Do you need a powerful IQRF IoT gateway? MICRORISC, a member of the IQRF Alliance, is introducing its IQube.
The IQube is built on OrangePi Zero PC board running IQRF Daemon on Linux.
The IQube will be available in the mid-summer 2020!
More than 100 people joined the online version of IQRF Meetup. If you have missed it, we bring you all the presentations and video record from it.
Check more videos on the IQRF YouTube channel.
| Šimon Chudoba – IQRF Alliance | IQRF Alliance Lighting Strategy |
| Hynek Syrovátka – IQRF Alliance | IQRF Technical update |
| Chris Moorhouse – IAconnects | IAconnects MobiusFlow & Gateway with IQRF connector |
| Michal Valný – Logimic | Logimiclight |
| Kevin Johnstone, Martin Hosey – Danlers | PiR Sensors |
| Liam Layton – Review Display Systems | SensConnect, bespoke products and solution integration services |
| Pete Beckett – Ethiot | Intelligent extractor fan |
| Matt Kane – Sero Energy | Zero Carbon households |
Read more about the development and implementation of a complex monitoring system for measuring the concentration of carbon dioxide, ambient temperature, relative humidity and atmospheric pressure in the article from experts of VSB – Technical University of Ostrava.
The presented system was installed at two locations in the Czech Republic.
Read the whole article on mdpi.com.
Logimic, a member of the IQRF Alliance, installed more than 200 street lights controlled via the IQRF wireless technology in Jirkov, Czech Republic.
Easy implementation of the IQRF was allowed thanks to a new product by MICRORISC – IQRF DALI bridge. This device creates a bridge between IQRF and DALI standard. Lighting manufacturer of system integrator can then use DALI commands as usual and it will simply work with the IQRF network.
The DPA Peer-to-Peer (DP2P) is designed to communicate with one or more connected IQRF Nodes in a direct range. DP2P is particularly useful for network management, such as locating a specific device, maintaining the device, or remotely controlling it.
Imagine that you have built an extensive network in the building using the Autonetwork function, consisting of many indoor air-quality sensors or emergency lights, for example. If you did not previously assign your device a specific network address that you would use in your management application, you may need to locate each device in your building.
Figure 1: Simplified IQRF network topology
You can solve it with a DP2P service tool. You come into a room with sensors, lights, or other devices, then you run a service tool with low output RF power and you will connect only to the closest devices which hear the service tool.
You can prepare the CATS (Configurator Analyzer Tester Scanner) service tool from any IQRF transceiver by uploading the necessary software using the IQRF IDE. Simply click Create CATS on the Control tab of the CATS Service Tools window.
Figure 2: Creating a CATS service tool
We need to know the working channel, network type (STD / STD + LP) and access password of the device (IQRF Node) if we want to wirelessly manage it. The device must have enabled using of DP2P in its configuration and have a non-zero access password set, what is generally recommended for security reasons.
In our demo, we connect to devices that work on channel 30.
Figure 3: DP2P Settings
After you enter the access password and select a range of network addresses, you will start scanning.
Figure 4: Selecting a network address range for scanning
Devices close to your service tool which are on the same working channel and have the appropriate access password will be listed in the list and you can perform selected operations with them. The higher you set the Node TX power (max 7), the more IQRF Nodes will hear the service tool and you will be able to communicate with.
Figure 5: Scanning of available IQRF Nodes
If you reduce the output RF power (Node TX power), you will be able to communicate with fewer nearer devices and you can better locate them.
Figure 6: Reducing of transmit power for nearest IQRF Nodes scanning
You can communicate with IQRF devices using standard DPA commands. For example, you can use one of the prepared DPA commands for indications, such as flashing a red LED or you can send to the selected device the DPA command you have prepared in the Terminal – DPA Test window. For example, you can turn on the selected emergency light in a room or blink with the LEDs on the device.
Figure 7: Selecting of the DP2P command
In addition to these localization tasks, the device can be completely managed, reconfigured, disconnected from the network, you can upload an update package or back the device up, restore it, etc.
Unlike DSM (DPA Service Mode), which has long been available for network management, you don’t need to restart the device to connect to it using DP2P. You only need to have DP2P enabled in the device configuration.
New sophisticated and user-friendly applications for IQRF network management have been developed, they offer intuitive device management, localization or arranging in a map, and so on. You can see them at IQRF Alliance events where you can meet representatives of companies and developers. We invite you for the IQRF Meetup which will be held on 27th May, in London.
IoT projects can utilize different transmission technologies, each of which brings its advantages. IQRF wireless meshes are useful in projects where communication with devices is needed in a synchronous way.
Mesh networks are useful in situations where we need to collect measured values from sensors, lights or to control devices in bulk or individually. In this demo, we create several physically interconnecting IQRF networks on different RF channels using AutoNetwork.
Because the network works in a mesh topology, which in practice means that the message is being transmitted gradually by individual devices in the network from the gateway to the outermost points of the network, this method of transmission is very reliable and the chance of message delivery is high.
It is necessary to take into account the time it takes to transmit the message through such a network. This can be calculated by multiplying the number of “hops” by the length of the time slot (which varies from 40-110 ms, depending on the type of network and the amount of data transmitted). In an IQRF (IQMESH) network, you can have up to 239 nodes plus the main network device – the so-called coordinator, they have assigned 1-byte addresses, and you may use Fast Response Command (FRC) for faster data acquisition. You can divide larger networks into several smaller networks working on different channels.
Let’s say we have more than 300 devices using IQRF technology (sensors, lights, etc.) in the building. We want to connect them to the IQRF network in the fastest and least demanding way. We decided to automatically create 3 networks.
We will use the AutoNetwork feature to automatically create networks, which means connecting devices to the network at their current location and automatically discovering a physical network topology. The process takes place in several successive waves, during which newly found devices are added to the network. A wave is a set of DPA commands that repeat continuously until one of the defined Stop Conditions is met. The device must have the same Access Password as the network coordinator and must be within the RF range of the existing network.
Newly, AutoNetwork allows the creation of overlapping networks. This avoids the possible problem of connecting the nearest 239 devices to the first network and the impossibility of connecting more remote devices to other networks that would simply be beyond the reach of their coordinators.
Figure 1: AutoNetwork Settings
You can imagine overlapping networks as separate shrubs that have roots in approximately the same place. The devices (IQRF nodes) are divided into networks based on their MID (Module ID). MID is divided by the number of networks and, depending on the remainder, the devices are assigned to individual networks. Thanks to the algorithm based on the so-called Large Numbers Law, the devices are evenly assigned to networks.
Figure 2: IQRF Networks – “Overlapping networks”
Experiment
Conclusion
Figure 3: Net1 after AutoNetwork
Figure 4: Net2 after AutoNetwork
Figure 5: Net3 after AutoNetwork
A total of 12 waves were used, all 314 nodes were found in 2:03 (2 hours, 3 minutes). The first waves passed fast, the others were longer. The speed of network construction depends on a number of factors, mainly the number of routing nodes in the zone and the time required to discover the network topology.
We can use the new DPA Peer-to-Peer (DP2P) tool to communicate with devices on the network that are within direct reach of the service tool, for example, to identify specific devices in each room of a building.
Learn more about IQRF technology at www.iqrf.org and a YouTube channel IQRF.
Fill in a simple questionnaire about the IQRF wireless technology and get a discount voucher on for up to 57 EUR on air quality sensors by Protronix available on IQRF.shop.
Do you need a smart power socket? Go through the quiz #7 and get a discount voucher 18 EUR on Netio PowerCable IQRF 901E, PowerCable IQRF 901F.
The discount voucher can be redeemed at IQRF.shop.
Use the voucher on IQRF.shop.
The IQRF wireless technology is easy to implement and deploy, whether it is your product or the whole running solution. This is thanks to the DPA.
DPA is a part of a three-layer IQRF architecture (IQRF OS, DPA, Custom DPA Handler). All TR transceivers support implementation without programming. By using a ready-to-use SW plug-in instead of a user-specific application SW, the device is controlled just by sending and receiving commands and data via a simple protocol (called Direct Peripheral Access, DPA). Then the implementation is even much easier. Full networking is completely ready. Just the addresses must be specified and then the packets are delivered transparently.
IQMESH network is controlled by the DPA protocol from a control system connected to the Coordinator via the SPI or UART interface. The communication in IQMESH is primarily intended as the synchronous one: Request – Response.
DPA communication is possible:
