Technology Insights
Peter Hedberg’s professional IoT journey began in 2011 at American IT solutions company PTC. In 2014, he joined ThingWorx, a renowned IoT player known for its versatile platform. Transitioning to SIGFOX in 2017, Hedberg honed his skills, later ascending to the position of Head of Sales at Qoitech in 2022. Currently, since October 2023, he holds the role of General Manager at the mioty alliance.
Interview with Peter Hedberg
1. Mr. Herdberg, could you please briefly explain what mioty is?
mioty was first introduced at the Embedded World event in February 2020, revolutionizing the LPWAN world. It is therefore the youngest of all LPWAN technologies. The standard uses the license-free 868 MHz band in Europe and the 915 MHz band in North America.
The aim of the researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute was to overcome the vulnerability to interference during data transmission in free, unlicensed radio bands. The result of this research was the Telegram Splitting Multiple Access (TSMA) data transmission method.
2. How does mioty compare to other prominent technologies such as SIGFOX, NB-IoT, and LoRaWAN?
It differs from other LPWAN technologies in that it is a software-based solution and can therefore be used independently of the hardware used. When comparing mioty to other prominent technologies such as SIGFOX, NB-IoT, and LoRaWAN, it’s essential to recognize the distinctive features and functionalities inherent in each: In contrast to LoRaWAN and SIGFOX, mioty uses a unique telegram-based transmission protocol that increases resistance to radio interference by splitting messages into multiple telegrams.
Up to 50 percent of these telegrams can be lost, yet the message remains reconstructable. This innovative approach reduces the risk of message loss due to radio interference or signal interruption and ensures reliable and energy-efficient data transmission.
3. What are the key challenges to accelarate the market adoption?
The mioty standard is not yet widely known. It is therefore essential for the mioty alliance to increase its visibility. This includes building up an extensive collection of reference cases and disseminating factual information about both the technology and its application scenarios. At the same time, we also want to increase the number of compatible standard products available.
The main challenge is to grow the ecosystem: adding mioty devices and solutions that are available and ready to be deployed is a top priority. The mioty alliance has, in fact, already managed to win several big players in the last few years.
Interview with Peter Hedberg
1. Mr. Herdberg, could you please briefly explain what mioty is?
mioty was first introduced at the Embedded World event in February 2020, revolutionizing the LPWAN world. It is therefore the youngest of all LPWAN technologies. The standard uses the license-free 868 MHz band in Europe and the 915 MHz band in North America.
The aim of the researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute was to overcome the vulnerability to interference during data transmission in free, unlicensed radio bands. The result of this research was the Telegram Splitting Multiple Access (TSMA) data transmission method.
2. How does mioty compare to other prominent technologies such as SIGFOX, NB-IoT, and LoRaWAN?
It differs from other LPWAN technologies in that it is a software-based solution and can therefore be used independently of the hardware used. When comparing mioty to other prominent technologies such as SIGFOX, NB-IoT, and LoRaWAN, it’s essential to recognize the distinctive features and functionalities inherent in each: In contrast to LoRaWAN and SIGFOX, mioty uses a unique telegram-based transmission protocol that increases resistance to radio interference by splitting messages into multiple telegrams.
Up to 50 percent of these telegrams can be lost, yet the message remains reconstructable. This innovative approach reduces the risk of message loss due to radio interference or signal interruption and ensures reliable and energy-efficient data transmission.
3. What are the key challenges to accelarate the market adoption?
The mioty standard is not yet widely known. It is therefore essential for the mioty alliance to increase its visibility. This includes building up an extensive collection of reference cases and disseminating factual information about both the technology and its application scenarios. At the same time, we also want to increase the number of compatible standard products available.
The main challenge is to grow the ecosystem: adding mioty devices and solutions that are available and ready to be deployed is a top priority. The mioty alliance has, in fact, already managed to win several big players in the last few years.
Peter Hedberg’s professional IoT journey began in 2011 at American IT solutions company PTC. In 2014, he joined ThingWorx, a renowned IoT player known for its versatile platform. Transitioning to SIGFOX in 2017, Hedberg honed his skills, later ascending to the position of Head of Sales at Qoitech in 2022. Currently, since October 2023, he holds the role of General Manager at the mioty alliance.
Use Cases & Future Outlook
mioty
- LPWAN technology
- Developed by Fraunhofer IIS
- Based on the ETSI standard TS 103 357
- Extremely high scalability with up to one million devices per gateway
- Battery life of up to 20 years
- Ranges of up to 5 kilometers in urban areas, and up to 15 kilometers in rural areas
- Applications: Smart metering, Industry 4.0, smart cities, building automation, and asset tracking
Interview with Peter Hedberg
1. What makes mioty well-suited for use in manufacturing and process industries, as well as safety and security applications?
In 2023 the mioty alliance and the IO-Link agreed on a strategical liaison. This collaboration focuses on the adaptation of data models from IO-Link (IODD) and their seamless integration into the mioty standard. Enabling low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) technologies for industrial IO-Link applications. As IO-Link requires extremely robust and reliable transmissions, it highlights the high quality of service mioty offers.
mioty now allows large manufacturing and processing plants to connect all vital meters and devices. The ones that would require an expensive wired connection no longer become costly to connect. Members of the alliance such as Ifm Electronic have begun to use mioty for innovative solutions in manufacturing environments. In the process industries, where extensive facilities require cost-effective sensor installations, mioty is proving to be a viable wireless solution used by companies such as Wika to ensure a high quality of service and a high coexistency with other wireless protocols.
In the field of worker safety, mioty plays a crucial role in increasing the reliability of alarm systems for workers, as demonstrated by Swissphone’s initiatives. This strategic deployment underlines mioty’s ability to meet stringent requirements.
2. What are the plans for the further development of mioty?
Within the IoT landscape, determining the location of assets, be it vehicles, machinery or utilities such as water meters, remains paramount. Localization methods often rely on separate technologies such as GPS or WiFi sniffing to achieve satisfactory precision. However, ongoing research and development work led by Fraunhofer IIS aims to integrate high-precision positioning directly into the network.
Although this technology is still being refined, initial tests have shown promising results and further developments are on the horizon. Localization topics like satellite IoT, energy harvesting, and sensors near AI, as well as the control of actuators are on the technical roadmap.
Interview with Peter Hedberg
1. What makes mioty well-suited for use in manufacturing and process industries, as well as safety and security applications?
In 2023 the mioty alliance and the IO-Link agreed on a strategical liaison. This collaboration focuses on the adaptation of data models from IO-Link (IODD) and their seamless integration into the mioty standard. Enabling low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) technologies for industrial IO-Link applications. As IO-Link requires extremely robust and reliable transmissions, it highlights the high quality of service mioty offers.
mioty now allows large manufacturing and processing plants to connect all vital meters and devices. The ones that would require an expensive wired connection no longer become costly to connect. Members of the alliance such as Ifm Electronic have begun to use mioty for innovative solutions in manufacturing environments. In the process industries, where extensive facilities require cost-effective sensor installations, mioty is proving to be a viable wireless solution used by companies such as Wika to ensure a high quality of service and a high coexistency with other wireless protocols.
In the field of worker safety, mioty plays a crucial role in increasing the reliability of alarm systems for workers, as demonstrated by Swissphone’s initiatives. This strategic deployment underlines mioty’s ability to meet stringent requirements.
2. What are the plans for the further development of mioty?
Within the IoT landscape, determining the location of assets, be it vehicles, machinery or utilities such as water meters, remains paramount. Localization methods often rely on separate technologies such as GPS or WiFi sniffing to achieve satisfactory precision. However, ongoing research and development work led by Fraunhofer IIS aims to integrate high-precision positioning directly into the network.
Although this technology is still being refined, initial tests have shown promising results and further developments are on the horizon. Localization topics like satellite IoT, energy harvesting, and sensors near AI, as well as the control of actuators are on the technical roadmap.
mioty
- LPWAN technology
- Developed by Fraunhofer IIS
- Based on the ETSI standard TS 103 357
- Extremely high scalability with up to one million devices per gateway
- Battery life of up to 20 years
- Ranges of up to 5 kilometers in urban areas, and up to 15 kilometers in rural areas
- Applications: Smart metering, Industry 4.0, smart cities, building automation, and asset tracking
Hundreds of thousands of mioty-based water meters have already been deployed worldwide.
Introducing the mioty alliance
Interview with Peter Hedberg
1. What does the mioty alliance stand for and what does it offer its members?
The mioty alliance promotes the spread of mioty technology among its members and provides extensive technical support, primarily through the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS). Members benefit from resources aimed at enhancing their proficiency in mioty implementation and can participate in strategic marketing initiatives to improve their industry presence.
Membership of the mioty alliance offers stakeholders the opportunity to contribute to the ongoing development and spread of mioty technology.
2. What goals does the mioty alliance want to achieve in the coming quarters?
The mioty alliance is currently focusing strategically on several main objectives. One main goal is to increase the visibility and awareness in the industry that mioty is an increasingly established LPWAN technology. In short, we want to position mioty prominently among LPWAN technologies. This goal is extremely important in view of mioty’s ‘newbie’ status.
How we want to achieve this is easy to explain: we want to grow. For this reason, we are launching campaigns to attract new members and expand the mioty alliance internationally. A specially formed business and marketing committee is focusing on this task. This includes initiatives aimed at increasing knowledge of the mioty standard, promoting the ecosystem, for e. g. in Europe, Middle East, the Americas and Asia, as well as helping current members to optimize or even expand the product range. In a nutshell, we want to grow in terms of the number of members, global awareness and available products.
3. What target markets are the mioty alliance currently focusing on?
Currently, the mioty alliance is focusing on various target markets, aligning itself with short-term goals while pursuing a long-term vision of widespread adoption across various industries. Diehl Metering demonstrates the effectiveness of mioty in water metering, with hundreds of thousands of water meters already using mioty technology. This success highlights mioty’s cost efficiency and outstanding quality of service.
Beyond water metering, the alliance extends metering solutions (heat, gas and electricity metering), industrial applications and smart city initiatives. Members such as Ifm Electronic and Wika contribute to the industrial segment with sensors that fulfill various industrial requirements. The mioty alliance also covers the smart city sector. This includes smart building applications.
Member companies provide solutions for these sectors, such as indoor air quality and temperature monitoring. These examples show that the mioty alliance is present in various target markets with diverse solutions.
4. Who are the key players or stakeholders involved in the mioty alliance?
The mioty alliance is made up of several key players and stakeholders, each contributing their own expertise and resources to advance the goals of the alliance. Of particular note are the alliance’s 10 full members, which include Diehl Metering, Fraunhofer IIS, Texas Instruments, Stackforce, Wika, Ifm Electronic, Swissphone, Weptech, Sentinum, and Loriot.
These full members play a central role in the further development of mioty technology in their respective fields and actively promote its introduction and integration into their ecosystems. As a founding member, Fraunhofer IIS plays a central role, having pioneered the development of mioty technology.
In addition, the alliance has 48 associate members, including Lansen, Silicon Labs, Radiocrafts, Miromico, STMicroelectronics, and Olympus, to name just a few.
The mioty days 2023 took place from December 5th to 7th at the Fraunhofer IIS site in Nuremberg. Around 90 mioty enthusiasts and partners took part in the three-day meeting. These include, among others: Diehl Metering, Swissphone Group, Lansen Systems, Ifm, Wittra Networks, Loriot, and Stackforce. New IoT applications and products were presented and demonstrated, and many products successfully passed the mioty certification process.