Airscan’s Journey Time Solution Gives You Full Control

 

Airscan Dashboard3Airscan’s online dashboard is optimised for mobile browsing so you can easily configure and install your units on site and access real-time reporting.

Airscan is the ideal solution for monitoring journey times on diversion routes, road closures or accidents. It’s aimed at Highways Agencies, Highways Maintenance and Infrastructure companies, Emergency Services and Local Councils.

Airscan, by Iknaia, monitors the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi ids in anonymous vehicles and provides real-time information about changes in traffic flows not just to Highways teams but also to keep drivers informed.

Collected data is run through our unique algorithms and then presented on the dashboard where you can view:

  • Average delays – calculated using two or multiple Airscan units from point to point
  • Unique vehicles – showing the amount of unique vehicles scanned on any particular route
  • Beacon Type – comparing the signals received from Bluetooth and WiFi devices collected
  • Hourly delays – graphical representation of the delays occurring over a given time within a set zone
  • Average Speed – calculated from point to point

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The data collected can be viewed on the dashboard, or exported and integrated into any third party application. Data can also be displayed on a Variable Message Sign.

For more information contact Iknaia on 0203 751 2980 or email info@iknaia.co.uk

www.iknaia.co.uk

 

Bluetooth 5 Debuts Next Week…

Bluetooth_CM_ColorBlackAnd Bluetooth 5 has alot more to offer!

This update will double the range and quadruple the speed of low energy Bluetooth transmissions, which should mean an increase to 200m and four megabits per second respectively, and about one megabit per second available to applications.

Mark Powell, Executive Director at Bluetooth SIG says “the revision will also provide significant new functionality for connectionless services like location-relevant information and navigation. By adding significantly more capacity to advertising transmissions, Bluetooth 5 will further propel the adoption and deployment of beacons and location-based services to users around the world.”

Bluetooth 5 is expected  to have a more broader and more flexible internet Protocol assess, and the addition of mesh routing capabilities.

Bluetooth 5 will debut in London on 16 June. For more information click here

Consumer Awareness and Preference of Bluetooth® Technology at All-Time High

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Bluetooth ready to deliver on consumer interest for IoT and beyond

A recent survey conducted by Lux Insights, Inc. puts consumer awareness of Bluetooth wireless technology at 92 percent globally, with 62 percent of respondents reporting a purchasing preference for Bluetooth enabled products, noting Bluetooth is reliable, easy to use, and makes life easier. The proliferation and success of Bluetooth captured the imagination of the consumer, leading to increased demand for unique wireless applications, most notably home automation, location-based services, personal monitoring and tracking, and remote access control. Industry analyst ABI Research projects that over three billion Bluetooth enabled products will ship this year alone.

“Bluetooth delivers a connection that just works for consumers globally, whether they are listening to music or tracking their steps. This has led to a shift in expectations of what connectivity can be,” said Errett Kroeter, vice president of marketing for the Bluetooth SIG. “Consumers are looking to experience that same convenience and connectivity in all aspects of their lives and we are consciously building the technology to deliver these effortless connections.”

Demand for IoT connectivity is focused in areas where consumers need additional control and insight. Respondents reported the highest interest in location awareness applications (solutions that aid first responders in emergency situations or aid navigation in public spaces and buildings), home automation (controlling lighting, locks, temperature from inside and outside of the home), and personal monitoring (securing monitoring and sending sensitive health and wellness data).

Kroeter added, “The Bluetooth technology roadmap specifically addresses consumer interest in new applications for wireless technology. Better still, many of the applications they are most interested in are available today. Bluetooth enabled beacons currently allow for city navigation in multiple locations; Bluetooth hubs can sync connected home devices and give users control through an internet gateway; Bluetooth moved the sports and fitness market from niche to mainstream in less than two years. All of these exemplify our vision of creating an unthinkably connected world that makes life simpler and establishing an IoT that is accessible to everyone.”

Additional key findings:

  • On average, consumers now own almost four Bluetooth enabled products (increased from 2.7 in 2012)
  • Bluetooth awareness has increased six percent since 2012 (92 percent in 2016, 87 percent in 2012)
  • Bluetooth usage has increased 32 percent since 2012 (78 percent in 2016, 59 percent in 2012)
  • Nearly two thirds of consumers prefer Bluetooth in their new technology purchases

Regional breakdown of survey findings will be covered athttp://blog.bluetooth.com. For additional information on Bluetooth technology, visit www.bluetooth.com.

Airscan – Improving Road Traffic Congestion

Traffic CongestionTraffic Congestion to most people means, a motionless slow moving line of vehicles leading to driver frustration and in some cases road rage.

Congestion has many negative social, environmental and economic impacts and its one of the many challenges facing Traffic Engineers. Understanding the future demand for road travel and congestion is therefore a key requirement in being able to tackle it.

Airscan by Iknaia, is a new unique sensor monitoring solution that enables Traffic Engineers to analyse traffic queues and congestion in an efficient way and present live journey times to drivers.

Airscan monitors the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi ids in anonymous vehicles and provides real-time information about changes in traffic flows.  With Airscan installed Traffic Engineers can quickly analyse the data and identify congested areas. This will help make judgements to divert traffic to other routes and plan future roads infrastructure.

Airscan data can be presented to signs and phones to keep drivers fully informed of the impact of any incidents or diversion routes.

Julia McNally, Founder of Iknaia says “The Airscan system is able to identify, in real time, incidents that impact on journey time reliability, and what’s more it is portable and easy to install. Using the online self-service dashboard you can control all your units in one place and view real-time reporting. Data can also be exported and fully integrated into existing monitoring applications.”

Data collected by each Airscan unit is pushed to the cloud using 3G/4G connectivity and presented in real-time to an online dashboard optimised for PC, tablets and all mobile devices.  Activity reports can be viewed, and push notifications can be set up to alert key management personnel and ensure they are made aware of incidents as they occur.

Airscan is compatible with multiple third party products including variable message signs and it is also fully integrated into the Iknaia Intelligent Tracking solution to enable location monitoring of the workforce and assets.

For more information www.iknaia.co.uk/airscan

 

 

Next Iteration Bluetooth set to quadruple the wireless range and double the speed

Bluetooth’s prime-time may well now be imminent, with the Internet of Things and the happy marriage of smart devices in smart homes set to sidle into people’s lives incrementally, connected gadget by connected gadget.

Bluetooth is one of those smart, helpful technologies that has been around for years, patiently waiting for its time to shine. A bit of wireless communication here, some short-wave connections there, it’s been a reliable and promising technology since the late 1990s.

Whilst at CES 2016, held during the first week of January in Las Vegas, E&T attended the Discover Blue event, organised by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). The Bluetooth SIG is the body that oversees the development of Bluetooth standards and the licensing of the Bluetooth technologies and trademarks to manufacturers. Discover Blue was the SIG’s official pre-CES event, showcasing the latest products and innovations from its member companies and developers.

The cavalcade of Bluetooth-connected products on display covered pretty much every aspect of modern human existence, such as healthcare, body awareness, medication, self-improvement, entertainment, nutrition, sports, fashion and home security. The technology is turning up everywhere, in ever-more intriguing ways – as The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper says in a 2009 episode of the TV sitcom, “Everything is better with Bluetooth”.

Stepping up to meet the challenge and demands of its wireless standard becoming a star player in an increasingly connected world, the Bluetooth SIG recently laid out its road map for 2016. Addressing some of the key concerns about Bluetooth, the intention with the next iteration of the technology is to quadruple the wireless range and double the speed. Sounds like a fine plan.

See full E&T interview with Mark Powell, Executive Director of Bluetooth SIG here

Iknaia’s Director of Technology works as Technical lead on ViBus project

vibusMatthew Poole, as Technical Lead, Architect and Electronics Engineer for this project, is developing a custom-designed Bluetooth wristband and control system infrastructure…

Run by the Transport Systems Catapult on behalf of the Department for Transport, the ‘All Aboard’ competition invited students aged 14-18 to come up with innovative solutions to make buses more accessible for people with visual or hearing impairments. Daria Buszta, an AS-Level student at Nottingham’s Bilborough College, was named the competition’s winner after impressing an expert panel of judges, headed by the Transport Minister.

Daria’s “ViBus” design involves Bluetooth-enabled wristbands that can be handed out by bus drivers, and which vibrate when a passenger approaches his or her stop. The wristband will now be developed into a working prototype. The plan is to trial the proof-of-concept prototype at the beginning of 2016 on a bus with volunteers.

We specialise in taking Bluetooth, wireless and IoT products from idea to prototype and commercialisation, and this is once example of how we can make ideas become a reality.

Building a Home Security System with Raspberry Pi

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Matthew Poole, Iknaia’s Director of Technology, Connector of Objects and Systems Architect, has published his first book.

Written in an easy-to-follow conversational manner, it will show you how to build your own sophisticated modular home security system using the popular Raspberry Pi board.

 

 

 

About This Book

  • This book guides you through building a complete home security system with Raspberry Pi and helps you remotely access it from a mobile device over the Internet
  • It covers the fundamentals of interfacing sensors and cameras with the Raspberry Pi so that you can connect it to the outside world
  • It follows a modular approach so that you can choose the modules and features you want for your customized home security system

Who This Book is For

This book is for anyone who is interested in building a modular home security system from scratch using a Raspberry Pi board, basic electronics, sensors, and simple scripts. This book is ideal for enthusiastic novice programmers, electronics hobbyists, and engineer professionals. It would be great if you have some basic soldering skills in order to build some of the interface modules.

What You will Learn

  • Understand the concepts behind alarm systems and intrusion detection devices
  • Connect sensors and devices to the on-board digital GPIO ports safely
  • Monitor and control connected devices easily using Bash shell scripting
  • Build an I/O port expander using the I2C bus and connect sensors and anti-tamper circuits
  • Capture and store images using motion detectors and cameras
  • Access and manage your system remotely from your mobile phone
  • Receive intrusion alerts and images through your e-mail
  • Build a sophisticated multi-zone alarm system

In Detail

The Raspberry Pi is a powerful low-cost credit card sized computer, which lends itself perfectly as the controller for a sophisticated home security system. Using the on-board interfaces available, the Raspberry Pi can be expanded to allow the connection of a virtually infinite number of security sensors and devices. The Raspberry Pi has the processing power and interfaces available to build a sophisticated home security system but at a fraction of the cost of commercially available systems.

Building a Home Security System with Raspberry Pi starts off by showing you the Raspberry Pi and how to set up the Linus-based operating system. It then guides you through connecting switch sensors and LEDs to the native GPIO connector safely, and how to access them using simple Bash scripts. As you dive further in, you’ll learn how to build an input/output expansion board using the I2C interface and power supply, allowing the connection of the large number of sensors needed for a typical home security setup.

In the later chapters of the book, we’ll look at more sophisticated topics such as adding cameras, remotely accessing the system using your mobile phone, receiving intrusion alerts and images by email, and more.

By the end of the book, you will be well-versed with the use of Raspberry Pi to power a home-based security system that sends message alerts whenever it is triggered and will be able to build a truly sophisticated and modular home security system. You will also gain a good understanding of Raspberry Pi’s ecosystem and be able to write the functions required for a security system.

Building a Home Security System with Raspberry Pi, is now released and available to purchase on Amazon and also on the publishers Web Site.

 

Iknaia Launches Airscan with Colas

AirScan-App-and-HardwareOne of Highways England’s key objectives is to provide road users with information that is relevant to their journeys. Smart motorways are an obvious example and now, thanks to pioneering work from leading transport infrastructure specialist Colas Limited, information on travel times through roadworks is also available in real time. This means drivers are better informed, improving their experience and thereby reducing the risk to road workers of hazardous driving.

Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) can often be utilised to track the progress of vehicles, but with diversion routes that may vary in location and route on a nightly basis, its use is not always practical nor cost effective. Colas has worked with wireless systems technology experts Iknaia to develop a system that allows the real time active management of diversion routes without recourse to ANPR technology.

Airscan is a new system developed jointly by Colas and Iknaia which uses anonymous Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals transmitted by visible devices in passing vehicles. Data is collected by sensors and relayed to variable messaging signs (VMS) which then advise road users in advance of potential delays and allow for strategic checks by maintenance teams. As part of the system, Traffic Management (TM) teams are also issued with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) tags that can be used to monitor the location of teams by checking in staff as they pass sensors on their route.

26.10.2015_prRyan Wood, Colas Technical Manager, is key contact for the project and has been responsible for its initial trial at Highways England’s M3 smart motorway upgrade, for main contractor Balfour Beatty. “We are committed to delivering innovation on our highways projects and, through our work with Iknaia, we believe that Airscan is a solution that will not only benefit road users through real-time updates on traffic, but will also assist in improving the safety of our road workers.”

This approach to active management of diversion routes will continue to operate on the M3 smart motorway project and will be rolled out across other Highways England schemes to complement Intelligent Transport Systems strategies across the UK.

Iknaia is Recruiting!

Front End Developer

We are looking for a Front-End Web Developer who is motivated to combine the art of design with the art of programming.  Responsibilities will include translation of the UI/UX design wireframes to actual code that will produce visual elements of the application.  You will work with the UI/UX designer and bridge the gap between graphical design and technical implementation, taking an active role on both sides and defining how the application looks as well as how it works.  Not only will you be working on Iknaia projects, you’ll also have the opportunity to work across our group of companies on some great projects.

Are you interested?
You can view and download the Job Description here.
The Job Description contains a link to our online application form.

Sensors Increase Live Births & Farm Profitability

home-left-right-image-2It’s refreshing to see how beacons and sensors are evolving in market sectors that are mostly invisible to the general public, but have far-reaching impact on specialized industries. And one such application that we love here at Beacon Blog is the creation of Moocall.

Moocall noninvasively hooks onto the tail of a pregnant cow (unlike more invasive cow birthing monitors) and sends a text message to the farmer when the cow’s about an hour away from giving birth. It was designed to free farmers from keeping vigil over pregnant cows and to help increase live births and farm profitability. The device, which the company says can be shared among 50 to 60 cows, uses 3-D motion sensors, algorithms, and an embedded roaming M2M SIM card that claims it can pick up even weak network signals.

After losing a heifer and her calf back in 2010, Niall Austin, one of the founders of Moocall, came up with the idea of using sensors to monitor births and alert farmers when cows are in labor.

“The heifer was calving outdoors, unfortunately the calf died, and the heifer was paralysed and ended up being put down. There was no system available that would work outdoors as well as indoors. It was a very big loss to us.”

Having realised this was a common problem, Niall researched to see if a solution could be worked out. And thus, Moocall was born. Getting the product to market has taken 3 years and a significant capital investment.

Moocall was launched commercially in January 2015 and since then thousands of units have been sold and the general reaction from customers has been phenomenal. We reckon this fantastic gadget will have far-reaching impact on farmers of the world.

For further information visit : Moocall