Interview
Partnering to connect the unconnected
We have entered a time where technology is fast moving and technology is reaching beyond the realms of what we thought was possible. But to make this possible, everything needs to be connected. CIE editor Amy Wallington talks to Dennis van Doorn, marketing manager of wireless solutions at Fujitsu and Richard Kinder, head of product marketing at Wirepas about how the two companies are working together to provide pioneering IoT connectivity solutions to the market
products. Fujitsu Components sees a huge potential in offering complete IoT connectivity solutions along with the help from partners such as Wirepas. Dennis van Doorn explains: “The challenge with IoT connectivity solutions is to provide the best fit solution from our ‘own shelf’. From Fujitsu’s side, next to some already unique embedded software, we supply, design and customise hardware such as our modules and Beacons. That is one of the building blocks we are responsible for.”
Dennis van Doorn
He continues: “For a complete solution we work with selected partners to provide additional necessary software building blocks. Partners such as
Indoo.rs, enmo technologies and Wirepas develop software on the connectivity side that, together with our hardware, build complete solutions for various markets and customers.” Solutions that need leading Blue-dot indoor navigation software which is easy to install and works perfect with our Bluetooth Beacons. Solutions for connecting battery powered sensor tags, that collect sensor data, to a gateway and transmit their data into the cloud without the need of pairing and human interference. Or solutions based on a scalable, de-centralised Mesh network technology that connects an unlimited number of sensors, beacons, lights, etc. in one big mesh network of any radio technology.
Richard Kinder L
ast year, Fujitsu celebrated 100 years of experience in the relay market, which is where Fujitsu Components originated,
making relays for the first computers. Around 20 years ago, Fujitsu started the development of wireless modules. Since then, the portfolio expanded with the latest radio technologies in modules and
12 October 2018
Dennis adds: “With a market focus on asset management, smart building/city, Industry 4.0 (sensors) and metering. We are not only able to support electronic equipment manufacturers but also customers in other fields such as logistic operators, warehouse and office design fit- out organisations, public facilities and so much more.” Working with partners on building these solutions means that customers can get everything they want from Fujitsu overall. Van Doorn says: “Competition is severe in the components market. More customers do not want to buy just some hardware,
Components in Electronics
they want assistance building a complete solution. The majority of customers do not have all of the expertise in-house and are looking for suppliers that can offer them that little bit extra to help them out. “This way we make integration easier, if a customer wants their application to have a Bluetooth connection, we have modules with embedded unique Fujitsu software which helps engineers controlling the Bluetooth radio with simple text based commands. So in that way, Fujitsu is already offering more than just a module. We are offering a tool to integrate Bluetooth communication much easier without any programming on the module side. “The need in the market for this is one
of the reasons why we decided to co- create with other companies to offer an even more complete solution. There are companies that offer great software solutions that need a partner in hardware. So we now co-create solutions with other companies and make partnerships to offer the most complete solutions to our customers.” One of the co-creation partners of Fujitsu Components is Wirepas a company that specialises in mesh networking to help devices communicate with each other. Richard Kinder explains: “The fundamental research that led to the creation of Wirepas was conducted at The University of Tampere in Finland, the town in which we
are headquartered. There was a multi-year research programme into mesh networking technology. Unlike cellular systems where there is a single hop of communication between the phone and a basestation, mesh networking is a different approach where all the devices in the network can send and receive data to each other. This is known as a multi-hop network and allows the network to grow easily without significant investment in infrastructure. “The academic research gave a great foundation on which to build and in 2014 we decided to focus Wirepas on licensing the communication software that includes many of the fundamental innovations pioneered in the academic times. We haven’t stood still – since 2014 we have continuously improved the product to provide best in class wireless connectivity for the Industrial IoT market. “In 2015 we secured our first big customer which was a smart meter manufacturer in Finland. And what we believe to be the world’s largest single mesh network has been deployed using our technology in Oslo. There’s 750,000 meters in a single mesh network all communicating with each other and all sending data every 15 minutes about how customers are using their energy. “Now we have approaching 100 licensees of the Wirepas Mesh product in markets such as smart energy, lighting
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