1. N.A.Shulver@staffs.ac.uk Weightless – M2M comms About “Weightless” Weightless version 1.0, April 2013 Internet of Things (IoT) enabler Uses low-power TV-band signals to allow smart devices to communicate Avoids cell-phone infrastructure Avoids wi-fi infrastructure

2. N.A.Shulver@staffs.ac.uk Weightless – M2M comms Machine to Machine comms Many devices are not “connected” in the information sense Traffic sensors, central heating systems, electricity meters, smart cars, medical monitoring systems All of these have limited connectivity They could be a mine of useful information – but they need a reliable, standard mechanism to communicate This is the “Internet of Things”

3. N.A.Shulver@staffs.ac.uk Weightless – M2M comms Existing Infrastructure Why not use cell-phone communication systems? Poor coverage (world wide and at sea) High cost Local variations Unreliable Cell-phone systems are tuned for human usage and would be inefficient for machine messages

4. N.A.Shulver@staffs.ac.uk Weightless – M2M comms Existing Infrastructure Why not use the consumer’s own wi-fi communication systems? Competes with human usage Moderate cost Short range, often no signal at all (e.g. smart cars) Unreliable Could be turned off at any time Could be swamped by a movie download Wi-fi routers would benefit from using an alternative connection to report problems!

5. N.A.Shulver@staffs.ac.uk Weightless – M2M comms A solution? Weightless is a royalty-free open standard Flexibility in the data rate provided depends on the application, range and environment Simplified requirements for duplex (2-way) communication on one basic channel Big data frames (long bursts of data) so low signalling overhead Minimised cost, power consumption, interference Uses “white space” between TV channels

6. N.A.Shulver@staffs.ac.uk Weightless – M2M comms Resources http://www.weightless.org Particularly interesting: http://www.weightless.org/about/m2m- communications http://www.weightless.org/about/m2m- communications http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/01/21/feature_wtf_ is_weightless_white_space_m2m_wireless_tech/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/01/21/feature_wtf_ is_weightless_white_space_m2m_wireless_tech/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_to_machine