The revolution of Internet--IoT of Things

Probably in the summer of 1995, there was a vending machine on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University (Carnegie Mellon University), which sold a variety of cola at a price of half the cost of the market. So, many students go to the machine to buy Coke. But ran all the way to the past, often found that Coke has been sold out, White run a trip. So a few clever students think of a way, they put a series of photoelectric tubes in the vending machine, to count, to see how many cans of Coke left. Then docking the vending machine with the Internet. In this way, before the students go to the vending machine, they can check the Internet to see how many cans of Coke are left, so as not to run for a white trip.

Then CNN also made a special trip to CMU, the field shot a piece of news. There was no such thing as the concept of Internet of things. The initial idea is simply to connect the sensor (sensors) to the Internet, increase the speed of data entry, and expand the source of the data. This is my personal first contact with the internet of things.

The concept of the Internet of Things was formally introduced, it was 1999. It is estimated to be related to the maturing of RFID technology, as well as the autoid projects promoted by MIT.

RFID may be roughly understood as a barcode replacement. Barcodes (Barcode) are often printed on commodity packages. The barcode scanner is aligned with the barcode, the scanning opportunity automatically reads the name and price of the product and so on. Using barcodes can greatly speed up shopping checkout. In addition, barcodes are more useful. For example, postal EMS, parcel post every place, scan the bar code, so the parcel at what time to reach the site, immediately can be uploaded to the Internet, to facilitate the delivery of parcel post customers real-time view. Barcodes have many advantages, but they are also flawed. The main flaw is that the bar code must be aligned to the scanner to read the data, do not aim at the school.

RFID is more advanced than the bar code is, not aligned also read. For example, highway toll stations are now starting to promote etc. ETC is the so-called electronic toll card, card embedded RFID. The card placed in the car near the front window, when the car through the ETC lanes, the roadside wireless device, that is, etc card reader, will automatically read the balance of etc cards, and change it.

MIT-driven Autoid project, which not only connects RFID with the Internet, but also provides the data communication protocol EPC (Electronic Product Code) on this basis. This can be from the product supplier, to transport, warehousing, to retail, the supply chain of various links to achieve the automation of supply chain, in order to further achieve the supply chain optimization lay a foundation. Autoid is an international cooperative project, and the institutions participating in the Autoid project are from the United States, the United Kingdom, Korea, Japan, Australia and China. China participated in the project is Fudan University.

2001, the University of California, Berkeley, developed the world's first intelligent Dust (smartdust), greatly stimulated the development of the Internet of things. Intelligent dust consists of three parts, simple structure, 1. Microcontroller (Micro Controller Unit, MCU), 2. Sensor (sensors), 3. Wireless Transceiver (transceiver). The first smart dust of the 2001, slightly bigger than a penny, is now far less than a penny, only a few millimeters big.

With different sensors, intelligent dust can be used for different purposes. For example, with a heat-sensitive coil, the intelligent dust into the forest, you can monitor the temperature changes in the forest, prevent the occurrence of hill fires and timely stop the spread of hill fires. For example, with the pressure coil, the intelligent dust inserted into the bridge of the combination of steel beam, you can monitor the stress changes in the steel girder, timely detection of metal fatigue status.

The reason that smart dust greatly stimulated the development of the Internet of things, not only because of its small size, but also the importance of a single intelligent dust and other dust, can automatically contact each other to form a network. In this way, even if the wireless coverage of a single dust is limited, the exchange of data between dust and dust actually achieves the goal of covering a wide range of areas.

Intelligent Dust Network way, known as mesh Networking, grab a smart dust to scatter, each single intelligent dust and adjacent dust to establish data communication links, and then all or most of the dust into a wireless network, so that the net any two dust can be exchanged between the data.

Wireless, Mesh networking intelligent Dust, its importance is now providing a viable solution for ubiquitous network coverage.

The concept of ubiquitous computing (ubiquitous computing) emerged as early as 1988. The original idea was to put glasses, in watches, mobile phones, wallets, clothes and so on in the paraphernalia, all implanted in the chip, and then contact each other to form a regional network called Personal area Network (Personal region receptacle, PAN). Although the idea is interesting, but the realization has encountered many difficulties. The advent of intelligent dust makes ubiquitous network coverage a reality.

Intelligent dust Wireless data transmission, the implementation of a variety of ways. In early demo products, smart dust uses far infrared and laser to achieve wireless data transmission. Of course, other ways are possible, including WiFi, Bluetooth and so on. Is it possible to use 3G as a mobile network? Natural is also possible, but if the use of mobile networks, but also need not mesh networking This automatic networking mode?

In fact, the artificial construction of mobile networks and automatic network mesh Networking, the two networks are not contradictory, both parallel, and complementary.

Give an example. Suppose the joints of the human body are attached to the sensor. Every movement of the human body can be sensed by the sensor. The signal collected by the sensor to the computer, you can simulate the human body in the computer's various movements. In this way, when playing online games, you can get rid of the traditional way of pressing the button, to control the characters in the computer, but really hands. This kind of play, more intuitive, more empathy. The problem is how to transmit the signals from each sensor to the computer? One way is for each sensor to be connected directly to the computer, another way to connect each sensor to a central signal collector (Control Panel), a central signal collector can be hung on a belt, which collects signals from each sensor and packs it to the computer. Comparing these two approaches, the second is easier to implement and more efficient.

Each sensor and the central signal Collector of the network mode can be mesh Networking, and the central signal collector and the computer data transmission between the mobile network can be. The use of this mix-and-match approach, can fully avoid weaknesses. Not only play mesh networking flexible automatic advantages, but also avoid mesh networking information processing capacity is weak, battery consumption-sensitive disadvantage. Make mesh networking and mobile network complement each other, and complement each other.

For mobile operators, Mesh networking extends the tentacles of mobile networks, smartdust and so on terminals have broken through the past mobile terminal equipment only mobile phone a single show of the situation.

"1984" is a political fantasy novel, published in 1949. The novel "Future" 1984 years of the world, portrayed as a spy rampant tyranny of the world. The so-called spy rampage, unlike the Eastern factory in the Ming Dynasty, and unlike the former Soviet KGB, is littered with monitors, which are held in the hands of Big Brother, and are used to monitor every national brother.

For ubiquitous computing (ubiquitous computing), many people have doubts about whether it will lead to 1984 of such spy terror.

My opinion is as follows, 1. Big Brother is inadequate, at least in the near term, because technology is immature. 2. We need Big Brother, of course, not to monitor every citizen, but to draw on his authority to promote the development of the Internet of things.

The technology of IoT needs to be matured. For micro devices such as smart dust, the biggest challenge is batteries. Battery small power is not enough, too big and cause intelligent dust volume is too large, the use of inconvenience. There are many ways to charge. The size of the solar panel is too large, the conversion power is limited, the price is also expensive. By vibrating the power generation method, the idea is good, but the technology is immature. The more realistic approach is electromagnetic wave wireless charging, but still left a lot of engineering problems to be solved.

RFID Sub-initiative (Active RFID), passive (passive RFID), and battery-assisted passive (battery-assistant passive RFID) three classes. Active RFID is carrying batteries, such as car, etc electronic toll cards. Passive RFID does not need to carry a battery, such as Walmart used a lot of merchandise stickers, the built-in passive RFID. Because it does not carry a power supply, passive RFID at ordinary times in the state of not working. Passive RFID is activated when an external RFID reader's electromagnetic field appears. When the readable range of the ordinary passive RFID is limited, it is necessary to enlarge the readable range to consider using the battery-assisted passive RFID.

In these three kinds of RFID, passive RFID is not affected by the battery, the price is cheap, so the application prospect is widest. January 2005, Walmart officially announced that its largest 100 suppliers of all goods provided by the use of RFID stickers. Although hit, the practice of several years shows that there are many problems. Not only the cost increases, but also the RFID signal through the ability is poor, through the metal is not good, separated by the liquid is not good and so on. And often someone has to peel off the stickers.

If the RFID for each read and modify, you can use the traditional database to save records, then for smartdust such sensors, such as the tide is generally overwhelming, and the flow of data, it is important not to ensure that every record is guaranteed acid (atomic, consistent, Isolation and persistence, it is important to store these massive amounts of data in a timely manner and to make meaningful data mining.

Given that these technical problems remain to be resolved, the terror of 1984 of such agents, even if the long term may be possible, will not become a reality at least in the near future.

In addition to technical difficulties, the tangle of business interests also hindered the promotion of the Internet of things.

For example, the combination of RFID and mobile phone, can realize the function of mobile payment for mobile phone users and businesses are beneficial. There are two types of mobile payment schemes, the first of which is to retrofit mobile phones, and to allow mobile phones to embed RFID cards, often called NFC schemes (Near Field communication). Another kind of scheme does not change the handset, but embeds the RFID in the SIM card. The SIM card embedded RFID practice is divided into two kinds, using different frequency bands, 13.56MHz low-frequency and 2.4GHz high-frequency.

On the surface, the differences between these schemes are technical, and the criteria for selection seem to depend on the technical comparisons of the various schemes, including the readable range, the signal penetration, the reliability of aseismic waterproof, cold and heat resistance, and the cost and so on. But in fact, the decision behind it is a scramble for control over business interests.

If the first option, embedded in the mobile phone RFID card, then in the payment process, the transaction information through RFID to the phone, mobile phone through the wireless network, and then through the Internet, eventually connected with a bank account. From the standpoint of the mobile operator, it certainly wants the transaction information to pass through its own wireless network in order to master the control of the entire mobile payment flow. But the plan does not guarantee that. Because once the SIM card is replaced, the transfer of transaction information is possible to switch to another mobile operator's wireless network. As a result, the mobile operator loses control of the payment information flow and becomes an informational channel.

If the use of RFID within the SIM program, this control will fall into the hands of mobile operators. But the trade-off between 13.56MHz and 2.4GHz two options is another consideration. If the use of 13.56MHz low-frequency, need to tow an antenna, the use of inconvenience, mobile operators difficult to promote the market. If 2.4GHz high frequency is used, not only the extra antenna is not needed, but also the bandwidth is large. But in the current market, Simpass provides 13.56MHz low-frequency technology is more mature, and Rfid-sim 2.4GHz technology is not stable, interface and so on the external support also need to be improved.

On the surface, the standard of choice is technical comparison. But the reality is far more complicated than technology. At present, domestic businesses use POS terminals, most support only 13.56MHz low-frequency, and 2.4GHz high-frequency incompatible. On the one hand, if you change the merchant's POS terminal, who pays for this fee, is a controversial issue. On the other hand, the merchant POS terminal is connected with the bank account, whether the POS terminal supports 2.4GHz high-frequency, reflects the wrestling between the bank and the mobile operator.

Powerful alliances are often difficult to match, because both sides are strong groups, who want to grasp control, no one is willing to hurt their interests. In this case, we need a strong government, with the authority of the Government, to promote the strength of the two sides, to facilitate cooperation. At the same time, led by the government, the research, production and operation of the three areas of power to promote mutual cooperation and support the development and growth of the entire industrial chain.

The advantage of democracy is that brainstorming, well-organized, is not easy to make a big mistake. But the disadvantage is that decision-making time is long, easy to lead to action abortion. Despotism is characterized by high efficiency, which is a double-edged sword, to do a great job, do the wrong damage is also big. For the Internet of things, the goal is clear, the risk of making a big mistake is small, so we need to emphasize the efficiency of implementation at this stage.

With the support of the government, Wuxi is a powerful building material networking center, which integrates research, production and operation forces, which is the economic development model with Chinese characteristics.

I wish Wuxi a successful "perception of China"!