Keynote speakers

BSI has been instrumental in delivering support for innovation in cities and beyond, including the PAS 180 to PAS 185 suite of Smart City standards – a number of which are being used as the basis for international standards.

Hear how BSI provides Smart City Leadership Programmes to help cities in the UK and internationally to shape outcome-led strategies that address local needs and make cities more investable.

BSI has also created an IoT Community which is connecting buyers and service providers to help shape new opportunities, create best practice, de-risk investments and accelerate adoption. The community is focused on cities and the built environment and it is backed by Innovate UK.

An experienced leader and strategist with in-depth knowledge of digital services, communications and innovation. Peter’s pragmatic approach to partnership and matrix working enables high-degrees of trust and collaboration, which have enabled delivery of significant successes in both the private and public sectors. Peter’s current focus includes Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and Smart Homes, to support independent living and agile ageing. Peter is also Business Development Director at Coderus, a software development SME, and a Senior Visiting Fellow for digital innovation at the University of Suffolk.

Studying wildlife in remote areas of the world, with a goal of implementing informed conservation strategies, required a simple and time-efficient method to build a network covering vast inaccessible areas. As an answer we have developed a bundle of solutions – from animal trackers and static sensors to drone automated signal coverage mapping across water, tree-tops and other inaccessible locations. In this talk we will share the solutions and challenges of our projects – Green Sea Turtles monitoring on Principe Island and Arboreal Monitoring Platform in Amazon rainforest, in Peru among others.

Green sea turtles are an endangered species and most vulnerable during the nesting period when they converge on sandy beaches. Working with the Arribada Initiative and Principe trust we have designed and in past December deployed a camera based tag to capture on video the turtle’s behaviour in space and time. Understanding their swimming, feeding habits and their interaction with the environment is critical to implement informed conservation strategies. See a video from the turtles here and check this post, published on Raspberry Pi blog, for more details on the tagging.

The challenge lies in efficiently and quickly providing a low-cost long-range network coverage in a remote part of the world for real-time monitoring and tracking. A green sea turtle is equipped with a tag when laying eggs on the beach and in about two weeks when it returns with 12-15 h of recorded video (~80 GB) the tag is removed and replaced with a fresh one. This opportunity must not be missed and thus a mechanism is required to know when the turtle comes on the beach. Moreover during the two week period turtles stay in proximity of the beach and surface every few hours to breathe, which is a perfect opportunity to send some data. Furthermore, monitoring the temperature of the sand, water level or tide on the beach and turtle nest temperature all give very valuable insight in how successful the nesting is and how environment affects it.

LoRaWAN is the most suitable solution to address the needs of this project and thus we have developed a solution based on The Things Network infrastructure, answering our infrastructure needs as well as providing an open access for other solutions in the area we may be deploying in the future years and for general use.

We have deployed battery back-up gateways with WiFi connectivity to test out the system requirements in real-world and to figure out the best strategy to roll-out the network. Given that internet access is limited, and building WiFi links to best gateway locations is expensive, we have discovered the best strategy is to deploy off-grid solar powered 3G connected TTN gateways that can be put on trees, float on water or be placed anywhere.

Coverage of gateways on land, remote beach areas as well as over the water on a very versatile coast is difficult to map. Therefore, we have created a drone mapping solution, coupling a DJI Drone with TTN mapper capabilities, with which we can in a matter of minutes determine the coverage of large areas of land and water, fly at canopy level if sensors are going to be deployed there as well as test placement of nodes and gateways automatically. See a video of a drone mapping test, Principe Island TTN gateway deployment and some other very interesting shots of this amazing Island.

Luka Mustafa is a founder and CEO of a future-proof lab for development of advanced applied solutions - Institute IRNAS - that he established in 2014, where he leads a multidisciplinary team developing future-proof systems, ranging from wireless optical communication systems, IoT devices for specialized applications to open medical devices and 3D bioprinting. He also promotes and deploys open wireless networks in wlan slovenia project and manages national and international wireless backbones. He is pursuing a PhD at University College London (UCL) in the EE ONG group and was a Shuttleworth Foundation Fellow.   Institute IRNAS http://irnas.eu/ Institute IRNAS strives to apply the vast scientific knowledge to everyday reality by creating effective, affordable and well-tailored future-proof hardware products and IoT systems. We believe in an open-source world and sharing. We aim to empower the world with technologies that improve lives, let that be an advanced communication system or a simple everyday utensil.

Talk details TBC

Emma combines a background working with low powered wide area network (LPWAN) operators across the UK and 25 years account management, business development and project delivery across a range of market sectors. Emma project managed the operations of a London-based communications company specialising in data delivery over VSAT links, installation and design of video, TV and computer networks. She managed major projects, including the installation and maintenance of systems for Reuters, The National Lottery, London Fire Brigade, Press Association and Bloomberg.

Talk details TBC

Ali is Co-Founder and Investor of KoolZone. Ali has worked in senior roles within companies such as Hewlett Packard, Oracle and Informix, in both management and Global Sales. Although her career has been focused mainly on commercial roles in the past, she has a BSc (Hons) Degree in Electronic Engineering from UCL. She and her team at Koolzone have built a LoRaWan real time monitoring system with focus on Temperature and Humidity from within Commercial Fridges and Freezers, but have expanded their system to monitor many other data types. Koolzone have customers across 12 countries in Food, Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences

Microclimate.network is an open platform for microclimate, where you can share and monitor air temperature, relative humidity and air pressure. Based on real-time measurements we offer free valuable insights for all users.

The platform features real-time insights such as frost risk, heat island potential and heatwave mitigation.

In order to expand our network we are open to including DIY and 3rd party sensors and also offer cost-effective certified MicroClimate sensors.

Dr. Tomaž Šuklje is co-founder of the microclimate.network initiative, and a lecturer and researcher with 10+ years experience in energy efficiency, urban physics, building physics and high performance buildings. He holds positions of senior research associate at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia and at the Urban Planning Institute of Republic Slovenia, where he is involved in the development of IoT solutions for Smart Buildings and Smart Cities as well as the prediction of energy usage. He also acts as a visiting lecturer, advisor and mentor at Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia.  

Microclimate.network

Microclimate.network is an initiative for improved outdoor environment. Global change is influencing our everyday life through changed weather and climate patterns, which have negative impacts on health in the urban environment and food production in the countryside. Microclimate.network aims to raise awareness on these issues and try to help users by utilizing state-of-the-art technologies and the latest findings in applied science to achieve these goals.

Hear about my LoRa experience and how I got started from the point of view of a Student & Maker, including incorporating it into a degree project and designing LoRa products for beginners.

By the end of this workshop you will learn how to use our micro:bit node to transmit some basic messages over LoRa & The Things Network with ease. To begin we’ll transmit a hello world message and then adapt our code to transmit data from some of the sensors on the microbit.

This is a great workshop for beginners as it uses the Microsoft Makecode editor in the block based setting.

Attendees will need to bring their own laptop to the session with a browser compatible with Microsoft Makecode installed (Chrome or Firefox work best). We are allowing people to use our Microbits and nodes on the day, however we don’t have enough to let attendees take them home with them.

While only 22, Ryan Walmsley is an engineer for Pi Supply and has over 6 years of experience in Raspberry Pi, developing an accessible range of LoRa products for the maker community by making low cost solutions with easy to use software for platforms such as the Raspberry Pi, Microbit & Arduino. At the same time he is initiator of The Things Network East Coast aiming to get full The Things Network Coverage for Great Yarmouth & Lowestoft, whilst also studying a degree in Computer Science & Business at the open university.

Target Audience

Beginners in LoRa with basic embedded experience

Objective

The aim of the workshop is to help the audience understand the basics of LoRa PHY. In order to create an efficient MAC protocol or better improve the LoRaWAN, one must first know how the LoRa PHY works.

The workshop will be given over two days.

Pre-requisites:

Please ensure that you install Ac6 and related toolchain software before the workshop. These instructions will guide you through the process:

https://thethingsconference.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/workshop_setup_guide.pdf

Please contact Anup via email if you have any problems setting up the development environment.

Can you also please bring a micro USB cable with you as this will be required to program the board.

Day 1 (Basic):

Part 1: (45 mins)

(1) Basic introduction to LPWAN
(2) Basic introduction to LoRa
(3) Benefits of CSS
(4) Going indepth with LoRa PHY packet structure:

a. Preamble

i. Detection Sequence and why it is important

ii. Sync

iii. Frequency Sync

iv. Time Sync/Silent time

b. PHY header (what is there and why is it useful)

c. Payload

d. CRC (The CRC concept itself is not taught, but its relevance is shown)

(5) What is Channel Activity Detection and how it can be used for efficient channel detection.

The introduction should be enough to start with the hands on.

Part 2: (45 mins)

Working on the Ping-Pong code provided by the ST MCD Application team:

(1) Explaining why I chose Ac6.
(2) Explaining the Ping-Pong code

a. Relating this back to Part 1, with the code to give a sense of what happens when you change something.

i. RX configuration function

ii. TX configuration function

iii. CAD interrupts (both CAD Done and CAD Detected)

iv. The FSM of the code

(3) Letting the candidates run the code on the board, by asking them to change certain parameters and asking what effect will it have.

Day 2 (Advanced):

This day will be devoted to making a basic multi-hop protocol using three nodes and the Ping-Pong code that was studied on the previous day.

Part 3:

(1) Explaining what is meant by multi-hop communication (or Ad Hoc communication). (10 mins)
(2) Explaining what you should keep in mind while designing such a protocol. You will be asked to make a waterfall diagram that you think is required for the multi-hop communication to happen. (20 mins)
(3) We will then use the Ping Pong code skeletal to implement the multi-hop code and implementing on the hardware while seeing output on serial terminal. (60 mins)

Outcome of the workshop:

You will know:
(1) The basics of LoRa PHY, and have a starting point for further research.
(2) Have a development environment setup.
(3) Know how to code and implement on LoRa devices.
(4) Have your first experience designing a rudimentary MAC protocol.

I am currently a masters student at Delft Technical University (TU Delft) in Embedded Systems. For the past year, my work has been focused on LPWAN technologies. I have worked on different projects concerning LoRa and LoRaWAN and I am the winner of the Semtech IoT Innovator’s Challenge (while competing with startups). I had to learn the technology by myself and hence know what are the difficulties faced by most beginners. This workshop is for people interested in LoRa but who don’t know how to start.

Over the past 4 years Flood Network has developed from a hackday project into a sustainable business which provides the equipment and expertise to help you monitor water levels to reduce the risk from flooding. Their systems let you monitor water levels every 15 minutes and take action when levels become problematic.

This talk will cover 8 lessons about LoRaWAN to help your strategy, from network selection to tools and target markets. Wellies not required!

Ben is director of Flood Network which has an ambitious goal to become the UK's largest Flood Network and, provides the equipment and expertise to help you monitor water levels to reduce the risk from flooding. Their systems let you monitor water levels every 15 minutes and take action when levels become problematic. They run workshops and training to allow you to understand and deploy sensors and gateways, find the best locations and manage that data. See their videos for more information: LoRaWAN Applications - The Calderdale Flood Sensor Network IoTUK: Flood Network Case Study

Unlike modern stock, older buildings often fall behind as far as the utilisation of new technology is concerned. Many landlords undertake a certain amount of retrofitting such as zonal heating or movement detection systems but these are ad hoc and inchoate, with no ability to monitor how effectively these systems are working either singly or together.

The internet of things and the analysis of data derived from sensors can give landlords, building management and tenants insight into the performance of buildings, enabling adaptations that can be economically and environmentally beneficial, whilst also creating opportunities for behaviour change within those buildings. LoRaWAN and the Things Manchester network coupled with sensors and analytics supplied by Sensorstream were an ideal solution to providing insight and potential costs savings.

Andrew will be giving this talk together with Julian Tait of Open Data Manchester.

Andrew Beattie is the CTO of Sensorstream, a UK-based company that are doing groundbreaking work in the deployment of IoT networks that represent the next major wave of computing innovation. For more than 30 years, Beattie has been at the forefront of IT implementations that are milestones, including the first large-scale deployment of Internet infrastructure in the 1990s and a long list of first-of-their-kind IT implementations in the financial, defence, telecom, retail, and technology industries. He has worked with many of the largest corporations and governmental organisations in the world, not only leading large-scale IT projects but also defining multi-year IT strategies that become the foundation for growth. As the CTO of Sensorstream, Beattie is at the forefront of yet another major shift in IT as small, low-power wireless sensors and controls make it possible to put the power of computing in nearly any physical space and geographic location.

IoT (Internet of Things) devices need to report their data or status to base stations at various frequencies.

The current design principals of communication networks, when applied to IoT scenarios, however, do not fit well. For example, an IPv6 address is 128 bits, which is much longer than a 16-bit temperature report. Also, contending to send a small packet is not cost-effective.

In this talk, I will introduce a novel framework, which is slot-based, schedule-oriented, and identity-free for uploading IoT devices’ data. I will show that it fits very well for IoT applications. Also, I will discuss its potential applications in LoRaWAN

Yi Ren received his Ph.D. degree in information communication and technology from the University of Agder, Norway, in 2012. He was with the Department of Computer Science, National Chiao Tung University (NCTU), Hsinchu, Taiwan, as a Postdoctoral Fellow, and an Assistant Research Fellow from 2012 to 2017. He is currently a Lecturer in the School of Computing Science at the University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich, U.K. He received the Best Paper Award at IEEE MDM 2012.

The industrial internet of things (IIoT) is moving at an ever increasing pace.

Understanding the reality versus the hype associated to LoRaWAN and Cellular LPWA technologies is a major facet prior to building out any product development plan.

This session looks at the key benefits of license free compared to licensed technologies and is intended to help guide your decision making thinking.

Campbell is both a family man as father to too many including foster children and grand father to one, and a technical hearted engineer with a love for messing with ‘any thing petrol based’. His career started in the royal Navy, and following his time studying for his communications degree Joined MultiTech in the late 90s and is still with the company. He has supported analogue and digital technologies and now the IoT flavours for licensed and un licensed technologies. He is being called on to consult around the EMEA region and assist in connectivity requirements around the globe; specialising in LoRaWAN connectivity and the up and coming Narrow band cellular solutions.