By Stephanie Kinch, Wi-Fi NOW Staff Writer
A Portuguese startup is working to take the Internet of Things on the road by creating city-wide mesh networks between vehicles.
Everyone knows about The Internet of Things (IoT). But what about The Internet of Moving Things? Portuguese startup Veniam has an all-in-one solution that combines hardware, software, and Cloud components to create city-wide vehicular networks that expand Wi-Fi coverage and collect masses of data to develop a real Internet of Moving Things.
The company’s city-wide mesh networks have proved successful in Europe. Now, they are expanding to Singapore.
A backbone of buses
So how does it work? Take for example a bus: Above the driver sits a Veniam NetRider box that connects to all the access points around the city and the LTE network. The unit runs on three signals: Wi-Fi, cellular, and DSRC. When combined with the other enabled vehicles in the city, this mesh creates city-wide Wi-Fi access – and terabytes of data.
Last year, Veniam launched a mesh network of connected buses at National University in Singapore. The project was designed by the department of computing and engineering to gather data on the mobility of people as they moved across campus. Where were they waiting? Which buses did they use? How do they move on campus? The system was also used to serve up campus-wide free Wi-Fi.
The network includes 38 NetRider-equipped shuttle buses and 20 NetRider Access Points to connect passing vehicles to wired infrastructure and the Cloud. The result was a secure connection for more than 15,000 daily users – and terabytes of data.
“The network provided a rich set of data for how staff and students moved across the campus,” says Derek Maggs, Managing Director of Veniam in Asia.
Veniam’s Singapore footprint expands
Officials renewed the project for four more years. It also caught the eye of Singapore’s transportation authority. As a trial, Veniam is installing access points on buses, bus stops, and bus depots along one route to gather data on usage and create a more efficient way to collect data from onboard systems used for security and payments.
Across town at Changi airport, Veniam will soon provide high-grade Wi-Fi on shuttle buses heading in and out of a new terminal. At a massive retail park outside town, Veniam technology gathers data from shuttle bus passengers to learn about shopping patterns. At one of the country’s busiest ports, Veniam is also working on mesh solutions that can provide access in and around large container ships.
Maggs says that Veniam’s solutions are an integral part of a smart city’s infrastructure. And all the data coming in and out of the networks can’t be supported by 4G alone.
“5G will have a part to play in smart cities when it becomes available, but we are talking about moving huge tracts of data,” he says. “We want to use whatever we have available at the cheapest cost.”
The two-way data flow
While free Wi-Fi is a plus for any commuter, Veniam’s focus is on the data. Veniam uses 4G and 5G techniques, mesh networking, and delay-tolerant networking to move massive amounts of data. It’s collected, transported via the city-wide network, and stored in Veniam’s Cloud. With it, Veniam can help provide managed services like mobile Wi-Fi, targeted mobile ads, and fleet telematics. The bus that offers free Wi-Fi for consumers can use the same technology to collect data on road conditions, temperature and traffic patterns.
The amount of data will get even bigger as society gets closer to using completely autonomous vehicles. An article by Intel called data “the new oil in the future of automated driving.”
Veniam isn’t keeping quiet about their quest to create The Internet of Moving Things. In the past three years, the company took home a handful of prestigious industry awards. They are also backed by top investors like Cisco, Verizon, and Yamaha Motor Ventures and Laboratory. According to Crunchbase, the company has raised nearly $27 million in funding.
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/Stephanie
