INFRASTRUCTURE, INDUSTRIAL IOT
prnewswire | April 13, 2023
The Connectivity Standards Alliance, an organization of hundreds of companies creating, maintaining, and delivering open global standards for the Internet of Things (IoT), today announced the release of Zigbee PRO 2023 of the Zigbee protocol stack. The revision brings several enhancements and new features to the technology, allowing mesh networks to have a universal language that enables smart objects to work together.
Zigbee PRO 2023 expands on secure-by-design architecture by adding a number of security enhancements to address changing market needs while simplifying the user experience and extending supported bands beyond 2.4 GHz. The revision also enables Zigbee Direct, simplifying device onboarding and control utilizing Bluetooth Low Energy, a technology found in many voice assistant products and mobile devices. The Zigbee PRO 2023 version also progresses standardization of hub-centric operations with the first phase of 'Works with All Hubs', a feature that improves network resiliency on a Hub-centric network by helping devices to identify the most suitable parent for securely joining and rejoining the network. Finally, the added support for sub-gigahertz frequencies for Europe (800 Mhz) and North America (900 MHZ) delivers increased signal strength and range to support even more use cases.
"After two decades, Zigbee continues to empower consumer and industrial use cases, enabling richer and more reliable connectivity for utilities, homes, industry, and buildings. With PRO 2023's new features and security enhancements, our hundreds of members continue to evolve and increase Zigbee's relevance and value to manufacturers, their customers, and consumers," said Tobin Richardson, President and CEO of the Connectivity Standards Alliance.
One of the critical components of the Zigbee PRO 2023 release is a set of feature enhancements and new security mechanisms for protecting the network during the onboarding and operation of devices to address modern-day security threats. The key new security features include Dynamic Link Key, Device Interview, and Trust Center Swap Out. Dynamic Link Key is a significant improvement based on Public/Private key pairing and advanced security curves, further protecting the network from attacks. Device Interview technology allows users to query and filter out the devices before allowing them onto a network based on ecosystem requirements. The Trust Center Swap-Out feature allows changing out the 'Trust Center' which can be a gateway, hub, smart speaker, and even commercial electric meters for a network without requiring all devices to be recommissioned.
"Security always needs to evolve as new exploits and attacks are introduced. With the PRO 2023 release, Zigbee now includes several critical security features to address modern-day threats," said Asad Haque, Chair of the Security Advisory Group, Connectivity Standards Alliance. "These enhancements utilize industry-standard cryptographic algorithms and mutual authentication to protect network security during commissioning and subsequent operation. It is great to see well-established standards like Zigbee continue to adopt the latest security technology available to deliver peace of mind to consumers."
In addition to the security improvements, Zigbee devices built to Zigbee PRO 2023 specifications with a sufficient level of security are now able to be on the same network as Smart Energy devices, providing the exchange of important information to further improve control and use of the energy and devices. Zigbee Certified Products can connect and communicate using the same IoT language with each other, and hundreds of millions of Zigbee products are already deployed in smart homes and buildings worldwide. Over 3,900 Zigbee products have been certified, and over a billion chipsets have been sold globally.
About the Connectivity Standards Alliance
The Connectivity Standards Alliance is the foundation and future of the Internet of Things (IoT). Established in 2002, its wide-ranging global membership collaborates to create and evolve universal open standards for the products transforming the way we live, work, and play. With its Members' deep and diverse expertise, robust certification programs, and a full suite of open IoT solutions the Alliance is leading the movement toward a more intuitive, imaginative, and useful world.
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INFRASTRUCTURE, SOFTWARE AND TOOLS
businesswire | April 04, 2023
Amazon, Inc. today announced that Amazon Sidewalk, a secure, low-bandwidth, long-range network designed to connect the next billion devices, is now open for developer testing. Sidewalk coverage now extends to 90% of the U.S. population, and free test kits are available for developers to validate the breadth of Sidewalk coverage for themselves as they build Sidewalk devices. Developers can request their test kit here.
“We’ve rapidly built out a long-range, low-bandwidth network that now covers more than 90% of the U.S. population, and this is an open invitation for developers to put it to the test,” said Dave Limp, senior vice president of Amazon Devices & Services. “Many types of connected devices have been limited by the range of Wi-Fi and the cost of cellular technology, which has hindered the ability to connect devices like environmental sensors, leak detectors, and smart locks. Sidewalk is designed to provide a secure, low-cost way to invent and connect a whole new range of devices, and we can’t wait to see what developers build.”
Nationwide Coverage, Ready to Test
Devices connected to Sidewalk come with a secure, persistent, and low-cost connection to the cloud. Newly-released public coverage maps showcase estimated Sidewalk coverage for any U.S. location, enabling developers to understand if their devices will connect in a desired area before starting product development. Sidewalk test kits are designed to validate real-world coverage by regularly pinging their location over the network, providing clear signal strength readings on a map within a developer portal.
Build with New Developer Tools and Resources
Developers can now use the tools and technology from Amazon Sidewalk, AWS, and leading silicon companies to rapidly build and onboard devices and supporting cloud-based applications to Sidewalk. Developers within Sidewalk’s coverage area can instantly connect a qualified silicon provider's developer kit to the cloud without deploying their own network infrastructure. This also means developers' customers can seamlessly add new Sidewalk-enabled devices without installing new apps or providing new passwords to connect their devices to Sidewalk. New tools and features available to developers include:
Software Development Kits (SDKs): Distributed by leading silicon companies Nordic Semiconductor, Silicon Labs, Texas Instruments, and module vendor Quectel, these SDKs support Sidewalk technology and enable developers to build their Sidewalk applications while also integrating with existing silicon provider toolkits. This simplifies development for new Sidewalk designs and allows easy migration to Sidewalk for existing designs.
Hardware Development Kits (HDKs) and Connectivity Module: To support their SDKs for Sidewalk, Nordic Semiconductor, Silicon Labs, and Texas Instruments each offer HDKs for developers to tinker, prototype, and design their applications on reference hardware. Additionally, Quectel offers a Sidewalk connectivity module, designed to help developers productize their Sidewalk-enabled devices and decrease their time-to-market.
Mobile SDK and Tools App: Delivered by Amazon via GitHub, the Mobile SDK for iOS and Android devices is designed to speed up the integration of Sidewalk technology into developers’ mobile apps. Amazon also offers a Tools App for developers to debug and troubleshoot designs in the field.
Natively Integrate with AWS IoT Core
AWS IoT Core integration with Sidewalk makes it easy for developers to access the AWS services and resources needed to efficiently connect Sidewalk-enabled devices to the cloud, including:
AWS IoT Core for Amazon Sidewalk: AWS IoT Core lets developers access and configure their Sidewalk-enabled devices via an easy-to-use web interface and offers a broad range of AWS services developers are already familiar with. With AWS IoT Core for Amazon Sidewalk, device registration for the development kits is as simple as turning on the device, simplifying the onboarding experience for developers.
AWS Samples GitHub Repository: Developers can access the software, source code, scripts, and documentation needed to connect devices to Sidewalk, providing AWS reference code that helps developers rapidly prototype solutions.
“The integration of AWS IoT Core and Amazon Sidewalk marks a significant milestone for developers, manufacturers, and customers, streamlining the design, connection, and deployment of Amazon Sidewalk based IoT solutions,” said Yasser Alsaied, vice president of IoT at Amazon Web Services. “Now, with AWS IoT Core for Amazon Sidewalk, developers can access more than 200 AWS services to build scalable solutions on top of a highly reliable, secure, and free-to-connect wireless network.”
About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth’s Best Employer, and Earth’s Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon
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ENTERPRISE IOT, DEVICES
UnaBiz | March 14, 2023
On March 13, 2023, Senet, Inc., a market leader in cloud-based services and software platforms enabling worldwide connectivity and on-demand network build-outs for IoT, and UnaBiz, a service provider and integrator for Massive IoT, announced a partnership. The companies will offer complete access to Senet's LoRaWAN network services and develop future global 0G network access beyond North America for customers implementing hybrid solutions.
The partnership will initially concentrate on assisting international UnaBiz clients in entering the North American market through scaled LPWAN applications powered by Senet's Public LoRaWAN Network-as-a-Service (NAAS). In addition, the two companies will collaborate to enable roaming so that Senet's customers can easily use the UnaBiz global 0G Network, driven by Sigfox 0G technology that is owned and employed by more than 70 national Operators worldwide.
The strategic partnership between UnaBiz and Senet is based on UnaBiz's technology convergence movement, bolstered by acquiring Sigfox 0G technology a year ago. Both businesses are enthusiastic about growing their service portfolios and supporting clients who use hybrid solutions worldwide.
Co-CEO and Co-Founder of UnaBiz, Henri Bong, shared, "We want our customers to focus on the value that Massive IoT can bring instead of worrying about which technology to use, coverage issues, and the cost of deployment. Through our partnership with Senet, our customers can achieve economies of scale by roaming between public 0G network infrastructure, Senet's public LoRaWAN networks and Senet's private LoRaWAN network capabilities across North America." He added, "This move will also allow our ecosystem partners and solution makers to develop hybrid solutions that service a wider market and use cases, further bringing down the cost of Massive IoT. It is a win-win situation."
(Source – Business Wire)
About UnaBiz
UnaBiz is a global provider of Massive IoT services specializing in solution design, connectivity, data platform, and manufacturing services. The company offers a hybrid of low-power wide-area (LPWA) solutions, such as Sigfox 0G, LTE-M, NB-IoT and LoRa, to power sustainable business growth. Founded in 2016 with headquarters in Singapore, it also has R&D centers in Taipei and Labège (FR) and sales offices in Paris, Madrid, Tokyo, and Holland. The firm owns Sigfox 0G technology, connecting over 10 million sensors for around 1500 B2B customers on the global 0G Network.
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