Monthly Archives: January, 2018

MTSFB IoT Project Grant Session 01/2017

January 5th, 2018 Posted by NEWS 0 thoughts on “MTSFB IoT Project Grant Session 01/2017”

CYBERJAYA (January 4, 2018) – Last year, MTSFB issued a call for proposal regarding Grant for the Internet of Things Session 01/2017. There are about 59 applicants and finally, 4 organizations have been chosen as the recipients. FAVORIOT was invited for the Letter of Award (loA) Signing at MCMC on Jan. 4, 2018 witnessed by MCMC and MTSFB.

LoA Signing

The health sector has always been one of the biggest challenges for anyone and any country; economically and efficient services. Most of the time, the issues are continuous monitoring of one’s health to avoid untoward incidents. Our aging parents are the high-risk group of people as they are more susceptible to injury due to fall and sick due to their lower immunization system. In some cases, some elderly people need to be constantly monitored with their movement if they have dementia. There are many other issues related to the elderly people and these are supported by the studies and reports from all around the world.

Dr. Gopi, CTO FAVORIOT presenting the project

Favoriot is currently developing an IoT ecosystem for elderly care consisting of wearable and other connected health devices, platform, application, and analytics. The solution helps in relaying crucial information to their next of kin. The information will also be used to provide a prediction of their health so that precautionary measures can be taken. This not only reduces people worry and anxiety but also reduces the overall healthcare cost.

Dr. Mazlan, CEO FAVORIOT

The solution is for the elderly people but it can be extended to other groups that require the solution. Users or people that will be using the system would be as follows:

  • Family members
  • Hospitals and Clinics
  • Caregivers
  • Nursing home
  • Health professionals
  • Government agencies for health

Favoriot is open to technology partners to enhance the platform and also seeking business partners to market the solution worldwide. Email: info@favoriot.com

Together with Dr. Zahid, our Collaborator

IoT 2.0:​ Revolutionize Internet of Things (IoT 2.0) Using Blockchain

January 4th, 2018 Posted by BLOG 0 thoughts on “IoT 2.0:​ Revolutionize Internet of Things (IoT 2.0) Using Blockchain”

I can almost guarantee 100% in almost of my IoT Talks, the question regarding IoT security will be asked by the audience. It has been such a hot topic in the areas of research. When the first blockchain was conceptualized by an anonymous person or group known as Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 with the introduction of Bitcoin, everyone seems to get excited how it can be implemented in other ways.

Forrester’s Dan Bieler (an analyst at Forrester co-authored the report “Disentangle Hype From Reality: Blockchain’s Potential For IoT Solutions) mentioned blockchain’s potential for IoT solutions. In a nutshell:

 

“As Internet of Things applications are by definition distributed it’s only normal that the distributed ledger technology, which blockchain is, will play a role in how devices will communicate directly between eachother (keeping a ledger and thus trail of not just devices but also how they interact and, potentially, in which state they are and how they are ‘handled’ in the case of tagged goods).

Blockchain is designed as a basis for applications that involve transaction and interactions. These can include smart contracts (smart contracts are automatically carried out when a specific condition is met, for instance regarding the conditions of goods or environmental conditions) or other smart applications that support specific Internet of Things processes. This way blockchain technology can improve not just compliance in the IoT but also IoT features and cost-efficiency.” – Dan Bieler

Nicolas Windpassinger, author of ‘Digitize or Die‘, an IoT book for digital transformation leaders, wrote about the practical aspects blockchain can address in IoT and how blockchain can accelerate the evolution of IoT.

“Blockchain technology promises to be the missing link enabling peer-to-peer contractual behavior without any third party to “certify” the IoT transaction. It answers the challenge of scalability, single point of failure, time stamping, record, privacy, trust and reliability in a very consistent way.” – Nicolas Windpassinger

The three benefits of blockchain for IoT, according to IBM: building trust, cost reduction and the acceleration of transactions.

You might want to read a good plain English version of “What is Blockchain?” written by PixelPrivacy.

Three key benefits of using blockchain for IoT according to IBM – source IBM infographic

Why blockchain is a game changer for IoT according to the IBM infographic

Let’s take a look at some of the application scenarios where Blockchain can revolutionize Internet of Things (IoT).

“In the scope of blockchain and IoT it’s interesting to look at the combination of blockchain and the Internet of Things as it’s used in insurance and will increasingly be, moving beyond the pure telematics model to the connection of real-time IoT data in various perspectives for various intelligent automated insurance policy applications.” – [1]

This Internet of Things depends on a Ledger of Things to track everything, ensure its reliability, and pay for its contribution. [2]

Transportation. Autonomous vehicles will get us safely wherever we need to go. They will intuitively take the fastest route, avoid construction, handle tolls, park all on its own, negotiate passing rates with other vehicles on the road, and communicate with traffic lights.

Infrastructure. We will use smart devices to monitor the integrity and other critical factors of road, rail lines, power and pipelines, bridges, runways, ports, and other public and private infrastructure to detect problems and initiate a response both rapidly and cost-effectively.

Energy, waste, and water management. Traditional utilities can use blockchain-enabled things for tracking production, distribution, consumption, and collection. New entrants without infrastructure are planning to create new markets such as the neighborhood energy microgrid.

Resource extraction and farming. This technology can help make expensive, highly specialized equipment available for just-in-time usage and cost recovery, improve worker safety, and compile “infinite data” analytics to identify new resources or advise on best practices. Sensors could help environmental protection agencies to regulate land usage.

Environmental monitoring. Weather sensors will make money collecting and selling air, water, and tremor data, giving people advance warnings of natural disasters, rising levels of pollutants, and monitoring lightning strikes and forest fires—all to increase emergency response time, save lives, and improve our predictive capability.

Health care. Blockchain-enabled hospitals could link the devices that manage medical records, inventory, equipment and pharmaceuticals to monitor and manage disease and improve quality control. Smart drugs could track themselves in clinical trials and present untampered evidence of their effectiveness.

Financial services and insurance. Financial institutions could use smart devices and the IoT to tag, track, and trace their claims on physical assets—like an air traffic control for priceless objects, antiquities, jewelry, the stuff of museums, anything ever handled by Sotheby’s and insured by Lloyd’s.

Smart documents. Like smart contracts, the coding of all documentation related to a particular thing—a patent, deed, warranty, provenance, registration, insurance, and inspection certification—could control the operation of that thing. If a vehicle has failed a safety inspection or its liability insurance has expired, the vehicle will not start.

Real estate management. Digital sensors can create marketplaces for vacant assets by enabling real-time discovery, usability, and payment. In the evenings, a conference room could moonlight as a classroom for neighbourhood youth.

Industrial operations. The global factory of things needs a global ledger of things. Factory managers will use smart devices and offer software services for monitoring customer demand, production lines, warehouse inventory, distribution, quality, maintenance, and performance data.

Household management. Numerous products and services are entering the market to allow automated and remote home monitoring beyond the “nanny cam” to include access controls, temperature adjustments, lighting, and restocking the pantry, the bathroom, and the garage. The smart home will optimize energy and the in-house experience.

Retail. Retailers will be able to personalize products and services to identifiable customers as they walk in or drive by, based on demographics, known interests, purchasing history, and whether those customers gave retailers permission.

Leveraging blockchain to improve workflow and provide instant overviews. Example: Shipping Industry – Leveraging blockchain to improve workflow, provide instant overviews and keep track of paper trails. The transparency of the system will reduce fraud and mistakes, as well as improve inventory management and enhance the overall process saving the industry millions.” – [3]

Managing asset life cycles on a blockchain – For example, an aircraft has a typically long life cycle with various owners and changing parts. It is imperative to know which parts have been replaced and when. By combing IoT, instrumentation and device authentication, an irrefutable provenance can be established for every part in an incontrovertible record. This allows reliability and safety to be traced by both passengers and prospective buyers.” – [3]

Guaranteeing the safety and reliability of the food supply chain – Consumers are becoming increasingly aware and concerned about the origins of store bought food. Blockchain can be used to track and trace ingredients from multiple sources on a single, distributed ledger. This can simplify a complex and multifaceted process by permitting an instantaneous overview of every step in the chain.

This has consequences particularly for processed foods, where the provenance of ingredients is widespread. By implementing each step as a transaction in a blockchain, if there is a quality issue, the source can be pinpointed precisely and action can be taken quickly.” – [3]

Secure from Botnets attack – Researchers at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, are taking a different approach to blockchain-based IoT security. In their model of a blockchain-secured smart home, a high-powered block miner replaces the usual internet router or media center to manage all local network transactions. This device not only manages the internal blockchain but also controls communication between home-based IoT devices and the outside world. It also authorizes new IoT devices and could curtail or cut off devices that are behaving badly. In this model, even if a lightbulb is captured by a botnet, the miner would see that the lightbulb is trying to attack an outside server and block its packets from leaving the home.” – [4]

Check out “Ultimate Privacy Guide” by Jared Clarke [6]

IoT Based Weather Station by using Raspberry Pi 3

January 3rd, 2018 Posted by IOT PLATFORM, NEWS, SMARTCITY 0 thoughts on “IoT Based Weather Station by using Raspberry Pi 3”

Abstract

The aim of this project is to create an online weather system which enables a user to check real-time weather parameters of a place anytime and anywhere with just a few buttons click. In this project, a weather station will be built to collect weather parameters. Data collected will then store into Google Cloud and analysis of weather will be done. A mobile app or web will be developed to display the real-time weather conditions and users will receive notification as a reminder to get themselves prepared for their plans.

Project Introduction

Weather condition plays an important role in our daily life as weather and climate are the most ubiquitous factors for home and environment planning. Moreover, the tremendous development of Internet nowadays made possible to monitor weather conditions and collect the respective data in-situ. All the objects, sensors and devices can be linked through the Internet to share and analyze the data collected at various locations. The IoT can be much more extensive in predicting and knowing the weather conditions in particular place by connecting this weather station to the Internet.

The climate of Malaysia is so capricious that hard to predict nowadays. As people grow into a developed country with advanced technology to help humanity and bring convenience to the society, it is now the time for the weather broadcasting to be implemented into the mobile phone instead of keep on checking through only television or radio. However, with the mobile weather checking syste, we have in this era still often we see people rushing for schedule under the rain without umbrella; laundries are still showering by rain; home planted plants are wilted due to the hot and dry weather.

Therefore, the objective of this project is to create an online weather system which enables the user to check real-time weather parameters of a place anytime and anywhere with just a few buttons click. On top of that, people will receive real-time notification or reminder to get themselves prepared for their plans in the current weather.

 

Figure 1: Overall flow of project

 

Figure 2: Project architecture

Favoriot platform is chosen because it is a new cloud-based platform designed for IoT which supports the integration, collection, and storage of data from several devices into the internet. It has a scalable big data storage. It also helps developers in building vertical applications to display data in many forms. Favoriot platform is suitable to be used in this project that needs several functions provided in this platform in order to obtain desired results.

Design Methodology

There are three phases to achieve the stated objectives above:

Weather station design and prototype development

These weather parameters are measured using Sparkfun Weather Shield sensor and the Raspberry Pi 3 with built-in Wi-Fi is used to capture all the data from the weather sensor. The measurements taken include temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, light intensity, wind speed and direction, and rain precipitation.

Transferring data to initial state cloud platform

Raspberry Pi 3 will stream the data directly to the cloud. Cloud platform that are suggested to be used in this project are Favoriot because it fully managed data, supports monitoring, logging, and diagnostics, data analysis and helps developers in building vertical applications.

Application of Internet of Things (IoT)

A stream of weather parameters/information can be displayed in a professional graphical fashion which can be accessed from mobile phone or web. Favoriot also allows the development of next generation of applications of the web that is reliable, fast and engaging. Real-time notification will then be sent to the user as a reminder.

Figure 3: Flowchart of the project

Preliminary Result

The SparkFun Weather Shield with built-in Si7021 humidity/temperature sensor, MPL3115A2 barometric pressure sensor, and the ALS-PT19 light sensor was connected to Raspberry Pi 3 as shown in Figure 4.

 

Figure 4: The hardware of this project

The weather parameters such as temperature, humidity, and pressure are taken from the weather shield and loaded into Raspberry Pi 3. The weather parameters were displayed at the Lx terminal of the VNC viewer as shown in Figure 5. Data collected from the sensors were successfully streamed into Favoriot and shown in the dashboard as shown in Figure 6. However, the data streamed into the Favoriot is not tally with the data collected from the sensors as for now.  In addition, the current weather conditions are updated to multiple social media every hour to notify the user as shown in Figure 7. The number of update post can be determined by modifying the python code.

 

Figure 5: The weather parameters displayed in Lx terminal of Raspberry Pi 3

 

Figure 6: Data is being streamed and displayed in Favoriot

 

Figure 7: Twitter post showing the current weather condition

 

Expected Result

The expected results toward the end of this project are described as below:

Prototype

A prototype of weather station by using Raspberry Pi 3 and Sparkfun Weather Shield sensor is designed and developed for climatology monitoring. The weather station is able to be interfaced to the Favoriot cloud platform. Weather parameters are able to be collected and saved in the cloud.

Application

Weather parameters can be analyzed online with graphical presentation. People can access the weather-related information via mobile phone or web easily. Notifications will be sent to the users too as a reminder.

 

Figure 8: Expected results of Favoriot data analytics for weather parameters in (a) line chart and (b) column chart.

 

Figure 9: Expected results of weather app development using Favoriot platform

 

[Note: This project is being done by UTHM, our FAVORIOT’s University collaborator. Article was written by Pui Yan Muck]

You can check out the whole LIST of IOT PROJECTS by our University Collaborators.

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