Energy and Excitement at DistribuTECH 2017
This week we attended DistribuTECH 2017 with several thousand of the leading minds in technology, education and innovation for utilities, Smart Grid and municipalities. We had many great conversations about the direction of Industrial IoT (IIoT) and the all-encompassing digital technology shift. At the FreeWave booth we led many demonstrations of our latest technology. We also shared how our fellow attendees can achieve smart data at the Edge. Here is a small snapshot of the excitement and action from the show: FreeWave at DistribuTECH We had a lot to share at DistribuTECH this year. In addition to providing product demos at our booth, we just launched several important company, product and partnership announcements. Here’s the run-down on what we launched this week: New IIoT Products & Two New Partnerships Introduced at DistribuTECH Zumlink Z9-C and Z9-T Radios: FreeWave introduced the Zumlink-Z9-PE last Fall, but now it brings the next generation, high performance platform to market. ZumLink is the underpinning of the company’s go-forward IIoT strategy for IIoT and embedded radio applications. The Z9-C and Z9-T deliver high speed Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) functionality in a radio module that is half the size of a credit card. FreeWave and Systech application partnership: Together with Systech, we announced an industrial Tank Level Control application that resides on and executes from FreeWave’s ZumLink IIoT Programmable Radio for edge networks. The new application features an easy-to-use “ITTT (If This Then That)” process control programming interface that will control analog, digital and RS485 sensors linked to the ZumLink programmable radio. The FreeWave ITTT App is designed for a user-friendly experience and requires no previous programming knowledge or practice. Technology partnership with E2E Technologies: E2E is a comprehensive solutions provider specializing in communication architecture design, implementation and network management. E2E’s Stingray Network Management System (NMS), supports the full array of FreeWave’s industry-leading wireless communication solutions and is optimizable for IT professionals looking to manage individual components of a limited IIoT or M2M communications system within a larger IT network management framework. The New FreeWave We officially unveiled a new look and website that reflects our move to the next generation of the industrial IoT: The Programmable Edge and Fog Computing. The new FreeWave visually projects our future-focused mission to help organizations around the world connect and gain valuable intelligence from devices – even in the most challenging of locations and conditions – anytime, anywhere in a secure, reliable fashion. This week has represented several major milestones for FreeWave, and launching it all at DistribuTECH was the perfect platform for sharing both our news and the future direction of FreeWave. What do you think about the new FreeWave website?
IIoT Top News: Utilities Powering Tomorrow
We’re fresh off a great week at DistribuTECH 2016 where we saw a gamut of technologies, thought leaders and trends. With utilities and energy still top-of-mind, our focus this week is on the changing face of the industry. This digital age means we have come to expect that the power will always charge, operate and run our numerous IoT devices. That’s why this week’s IIoT top news is dedicated to powering our electrical future. So, it should come as no surprise that, the electric power industry has made it their mission to protect and secure this precious power at all costs. The power initiative has teamed up with federal agencies, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation to continue to build its capabilities. Now as you hold tight to your digital devices, take a breath, relax, and enjoy this week’s top news roundup. Industry Pioneer: The Road to Electric Utility of the Future is Paved With Prosumer Technology (Forbes) Years later, after the initial big push for IoT with utilities, we are still hoping for better, cheaper and smarter utility solutions. Forbes suggests the future of utilities will be paved in prosumer technology. William Pentland writes, “In 2009, the U.S. government made the single largest investment ever in modernizing the U.S. power system. Nearly seven years and more than five billion in federal tax dollars later, the electric grid is technically a lot smarter than it used to be. So why do utility rates seem to be getting more – not less – stupid?” Utilities to Lead Surge of Electric-Car Charging in Southern California (Green Car Reports) Southern California now has the lead on electric-car charging stations as utility companies in the area task themselves with an aggressive plan to expand the number of station in the region. A recent report from Navigant Research suggests that, “The commencement of these projects marks a major transition for electric-car charging in California, as it marks the beginning of significant involvement from utilities.” Michigan Utilities Expected to Surpass Renewables Mandate (North American Wind Power) Each year the state of Michigan sets a level of renewable energy that must be met, only this year the Michigan Utilities is expected to surpass that mandate with a surprising amount of growth. According to the six-annual report from the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), “There has been significant growth of wind generation in Michigan’s renewable energy certificate portfolio, from 7 percent in 2009 to 44 percent in 2014.” NRG Proved How Tough It Is To Change. So Who’s Poised to Become the Utility of the Future? (BreakingEnergy.com) A short time ago NRG set its sights on becoming the Google of the energy world, but as the IoT evolves it is very likely an unknown company will be the next market leader for energy worldwide. GreenTech Media argues that “the utility of the future will also have to be so much more to succeed — leveraging data, new technologies and personalization to transform the way customers consume and deliver power.” What Are Utilities Thinking Today About the Importance of Engaging with Their Customers? (Intelligent Utility) As world continues to become all things IoT, utilities need to consider how engaged they would like to be with their customers. ONZO survey results at DistribuTECH 2016 show, “Most utilities also plan to increase their investment in improving customer engagements and think that analytics are key to their ability to do so.”
DistribuTECH Day 3 Recap: Utilities-as-a-Service?
We’ve wrapped up another year at DistribuTECH, and we’re leaving Orlando feeling invigorated and excited about the industry
DistribuTECH 2016 Day 1 Recap: People, Places and Things
Each year, we attend a wide variety of trade shows for many different vertical industries. These shows present several opportunities: we get to go talk about ourselves a little bit, we get to see what other companies and thought leaders are doing, and we get to talk with some very interesting folks who have varying perspectives on the industry, the trends and the technologies that drive growth. This year, at DistribuTECH 2016 in Orlando, Fla., we wanted to jot down some brief, daily thoughts on some of the things that we saw both around our booth and at the show in general. Record number of attendees! We were pretty excited to hear that there were a record number of attendees at this year’s show. It’s an exciting time to be a part of the utilities and energy industries. Lots of changes, some really great and innovative new technology, and a bevy of thoughtful people makes for a good trade show! Wearables?! Where are we, CES? No! Wearables are not just for the consumer-driven recreational technology market. Wearable technology has the chance to change the way our boots on the ground and in the field work. The adage about working ‘smarter, not harder’ certainly applies to some of the companies developing wearable technology for the industrial sector. Great speakers abound! With a huge portion of the journalism industry in shambles, publications like PowerGrid International (one of several from PennWell) really stand out for its consistently solid and informative material. It’s always great to see the ‘Ink-Stained Wretches’ get their due, and Teresa Hansen, editor in chief of PowerGrid International and Electric Light & Power, gave an excellent keynote on the first day. Hey, look at us! It’s always a little uncomfortable talking about yourself, but we are incredibly excited about the future at FreeWave, and many of the people we talked with who came through our booth – attendees, media, analysts, customers, etc. – were excited as well, namely about our new WavePro WP201 wireless shorthaul Wi-Fi solution. There are some features that we’re especially proud of, including the high-speed Voice, Video, Data and Sensor Data (VVDS) transmission capabilities, the self-healing one-mile industrial Wi-Fi hotspot and the ability to achieve maximum throughput. We’re excited for day 2 – keep an eye out for us!
Utilities: Where Data Flows Like Water at the Speed of Light
(Image courtesy Flickr Creative Commons) More than a decade ago, the choices were few to address the needs of data gathering and recording. Water and wastewater utilities, for example, had to be able to use a ‘one size fits all’ unit with set parameters and make their systems adaptable to the technology of the day. Since then, many municipal water systems, such as those in Southern Utah, have had to broaden the area from which they gather, use, and reclaim water. Most growing areas are even facing the dilemma of higher demands on services while trying to stay within shrinking budgets and manpower cutbacks. This is because in the past, many viewed electronic data gathering as a ‘want’ instead of a ‘need’ until now. As with any limited resource, scarcity often drives innovation as people are tasked to do more with less. Such is the current state and convergence of water/wastewater utilities and the Internet of Things (IoT) – an emerging paradigm in which more data and information can be gathered and acted upon during the processes of collecting, treating, monitoring, and distributing water. With the unprecedented demand for cities and municipalities to maximize water resource allocation, local government officials began implementing smarter methods to address the challenges of today and hurdle the potential obstacles in the future. By using new technology in the form of sensors, IoT networking and data analytics, city officials, local citizens, and businesses are now more accurately predicting everything from crop yields to at-home water conservation. This technological evolution is part of a much larger undertaking that has both garnered international attention and prompted action all the way to the Federal level of the United States government. Smart Cities Initiative Connected In response to the new Smart Cities Initiatives, cities around the country are beginning to take advantage of the $160+ million in Federal research and technical collaborations to help their local communities tackle key challenges such as lessening traffic congestion, reducing crime, fostering economic growth, creating jobs, managing the effects of a changing climate, and improving the delivery of city services and quality of life. According to a White House fact sheet on Smart Cities, emerging technologies have “created the potential for an ‘Internet of Things,’ a ubiquitous network of connected devices, smart sensors, and big data analytics. The United States has the opportunity to be a global leader in this field, and cities represent strong potential test beds for development and deployment of IoT applications.” Given the growth of these highly connected networks, Smart Cities are using wireless communication technologies to build critical infrastructure and support public services. According to the research firm Gartner, an estimated 1.1 billion connected things were used by Smart Cities in 2015, with this total rising to 9.7 billion by 2020. What Is on the Horizon for Utilities? As Smart Cities initiatives continue grabbing headlines and captivating imaginations, public utilities and their customers have the most to gain in the short term. Coordination and collaboration amongst a cities’ local government, utility operators, researchers, and technology vendors is key to bringing these “smart initiatives” to light. For example, Orlando, Florida was a destination of choice for many involved in these smart city transformations, as DistribuTECH 2016 brought approximately 12,000 people together from more than 60 countries across the globe to keep the focus on the future of electric power delivery and a smart utilities infrastructure.