M2M : Machine 2 Machine

Here is another company that is on the M2M middleware bandwagon. I have not tried out the beta service but worth looking into.

Cooper City, FL (PRWEB) April 13, 2009 — Linxter, Inc., provider of in-the-cloud middleware, today announces the release of Linxter version 1.0 for the rapid development of communication-based products and services. Linxter offers software developers an easy-to-use, ubiquitous communication framework for secure and reliable messaging among applications, devices, and systems, allowing data to be exchanged among disparate systems.

With message-oriented middleware hosted in the cloud, developers can quickly and easily take advantage of asynchronous, stateful messaging to connect their distributed applications. All of the communication plumbing, the infrastructure and coding complexities, are removed from the product development timeline and maintenance budget. As a result, developers do not have to invest themselves in messaging expertise and infrastructure, allowing them to focus instead on the core value proposition of their products and services.

even more exciting than the explosion in the number of Internet enabled devices, is the way developers will be able to innovate through the interconnection of all of these things.

Linxter reduces the time to market for applications by automating integration. Developers can integrate Linxter into their development projects in less than five minutes and master the technology in less than a day. The technology consists of three main components: 1. The Linxter Internet Service Bus (ISB), which is the back-end infrastructure that processes messages between Linxter enabled programs, 2. The Linxter Software Development Kit (SDK), which contains the code needed to integrate applications with the Linxter ISB, and 3. The Linxter Web Manager, a user interface for administering programs and accounts.

Gothenburg, Sweden – September 29, 2008: According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, 50 million people in the EU and the US could potentially benefit from wireless home healthcare monitoring solutions. However there are still very few commercial products that enable distance monitoring of medical equipment such as glucose level meters or blood pressure monitors via mobile networks. The report identifies fundamentally different approaches to technology as one of the key explanations for why the healthcare and mobile industries have not yet found a good match. “There is a wide gap between the technology used in the healthcare sector and the latest advances in telecom. The few telehealth solutions that do exist are not just one but often several generations behind in terms of technology”, said Tobias Ryberg, senior analyst, Berg Insight.

In order to pave the way for wireless solutions in healthcare, Berg Insight advices the mobile industry to explain that they fulfil all requirements on safety, data security and reliability in the healthcare sector while at the same time delivering better performance at lower cost compared to legacy systems. Mobile industry players must reach out to medical device manufacturers and caregivers to present solutions that allow them to take full advantage of the latest communication technology. “The healthcare industry is perfectly right to have a cautious attitude towards new innovations before they are thoroughly tested. The first step towards a wireless revolution in home medical care needs to be to build confidence that the mobile network infrastructure is capable of even the most critical tasks”, concluded Ryberg.

iWOW Connections recently announced the introduction of iWOW M2M Open Protocol (iMOP), an event-driven software engine that offers developers a simple way to automate the communication of data in machine-To-machine (M2M) applications. Embedded atop iWOW’s TR-800 GSM/GPRS modules, iMOP is designed to suit the requirements for applications such as remote monitoring, fleet management and asset tracking.

iMOP aims to replace programming efforts to trigger data sending with user-friendly configurations for wireless reporting, controlling and monitoring. This software stack eliminates the need for an external microcontroller to control data transmission; instead it relies on AT commands to invoke a basic response during predefined events. Profiles of these events and actions can be defined and edited over-the-air through SMS, TCP/IP, GPRS and CSD or directly via the serial port.

iMOP can be configured to send periodic reports, providing realtime information and enabling enterprise managers to make decisions that reduce risks and improve their business processes. An alert in the form of SMS or data packet (via TCP socket or CSD) is sent when a user-defined event occurs. iMOP also enables remote control by executing commands and queries from authenticated incoming SMS and TCP messages.

Looking at Security in the M2M world –
This is a snip from Berg Insight…

Wireless M2M is also increasingly being used for fixed location security, according to Berg’s research. The research firm notes that “a single landline connection between the premises alarm system and the alarm receiving center is no longer deemed sufficient for high security situations.” The use of a secondary wireless link reduces the chance of disruption and makes communication much more reliable, Berg says. Late last year, the UK adopted a European standard for alarm systems (EN 50131) that requires dual signaling in most stores and offices.

Overall, Berg estimates that there will be nearly four million alarm systems connected to wireless networks in Western Europe by 2010