HOT TOPIC: SMART CONNECTIVITY
EMBEDDED WITH INNOVATION
50 billion connected devices by 2020.
(Source: Ericsson*, 2010)
Intelligent Connected Devices: Designing the Next Generation of 'Smart'
Kevin Johnson
Director of Connected Devices
Intel® Intelligent Systems Group
Intelligent connected devices are all about enabling the next generation of smart services. But what do we really mean by “smart”?
By connecting people, devices and systems, intelligent connected machines are able to turn raw machine data into actionable information, which in turn can be used for services. These services are “smart” in the sense that they are context-aware, involving information that meets the changing needs of the environment, the machines themselves, and individual users.
Generations of smart services are creating vast opportunities for innovation in market segments ranging from intelligent energy management in buildings and homes, to intelligent security systems in airports, intelligent advertising that serves up relevant messages to consumers, and a medical care infrastructure capable of meeting the needs of our aging population.
As new use models emerge, they will be served by countless intelligent devices connecting to a vast ecosystem of services and applications including asset performance tracking, material logistics, building analysis, machine diagnostics, security management, and many more.
To deliver smart services, billions of intelligent connected devices will need to communicate autonomously with other machines, and with the cloud. And while we often use the term “machine-to-machine” (M2M) to describe this computing environment, Intel is significantly broadening the context to describe a more extensive set of capabilities that will enable connected machines to interact intelligently over a network.
Four ingredients of ‘smart’
At Intel we believe the next generation of intelligent connected devices will have four key ingredients:
- Efficient, high-performance computing, with built-in I/O capabilities, to handle the smart services program, security, real-time analysis, services management, and device management.
- Intelligent IP-based connectivity including integrated and flexible support for wide area, local area, personal area and near-field networking to handle mobility or fixed deployments, services provisioning, device provisioning, remote device activation and management.
- Sensory data input including low-power technology for situational awareness. That is the meta-data element of smart implementation such as location, environmental conditions, vital signs and other context-based parameters.
- Software for security, manageability (including power management), plug-and-run interoperability, and auto provisioning of the device, applications and services.
Simplifying development
If we are to scale new services to their real potential and accelerate innovation, the embedded industry must move from today’s model of complex vertical application stacks to a simpler and more flexible approach based on standardized platforms.
Generations of new intelligent services will have unique processing and connectivity requirements for which Intel® architecture is ideally suited. These include processing of rich content with heavy computational demands and high-bandwidth requirements, processing analytic information, servicing data from multiple monitors and sensors, and both real-time and non real-time information processing.
As a proof point for our commitment to enable intelligent services, in February 2011, Intel and Vodafone announced we will work together to develop and market M2M-type development solutions for intelligent services that combine Intel’s computing technologies with Vodafone’s network and connectivity services.
According to Brian Murphy, head of Vodafone’s Americas M2M team, “Intel and Vodafone are working to create a standardized M2M development environment that meets the requirements of the next generation of smart services. We are providing a platform that seamlessly combines computing and communications technologies so developers can focus on innovative solutions.”
Reference design
The Intel® M2M Reference Design for Smart Services provides another common platform for application-specific features and functions that relieves developers of the complexities of designing for multiple network protocols.
Our goal is to provide developers, solutions vendors and service providers with a common reference design for nodes and gateways that cover a wide range of options:
- M2M Edge Controllers (aggregation gateways) with direct interfaces to the cloud and indirect nodes using a wireless broadband network interface and one or more short haul or WLAN interfaces for connecting to indirect nodes.
- M2M direct nodes that interface directly to the cloud with a wireless broadband network using 2.5G, 3G or 4G radios.
- M2M indirect nodes that attach to a M2M gateway using a wireless personal area network, such as WPAN IEEE 802.15.4 Zigbee protocol or a wireless local area network (WLAN) such as Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11.
Designed for device aggregation and direct nodes, the reference platform is based on the Intel® Atom™ processor and is available in a small-footprint fanless COM Express Nano* form factor about the size of a credit card (84 x 55 mm).
The reference hardware includes a wide range of local and wide-area network connectivity options. Integrated communications provide developers with simplified access to industry-standard interfaces including WWAN (2.5G, 3G and 4G), WLAN (802.11), WPAN (802.15.4) and Ethernet.
A horizontal M2M software stack provides common management of provisioning and activation of applications and services across all vertical market segments. A wide variety of open source software is available, including the Linux* operating system, chipset drivers and protocol stacks.
The production-ready reference design helps reduce development time and project risk because it helps developers to implement connected compute technologies without prior wireless experience. And like all Intel reference designs, the M2M Reference Design for Smart Services is supported by a strong ecosystem of hardware and software providers, including members of the Intel® Intelligent Systems Alliance.
At Intel we are combining industry leading intelligent compute technologies with the latest smart connectivity offerings to create a unique solution aimed at meeting your development and deployment requirements.
Together, these efforts showcase our commitment to the “next generation of smart” – with technologies designed to help you overcome development challenges and enable your business growth.
Learn more about the Reference Design for Smart Services >
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