Over the last decade we’ve seen the Internet create a new system to connect people. We’re more connected than ever via email, social networks and other peer-to-peer online services. Over the next decade that connection will continue to extend to physical objects, or the Internet of Things. It’s estimated that by 2020 there will be 50,000,000,000 (yes, 50 billion!) connected devices.

That’s why we are partnering with the best. Digi and Wind River, a subsidiary of Intel Corporation, have collaborated to create a new class of cloud-connected wireless machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions based on Intel Architecture. The M2M Solution Builder kits will include a combination of hardware, software, cloud connectivity, and access to tailored M2M development services.

Remote machines are already being used for a vast range of solutions– from wireless EKG monitors in hospitals that transmit data to a doctor’s computer in real-time, to sensors that track food from its growth in the field all the way to its freshness on store shelves. Remote machines are not only improving business operations, they are improving our lives.

The collaborative solution from Digi and Wind River will accelerate market adoption and open the door for more businesses and developers to create money making and  life-changing connected products with cloud-enabled services.

As part of the kit user experience, customers will be able to exercise complete iDigi Manager Pro capabilities for full remote control of these new innovative devices from the internet. Cloud-based desktop and mobile web dashboard applications can be created right out of the box. In addition, through iDigi Application Development Services and Digi’s Spectrum Design Services, Digi offers custom web and mobile application development as well as full wireless and hardware design services. Anything from minor  product customization to complete turnkey development is available using the Intel platform.

The M2M Solution Builder kit is expected to be available in June 2012. Visit Digi for more information.

Corey Plender, iDigi Solutions Architect, shows how easy it is to use iDigi Manager Pro to manage cellular gateways and routers.

Sara Ohrvall, Senior Vice President of Bonnier R&D and Vincent Horn, Chief Buddhist Geek at Buddhist Geeks are holding a session at SXSW today– Closer to One: Buddhism and the Internet of Things.

Ohrvall and Horn will be talking about how as we begin to network more objects, we are building the “interconnectedness of all things” that eastern philosophers have talked about for millennia.

The session will dive into the question, “Could all this connectedness make us better people?”

How does the Internet of Things work to help us lead better lives? What about healthier lives?

Technologies exist that allow us to “connect our bodies,” for example, exercise tools like RunKeeper, Wii-Fit and FitBit.

But, what about on a larger scale? How can the Internet of Things help us solve health issues world-wide? How can the Internet of Things help us understand and better our food system?

One peek inside the food industry will have you surprised and most likely frightened at the lack of general information on where our food comes from, how fresh it is and the sustainability of our entire food system.

The sustainability of the food system, or the ability to ensure that everyone has enough food to live a healthy life, is known as “food security.”

The Libelium Waspmote Sensor Device

Digi International’s® client, Libelium, is using wireless sensor networks to monitor food sustainability. These wireless sensor systems, Waspmote sensors, can be used to monitor and control the whole food cycle– from food production and harvesting, transportation and distribution all the way to consumption and even bio-waste outputs– pretty amazing.

Linelium explains how food insecurity impacts the world, “Food insecurity continues to be a major development problem across the globe, undermining people’s health, productivity, and often their very survival. Use of Waspmote sensors can assist in strengthening the collective understanding of how to protect and manage food systems.”

Photo from Libelium

Food Production

• By combining sensors such as humidity, temperature, and light, the risk of frost can be detected.
• Monitoring can ensure prevention of plant diseases or manage watering requirements based on soil humidity. This helps to control conditions in nurseries and to closely monitor high performance or delicate crops, such as vineyards or tropical fruit, where the slightest change in climate can affect the final outcome.
• The information can also help to determine the optimum conditions for each crop, by comparing the figures obtained during the best harvests.

Distribution

• The technology integrated in Waspmote (GPS, sensors and clock) makes it possible to control, in real-time, conditions of merchandise.
• Waspmote can detect and store environmental samples during the product’s transport to determine if  it has been exposed to high temperatures or whether it has been contaminated during the journey.
• A GPS ensures that the product can be located at all times.

In-Store

• Waspmote can operate as a smart label on merchandise containers. It can transmit through ZigBee wirelessly to gather product information, number of units, batches, etc.
• It can also be used to detect expired food or even to alert a customer that a specific product contains food not suitable for him or her because of his or her allergies.

Food waste and disposal

• After high temperature days and severe weather events, food wastes can be a source of disease and contamination. Waspmote sensors can monitor public disposal areas or high risk areas.

The connected technologies that the Internet of Things offers will continue to change the way we live our lives. The Waspmote is a great example of how this change can improve the quality of one of the most important aspects of life, the food system. We are looking forward to hearing Ohrvall and Horn’s perspective at their session today at SXSW, and we thank them for covering this inspiring topic.

What’s the one thing you can’t live without? Many people would say it’s their cell phone. These are not only the way we communicate via voice and text, they’re our link to the Internet, our social networks, video and let’s not forget all that email. However all this communication comes at a price. We’re running low on bandwidth.

The shortfall in available wireless spectrum has been on our minds at Digi International^®. We’ve been thinking about innovative solutions to a problem that Americans will soon encounter– the “spectrum crunch.” According to the Federal Communications Commission’s estimates, at the current growth rate, the slight surplus that the U.S. still has with spectrum space will turn into a deficit as early as next year.

As you may have guessed, the demand for cellular coverage has increased along with network traffic.It’s our appetite for instantaneous email, video and apps from mobile devices that will eventually exceed the available spectrum. ”Can you hear me now?” may take on a new meaning as this spectrum deficit threatens to increase the number of dropped calls, slow down data speeds and raise wireless prices.

Global mobile data traffic is just about doubling every year, and will continue to do so through at least 2016, according to Cisco’s Mobile Visual Networking Index, the industry’s most comprehensive annual study. (Resource: “Sorry, America: Your wireless airwaves are full” by David Goldman, CNN Money.)

“We got to this point just by cutting the Internet cord and taking our information infrastructure with us on smartphones. However the smartphone is only a single device. As the Internet of Things expands our number of devices, the connections needed will grow exponentially. Even today there are wireless scales that share our diet successes, radio-conneted shoes to track exercise achievements, parking spaces that announce their availability on the Internet, vehicles proclaiming their locations and so forth” says Rob Faludi, Digi’s Collaborative Strategy Leader. “With at least 50 million new devices anticipated inside this decade, we’re going to need to expand bandwidth and use what we’ve got more efficiently.”

For Digi International, solving this problem is seen as a terrific business opportunity. We’ve been working on systems to manage cellular costs from the cloud, so that devices can stick within their budgets. The XBee Programmable, intelligent ConnectPort gateways and iDigi Connector for microcontrollers all work together to push applications out to the network so that wireless data streams aren’t clogged by raw data. Instead significant operations can be managed locally. Decisions are made on the node or gateway end rather than simply pushing everything up to the cloud. These applications are managed from the cloud instead, keeping wireless spectrum clear for alerts, alarms and reporting. Transmissions are made just-in-time and only exactly what is needed. Digi is also keeping an eye on innovative new research and science such as this new paper by Italian physicists on fusillli pasta-shaped radio waves that expand the carrying capability of the available spectrum. Watch the video below for an empirical demonstration of these spiral waves crossing a lagoon in Venice:

“Digi sees opportunity in managing existing spectrum from the iDigi Device Cloud and deploying innovative engineering solutions in upcoming products” said Joel Young, Digi’s CTO. “Our strategy is to work with customers, partners and providers to ensure that device data flows freely for a long time to come.”

Got other ideas on surviving the coming spectrum crunch? Share them in the comments below.

The XBee Internet Gateway (“XIG”) is an application written for Digi’s ConnectPort series of XBee-to-IP gateways. The XBee Internet Gateway gives any device the ability to connect seamlessly to the Internet by mirroring the interactions humans have with web browsers. Devices with an XBee radio can send a web URL to the XIG and receive back the contents of that web page. All the tricky technical aspects of web connections are all handled for you behind the scenes.

This gateway gives your prototype or device a simple yet completely flexible pathway to any web service that you can imagine, including posting sensor values, scraping Facebook or commanding your robotic kitten army. It’s free to download and full documentation is available online. The XIG can be used independently. It can also be linked to iDigi for remote device network configuration and push features.

XIG is an open-source team effort lead by Internet of Things enthusiasts Rob Faludi, Jordan Husney and Ted Hayes with valuable support from a community of commercial and educational users.

For more information on Digi’s gateways see the following web-page:

http://www.digi.com/products/wireless-routers-gateways/