Vienna, Austria – After the successful launch of the M2M connectivity platform SIMplify, Telekom Austria Group M2M is extending its portfolio by launching FLEXify, the M2M application enablement platform for remote monitoring, automation and control for metering devices, industrial plants and machines in the field.
In many industries such as energy, plant construction and water management, remote data monitoring and control of production plants and machines is a daily routine. Measurement data is recorded by sensors and transferred worldwide to a central IT-system which receives the data, saves it and visualises it for further processing. This way, processes can be monitored, automated and even controlled actively, saving time and money and protecting from consequential damages.
“M2M solutions for the optimisation of products and processes are being seen as offering competitive advantage by more and more companies. With FLEXify, we allow our customers to start with a flexible and cost effective hosted system without large development efforts or investments risks,” said Bernd Liebscher, CEO Telekom Austria M2M GmbH.
As part of the “Unlock M2M” partnership with the Austrian M2M pioneer Microtronics Engineering, an integrated overall solution is offered to business customers: field devices to global communication services and hosted middleware as well as customer specific application frontends.
The modular solution concept includes a portfolio of field devices which can be operated as a standalone unit or even without power supply or built into a device as a communication module. With an integrated SIM chip, the device builds up a secure mobile connection to the central middleware and transfers data worldwide and in real-time. An intelligent application processes the data and makes it accessible for other users via frontend. All components are pre-integrated and compatible with each another.
“With ‘Flexify’ we have a stable, secure but nevertheless open development environment. Customers can use the configurable solutions or request a customer specific application which can be developed within a couple of days. The system is completely flexible, from the firmware and the device configuration to the data model and the frontend, everything can be adapted, all modules are compatible with each other. This way, our customers can concentrate on their business model and do not have to worry about the technical side”, explains Hans-Peter Buber, CEO Microtronics.
Combining the knowhow of both companies means that flexible M2M solutions can be offered without long development periods: Microtronics brings its knowledge on industrial automation and IT-integration and Telekom Austria Group provides its expertise concerning communication technology and international sales power. In addition, the central platform is hosted and operated by Telekom Austria Group, allowing a cost-efficient start and a scalable expansion of the solution.
One of the platform’s practical fields of application is an early-warning system for flooding which is offered jointly by the partners. This service makes available real-time information about the current water level at a given spot. This way, in case of emergency, preparations to prevent flood damages can be started earlier and emergency services can be used more efficiently. The public service supported by the municipalities has been very well received by the inhabitants. Apart from reducing the risk of financial loss, the early warning system strengthens the sense of security of all those living in flood-prone areas.
Meanwhile, in Alameda, California, Wind River®, a world leader in embedded software for intelligent connected systems, has introduced the latest version of its Intelligent Device Platform, a complete software development environment used for building M2M applications and devices that communicate with the cloud. The platform provides ready-to-use components to secure, manage, and connect IoT gateways.
Wind River Intelligent Device Platform is a scalable, sustainable, and secure solution that simplifies the development, integration, and deployment of IoT gateways. It is based on Wind River’s market-leading operating systems, which are standards-compliant and fully tested, as well as Wind River development tools. The platform contains device security, smart connectivity, rich network options and device management.
“Making the most of IoT means integrating new and existing devices in an operationally efficient ecosystem, and connecting via gateways will be the most practical way to achieve scalability and minimise cost,” said Santhosh Nair, General Manager of Intelligent Systems group at Wind River. “Companies are looking for integrated solutions to help them develop compelling applications while protecting their investments, so we’re very pleased to offer a flexible platform to address these increasing needs that we’re seeing across market segments, including industrial, medical, and transportation.”
The latest version of Wind River Intelligent Device Platform includes the following key features:
- Gateway security: delivers security features designed to secure the communication channel, the data and the end device
- Application enablement: provides Lua, Java, and OSGi application environments to enable portable, scalable, and reusable application development on both resource-constrained and full-featured devices
- Device connectivity: embraces IoT protocol MQTT for data transportation and native support for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, and short-range wireless protocols widely used in IoT devices
- Remote device management: supports well-established management protocols such as TR-069 and OMA DM.
“Layering in new technologies, such as gateways, into existing legacy systems, allows companies to maximise their infrastructure investments, while acquiring the intelligence needed to drive next-generation design innovation,” said Kumar Balasubramanian, General Manager of Intelligent Solutions at Intel. “Technology offerings like Wind River Intelligent Platform play a critical role in the end-to-end approach that is required to best capitalise on emerging IoT opportunities.”
