M2M : Machine 2 Machine

EnOcean a company that is developing battery less sensors. The net result is that EnOcean devices do not need batteries or an external power source, they can be deployed where they are needed, without the need to schedule retrieval for battery changing. trength is in the combination of two key technologies: Firstly the harvesting of energy from the environment and secondly the use of radical power management techniques that enable our devices to run on minuscule amounts of energy.

THe company has launched a complete package. The world’s “first wireless, battery-free…and affordable…sensor transmitter to integrate all sensor functions into a single module” has been unveiled in North America for OEMs developing products for commercial building monitoring and control, industrial processes, lighting control, automated metering infrastructures, and home automation.

Harbor Research has published another report that tries to capture the M2M device growth both wireless and wireline systems.

The report also covers the higher level service revenues derived through intelligent device networking, including both Network related – of particular interest to telecom carriers, mobile operators (MNOs) and virtual network operators (VNOs, MVNOs) – and Managed Service related – of particular interest to adopters, service providers, solution providers, integrators and VARs.

You can download the white paper here

Report from ABI research on the M2M Market Growth -
ABI Research forecasts that revenues for cellular M2M communication services will rise from approximately $2 billion in 2006 to more than $8 billion in 2012.
A new study by the firm describes a landscape of cellular M2M service providers that shows increasing variety in its business models. Senior analyst Sam Lucero says the research identifies three classes of providers, each offering a different mix of capabilities. “Traditional mobile network operators (MNOs), mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), and a small number of specialized M2M mobile operators (MMOs) all face specific challenges and opportunities in delivering this emerging technology.”

An M2M experiment launched in Florida to control peak energy demands in. I woudl not be surprised as more services of this nature are rolled out.

A Florida utility wants it customers to use remote managed thermostats. They offer it for free and even provide free installation. This allows customers to control the temperature from any internet enabled device.
Florida Power & Light Company will provide Internet-ready programmable thermostat, a remote control device that can be used when you’re at home, at work, or on vacation.
Along with not charging for the thermostat, FPL will install it for free. In return, the customer agrees to let FPL occasionally cycle the air conditioner for short periods of time, only when necessary, to conserve energy during heavy demand. However, the customer always has the ability to override the utility’s remote control over the air conditioner via the internet or by calling a toll-free number provided by FPL. FPL will also offer devices to control Pool pumps and Heaters.

So whats in it for the consumer?
The consumer will get access to these cool gadgets and credits on their utility bill. This allows FPL to cycle off these devices for brief periods, if needed. In return, participating customers receive monthly credits from FPL on their electric bills. Called On Call, this program means the utility can better manage overall electricity demand and that ensures reliability. For customers participating in the thermostat pilot program, On Call credits will only be offered for the pool pump and the water heater.

Snippet from the ZigBee newsletter

The Alliance has seen strong interest from electric utilities around the globe in using ZigBee to help their consumers be more energy efficient. Several utilities are now in active development of customer programs which will make use of ZigBee enabled electric meters being installed at homes throughout the territory. Utilities leading this market development include utilities from California and Texas as well as Canada and Australia. Other utilities beginning to explore the use of ZigBee for their customers include utilities in California, Connecticut, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Virginia along with Scandinavia, France and Japan. The key for utilities in developing robust customer programs for energy efficiency is using open standards like ZigBee. ZigBee enables utility owned devices, such as electric meters to communicate with consumer owned devices, such as thermostats, appliances, lighting system, etc. This communication network is known as the Home Area Network (HAN). With a standards-based HAN able to communicate with the electric meter, home owners can receive information about real-time energy prices, up-to-date energy consumption and other information direct from devices in their home without waiting for the monthly bill to telling them what happened last month. In May, Texas became the first state to require utilities to include HANs as part of their upgrade plans, if the utility wishes to seek cost recovery from the public. Currently, several other legislative bodies are considering similar approaches for utilities in their state or country.

http://www.zigbee.org/en/newsletters/2007_08-Newsletter/0807-external.asp#newsletter