Why?
Connectivity is infrastructure
IoT solutions consists of 3 parts; the application, the connectivity and the sensors & actuators. Like many other technologies, such as electrical appliances or plumbing fixtures, they are connected using a shared infrastructure technology, like EU-230V / US-110V or plumbing pipes with 1/2″ or 3/4″ thread. In IoT-solutions, the connectivity is the infrastructure that allows you to scale and expand your IoT-solution. It must be chosen carefully, as it will be the platform on which you build on and it will be there for many years.
Do not choose a patented infrastructure technology
What would happen if the GSM/LTE mobile phone chips was patented by a company called SignalTech? This would cause the worlds connectivity infrastructure to be controlled by a single company (SignalTech). Every company in the world that makes mobile phones or sensors as well as all mobile operators, would have to purchase SignalTech chips in order to make products for the infrastructure! Sourcing security would another problem; What if political tensions were to deny the SignalTech to export it’s technology to China or EU? Or what if SignalTech stopped stopped making it’s chip?
The reason standards and free markets exists
The connectivity part of IoT is infrastructure, just like plumbing, electricity, roads and the Internet; Any vendor must be able make applications, connectivity equipment or sensors and applications without paying royalties to anyone. This is what enables the free market and ultimately will benefit the customers.
Just look at the Internet TCP/IP protocol, the GSM/LTE standard, HTML and C programming languages; They have been successful exactly because they are free and open infrastructure technologies that any vendor or customer to use for any purpose whether commercial or otherwise.
Aer Networks
Aer Networks was founded on a simple idea: To make IoT solutions into a real inter-network of sensors, systems and applications.
With many years of experience in the technology industry, we have seen how companies struggle with inefficient and expensive systems they are locked into – and often do not even own their own data.
We wanted to change that, as we believed it could be done smarter. Therefore, we developed an IoT solution where all sensors, systems and applications are on the same network (because they speak the same language), where all data is stored locally, and where the company owns and controls its own data.
We also saw the security problems and wanted to create a solution in which all data stays encrypted until used and where sensors and systems can be software-updated with security patches (soon to be an EU legal requirement for IoT solutions).
Our solution is based on the Z-Mesh protocol, which is Royalty Free and Open Source, meaning that any manufacturer can create sensors, networking equipment, and applications on equal terms. No licenses, no patents – just the freedom to innovate.
Z-Mesh – The Free & Open IoT Networking protocol
Z-Mesh is a free, open, royalty-free IoT Networking protocol that anyone can use for any purpose. It is a real networking protocol that allows everything to communicate with everything (the network effect), not just for collecting data like sensor-to-cloud protocols.
End-user
Purchase standard sensors, actuators, networking equipment or applications from any vendor or choose to have your local Systems Integrator make a solution, that you can expand as you go.
Systems Integrator
Z-Mesh is like WordPress for IoT; A platform that allows you to build IoT solutions faster. Re-Sell value-adds or custom solutions without having to pay qualification or certification fees.
The Network effect
The value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of connected compatible communicating devices
— Bob Metcalfe, inventor of Ethernet
2 telephones can make 1 connection, 5 telephones can make 10 connections, and 12 telephones can make 66 connections!
The value of your IoT solution
can only be unlocked
if any sensor or app can communicate
with any other sensor or app.