The multi-usage technological environment currently in place @ the IoT lab makes it possible to address a large portfolio of projects in multiple sectors of activity. Our team mainly works in the front-end phases of the projects – i.e., conception, design and prototyping IoT solutions as well as business cases analysis.
IoT technologies and applications have become ‘‘so seamlessly integrated into everyday life, that often the end-users a completely unaware of the presence of these devices around them’’ (Wang et al., 2017). That said, given the increasing heterogeneous technologies coexisting in the market, designing a IoT solution has become an open challenge as multiple technological designs are competing and coexisting at each layer of an IoT architecture (Fig. 3 – adapted from Bendavid & Abdellatif, 2019).
Although the IoT lab works @ all the technological layers, we are specialized in the sensing layer (1&2).
- Identification of connected ‘‘things’’ to be tracked is done by using automated Identification Technologies (AIT) technologies such as active & passive RFID tags, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons WiFi or LiFi devices;
- Fixed and portable data capture devices (e.g., RFID readers, BLE sensors, Wi-Fi adaptors, LiFi tags) are then used to acquire contextual data, i.e., capturing the physical world, enabling real-time visibility of ‘‘things’’;
- Wired or wireless communications networks such as LAN, WLAN, Cellular networks, are then used to communicate this data;
- Local-based or cloud-based databases are then used to host/access this data on ‘‘things’’ ID, state, location, condition, etc;
- Finally, data processing technologies and application platforms are then used to analyze this data and convert it into useful information for automated transactions and decision-making
Technologies available @ the IoT lab
The physical infrastructure is composed of
- Passive UHF RFID Fixed/choke point readers (e.g., used for logistics apps)
- Passive UHF RFID Fixed/zone monitoring (e.g., RTLS, object real time tracking)
- Portable Passive UHF RFID readers (e.g., inventory management, searching)
- Active RFID technologies (e.g., RTLS)
- BLE technologies (“good enough” RTLS, personnel tracking, ambiance analytics)
- LiFi Technologies (e.g., RTLS, geo-context, presence detection)
In our last projects we explore various RTLS (Real time Location Systems) options, in a changing landscape…
