Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/1066247
Consumer Electronics Daily News Wednesday, January 9, 2019 4 0 SecuRam Smart Garage Door Controller "Did I close the garage door?" How many times have you circled back to the house just to check to make sure the garage door is closed? We have all done it. The SECURAM Smart Garage Door Controller puts the control of your garage door opener in the palm of your hand. The controller consists of a smart module that connects to any standard garage door opener. It also connects wirelessly to your home's Wi-Fi network. Installation is easy and takes less than 10 minutes. Once installed, the SECURAM Smart Garage Door Controller monitors and manages your garage through an app on your smartphone. Of course, you can still use the garage door controls and remotes as normal, but the SECURAM Smart Garage Door Controller gives you remote access and control. Want to let a service person into your home while you are away? No problem. Simply open your smartphone app and send a secure signal to the garage door opener. See the door open right on your smart- phone. You will even get alerts when the door is opened and closed. The app will display a history of all openings and closings of the garage door. You can also assign access rights to other family members, allow- ing them to use the app as well. The SECURAM Smart Garage Door Controller makes life easier… no more circling back home to check on the garage door. SECURAM Smart Garage Door Controller – another SECURAM smart device for the connected home. For more information, go to www.securam sys.com or stop by booth #42564. LiDAR 101: How LiDAR Technology Enables Autonomous Cars to Operate Safely To bring fully autonomous cars to mar- ket, automakers must equip vehicles with sensing technologies that create a virtual map of the vehicle's surroundings, so its computer can plan a safe driving path. LiDAR technology provides the information about a vehicle's surround- ing environment needed to make fully autonomous driving a reality. David Hall, Velodyne LiDAR's Chief Executive Officer and Founder, invented the LiDAR sensor, which helped launch the autonomous vehicle industry. A LiDAR sensor bounces laser puls- es off an object, like a tree, at an enor- mously high rate – millions of laser puls- es each second – and measures how long the light from the laser takes to reflect from the object to a light detector. The amazing thing about LiDAR technology is this process works for nonstationary objects in real time, such as pedestrians, bicyclists and other cars. Based on the time of flight, the dis- tance to an object is calculated by the LiDAR device in real time, and the mil- lions of data points are used to generate a point cloud, which is a complex "map" of the surroundings that includes measure- ments of how far away objects are from the vehicle. This process is kind of like spraying paint all over a surrounding environment in order to highlight objects, make them recognizable and show move- ment. A robust LiDAR has between eight to 128 laser beams to measure a car's sur- roundings. In surround view sensors, the laser beams cover 360 degrees to completely see around a vehicle – something not possible for a human driver. That means typical issues that may cause colli- sions for drivers, such as blind spots or wide-angle hazards, will be nonexistent in self-driving cars. LiDAR is able to accurately identify objects at up to 300 meters distance. It is critical that a vehicle is able to recognize a paper bag blowing across the roadway versus a small child in order to make accurate split-second decisions. Fully autonomous cars represent an enormous technological leap beyond today's vehicles. LiDAR is the essential sensing technology needed to operate autonomous cars safely. About Velodyne Lidar, Inc. Velodyne provides the smartest, most powerful LiDAR solutions for autonomy and driver assistance. Founded in 1983 and headquartered in San Jose, California, Velodyne is known worldwide for its portfolio of breakthrough LiDAR sensor technologies. In 2005, Velodyne's Founder and Chief Executive Officer, David Hall, invented real-time surround view LiDAR systems, revolutionizing perception and autonomy for automotive, new mobility, mapping, robotics and security. Velodyne's high-performance product line includes a broad range of sensing solutions, including the cost- effective VLP-16 Puck™, the versatile VLP-32 Ultra-Puck™, the perfect for L4-L5 autonomy VLS-128™ and the directional view Velarray™. For more information, go to www.velodyne lidar.com or stop by booth #9010. The Zigbee Alliance and Thread Group Address IoT Industry Fragmentation The Zigbee Alliance and Thread Group announced the availability of the Dotdot specification over Thread's IP network. This is the first time developers can con- fidently use an established, open and interoperable IoT language over a low- power wireless IP network, which will help unify the fragmented connected device industry and unlock new markets. "We're at an exciting point in the Smart Home where the broader consumer market is embracing mainstream connect- ed products; 26 percent of consumers own a smart home device according to our new research," said Tom Kerber, Director of IoT Strategy at Parks Associates. "To be competitive in a market where consumers will rely on these devices for years to come, companies must take a long-term view, aligning with technologies that will enable innovation and interoperability, and continue to deliver on the promise of the IoT for every stakeholder." Dotdot is the Zigbee Alliance's uni- versal language for the IoT, making it pos- sible for smart objects to work together on any network. Thread is the Thread Group's open, IPv6-based, low-power, secure and future-proof mesh networking technology for IoT products. These two leading organizations have come together to deliver a mature, scalable solution for IoT interoperability that isn't confined to single-vendor ecosystems or technologies . Delivering on the Promise of the IoT The early internet faced the same chal- lenges as today's IoT. Currently, connected devices can struggle to deliver a seamless experience because they speak different languages (or in technical terms, use differ- ent "application layers"). For the internet, the industry solved this problem with open, universal protocols over IP – a combination that unlocked and accelerated innovation. Dotdot's common device language over Thread's IP network extends this same proven approach to the Internet of Things. With Dotdot over Thread, product and plat- form vendors can ensure the high-quality, interoperable user experiences needed to drive growth, while IP allows vendors to maintain a direct connection to their device – and their customers. Simplified Product Development with Mature Technologies and Diverse Supply Chains It's important to note that Dotdot over Thread is not another new standard. Dotdot enables the open, mature and already widely adopted application layer at the heart of Zigbee to work across Thread's IP network – the same network technology fundamental to the internet. For product managers, new standards rep- resent risk. Dotdot and Thread are backed by global, industry-leading companies and represent two of the most robust, widely deployed and well-supported con- nectivity and interoperability technolo- gies, driving billions of products and net- works already in homes and offices. "Zigbee and Dotdot are the product of 15 years of innovation by our mem- bers, and the experience that comes from over a decade of building successful products," said Tobin Richardson, Zigbee Alliance President and Chief Executive Officer. "This maturity is why major tech- nology leaders have chosen Zigbee, and Dotdot over Thread now brings that value to new markets. This marks the first of many partnerships to come as we extend our application layer across additional networks to accelerate time to market and unify the IoT for all stakeholders." "The Thread Group's vision is to extend IP – the powerful foundation of the internet – to low-power IoT devices," said Grant Erickson, President of the Thread Group. "Just like the internet, this vision also requires the industry to put forth open, common protocols so devices from any vendor can work together. Dotdot gives Thread adopters an impor- tant option for that open, end-to-end con- nectivity and interoperability." How to Start Working with Dotdot over Thread The Dotdot specification is available today to Zigbee Alliance members. Additional resources, including the Dotdot Commissioning Application, will be available in Summer 2018, along with the opening of the Dotdot Certification program from the Zigbee Alliance. Thread launched its 1.1 specification and opened its certification program in February 2017. The Zigbee Alliance and Thread Group now share a number of common authorized test service providers, and are working with them to ensure an efficient, seamless certification process for Dotdot over Thread adopters. About the Zigbee Alliance The Zigbee Alliance is the foundation and future of the IoT. Established in 2002, its wide-ranging global member- ship collaborates to create and evolve universal open standards for the products transforming the way we live, work and play. With members' deep and diverse expertise, robust certification programs and a full suite of open IoT solutions, it is leading the movement toward a more intuitive, imaginative and useful world. The Zigbee Alliance is supported by board members from Comcast, Huawei, Itron, The Kroger Co., Landis+Gyr, LEEDARSON, Legrand Group, Midea, NXP ® Semiconductors, Philips Lighting, Schneider Electric, Silicon Labs, SmartThings, Somfy Group, Texas Instruments and Wulian. About the Thread Group The non-profit Thread Group is focused on making Thread the foundation for the internet of things in the home and beyond by educating product developers, builders and consumers on the unique features and benefits of Thread and ensuring a positive experience through rigorous, meaningful product certifica- tion. Thread is backed by industry-lead- ing companies including Arm, Johnson Controls, Nest Labs, NXP ® Semiconductors, OSRAM, Qualcomm, Schneider Electric, Silicon Labs, Somfy, and Yale Security. Since opening its membership in October 2014, companies from around the world and across all aspects of the expansive and connected technology sector have joined the Thread Group to create the very best way to con- nect and control devices.