'Internet of Things' by Jacob Groote
Description
Internet of Things: tangible thanks to LoRa
articles, 25 February 2016
At any time and from any place, governments and citizens seek information, preferably in real time. Power supply is often the bottleneck here, as without power, a permanent connection is very costly. With the introduction of KPN's LoRa network, there is now a reliable energy-efficient wireless network for Internet of Things (IoT).
"Thanks to LoRa, IoT is beyond the hype and finally concrete," says Jacob Groote, Vice President Mobile Operations at KPN.
Comic books feature the most unlikely scenarios. Superheroes saving the world or talking animals: it's all possible. Yet even drawn reality can be similar to real life, however improbable it may sometimes seem. Jacob Groote, for instance, recently saw a Sigmund cartoon about LoRa, in which a crookedly hanging painting indicated that it would like to be hung straight again. "Of course it was a cartoon with a wink," says Groote. "But with KPN's new Low Power Long Range network (LoRa for short), a sensor can really indicate that the painting is hanging crookedly. This is because LoRa makes it possible to connect billions of objects and devices that use little data to the internet from a long distance. These connections also cost very little energy: two penlite batteries are enough for ten to 15 years of use."
Millions of devices
Internet of Things is growing enormously and offers many opportunities to optimise services and business processes. By 2020, 25 billion devices worldwide will be connected to the internet, according to research firm Gartner. "In the Netherlands, this concerns 250 million devices. These all provide us with information that makes life just that little bit easier. We observe that companies in particular need connections for limited amounts of data, which consume little energy but offer great insight and effect. LoRa makes this possible. Devices connected to LoRa send or receive messages via the network to the internet at agreed times and 'sleep' the rest of the time. As a result, hardly any energy is consumed."
Help for government
The LoRa technology is being rolled out worldwide. There are also plenty of initiatives in the Netherlands. KPN stands out in this area in the Netherlands. "The fact that we do not use LoRa in a small, local area makes KPN unique. We provide a reliable LoRa network for the whole country. Take a bicycle, rented at Amsterdam Central Station, that is not returned. Thanks to a nationwide network, it can be found everywhere, even when the bike is no longer within Amsterdam city limits. Globally, LoRa technology is widely used for Smart Cities. LoRa is a facilitator to actually arrange things that governments would like to see arranged in Smart Cities. Because for Smart Cities, you always need connectivity. LoRa is a very welcome addition to all mobile network
Speaker(s)
Jacob Groote, PhD in physics
About the presenter
Vice President Mobile Operations, KPN
After obtaining his PhD in Physics in 1990 Jacob joined KPN to take a leading role in the R&D on using artificial intelligence in a telecoms environment. Since then Jacob has held senior management positions in almost all of KPN's business units, including CIO and Manager IT projects in the Fixed Networks division, General Manager Operations in the Business Market division and Director Process and System Development in the Carriers Services division. Since 2012 Jacob serves as Vice President Mobile Operations and is responsible for the development, roll-out and operations of KPNs mobile network in The Netherlands
Location
the Gorechthuis, Hortuslaan1, 9751 BE in Haren
Organiser
Region North
GIV Groningen Engineering Association
Name and contact details for information
Ton Wester (GIV)
Apply via
Ton Wester (GIV)
twester@ziggo.nl