we film individualinterviews with each participating

organisation. The resulting movies will bepublished in Incisor, streamed fromIncisor.TV and promoted via our socialnetworks. This combination ensures thatIncisor.TV movies are viewed by thousandsof developers, CTOs, CEOs, engineers andtech-industry watchers across the globe -and in perpetuity. This is a powerful benefitof the Incisor.TV Roundtable event.

Interested?

We will be reaching out to all of our targetorganizations, but places will be limited,and so if you would like your company to

be included, then contactVince Holton for furtherinformation. Email: vholton@incisor.tv

2015 Incisor.tv USA Roundtable

A focus on innovation and communication in the Internet of Things & M2M

EVENTS

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Vince HoltonIncisor.tv

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Open letter to bluetoothsig members

For the past four months Incisor has been reporting on the disquiet inside the Bluetooth Special Interest Group overchanges to the way that the SIG manages product declarations and the fees that it collects as a result, and the waythat these changes were implemented. This debate centres around what is known as the Declaration ProcessDocument (DPD).

Readers who are unfamiliar with this story can catch up by reading Incisor’s features in the June, July and Septemberissues.

Over the course of these four months, several things have become apparent:-

• There are members who were, from the beginning and remaining so today, very unhappy. These include members whohave been instrumental to the development of both Bluetooth technology and the SIG itself. These are not just disgruntledindividuals, these are global companies with a very large invested stake in Bluetooth.

• It is apparent that a vast swathe of Bluetooth members has a very low level of understanding of what changes have beenmade, and what their responsibilities are. As a result, we understand that SIG member companies are failing to apply thenew requirements and to instruct their customers correctly.

• It has been made clear to us that members who have approached the SIG with their concerns have not been respondedto in a way that they have felt was satisfactory. Indeed, these members have expressed a concern that the SIG staff andthe Board of Directors have become detached from SIG members.

• There is a major problem for many individual SIG members and the companies that they represent in that it isunacceptable for them to confront the SIG publicly because of potential commercial or legal issues that could result, andbecause their individual employment would be under threat. As a result, many members are having to stay silent, and thechanges that have been made by the SIG, which are seen by those members to have been introduced withoutconsultation or discussion, are being allowed to become established.

Some pressure has been applied by the more vocal members. This has resulted in a certain amount of modification ofcommunication by the SIG on some elements – notably IP protection. However, one of the key grievances – cascadingpayments – remains unchanged.

The question has been how the views of the unhappy members could be aired and their questions formally presented to theSIG for response, while at the same time protecting the individuals and the companies that they represent? There is anemerging concept that it would be useful for there to be a member body to achieve these goals. Apparently, there are manyprecedents for this type of resource inside industry SIGs, Alliances and Forums.

In my role as an un-paid, unofficial representative of the Bluetooth community, who happens to have a conduit to largenumbers of Bluetooth SIG members, I would like to invite any SIG member that is a) confused by the changes that havebeen made b) worried c) unable to pursue their concerns through public channels, to contact me. I will consolidate theseresponses, and if an entity should be formed to present a co-ordinated message to the SIG, I will bring those members andthe group’s managers together.

I would like to make it crystal clear that no member’s views will be published in Incisor or anywhere else, nor will the contactthat they have made be shared with anyone without their explicit approval.

I also want to state clearly that this invitation in based purely on a desire to restore calm inside the Bluetooth SIG. From thebeginning of this debate, I have invited the SIG staff and BoD representatives to present their case and their views, and torespond to any points made by Bluetooth SIG members in Incisor’s pages. That door remains wide open. Should theBluetooth SIG staff wish to make statements on this subject in Incisor, I am equally ready to donate space for them to do so.

My contact details are widely known, but for the record, my email address is vholton@incisor.tv.

Yours, knowing this letter will make me popular with some and not with others,

Vince HoltonPublisher/Editor-in-chief, Incisor.

INCISOR.TV

2014 SHORT-RANGEWIRELESSREVIEW

ur annual review of the short-range wireless (SRW) markethas taken various forms over

the last few years. This year we haveopened the door to the SRWcommunity and allowed them toprovide their own summary of wherethings are at – the state of their ownindividual nations.

Inevitably, everyone will tell us that everything issunny in their own territory, and they will lay outhow their technology is taking over the world.That’s fine. But a lot of people know where theskeletons are hidden! If, after reading these piecesfrom the various contributors, you would like toshare your own comments with us, send them toVince Holton – vholton@incisor.tv. If we get enoughcomments, and enough that people are prepared togo on record with, we will create a follow-up piece.

There. You have been invited to make an Incisorfeature!

And the following are the submissions wehave received, listed, in order to avoidaccusations of favouritism (!) inalphabetical order. ➔

O

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2014 short-range wireless review14

Contributor: Suke Jawanda, CMO,Bluetooth SIGBluetooth® technology is fast becomingthe wireless technology of choice toenable the Internet of Things. It’s beingadopted at an astounding rate, across ahost of industries. Research firm IHSTechnology estimates that Bluetoothdevice shipments reached 2.4 billion unitsin 2013. Fast forward to 2018 and IHSpredicts shipments will nearly double to4.8 billion units. Several important factorsare driving this growth.

The release of Bluetooth Smart in 2010unleashed a new wave of wirelessinnovation, providing developers an ultra-low power wireless solution coupled with aflexible application developmentenvironment. Bluetooth Smart is the magicbehind the wireless boom we areexperiencing. It’s quietly spawned multi-billion dollar sectors like beacons andwearables—taking them from niche tomainstream in remarkably short time. Andit’s continuing to fuel creativity in theautomotive, industrial and m-healthsectors too.

Key to this growth is the native Bluetoothsupport baked into all major mobileoperating systems, including Android, iOSand Windows Phone. With this supportdevelopers know that they can useBluetooth to connect their device to thebillions of smartphones, tablets, and PCsconsumers already own. This deviceinteroperability has spawned innovationfrom companies large and small. In fact,78% of wireless projects on Kickstarterand Indiegogo, including the three mostsuccessful projects of all time, useBluetooth.

Beyond mobile, full-featured operatingsystems like Android L and Apple iOS aremaking their way into “always on”gateways like TVs, set-top and mediastreaming boxes. With native Bluetoothsupport, these gateways will be animportant part of turning the smart homefrom vision to reality. Unlike others,Bluetooth Smart can connect multiplehome devices both simply andinexpensively. Long stuck as the “next bigthing”, Bluetooth Smart is poised to takethe smart home mainstream as more andmore companies choose to develop with it.

With large-scale device interoperabilitywell established, the next industrychallenge will be creating data

interoperability: providing consumers anintegrated dashboard that spans manydifferent connected devices. We’re juststarting to see the building blocks of datainteroperability put into place. AppleHealthKit and HomeKit, and Google Fit arethe first information consolidationplatforms emerging that can take datafrom Bluetooth Smart devices and providethe user with a holistic view of the statusof their health, fitness or homeenvironment and connecting them to cloudapplications via cellular or Wi-Fi.

Together, Bluetooth Smart, Wi-Fi andcellular are making the IoT a reality witheach filling an important role. BluetoothSmart has been particularly important,taking new IoT implementationsmainstream seemingly overnight. The fastrise of wearables in consumer electronicsand Bluetooth Smart beacons in retail arejust two examples. The trend will continue.Bluetooth 4.1 laid the foundations for IPv6connectivity to Bluetooth devices. AndBluetooth Smart mesh-networking isalready being implemented by companiessuch as CSR and Zuli. Both developmentswill be important enablers for the IoT andthe smart home and beyond.

In all, companies looking to connect theirproduct or service to potential customersnumbered in the billions need amainstream wireless standard. BluetoothSmart is that standard - the commonlanguage connecting these billions ofdevices and applications.

Contributor: Ruth Wilson, Chair,Marketing WorkingGroup, DECT ForumThe DECT industry is today alive andkicking hard towards new initiatives.Working alongside its partnerorganizations, such as Cablelabs, ETSI andHGI, the DECT Forum has galvanized theresurgence of DECT technology towardsnew applications, opening up new marketsand different technology flavours such asCAT-iq, DECT 6.0, J-DECT and ULE.

Building on its significant worldwidespectrum coverage, the opening of newgeographical markets has seen theintroduction in recent years of DECT 6.0 inthe US and J-DECT in Japan, and theDECT Forum continues to look towardsChina and India as two further potentialgeographies for spectrum allocation.

DECT continues to be a stalwart of theEnterprise industry and has seen extendeduse in business, hospitals, hotels, prisonsand the oil industry with specialisttelecommunications equipment coveringlarge installations with roaming andhandover capabilities inherent to itsoperations. Devices such as ruggedhandsets, headsets and paging provide akey service to the function of suchindustrial applications. Other innovationshave seen the use of DECT technology ingaming applications and conference audiosystems for example.

The migration of the switched networkstowards IP networks promoted theinnovation and introduction of CAT-iq,which enables support for key featuressuch as HD Voice, Multi-line, Multi-call, in-field software upgradability, and a wholeraft of other useful features which re-generated the cordless industry andintroduced DECT to the home gatewaymarket. Adopted by the key serviceproviders and now established as the keyvoice technology for gateway integrationwith a large installed base, this providedthe perfect platform for the latest initiativetowards markets such as HomeAutomation, Security and Climate Control.We look forward to seeing ULE as the keyplayer in the IOT.

Building on the properties of the mature andsecure DECT technology, combined withexceptional range, low cost of ownership,ease of use and interference free operation,the DECT Forum, in conjunction with ETSI,has initiated the update of the underlyingDECT standards to provide a low powervariant which meets the needs of these newmarket applications. Such was theimportance for the industry that a sisterorganization, the ULE Alliance, was createdto focus on this technology variant.

The strength of DECT, underpinned by theinitiative from the DECT Forum, leaves theexpectation that we shall continue to seehealthy extensions to DECT, and lookforward to the next initiatives for continuedgrowth of the technology.

Contributor: Graham Martin,Chairman of theEnOcean Alliance“Wireless technology is the inevitablesolution to solve the challenges of ourmodern lives” ➔

“Many countries around the world are nowturning to renewable energy sources.China, for example, is expected to takethe lead in green energy in 2014. Anothersignificant development in this contextemerged this year in particular: buildingautomation is seen as a mandatory part ofenergy-efficiency goals. This is reflected,for example, in The President’s ClimateAction Plan in the US, the Energy SavingsOpportunity Scheme (ESOS) in the UK orthe Energy Efficiency Directive EnEV 2014in Germany.

As a result, building owners, facilitymanagers, system planners and installershave to intensively deal with technologiesand standards in this field to find the bestsolution for their individual building needs.For building automation, wireless solutionstend to be considered more and more asthe state-of-the-art approach to cover theflexibility and to improve carbon footprintat significantly reduced time and costs,compared to wired systems. The mainchallenge is to integrate all buildingdisciplines into an intelligent controlsystem – an essential condition to take fulladvantage of the opportunities forincreasing comfort, security and energyefficiency.

Interoperability is key to this. Therefore, in2014, the EnOcean Alliance continued infurther developing the cross-vendorapproach of the EnOcean energyharvesting wireless standard, for examplewith a specification of a unified processfor remote commissioning of EnOceannetworks. This offers a comfortable andpractical way to expand or changeinstallations and eases the networking ofdifferent building aspects into one,intelligent overall system.

Due to the foundation of the EnOceanstandard of interoperable andstandardised communication, the self-powered wireless technology has becomeestablished in other fields of applicationsuch as in smart homes and LED lightingcontrol. In 2014, this developmentproceeded at a fast pace, together withnew partners of the EnOcean Alliance todrive open interfaces and specificationsand thus combining different standards.

This open network approach paves theway toward "artificial intelligence" inbuilding automation. Integrating thedifferent technologies more closely meansthat a system can also access sensor datamore directly, regardless of the situation,as well as run calculations on this basisand control actuators intelligently. Thedata can be stored and processed locallyor in a cloud-based infrastructure, so thatonce it has been collected the data can beused for different applications.

Finally, this year was a significant periodfor the sustainable energy harvesting

wireless technology to unfold its benefitsfor other frequencies. It has conquered theconsumer market with the first-everkinetic-powered control of a consumerLED lighting system. At 928 MHz, thebatteryless wireless standard has beenexpanded for the Japanese market. Here,the demand for energy harvesting wirelesssolutions is very high in order to meetseveral requirements of the economic andsocial development in Japan, includingenergy efficiency measures in buildingsand industry, assistance systems for anaging society, more safety and comfort inhomes or monitoring of preciousresources.

The review of the developments in theEnOcean eco-system in 2014 gives us agood indication on what to expect in thefollowing years: the energy harvestingwireless standard, offering flexible andmaintenance-free collection andtransmission of all types of data, will beestablished as an inevitable wirelesstechnology that help us perform the largertasks of our modern lives.”

Contributor: Andor Miles-Board,Marketing andBusiness DevelopmentManager, NextGenTechnology

Perspectives on low energy wirelessand automotive development

As the number of connected devices we alluse daily steadily increases, and with theadvent of wearable technology, BluetoothSmart is an everyday part of our daily livesand is changing the automotive space.

The automotive world has the capacity tointegrate Bluetooth Smart technology inareas such as keyless entry and tyrepressure sensing to the integration ofsmart connected devices with the vehiclesystems. Bluetooth Smart is enablingapplications beyond Bluetooth hands freeand music streaming. Bluetooth Smartconnected smartphone apps for the carbring a new age in consumer telematicsthat help the car owner track, analyse andcontrol the vehicle and its infotainmentsystems.

With this increase in functionalityinteroperability challenges also rise. Theincreasing number of connected devices

and connectivity methods, coupled withconnected apps and cloud services alllead to a multiplication in the use casescenarios that can impact interoperabilityand user experience.

For the car buyer, telematics andinfotainment features have joined styling,functional and performance considerationsas key in the purchase decision. Theautomotive world is focussed on safety,reliability and long term user satisfaction,while the consumer electronics world isdriven by innovation above all else. Nowwith the advent of the ‘appification’ of thecar, Android Auto and Apple Car Playprovide further integration of the car andInternet connected consumer electronics.

The increasing relevance of Bluetooth andlow power wireless profiles in a world ofubiquitous in car connectivity represents aconvergence of the rapid life cycles ofmobile and consumer electronics and thelonger life cycles and performanceexpectations of the car.

The long term interoperability of the carwith these rapidly changing consumertechnologies and complex functionality willrequire new strategies to support the userexperience and ensure customersatisfaction. NextGen are working at thecutting edge of this user experience curveto model the complex use cases that canarise, helping to inform and assist thedevelopment of the next generation in carplatforms.

Contributor: Geir Langeland,Director of Sales &Marketing, NordicSemiconductorSince its inception as part of Bluetoothv4.0, Bluetooth Smart (formerly known asBluetooth low energy) has made its wayinto millions of products. And salescontinue to climb. At NordicSemiconductor, for example, we expectour sales of Bluetooth Smart chips to triplethis year compared with 2013. But nomatter how successful, technology evolvesand Bluetooth v4.0 has already beensuperseded by v4.1.

Consumers would benefit greatly if ultralow power (ULP) wirelessproducts––whether heart rate monitors,toys, humidity monitors or any ofthousands of wireless accessories

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powered by Bluetooth Smart––couldupdate their software to immediately takeadvantage of enhancements.

Updating a product’s software via awireless link is nothing special; we’re allfamiliar with upgrading apps on oursmartphones via the cellular network, ordownloading security patches for ourportable computers’ operating systems viaWi-Fi. Often, we don’t even know theseupgrades are happening; for example,some set-top boxes (STB) automaticallyupdate their software while owners sleep.

However, until now, such updates werebeyond the capability of ULP wirelesstechnology. That’s about to change due to anewly-introduced generation of BluetoothSmart chips that are able to easily andrapidly upgrade software stacks or applica-tion code via their own wireless links.

A key requirement is a transceiver with aplenty of flash memory allowing the newsoftware to be fully downloaded andverified before the previous version isoverwritten. (Some commercial ULPwireless chips are supplied with one-time-programmable (OTP) or read-only-memory(ROM) that can’t be easily erased andrewritten making wireless updatesimpractical.)

Upgrades are also made much easier if theBluetooth Smart stack and the applicationprogram are cleanly separated. That way,either can be upgraded without the risk ofcorrupting the other code. (Again, manywireless chips on the market interweavethe stack and the application code makingit impossible to update the device withoutoverwriting the entire software – which isboth time-consuming and risky.)

Nordic’s nRF51 Series SoCs equippedwith the company’s latest S110 SoftDevice(a self-contained stack and its associatedmanagement framework) include an Overthe Air Device Firmware Upgrade (OTA-DFU) feature that supports rapid wirelesssoftware updates. Fast updates savepower (extending battery life) and limit therisk of a user attempting to use theproduct before the revision is complete.

Over-the-air upgrades are of benefit toproduct developers because new featurescan be added to existing products andbug fixes can be implemented even whenproducts are in the hands of consumers.

But perhaps more importantly, consumerswill be encouraged to take even greateradvantage of wireless accessories if theyknow that their devices will stay up to datebecause the products can receive periodicsoftware upgrades that bring genuine newcapabilities. This is a far more compellingsolution than having to throw away thehardware and buy a new product to takeadvantage of enhancements.

Contributor: Paula Hunter, NFC Forum ExecutiveDirectorIt is a time of accelerating progressacross the NFC ecosystem in general,and at the NFC Forum, in particular.Taken together, these changes suggestthat the market for NFC is becoming bothbroader and more developed, all of whichis good news and well-timed.

Specifications and certificationclear the path for marketdevelopment

NFC Forum specifications have reacheda new level of maturity with theannouncement of revisions to nine keyspecifications that deliver greaterinteroperability, faster read and writeperformance, mediated handover, andlower power consumption. Equallysignificant, the revised specificationswere packaged as an integrated andstreamlined set designed to be usedtogether to deliver improved efficiency.

Specifications form the basis forcertification, and in September, weannounced Analog Certification testing.This is an important milestone, becausethe NFC Forum analog certification offersthe world’s first detailed evaluation of theRF performance of an NFC device. Alongwith Logical Link Control Protocol (LLCP)and Simple NDEF Exchange Protocol(SNEP) testing, our Certification Programnow offers comprehensive testing for allof the NFC communication layers.

Alliances bring complementarytechnologies closer together

The NFC Forum and Bluetooth SIG haveagain collaborated by jointly updating andpublishing the Bluetooth Secure SimplePairing Using NFC Application Document,which provides developers with examplesof how to implement Bluetooth SecureSimple Pairing (SSP) using NFC on thelatest generation of Bluetooth devices. It's avivid reminder that NFC and Bluetooth arecomplementary wireless technologies thatcan work in concert in a variety of usecases.

That point was further driven home byour recent publication of a white paper,

Connection Handover User ExperienceRecommendations, which offers a helpfulguide for any developer seeking to giveconsumers seamless access to Bluetoothand Wi-Fi services using simple, secure,one-touch setup of NFC.

Market developments create newopportunities for consumeradoption

Beyond the realm of the NFC Forum,other developments in the NFCecosystem are having their own impacton the growth of NFC.

A good example is Host Card Emulation(HCE), which a number of servicesproviders are now implementing. We seeHCE as an exciting development for theNFC market because it provides anadditional way to perform NFCtransactions. HCE, which is supportedby NFC Forum specifications, opens newdoors for service providers to bring theirinnovations to market.

With Apple’s recent announcement that ithas built NFC into its new iPhone 6devices, all of the world's leadingsmartphone manufacturers now supportNFC. This can only give businessesgreater confidence about pursuing NFC-related initiatives, while enabling millionsof consumers to experience NFC's one-touch interaction.

Trends are encouraging newinitiatives

What do all of these recent happeningsmean for the future of the NFC Forum?We believe now is the time to intensifyour efforts to shepherd new NFCapplication development anddeployment, through both the activities ofour SIGs and our new “Tap Into NFC”Developer Program. We're supportingdevelopers with events, networkingopportunities, and a dedicated websitecomprising developer kits and technicalspecs, news and product spotlights.

It is likely that many of these new anddiverse NFC products will be related tothe Internet of Things. Whether it's "theconnected car," "the smarter home," orwireless health and wellness products,NFC will play an important role byproviding the essential link connectingthe physical and virtual worlds, triggeraction at the user's command,automating tasks throughout people'slives, and bringing intelligence to physicalobjects, such as signage and point-of-sale displays.

Based on the progress we've seen lately,that day is coming sooner than manyof us might have expected. ➔

Contributor: Joe Lomako, ProductManager – M2M,Consumer TechnologyDivision, UL VS LTDSince the last rendition of this wirelessindustry review we have seen theemergence of a few new technologies orprotocols to add to the ever growingfamily. Some may not exactly be ‘new’,but may actually have just resurfacedwith renewed vigour because the marketnow has a demand for the solution theyprovide, or because the technology hasbeen marketed in a way to create thisdemand. The reason I say family isbecause I believe that that is what it is. Inmy experience, I have seen all of thesetechnologies come through our labs, andthey all have something individual to offerbut are very much related (they are justradios after all).

Of course, the more technologies thereare extolling their own independentvirtues, inevitably there will be morecompetition. With increased competitioncomes innovation, and so we see greatnew ideas and new products emergingon the market. Applications have neverbeen so diverse, and include automotive,smart home, telematics, wearable, healthand fitness, medical, radiolocation andeven pet monitoring!

Having more products and applications isfantastic, particularly for the geek (ofwhich I proudly consider myself one!).However it does have a (slight) down side,particularly in the unlicensed band world,and that is a growing appetite for a placein the spectrum. Take the 2.4GHz band, forexample. This band is getting quite busy.So, for these technologies to co-exist, theyhave to be intelligent and adaptable inorder to be able to effectively operate andto be of use to the customer. And that isinevitably what the endgame for thedevelopment of these technologies is, isn’t it?

The standards that apply are alsoevolving with the technologies. I haverecently reported on the update (forEurope) to EN 300 328, namely version1.8.1 which now has a test case to verifythe adaptivity of these products as wellas a few other applicable new test cases.Unfortunately, there are still some

manufacturers out there who have not yetbrought their products up to date, andthe deadline is the 1 Jan 2015.

Summarising the whole picture, the short-range wireless market is growing, withanalysts predicting massive growth in theshort range IC market such as Bluetooth®,ZigBee and WLAN. Of course, companiessuch as ours are always ready and willingto assist in maintaining and assistingsuccessful growth.

Contributor: Avi Barel, Director of BusinessDevelopment, ULE AllianceIn 2014, the ULE Alliance is making amajor leap forward towards establishingthe ULE technology as a key player in theIOT marketplace. ULE technology isoperating in a dedicated radio frequencyrange, enabling secure and interferencefree connectivity and delivering longestcommunication range. The combinationof superior performance, coupled withultra-low power consumption - makesULE the most suitable technology forHome Automation, Home Security,Climate control and more applications.

Usually standardization activities takeseveral years from the start until releaseof certified products. Thanks to thematurity of the DECT technology, thefoundation of the ULE technology, theULE Alliance and its members were ableto develop a standardization frameworkin less than two years since the foundingof the Alliance.

The definition of the ULE Applicationlayer (HAN FUN – Home Area NetworkFUNctional Protocol) was completed inOctober 2013, it includes the definition ofover 20 device profiles (sensors,actuators and more). Additional deviceprofiles are in the process of beingdefined. For 2014 the Alliance selectedthe development of the certificationprogram as the key focus activity. Thedevelopment of the program is in the finalstage of preparation. ULE Allianceteamed up with AT4 wireless S.A. ofSpain in this development, and AT4 wasselected as the first certification partner.

The ULE certification will be based oninteroperability tests against the test-bed(similar to WiFi); the golden devices for

the test-bed, developed by members ofthe Alliance, have already been selected.Commercial products, with ULEcertification and logo, can be expected inthe market in early 2015.

ULE Alliance members joined forces todevelop the common implementation of theHAN FUN application layer software. Thedevelopment was funded by the Alliance.The software will be available to the Alliancemembers and the broader developercommunity as open source software.Having a common implementation isintended to reduce the interoperabilityissues to a minimum and simplify thecertification process, which translates intothe savings for the alliance members.

Currently three chipset manufacturers aremaking ULE chips; with this numberexpected to grow.

The ULE Technology in enjoying highvisibility and interest in the market. Newmembers are quickly joining the Alliance,the current membership tally stands on 55members; the list includes industry giants,such as Deutsche Telecom, Panasonic,Huawei, Cisco, Arcadyan, VTech, Gigasetand others.

After completing the current phase ofstandard and certification programsolidification, the ULE Alliance will set upin 2015 the second phase of certificationfor products based on 6LawPAN, with IPprotocol running in the ULE nodes.

Contributor: Greg Ennis,VP Technology, Wi-Fi Alliance2014 has been another exciting year forWi-Fi Alliance® and the industries wesupport. Our organization’s 15thanniversary celebrations wereaccompanied by some excitingcertification program launches andcontinued innovation as we look to abroadening array of market sectors andopportunities for Wi-Fi®.

In April this year, the Wi-Fi Allianceupdated one of its most popular productcertification programs to include Near FieldCommunication (NFC) “tap-to-connect.”Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Wi-Fi Protected Setup™now offers consumers a simplifiedoption to set up Wi-Fi connections,

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even on devices without a user interface.Users can now connect devices certifiedfor this capability by simply tapping themtogether, activating a security-protectedWi-Fi connection. With Wi-Fi connectingan expanding range of smart home andInternet of Things devices, this usabilityenhancement will be most welcome.

We also expanded our broadly-adoptedWi-Fi Direct® certification program,adding a set of services built on a platformof new usability mechanisms. The addedoptional features in the certificationenhance the usefulness of the popularpeer-to-peer technology, as devicescertified to support the new services cannow “discover, connect and do” in a singlestep, and immediately implementinteroperable services for several commontasks.

Later this month, you’ll see an excitingannouncement about our Wi-Fi CERTIFIEDPasspoint™ program, which delivers in-pocket connection, user authenticationand security in Wi-Fi hotspots. Equipmentcertified in this program is foundational tonumerous Wi-Fi roaming arrangementsemerging worldwide, and we are veryexcited about the momentum we’re seeingin the service provider arena.

Looking beyond 2014, our roadmapfeatures a number of key elements thatindustry stakeholders will want to watch:

• The Wi-Fi that consumers andenterprises have come to rely on everyday keeps getting better. Wi-Fi Alliancemembers are bringing new power savingmechanisms to Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™products, improving the mobilityexperience, and much more. An updateto Wi-Fi CERTIFIED ac, the mostadvanced Wi-Fi available, will validateinteroperability of several performance-enhancing features in 2016.

• New frequency bands will deliver justthe right kind of connection. WiGigCERTIFIED™ will deliver interoperableproducts supporting multiple-gigabitdata rates for room-range connectivityin 60 GHz in 2016. The Wi-Fi Alliancehas also initiated early work to definecertification programs based on802.11ah and 802.11af, for operationbelow 1 GHz to support longer-range,very-low-power connectivity.

With more than 20,000 products (andcounting!) now Wi-Fi CERTIFIED, andmore than 20 distinct technologydevelopment projects currently underwayin our organization, the Wi-Fi Alliance isnot resting on its laurels. We are lookingahead to 15 more years of innovation,collaboration, and delivering the best userexperience. We hope you will all continueyour involvement in and contributions toour organization.

Contributor: Ryan Maley, Director ofStrategic Marketing,ZigBee Alliance The ZigBee Alliance, a non-profitassociation of organizations creating open,global standards that define the Internet ofThings for use in consumer, commercialand industrial applications, has had a verysuccessful and busy year.

• Alliance standards continue to appear inmore and more products available toconsumers around the world. Recentannouncements by GE, Logitech,OSRAM, Philips, Wink and othersdemonstrate the growing dominance ofZigBee in the smart home andconnected lighting markets.

• In August, the Alliance announced thatthere are now over 1,000 ZigBeeCertified products available frommembers. This exciting landmark is aresult of ZigBee’s prominence in theInternet of Things industry, with a varietyof markets benefiting from the highconsumer demand for smart devices.

• In September, the Alliance announcedZigBee Remote Control 2.0, an updateto the industry-leading standard forsmart home remote control technology.The standard continues to use thefaster, more reliable radio frequencytechnology that allows operation fromgreater distances than infrared. This newstandard includes a “Find My Remote”feature, complete control of the set-topbox or TV set, and control of set-topbox connected smart home devices tothe palm of your hand.

• The Alliance continues important workfor the utilities industry including aZigBee Smart Energy update to addressrequirements for the Great Britain smartmetering initiative and a NeighborhoodArea Network standard to help utilitiesstandardize smart grid outside the home.

The Alliance is pleased to see more andmore companies express interest in playinga role in IoT as they recognize the growingdemand for innovative, smart products andservices. Every day, more ZigBee productsare deployed in homes, businesses, andutilities all over the globe. This hasprompted a renewed interest in ZigBee -the only open, global wireless standarddesigned to address the unique needs ofdevice-to-device communication.

The Internet of Things will drivewireless connected devices to40.9 Billion in 2020

According to an updated marketforecast from ABI Research, theinstalled base of active wirelessconnected devices will exceed 16billion in 2014, about 20% more thanin 2013. The number of devices willmore than double from the currentlevel, with 40.9 billion forecasted for2020.

Analyst Aapo Markkanen commented,“The driving force behind the surge inconnections is that usual buzzwordsuspect, the Internet of Things (IoT). Ifwe look at this year’s installed base,smartphones, PCs, and other ‘hub’devices represent still 44% of theactive total, but by end-2020 theirshare is set to drop to 32%. In otherwords, 75% of the growth betweentoday and the end of the decade willcome from non-hub devices: sensornodes and accessories.”

CSR and Lenovo deliverBluetooth® Smart televisionremote control

CSR has partnered with Lenovo tomake its new S9 and S52 Smart TVs,which the two companies claim arethe world’s first TVs with fully featuredBluetooth Smart remote controls. Theremotes, which are currently availablein China, are not only low power butalso have increased responsiveness,and make controlling TV content amuch more user-friendly experience.The end-to-end solution allows usersto more easily navigate content,browse the web and play games ontheir Lenovo Smart TVs.

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anadian startup, Reteneo, is usingNordic Semiconductor's nRF51822SoCs to provide the Bluetooth

Smart connectivity to smartphones in astripped-down iOS and Android-compatible 'Puck' beacon platform thatReteneo says supports a monthlysubscription model as low as $15 permonth and is delivered ready-to-usebeyond a simple set-up and programmingprocedure.

The Reteneo Puck beacon platform alsoallows multiple retailers and merchants tooffer beacon-based services to consumers viaa single 'Reteneo Life' app instead of havingto download and set-up a separate app foreach retailer or merchant of interest. And allPucks are remotely maintained by Reteneo aspart of the subscription service and replacedas and when required (e.g. when theirbatteries are about to expire).

Cesar Rego, CEO of Reteneo told Incisor, "Wecan foresee a day where every retailer ormerchant has beacons, but we cannot foreseea day where consumers are willing to havehundreds of different beacon-compatibleapps on their smartphones. It's never going tohappen given that people are alreadycomplaining that they have too many apps ontheir smartphones as it is."

Rego continued: "That's why we've taken adifferent approach and designed our beaconplatform to work with a single app that isrelevant to all retailers and merchants within aparticular locality."

In operation the Reteneo Pucks continuouslyadvertise their presence to any passing iOS orAndroid Bluetooth Smart Ready smartphonewithin a range of up to 100m (300-ft). Oncethe Reteneo Life app is running on the device,it reads this advertised 'feed' and contacts acloud database and asks if there are anycurrent offers or promotions attached. If theanswer is 'yes' the app then checks with enduser's stated in-app preferences to see if theoffer is something the end-user has expressedan interest in. If it is, the user will beimmediately alerted of the offer via the app.

The Reteneo Pucks themselves are the size ofregular hockey pucks and feature just the

Nordic nRF51822 SoC, antenna, and twowatch batteries. The ultra low poweroperating characteristics of the nRF51822 willallow the puck to run for an average of twoyears in continuous operation. Reteneo saysanother major benefit of the Nordic nRF51822SoC is its ability to do firmware updates over-the-air, a platform feature that Reteneo plansto include in the future.

Rego’s colleague, Reteneo's President Jean-Christophe Titus added, "In contrast to manybeacons on the market today that carry in ourview a lot of unnecessary technologicaloverhead, we partnered with Nordic to stripas much complexity as possible out of ourPucks to maximize battery life and minimizecost and complexity. The only 'advanced'feature we did include was a Puckidentification and battery level monitoringrunning on the nRF51822's embedded ARMCortex M0 MCU that anonymously suppliesthis data to our cloud servers as part of thebeacon polling process to see if an offerexists."

Titus continued, "This process is invisible tothe customer and consumer and is only usedby us in order to notify customers when andwhere to replace installed Pucks, that wesimply post to them as part of their ReteneoPuck subscription service. And unlike othermore sophisticated beacon technologies, wedo not share consumer information, collect

personal information, or track the user'slocation via geo-tagging."

Reteneo also claims that its subscriptionservice is what differentiates the companywithin an extremely active industry right now."In the beacon market today you typicallyorder your beacons and get an SDK [softwaredevelopment kit] from which you build yourapp which requires costly engineeringexpertise and development," continues Rego."The other option is to come to a companylike us, pay $15 a month for each beacon, andwalk away at anytime if it doesn't work out foryou. In addition, our opt-in approach allows usto create custom feeds should someone wanta private or restricted beacon platform."

"The beacon market is in a very early stage ofits evolution and developing at a rapid pace,"commented Geir Langeland, NordicSemiconductor's Director of Sales & Marketing."How the finer details will pan out remains tobe seen, and this is attracting an enormousamount of innovation which is extremelyexciting. And I am particularly proud that NordicSemiconductor's wireless technology isconsistently being selected to be at the heart ofvarious leading-edge beacon solutions."

Reteneo says its Puck beacon platform iscurrently being Beta tested at variouslocations in and around the company'shome town of Toronto.

Stripped-down iOS andAndroid-compatible beacon

platform supports $15 permonth subscription model

C

Reteneo Pucks continuously advertise their presence to any passing iOS or Android Bluetooth Smart Readysmartphone within a range of up to 100m.

www.incisor.tv20

UL assesses Apple Pay - what

do we know?September 9, Appleannounced Apple Pay as itsmobile payment solution. UL’s

Transaction Security division has beenlooking at Apple Pay in both technicaland organizational context, and hasbeen trying to work out how much isclear about the solutions, as well aswhat questions still remain to beanswered.

Apple Pay is based on NFC technology forproximity payments and an embeddedSecure Element in the iPhone and AppleWatch. Apple Pay uses industry-standardEMV contactless protocols over NFC (andMSD – Magnetic Stripe Data - contactlessfor backward compatibility for the USmarket). This makes it compatible with awide range of contactless paymentterminals in deployment today.

Apple Pay is compliant to the EMVCotokenization framework and works with atokenized PAN (Device Account Number)and Cryptogram (transaction specificdynamic security code). Apple only usesthe token services from payment schemes(currently only Visa Token Service,MasterCard Digital Enablement Servicesand American Express TokenizationService).

SECURITY

The iPhone 6 and Apple Watch use anembedded Secure Element to storeinformation for payment. On the iPhone theSecure Element contains the fingerprintinformation for TouchID authentication. It isunclear if the Secure Enclave used in theiPhone 5S, is also available in the iPhone6. UL assumes that the fingerprint data isstored in the Secure Element on theiPhone 6. Apple does not store card holderinformation and account numbers (PAN) onthe iPhone. Instead of actual debit andcredit card information, a unique DeviceAccount Number (tokenized PAN) for eachcard is assigned, encrypted and stored inthe Secure Element. These Device AccountNumbers are only stored in the SecureElement of the iPhone and the tokenservice. Not on Apple servers.

When making a purchase, the DeviceAccount Number alongside a transaction-

specific dynamic security code is used tosecurely process the payment. So theactual credit or debit card numbers arenever shared with merchants ortransmitted with payment. The focus ofApple is on the security aspects ofpayment.

Apple is putting the focus on privacy.Because the iPhone (and Apple Watch)does not contain actual debit and creditcard information, the merchant onlyreceives a tokenized PAN. As part of thetransaction, the Secure Element receivespayment confirmation. This information isused to store recent purchases inPassbook. There are no indications thatthe Device Account Number (tokenizedPAN) is used to generate a dynamic PANfor each transaction.

AND UL CONCLUDES...

Apple Pay looks promising for mobilepayments. Apple is positioning itself as atrusted partner. The focus is on securityand privacy. Apple facilitates mobile andremote payments but is not interested inthe data gathering and processing thatother companies see as a benefit frommobile payments. The choice of NFC byApple makes it clear that NFC is thestandard communication technologybetween handset and payment terminal.Apple Pay must still prove itself, and a lotof details about how Apple Pay works arestill unknown. As an independent expert,UL's Transaction Security division will keepinvestigating new payment solutions suchas Apple Pay to make sure that thepayment solution fits the demands of ourcustomers.

On

iPhone 6 Plus: $100 Costlier toBuy—Just $15.50 MoreExpensive to Make

For consumers opting to buy AppleInc.’s iPhone 6 Plus rather than theiPhone 6, the additional 0.8 inches ofscreen size will cost $100 extra.However, for Apple, the iPhone 6 Pluscosts only about $16 more toproduce, delivering to the companyan even heftier margin than normal forits wildly popular smartphone line.

The bill of materials (BOM) of theiPhone 6 equipped with 16 gigabytes(GByte) of NAND flash memoryamounts to $196.10, according to apreliminary estimate by the TeardownMobile Handsets Intelligence Serviceat IHS Technology. The cost ofproduction rises to $200.10 when the$4.00 manufacturing expense isadded.

The BOM of the iPhone 6 Plusamounts to $211.10, and rises to$215.60 with the additional $4.50manufacturing cost added. This isonly $15.50 higher than the total forthe iPhone 6.

Headphone market booming

The global headphones marketexpanded by nearly 10% in volumelast year to reach 286 million unitsshipped, triggering 16% growth inretail value and revenues of $8.4billion, according to a new marketreport from Futuresource Consulting.

In-ear headphones dominate globalshipments, accounting for 61% ofvolumes, and with the average retailprice on the rise due to incorporationof new features such as microphonesfor mobile use and water proofing forsports use. Almost every majorvendor has introduced a pair ofsports headphones onto the market,offering innovative designs, inclusionof microphones and/or Bluetooth andother features. The sportsheadphones segment accounted for4% of global shipments, andFuturesource forecasts show this willgrow to 8% by 2018.

Snippets

ZigBee RemoteControl 2.0: updatedstandard for RF-Basedremote controlsThe ZigBee Alliance has announced theratification of the ZigBee Remote Control2.0 standard.

ZigBee Remote Control is a standard forsmart home remote control technology andZigBee Remote Control 2.0 continues touse the faster, more reliable radiofrequency technology that allows operationfrom greater distances than infrared. Thisnew standard includes a “Find My Remote”feature, the ability to connect to otherdevices in the smart home, as well ascomplete control of the set-top box or TVset.

The new ZigBee Remote Control 2.0standard provides consumers with thecapability to directly control all devices in ahome with one remote control. All parts ofa ZigBee smart home network includinglights, heating, air conditioning, securityand home monitoring can be operated withthe same remote control. It also enablestelecom companies and cable operators tointegrate their smart home offerings withset-top boxes.

Tobin Richardson, President and CEO ofthe ZigBee Alliance told Incisor, “ZigBeeRemote Control offers significantenhancements to life in the smart home.Continuing to lead and define the Internetof Things, the Alliance and our membershave completed work on ZigBee RemoteControl 2.0 in order to deliver all thebenefits of the smart home right to thepalm of your hand.”

The standard is now available for productdevelopment and can be downloaded forfree from the Alliance website.

Broadcom enablesNetatmo smartphone-controlled homethermostatNetatmo, a company developing consumerelectronics for a connected lifestyle, hasselected the Broadcom Wireless InternetConnectivity for Embedded Devices(WICED) Wi-Fi technology to enable itssmartphone-controlled thermostat byFrench designer Philippe Starck. .

The Netatmo Thermostat syncs with a freesmartphone app, downloadable via the AppStore or Google Play, providing users withanytime, anywhere control of hometemperatures. By evaluating user habits,including sleep patterns, the NetatmoThermostat adapts to the user's lifestyleand adjusts automatically to provideoptimal temperatures throughout the dayand night.

Brian Bedrosian, Broadcom Senior Director,Wireless Connectivity told Incisor, "Wirelessconnectivity is bringing cloud-enabledhome monitoring to a wide array ofhousehold appliances, greatly enhancingtheir utility, functionality and extensibility.Consumer Electronic makers such asNetatmo rely on the performance andconnected features of our WICED platformas a competitive differentiator."

The Netatmo thermostat, which is availablenow, is described as widely compatible,can be used with fuel, gas and woodsystems, and can replace most wired andwireless thermostats. According toNetatmo, users can self-install thethermostat in less than ten minutes.

GreenPeak ZigBeechip for remotecontrolsGreenPeak Technologies has launched theGP565 Smart Home radio chip for remotecontrols, that supports voice control,motion sensing and the new ZRC 2.0protocol.

The new protocol enables a single remotecontrol to control all the home’s connecteddevices – including turning on lights,opening curtains, managing appliancesand environment, etc. Other new ZRC 2.0features include the ‘Find My Remote’feature, which enables a remote control tostart beeping and/or flashing when it islost and making it much easier to find. Itcan be activated by a physical Find MyRemote button on the home’sentertainment system or Smart Homedevices.

The ‘IR-RF Download’ feature providescomplete control of legacy audio andvideo equipment, either through RF4CE orinfrared, with a hybrid remote control,without requiring the user to select thecorrect IR settings for the TV. ZRC 2.0 isfully backward compatible with existingZRC 1.x implementations.

The GreenPeak GP565 is available in twoversions with 120k or 248k Flash (and 8kor 16k RAM) memory. The 40-pin footprintcan support a keyboard scanner interfaceor other IO interfaces required for remotecontrol implementations.

low energy wireless news

www.incisor.tv 21

TEST & CERTIFICATION CORNER

CHANGES AFOOTFOR RADIO ANDEMC!

By Joe LomakoM2M Product manager, ULJoe.Lomako@ul.com

There has been a lot ofdiscussion recently about the

new EMC and Radio Equipment directiveswhich have recently been published and dueto be transposed into local law by 2016.These “new” or updated directives are aresult of the New Legislative Framework (NLF)which has an objective of aligning theadministrative requirements of selectedDirectives.

The technical requirements are not really verydifferent but there are some changes toscope and responsibilities. For example theRadio Equipment Directive (RE-D) nowincludes Radiodetection equipment andBroadcast receivers (now no longer in theEMC Directive). The RE-D also encouragesthe use of a common charger particularly formobile phones and a registration scheme forproducts which have “low level” ofcompliance. There are several other changesas well which are beyond this blog. So if youare a manufacturer of radio and/or electronicequipment then you really do need toconsider how these changes might affect you.

But, of course, help is at hand with UL. Forany questions on the new directive contactJoe.Lomako@ul.com

UL is also attending and visiting a number ofevents so if you want to find out more aboutthese legislative changes pop along and seeus and we would be happy to assist

• EMCUK 7th and 8th October 2014, Newbury, UK

• Electronica, 11th to 14th November 2014, Munich, DE

• Wireless Congress, 12-13th November2014, Munich, DE

We look forward to seeing you. Oh, and don’tforget the M2M Compliance video

Click on themovie screento watchCompliancevideo

INCISOR.TV

Nordic Semiconductorand CONNECTEDEVICEjoin forces on ULPwearable mPaymentsolutionsNordic Semiconductor and wearablespioneer CONNECTEDEVICE are tocooperate on the development of mobilepayment solutions for wearable devices.The two companies will work together tointegrate Nordic's Bluetooth Smarttechnology into CONNECTEDEVICE'smPayment-enabled wearable productrange.

Thomas Søderholm, BusinessDevelopment Manager for Personal AreaNetworks (PAN) at Nordic Semiconductortold Incisor, "The ease and efficiency ofBluetooth Smart wireless connectivitybetween iOS and Android smartphones isfuelling the adoption of wearabletechnology and its many excitingapplications."

Mobile transactions are expected to soarin the coming years, with Gartnerpredicting the total value of mobilepayments will top US$720 billion a year by2017, a 200% increase in just four years.The market for wearable technology willgrow in parallel with mobile payments, bysome estimates reaching as many as 250million units by 2017.

Henri-Nicolas Olivier, CEO ofCONNECTEDEVICE, commented,"Consumer acceptance of mobilepayments will require convenient andreliable solutions. The low powerconsumption of Bluetooth Smarttechnology is a critical advantage, allowingus to create mPayment-enabled wearablesthat do not require regular recharging.Wearables can be the simplest and mostsecure way to pay. Instead of a wallet withcash and credit cards, imagine a wearable

that is durable, waterproof with a verylong battery life. There are so manyscenarios where this approach topayment makes better sense — givingmoney to your children, swimming at thebeach, skiing in the mountains, or simplya short city trip."

NFC Forum addsanalog testing tocertification program The NFC Forum has added analog testingto its Certification Program. The NFCForum claims that its analog certificationwill be the world’s first detailed evaluationof the Radio Frequency (RF) performanceof an NFC device, and that it will assurethat the certified device fulfils the RFrequirements and is compliant with theNFC Analog Technical Specification.

Consistent RF performance is essential tosmooth and swift NFC interactions,fulfilling NFC’s promise of a seamlessexperience for the consumer. The testingmilestone comes at an opportune time:according to IHS Technology, globalshipments of NFC-enabled mobilephones will surge four-fold from 2013 to2018, reaching 1.2 billion units andpenetrating 63% of the global mobilephone market. Transparency MarketResearch reports that the NFC market isexpected to reach 20 billion USD by2019.

The NFC Forum also announced theavailability of Logical Link ControlProtocol (LLCP) and Simple NDEFExchange Protocol (SNEP) certificationtesting, increasing testing coverage forthe communications protocol layers.LLCP is the communication protocol used in NFC's peer-to-peer mode, andSNEP is a protocol for exchanging NFCForum defined record structures on top of LLCP.

low energy wireless news

www.incisor.tv22

IN NEXT MONTH’S INCISOR:

WIRELESS IN SPORTS & FITNESS

There will be opportunities to contribute editorial and advertising for this feature.

If you would like to participate or would like further informationregarding the partnership opportunities with Incisor, please contact

Vince Holton: vholton@incisor.tv or sales@incisor.tv

INCISOR.TV

Wireless plays role in fallingPND shipments

www.incisor.tv 23

ccording to a new research reportfrom the analyst firm Berg Insight,global shipments of Personal

Navigation Devices (PNDs) declined from28 million units in 2012 to 22 million unitsin 2013. There are signs that the decline isslowing and some emerging markets stillexperience growth. However, on thewhole, the PND market is set for acontinued downturn on a global basis.Berg Insight forecasts that PND shipmentswill decline to only 10 million unitsworldwide in 2019. A number ofdevelopments are affecting the PNDmarket. Retailers have reduced shelfspace and marketing for PNDs in favour ofother consumer electronics products.

Competition from other navigation solutions,especially navigation apps, is alsointensifying. Over time, PNDs will also facefurther competition from in-dash navigationsystems as more car brands launch low costsystems. Moreover, the installed base ofPNDs is already high and replacement cyclesare likely to be prolonged since PNDs havematured considerably and many devices arenow sold with lifetime map updates, giving

users less reason to replacetheir existing devices asfrequently.

The user experience forhandset-based navigationapps is now improvingthrough better integration inthe car. Some vendors havereleased NFC-enabled carmounts enabling the ownerto configure the handset toturn on the GPS and launcha navigation app when thephone is placed in themount. A majority of carmanufacturers have alsostarted to offer smartphoneintegration solutions that connect thevehicle’s infotainment system with the user’ssmartphone via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB orHDMI. It is then possible to display andcontrol smartphone apps using thetouchscreen and controls in the car.

Higher smartphone adoption along withbroader availability of low cost and freenavigation apps are important factors for the

continued increase in usage of mobilenavigation services worldwide. “The numberof mobile subscribers worldwide using aturn-by-turn navigation app on their handsetat least once per month grew from 150million in 2012 to 180 million in 2013”, AndréMalm, Senior Analyst, Berg Insight toldIncisor. He adds that in most markets,smartphones from major vendors nowcome bundled with free navigation apps.

A

AUTOMOTIVE CONNECTIVITY NOW

NextGen are helping customers to manage the interoperability experience beyondBluetooth, Cellular, Wi-Fi and USB connectivityto include mobile app integration and cloudtechnologies. With the integration of thesetechnologies users will experience more complexuse cases and car manufacturers will need todevelop validation strategies to mitigate conflictsin these use cases.

The decision of GM to focus on Apples CarPlay& Android Auto ahead of its own in car appsrecognises that Apple and Google’s ecosystemscan provide better support for general consumerapps. However NextGen strongly feels that thereis great potential for proprietary automotivecentric apps unique to the requirements of theOEMS that still provide rich functionality andspecial features related to the brand or aparticular vehicle related feature.

The in car apps space will be populated by twoclasses of application: generic services and apps,running on consumer ecosystems, and morespecialised applications which leverage featuresenabled by the OEM proprietary interfaces such asremote locking, diagnostics, economy and servicestatus and both classes of app will coexist, as willthe consumer cloud based platforms andproprietary platforms they run upon.

NextGen hold a huge library of all key mobiledevices on sale in all major worldwide marketsand profile these devices for compatibility with allconnectivity technologies and support for thevarious app ecosystems and connectivity scenarios.

While it’s easy to assume that Apple and Googleintegration might lead to ubiquity of smartphonepowered apps in the dashboard, NextGen feel thefuture is likely to be more complex. Whileconsumer app integration may be headlinefeatures, consumers will continue to expect theinfotainment systems to provide a solid integratedfeature set, to be augmented, not replaced byconsumer cloud based services.

In addition to the device libraries andconnectivity portfolios NextGen has developed anextensive range of test cases, linked to userscenarios to check the behaviour and theinteroperability performance of consumer andOEM specific applications across devices.

NextGen are engaged in modelling thesecomplex use scenarios to predict, test and map the interoperability performance of the in car systems as the connected car andinfotainment platforms evolve. You can register

online for free access to furtherinformation and resources atwww. nextgen - technology . com,or for further information email:andor.miles.board@ngtech.co.uk

www.incisor.tv24

Smartphone connectivitypresents both opportunities

and challenges for automotiveprocessor chip suppliers

he use of smartphones in motorvehicles—already a near-ubiquitousphenomenon—is the most disruptive

trend in the automotive infotainment businesstoday, presenting both challenges andopportunities for automakers and their processorsemiconductor suppliers, according to a newreport from IHS Technology.

The most promising prospect for automotiveprocessors in the years ahead will be in thetelematics portal head unit, which can connect witha smartphone for mobile broadband connectivity.Revenue for automotive infotainment processorchips for telematics portal head units will grow to$508 million in 2018, up from slightly less than$128 million in 2013, as shown in the attachedfigure. And while this particular applicationaccounted for only 8 percent of total globalautomotive infotainment processor market revenuein 2013, its share will surge to 30 percent in 2018.

In comparison, the automotive processor segmentwith the highest revenue last year, head units fornavigation, will shrink dramatically by 2018.Revenue will plunge to $51.0 million in 2018, downfrom $367.8 million in 2013, as navigation becomesa standard feature provided not only by multimediaand telematics portals but also by smartphones.

“Smartphone use in vehicles has led to twodivergent approaches to head-unit designs, onereplacing smartphone and the other one embracingthem,” said Tom Hackenberg, senior analyst formicrocontrollers and microprocessors at IHS. “Forthe most part, automakers are heeding the call toaccommodate mobile devices. This explains thedramatic rise in revenue for telematics portal headunits, which address the complexities of the human-machine interface as well as the increasingconsumer demand for ubiquitous connectivity.”

To keep up with such consumer preferences,automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEM)are providing systems that are more extensivelyintegrated. Not only will infotainment systems comewith features such as networked displays, controlsbuilt into the steering wheel and large touchscreens, cars will also be able to capitalize onusers’ smartphones to connect with the variousintegrated systems of the vehicle, in order to offer aricher and more up-to-date experience.

The great growth in new features from automotiveOEMs is expected to take market share away fromaftermarket vendors, which will be hard-pressed toexceed the rich user experience delivered from pre-installed and highly integrated infotainmentsystems.

HITTING THE RIGHT MIX

Some crucial challenges will face vehicle OEMswhen developing media-rich cars. A feature-ladeninfotainment solution adapted from a consumerelectronics design has a potential risk, howeverinsignificant, of introducing previously unknownflaws or clashing with critical systems electronically.This can create a liability issue in vehicle design.

Also, excess or inappropriate infotainment can beconstrued as driver distraction—another liability forthe OEM. On the other hand, such concerns must beweighed against the potential for an inadequate userexperience if car makers offer unsophisticatedsmartphone connectivity options, which could tarnishbrands and make them seem irrelevant. Striking thecorrect balance—between a safe driving experienceon the one hand, and the evolving demands of theconnected consumer on the other—is creating anarrow but contentious design challenge for next-generation vehicle infotainment, Hackenberg noted.

The demand for a user experience commensuratewith smartphones and tablets has additionalimplications for automotive infotainment, Hackenbergadded. The disparity between the rapid developmentcycle of multimedia processors and the carefullytested development cycle of automotive OEMs meansthat the infotainment system designer must becreative in enabling flexible product-line solutions toaccommodate a rapidly changing supply chain.

Another hurdle for automotive OEMs is to matchconsumer expectations of their infotainmentexperience. In this case, vehicle owners may wanttheir connectivity interaction with the car’sinfotainment system to look and feel the same aswhen they deal with their portable devices.

The problem is especially acute because mobilehandsets come and go at a rapid pace, with newmodels and updates developing and introducedduring a period of one year or less. Automotivemakers, meanwhile, need to maintain a consistentlyhigh standard of quality, and it could take years toimplement the new developments in connectivity,such as those related to interfacing with mobiledevices like smartphones.

For the premium vehicle market, which is more likelyto embrace multimedia and Internet connectivityfeatures by replacing the need for a smartphone, thisconnotes designing a more modular and costlyapproach that can evolve at the pace of mobiletechnologies. For the more mainstream marketembracing the smartphone for processingapplications, this will mean a constant strugglewith mobile device compatibility.

T

Wi-Fi Alliance enhancesWi-Fi CERTIFIED Wi-FiDirect The Wi-Fi Alliance has added to its Wi-FiDirect certification program a set of servicesbuilt on a platform of new usabilitymechanisms. The added optional featuressupport new services that can now “discover,connect and do” in a single step, andimmediately implement interoperable servicesfor several common tasks.

Underlying the enhancements is a newapplication service platform designed to makeit easier for the industry to develop newapplications to operate over Wi-Fi Directconnections by providing a common approachto service discovery and onboarding. Productssupporting the Wi-Fi Direct Toolkit will offer adeveloper interface to the platform for usewhen building applications to run on Wi-FiDirect connections. Rather than relying on theuser to configure a connection before using anapplication, an application itself will be able toinitiate a Wi-Fi Direct connection betweendevices from various brands.

Four services are now certified in the program:

• Wi-Fi Direct Send - One or more devicescan now send and receive content withminimal user interaction

• Wi-Fi Direct Print - With a single command,print documents directly from a smartphone,tablet or PC

• Wi-Fi Direct for DLNA - Devices supportingDLNA interoperability guidelines discovereach other before connecting to streamcontent

• Miracast - devices can implement theupdated device and service discoverymechanisms of Wi-Fi Direct to enablescreen mirroring and display in one step

ABI Research estimates that two billion Wi-FiDirect devices have been shipped to date, andthat 81 percent of all Wi-Fi devices will be Wi-Fi Direct-enabled by 2018. The Alliance

tells us that Wi-Fi Direct has been widelyadopted, with more than 6,000 certificationscompleted since the initial program launch inOctober 2010.

Broadcom powershandheld wireless X-raysecurity scanner American Science and Engineering (AS&E) hasselected the Broadcom Wireless InternetConnectivity for Embedded Devices (WICED)Wi-Fi technology as the connectivitycomponent for the handheld Z Backscatterimaging system.

The MINI Z handheld X-ray detection systemis a portable, single-sided imaging system thatcan be used to scan objects in hard-to-reachareas such as unattended bags, backpacks,or packages in a subway or bus with no setup required. It uses AS&E's Z Backscattertechnology, an X-ray imaging technology thatdetects and highlights the organic materialsthat transmission X-ray systems can miss,such as plastic guns, ceramic knives,explosives, and drugs. The device provides areal-time image of its target on a tablet screenusing Z Backscatter technology andBroadcom's WICED Wi-Fi module for awireless connection to the scanner. The MINIZ is the first portable screen implementationbased on the WICED platform.

Joe Reiss, AS&E Vice President of ProductManagement told Incisor, "The MINI Z systemrepresents an entirely new class of product forthe detection industry, an effective, lightweightscanner that — for the first time — enablessecurity, customs, and public safety officials toquickly determine if threats or contraband arepresent in hard-to-reach environments, suchas the interior of cars, aircraft and watercraft.Broadcom's WICED technology provided thecomplete development platform we requiredto get to market quickly with this ground-breaking, innovative new product."

802.11ac Wi-Fi CPEshipments to capture18% of total accesspoints The worldwide Wi-Fi customer premisesequipment (CPE) market is expected togrow 11% in 2014. According to ABIResearch’s Market Data, Wi-Fi CustomerPremise Equipment, total shipments of Wi-Fiaccess points, routers, and residentialgateways are set to surpass 176 millionunits by the end of 2014. “Growth isexpected in all regions, driven by increasedbroadband penetration and more connecteddevices in homes,” commented JakeSaunders, VP and practice director.

Since its WLAN market inception in 2013,shipments of the 802.11ac standard haveaccelerated. In the consumer Wi-Fiequipment market, D-Link and NETGEARlead 802.11ac access point shipments. “Thecombined shipments of the two companiesrepresented more than 20% of worldwide802.11ac shipments in 1Q 2014. ABIResearch expects that nearly 32 million802.11ac access points will be shipped in2014,” added Khin Sandi Lynn, industryanalyst.

ABI noted that shipments of Wi-Fi deviceswith older generation standards such as802.11a/b/g have dropped significantly overthe past few years as they were replaced by802.11n products. The enterprise Wi-Fimarket has also experienced increaseddeployments of 802.11ac devices. Ciscoand Aruba Networks sold the largestnumbers of 802.11ac access points in theenterprise Wi-Fi market; a combined total of0.1 million 802.11ac access points in 1Q2014. The enterprise class Wi-Fi equipmentmarket is expected to grow to generaterevenues of $US8.1 billion by the end of2019.

high speed wireless news

www.incisor.tv 25

Wi-Fi Alliancestatement regardingconnected vehicleRequest forApplications Incisor hears from the Wi-Fi Alliance that theUnited States Department of Transportationhas issued a Request for Applications (RFA)for the next stage of its connected vehiclecertification program. This initiative promisesto advance the United States towards wide-scale implementation of both vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructurecapabilities aimed at improving traffic safetyand efficiency.

The Alliance believes that the success of theconnected vehicle certification program willhinge on delivering interoperable productsand solutions that governments, industry, andconsumers can depend on. As the industryorganization responsible for certification ofproducts implementing the IEEE 802.11standard, the Alliance says that it is

positioned to play a key role as the U.S.connected vehicle program matures into thecertification and deployment phases.

The standards for connected vehicles cover arange of protocol layers and functionality. IEEE802.11 and 1609 reside at the lowest levels –the foundation levels for the full set offunctions – and the Alliance suggests that theexperience it has built up developinginteroperability programs for 802.11-basedand higher layer products can be used toadvantage within the connected vehiclecertification programs.

Broadcom claims 5Gcombo chip doublesWi-Fi performanceBroadcom has announced what it is calling a5G Wi-Fi (802.11ac) 2x2 Multiple InputMultiple Output (MIMO) combo chip for mobiledevices, claiming that the BCM4358 deliversunparalleled throughput, Bluetooth co-existence performance and indoor locationaccuracy. Broadcom says that the chip will

enable OEMs to design high-end smartphonesand tablets with twice the Wi-Fi performance

Today's content-centric consumer spends anaverage of 4-5 hours a day on Wi-Fi. With 650Mbps Wi-Fi data throughput and 50 percentbetter coexistence performance with Bluetooth,Broadcom predicts that consumers will be ableto download content two times faster, streamvideos with less buffering and connect tomultiple Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devicesconcurrently (e.g. listen to music while playing agame) without interference issues. In addition,improved location accuracy down to one meterwill allow new and better indoor location-basedservices to become viable.

David Recker, Broadcom Senior Director,Wireless Connectivity told Incisor, "Thecombination of 5G WiFi and 2x2 MIMO unlocksthe full potential of today's smartphones andtablets. These technologies are becoming defacto requirements for connectivity in high-endmobile devices. With the BCM4358 we areaddressing critical multi-radio interferencechallenges while setting a new bar forperformance that reflects Broadcom'scontinued commitment to be first to deliver themost powerful solutions in the market."

high speed wireless news

www.incisor.tv26

INCISOR.TVYou know we’re sold on the idea of usingembedded video here at Incisor.TV. Thismeans we scan the Internet for examplesof video being used to promote wirelesstechnology.

From time to time we will showcase themhere at Incisor.

This month we are featuring the movie‘The Connected Hospital’ from Laird.

Click on the screen here to watch Laird’smovie.

VIDEO SHOWCASE

events

DATE EVENT LOCATION NOTES LINK

Oct 4 - 6 Wi-Fi Alliance Berlin, Germany - http://www.wi-fi.org/news-events/events2014 Member Meeting

Oct 7 - 8 Wearable Technology: San Francisco, - http://www.wearabletechinnovations.com/2014 Adoption and California, USA

Monetization Summit

Oct 8 Wearable Tech. Taipei, Taiwan - http://www.wearable-technologies.com/2014 Conference 2014 events/wtconference-2014-asia

ASIA

January 7 Incisor.TV Wireless Las Vegas, 4th annual staging of this Enquiries – vholton@incisor.tv/2015 Roundtable USA Nevada, USA key industry debate nkohn@incisor.tv

January 6 - 9 2015 Consumer Las Vegas, - http://www.cesweb.org/Events-2015 Electronics Show Nevada, USA Awards/Events/2015-CES-Unveiled

www.incisor.tv27

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