this time last year…...geek night thames valley iot meetup use existing hubs and meetups thames...
TRANSCRIPT
Working with children, animals and geeks
Highlights from the first year of The Things Network Reading
…and a peek at the future
@markstanleyuk
http://thingitude.com
Mark Stanley
This time last year…
…to build a global open crowdsourced Internet of Things data network
We’re on a mission…
TTN is growing fastTTN began in Amsterdam,August 2015
…steadily in the UK
…and growing nicely in Berkshire!
What is a “Things network”?
LoRaWANAES 128-bit encryption
IPAES 128-bit encryption
MQTT pub/sub authentication
TTN strengths and weaknesses
• Cheap and easy to set up
• FREE to use
• Low power: batteries last years
• Long range: up to 10km in open space
• Only handles tiny messages, but lots of them
TTN has many uses
• Monitor water levels in rivers to give early flood warning
• Track your cat, check the whereabouts of your tractor
• Preventative maintenance - baggage carousels at airports
• Beehive monitoring – temperature, weight
• Free parking space spotter
What I had in mind…
TTN Gateway
Flood sensorAir pollution
sensor
Parking space sensors x200
Toddler trackers x25
Parent uses app to find empty parking space, and drops child off at nursery and goes to work.
Uses ToddlerTracker app to keep eye on child during the day.
…in reality
Mark
Mike
Hedgehogtracking
GPS
LoraWAN gateway
Hedgehog, position, and time data available via TTN for yourapplication to use.
Hedgehog wearing LoraWAN+GPS devicesending data to gateway via radio every 15 mins.Gateway range >1km (expected >5km in park).
Grow a network to grow a networkREADING
GEEK NIGHT
What has worked for us?
1. Use existing hubs and meetups
2. Run workshops - make IoT real for people
3. Build a community, not a club
READING
GEEK NIGHT
Thames Valley
IoT Meetup
Use existing hubs and meetups
Thames Valley
IoT Meetup
READING
GEEK NIGHT
• Launchpad for TTN Reading
• Regular monthly slot to promote TTN
• Great for contacts:Mike; Oxford floodnet; UTC
• Several members have donated kit
• Brilliant supporter and gateway host
• Venue for our workshop, IoTchallenges, and Thingithon
• Great for business contacts
• Venue for Hotspot project base
• Biggest and best IoTmeetup outside of London
• Great for business contacts
• Enabled us to expand TTN beyond Reading
• Reading’s Hackspace• Brilliant supporter of
TTN• Venue for technical
workshop• Several members
are actively working on TTN projects
• At least 3 gateways have come via rLab
Run workshops
• IoT feels out of reach for most people• Workshops make it real and achievable• Lead to more gateways = bigger network
Workshop at GROW
GROW buys a gateway
8 attendees connect Arduino +
ThingInnovationsshield to TTN and see live data on the web
1 buys a gateway
1 works for Sage
Workshop at Sage
Sage buys a gateway
16 attendees,
same deal as before
Sage runs a nationwide
IoThackathon
Winning idea
presented at Sage Summit
in Chicago
Build a community, not a club
• Aim for a right old mix of people• FemaleArts magazine editor invited us to
a “Reading Year of Culture” meeting. • We met a clown. We talked technology.
Don’t do that.• But we also met Annette and Zsuzsi...
Annette
• Retired (ha!), runs RG Spaces charity• Reading’s third LoRaWAN gateway owner• Proud to own the world’s first (and only?)
Internet Tricycle• Fantastic promotion of TTN across Reading• Helped create a new project at MERL• …and fixed my crappy code
The Internet Tricycle
Zsuzsi
• Producer of Reading’s Year of Culture• Funded 3 Things Network projects Hotspots – IoT project with UTC students Darta – geeks and artists and Reading data Light Reading with Mike and rLab buddies
• Introduction to Reading Council staff TTN proof of concept project
Green meets Grey – IoT challenge“We're looking forward to working with The Things Network, on a project involving Microbits in the near future.”
Reading Hotspot project
Gateway
Thingitudeserver
Great use case for TTN
Lots of local help
• GROW provided free office space• YOU provided free laptops. Thank you to
Ant Parker, Peter Barnes, Tom Robinson• UTC Reading provided 4 excellent students
Kieron Cardall, Sam KimbinyiSimon Light and Tom Helyer
• …and we got lots of help along the way!
We made a thing…
LoraWANradio
module
Noise level sensor
Temperature and humidity
sensor
WiFidongle
Ceramic antenna
Real time clock
We made a thing…
LoraWANradio
module
Noise level sensor
Temperature and humidity
sensor
WiFidongle
Ceramic antenna
Real time clock
We wrote a lot of code…Raspberry
Pi
Database
Server
Applicationdev
Everything on GitHub
We put the Thing in a box…
…and the apps in the store
Ta-da! Any day now…
Our current focus in Reading
• Growing local TTN community Monthly TTN gatherings: 27 Nov at rLab Launching TTN Woky in the new year
• Reading 2016 Light Reading – talk to Mike!• Reading Council – traffic lights PoC• MERL / rLab garden project - talk to Mike!• Deploy the Hotspots in Reading venues
• Non-profit UK registered limited company
“Promote, support and develop community-led open source IoT projects”
• Help anyone starting IoT projects, including practical assistance with funding applications
• Building a good track record will make iteasier to fund future (bigger?) projects
is working on…
• Raising money to support more IoT projectsand communities
• Helping TTN grow further afield in the UK- Cardiff, Newcastle, Barnsley, Weymouth
• Hotspot – explore commercial potential• Investigating feasibility of providing a
managed service offering / TTN-in-a-box
Call to action
• Please come along to our monthly gathering
at rLab on Sun 27 Nov, 10am – 1pm
We offer a warm welcome, practical help with your questions, plenty of ways to get
started, and maybe a bit of inspiration!
See Events at thingitude.com for details
Thank you! Keep in touch
Twitter: @markstanleyuk Sign up for news: thingitude.com