Sensor Modules Linked to IBM Bluemix System Platform

October  6,  2015

Alps Electric has started provision of a new IoT system to help corporations quickly set up new businesses based on Internet of Things technology and launch new services utilizing gathered  data.  The  IoT  system  employs  IBM’s  Bluemix  platform-as-a-service  (PaaS)*  to enable  seamless  connection  of  IoT  Smart  Modules—multiple  sensors  combined  with  a communication module in a single package—to cloud services.
 

Alps Electric builds close partnerships with electronics manufacturers and works constantly to put forward the best electronic components by getting involved right from the development stage.  The  company  has  been  strengthening  activities  in  the  IoT  domain  since  2013  to accompany existing businesses, for example  in the  automotive  and smartphone markets. Linking  IoT  Smart  Modules  to  IBM  Bluemix  streamlines  sensing  of  data  through  to  cloud service  deployment,  making  it  easier  for  customers  to  develop  new  businesses  utilizing collected information.

 

IoT Smart Module Features  
 

IoT Smart Modules are modules that contain within a compact casing multiple sensors for detecting  data  on  pressure,  temperature,  humidity,  ambient  light  and  other  environmental parameters, along with wireless communication functions. There are two series: the “Sensor Network Module,” a world-smallest size module that even performs six-axis (geomagnetic and acceleration) sensing, and the “Environmental Sensor Module,” which can be installed outdoors due to its dust- and water-resistant design. The former supports Bluetooth® Smart while  the  latter  is  compatible  with  920  MHz  data  communication.  Both  modules  can  be supplied as development kits  with a gateway that  links to IBM  Bluemix, allowing  a broad range  of  uses  such  as  monitoring  of  living  environments,  health  management  and infrastructure monitoring.  

 

Advantages of Linking IoT Smart Modules to IBM Bluemix  
 

IoT  sensor  applications  require  solutions  for  connecting  and  controlling  sensor  devices, collecting and managing data output collected from sensors, and creating processing flows for IoT events among other functions. Bundling these solutions together with sensor modules makes it easier to utilize the sensing data.    
 

IBM Bluemix employs Node-RED and MQTT (Message Queue Telemetry Transport) open technologies that enable visual assembly of logic flows and defining of processing logic for applications, and which simplify use of IoT data by anyone. Providing a framework to which everyone can connect, IBM Bluemix is expected to grow as a platform easily and quickly accessible by IoT Smart Modules users. In addition, the benefits of cloud-based managed services  and  access  to  global  IT  infrastructure  are  considered  vital  for  IoT  business expansion.  

Alps Electric seeks to enhance its IoT system looking ahead to potential uses in the nursing care,  person  monitoring,  industrial  equipment,  agriculture  and  wearable  device  fields  and development of applications for individual industries. The Environmental Sensing Module and the Sensor Network Module were made available for general sale as development kits in June and October 2015 respectively. By  linking these modules to the IBM  Bluemix cloud platform, Alps Electric will support the establishment of IoT businesses in diverse markets.     
 
* Platform as a service (PaaS): A service involving Internet-based provision of an operating system or other platform for running applications   
 
IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com and Bluemix are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in many countries worldwide. Other product and service names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of IBM or other companies. A current list of IBM trademark can be viewed at http://www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml.  

 

 

 

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