Power Harvesting and Way forward for Sustainable IoT

Taken with connecting with Ollie? Attain out to him on Linkedin!

About SODAQ:

SODAQ is a market chief in low-power sensing and monitoring, with experience in embedded {hardware}, software program, industrial design, and scaling technical improvements. Primarily specializing in B2B and governmental purchasers, SODAQ goals to develop merchandise that considerably cut back environmental impression of worth chains in Transportation, Building, Agriculture and Offshore industries. All this should be achieved with units which have minimal environmental impression of their life-cycle and due to this fact SODAQ invests in making merchandise which can be deliberate to work perpetually/perpetually. A key instance is the TRACK SOLAR, an asset tracker that works globally and will be connected to any asset, working autonomously. One other is the Locator One, a tool that autonomously measures GNSS place on a sub-cm accuracy in 3D with a view to detect tiny deformations in objects or surfaces, primarily in development. SODAQ can provide an end-to-end answer together with system administration and visualisation instruments for the info, however is totally versatile to work with any companions within the provision of its {hardware} merchandise. 50% of the enterprise is concentrated on customized improvement, whereas the opposite 50% is concentrated on promoting merchandise. Most merchandise embody no mains energy supply, work with LPWAN applied sciences and/or Bluetooth. SODAQ sees a world with out batteries.

Key Questions and Matters from this Episode:

(01:07) Intro to Ollie

(02:49) Intro to SODAQ

(05:55) What evolutions have you ever seen in sustainable IoT?

(08:23) What sorts of use circumstances is low-power know-how enabling?

(11:21) What’s vitality harvesting?

(12:48) When is vitality harvesting match for a use case?

(18:34) What’s prohibiting the expansion of this sustainable IoT know-how?

(21:29) What challenges are your prospects going through? What’s the market appear like?

(23:58) The place do you see the trade going, technology-wise?

(26:03) How can listeners attain out and be taught extra about SODAQ?

Transcript:

– [Voice Over] You’re listening to the IoT For All Media Community.

– [Ryan] Hey everybody, and welcome to a different episode of the IoT For All Podcast, I’m your host, Ryan Chacon, and right now’s visitor is Ollie Smeenk, the CEO of SODAQ. Ollie has a really distinctive background. He was born within the Netherlands, raised in Tanzania, constructed and put in climate monitoring options in Sub-Saharan Africa, and now as a CEO of an IoT {hardware} firm, targeted on low energy sensing and monitoring. So we’re gonna speak so much about that, low energy sensing and monitoring, we’re speaking about battery units, we’re gonna discuss vitality harvesting, and simply sustainability as an entire throughout IoT. However earlier than we may do this, if any of you on the market wish to enter the quick rising and worthwhile IoT market, however don’t know the place to begin, try our sponsor Leverege, Leverege IoT options improvement platform, offers every thing you could create turnkey IoT merchandise you can white label and resell beneath your individual model. To be taught extra, go to iotchangeseverything.com, that’s iotchangeseverything.com, and with out additional ado, please get pleasure from this episode of the IoT For All Podcasts. Welcome, Ollie, to the IoT For All present, thanks for being right here this week.

– [Ollie] Thanks a lot, Ryan, I’m glad to be right here.

– [Ryan] Yeah, completely trying ahead to it. So I needed to kick this off by having you speak somewhat bit extra about your background expertise a bit, from every thing that I learn, it’s a really distinctive background. You’re born within the Netherlands, elevating Tanzania, you’ve accomplished work in Sub-Sahara Africa, and now you’re the CEO of an IoT {hardware} firm. And I’d love to simply form of hear extra about that background and that journey, and form of what introduced you to SODAQ.

– [Ollie] So my pleasure to provide an intro. So I used to be born within the Netherlands, and at three years of age, I moved mainly to Tanzania, in East Africa, with my household, with my dad and mom, and my youthful sister, and spent the vast majority of my childhood there. And had a tremendous upbringing, and received to expertise two cultures, which actually formed me, spent a number of time, after all, within the Netherlands as effectively, and round age 16, moved again to the Netherlands, and my father is an engineer and collectively we all the time labored on totally different initiatives, and with that additionally began taking part in round with Arduino boards, and form of received into creating {hardware}. Once I was again right here within the Netherlands at school, we determined to search for initiatives that we may make impression with in East Africa, and we stumbled upon a chance to assist some farmers with climate monitoring stations, and we kinda mixed the information on Arduino and what we discovered about low energy embedded {hardware}, with our impression drive. And that received us began with IoT truly.

– [Ryan] Incredible, so how did you find yourself with SODAQ then? Was that an organization that, I don’t know if I’ve this data, however have been you a founding father of SODAQ? Or was that, did you are available to SODAQ afterward?

– [Ollie] So my father and I truly began the corporate collectively.

– [Ryan] Incredible.

– [Ollie] And so the entire undertaking with climate monitoring branched off into its personal firm, so initially we began off, we began off constructing some {hardware} for monitoring climate circumstances, rain, temperature, wind, and such, and we needed to construct our personal {hardware}, to make use of solar energy to get sufficient vitality mainly to measure these circumstances after which to ship it to the web. And there was cellular connectivity out there, very available in most of Sub-Saharan Africa, and we realized that with that kind of {hardware}, that kind of low energy {hardware}, there was many different purposes. In order that’s why we based SODAQ, we truly did a Kickstarter marketing campaign for a improvement board, that others may begin making issues, and on the identical time we launched one other firm, whereby we truly put in throughout six international locations, these climate monitoring stations, and helped a number of farmers in analysis organizations.

– [Ryan] So the place is, so coming from that story, which is unbelievable by the best way, the place’s SODAQ now, like what has transitioned from? Or what has I assume grown from then to now? What’s the focus? How has it modified? Simply kinda give us the complete panorama there.

– [Ollie] So I believe the time period Web of Issues, actually began developing within the early days of SODAQ, across the identical interval, and what we have been doing on the time, was investigating what kind of purposes we may use these low energy {hardware} applied sciences for, and the vitality harvesting from the solar, we had our personal internet store, we have been actually interacting with a number of cool corporations and people around the globe, actually the early adopters of the Web of Issues. And over time, we received requests from greater and greater corporations, to develop and options for them. So to essentially design customized {hardware} and construct software program, and in a fair later stage, just some years in the past, we began including industrial design, so making enclosures, and likewise including mainly the connection to the cloud extra as effectively. And we began including extra to our know-how stack and that’s manner as we received additional, and the place we are actually, is that previously eight years, since we based, we’ve accomplished greater than 200 totally different improvement initiatives, a few of them you possibly can see behind me right here, and we’ve launched now within the final 12 months, 4 of our personal merchandise. So we’ve gone from mainly offering builders with kits, to creating options for corporations, to now making options for ourselves to deliver to market.

– [Ryan] That’s unbelievable, I really like that story. Respect you strolling us by means of that, that’s nice. I needed to see for those who may broaden on a few the subjects that you simply talked about. You talked about vitality harvesting, we speak concerning the low energy parts to all of this, which then additionally doubtlessly lead into the dialogue round like battery lists units. What have you ever seen since over the previous eight years, from an evolution standpoint, in relation to the developments in IoT, the developments in like sustainable IoT? What have you ever kinda seen occur, over the course of the final eight years or so to the place we are actually?

– [Ollie] So on the communication facet, many new protocols have been introduced into the market. So within the low energy broad space networking area, we’ve moved from 2G networks for instance, which aren’t low energy in any respect, to issues like LTE-M and Narrowband IoT, we see that the telco organizations have put in a number of work to make that potential, so have the module producers, within the early days we have been making kind of elements that we may plug onto our improvement boards, for various communication protocols, and we’re working for instance, with SIMCom modules, over time, we noticed that many different corporations began getting into the area, and now for instance, Nordic Semiconductor or U-Blox, or Quectel have actually low energy modules. In order that’s actually modified. In one other protocol with LoRaWAN, we’ve seen an enormous development in community availability, and likewise within the high quality of the community. In order that’s extra on the know-how facet, and low energy facet, we’ve gotten higher and higher at utilizing these applied sciences, creating higher algorithms for utilizing the system as little energetic mode as potential. So we have now kinda the saying, that we tried to sleep as a lot as potential, working solely when vital, after which speaking as little as we are able to. So being in that sleeping mode mainly, permits us to devour subsequent to no energy. And that permits us to really create merchandise that may harvest vitality from the solar, or different sources like movement or radio frequencies.

– [Ryan] Proper.

– [Ollie] And that in flip, then permits us to work in direction of having units with out batteries, as a result of batteries are extremely polluting, and I believe it’s good to indicate you that we, for instance, use these very utterly flat lithium-ion supercapacitors

– [Ryan] Okay.

– [Ollie] And these are replacements for batteries that we’re now implementing in merchandise.

– [Ryan] Incredible, I needed to kinda take a few these subjects and dive into them somewhat bit. So, on the low energy facet of issues, in relation to monitoring and sensing applied sciences, what does, only for the overall panorama and perhaps those that are somewhat bit unfamiliar or they’ve heard of the low energy parts to IoT, however not likely positive as to the worth they supply or what they’re kinda pushed in direction of. Speak somewhat bit extra about, what low energy options and monitoring, and the applied sciences behind them are enabling, and what sort of use circumstances, are low energy options extra supreme for?

– [Ollie] Excellent query. So we have now seen that monitoring has actually been used for instance, in autos which have steady energy out there, whereby low energy isn’t actually vital. So vans for instance, have been tracked for a few years already, and the place we see many alternatives and use circumstances for monitoring and are working in many various buyer purposes, is in the necessity to monitor property or whether or not they’re transferring, or not the place there isn’t any energy supply out there. So I may give you an instance, you possibly can see right here on this facet, there’s a bigger solar energy monitoring unit.

– [Ryan] Yeah.

– [Ollie] We use these particularly for truck trailers. So reasonably than the truck itself, these swap our bodies are exchanged between totally different vans, and so they wanna know what number of kilometers these drive, however there’s no supply of energy. So to measure the placement as typically as potential, with a small photo voltaic panel, means you actually need to make use of little or no vitality.

– [Ryan] Okay, makes a number of sense. So when would, I assume after we’re speaking about, simply the complete spectrum of various kinds of use circumstances that we’ve seen in IoT, so ones which can be requiring extra energy or these use circumstances which can be requiring to most likely ship knowledge extra typically, ship greater varieties of knowledge extra typically, issues like that. After which our low energy facet we’re seeing form of the other. Is that comparatively correct?

– [Ollie] Right, so there’s work being accomplished on decreasing the quantity of overhead that wants to enter a payload, that’s in a message that’s despatched.

– [Ryan] Okay.

– [Ollie] So the much less extra data on high of simply let’s say, the GPS coordinates, the extra vitality use and waste.

– [Ryan] Proper.

– [Ollie] There’s protocols like energy save mode, or prolonged discontinuous obtain mode.

– [Ryan] Okay.

– [Ollie] Which allowed the community and the system to have an settlement, on when the communication will occur, and due to this fact you don’t have to have a handshake and reconnect each time that you simply wanna ship a message.

– [Ryan] Gotcha.

– [Ollie] So these are some methods by which we’re saving a number of energy.

– [Ryan] Okay unbelievable. After which let’s transfer into kinda the place vitality harvesting, kinda performs into it from that standpoint, the place does that actually slot in, in your thoughts? I assume begin off by, are you able to simply clarify somewhat bit extra what it’s precisely for individuals who could also be somewhat bit unfamiliar? After which the worth and the advantages that vitality harvesting is bringing to the IoT area and potential use circumstances.

– [Ollie] So vitality harvesting mainly means, that the system that we’re utilizing, is absolutely powered by vitality that it gathers from sources, outdoors of the system, with out having to be recharged, or related to a set energy supply. So the system itself will be absolutely autonomous.

– [Ryan] Okay.

– [Ollie] So you’ve gotten for instance, a photo voltaic panel on a tool, that provides vitality each time there’s daylight, to cost for instance, a supercapacitor or a chargeable battery, which then has sufficient vitality in it, to constantly function the system. So to measure its location, its temperature, after which to ship that to the web. And so we for instance use an accelerometer contained in the system that detects when there may be movement, and from that information, we are able to assume that it’s extra vital, when the system is transferring to begin monitoring it extra typically. As a result of if it’s not transferring, then you possibly can assume that it’s in the identical place.

– [Ryan] Gotcha, so then after we’re enthusiastic about, the appliance of the know-how, and becoming it into potential use circumstances, how do you’ve gotten that dialog with potential prospects round when vitality harvesting is an efficient match for what they’re constructing? Or I assume perhaps the best way to reply this could be, to speak about, what forms of situations vitality harvesting would not likely slot in?

– [Ollie] Yeah, very clear, what historically was accomplished was a buyer would calculate, what number of messages a tool may ship over its lifetime, after which plan how lengthy the system would final. So you’ll have a tool with, for instance, AA batteries in it, that consent 10,000 messages, which can be unfold over three years, after which the system has accomplished, must be open batteries changed, or utterly eliminated. And so each time there’s a chance to work with daylight, then we are able to have a dialog fairly simply with our buyer. So anytime we open up discussions with any fascinating firm to work with, we talk from the start that, the sustainability and impression of our options is our major concern.

– [Ryan] Okay.

– [Ollie] So our goal as an organization is to make use of, the Web of Issues, to enhance efficiencies in numerous enterprise circumstances, saving assets.

– [Ryan] Proper.

– [Ollie] And the target also needs to be, to then not create a brand new drawback of digital waste. And as quickly as you drop that data, the shopper is way more inclined to, examine the choice for vitality harvesting.

– [Ryan] Proper, okay, and in order that then ties into the dialog round units with out batteries, and the way that form of matches into the sustainability of IoT, the air pollution ingredient you talked about earlier, speak somewhat bit extra about that. How do units function with out batteries? And the place does the know-how right now form of stand in making {that a} extra common factor or a daily match inside use circumstances?

– [Ollie] When trying on the want for energy storage, or energy availability, we have to take a look at what’s the complete quantity of vitality that our system wants, but in addition what are, for instance, the height vitality utilization moments. We take a look at peak currents, and the place you will note that as an alternative of batteries capacitors are actually helpful, is in dealing with peak currents. Nevertheless, conventional capacitors, won’t maintain vitality for energy for very lengthy. So that they have a really quick self discharge. And so we have now this time period of battery checklist units, as a kind of core ingredient of what we do.

– [Ryan] Okay.

– [Ollie] Partly as a result of we need to eradicate using batteries utterly, but in addition as a result of we wanna problem the notion round batteries. So what you’ll see is that, with a 3D printed utterly flat batteries, we are able to make these sorts of good labels, which can be utterly skinny mobile related.

– [Ryan] Okay.

– [Ollie] You’ll see right here behind me, a bit extra of the within, so that you see the PCB right here.

– [Ryan] Yeah.

– [Ollie] You see the antenna, you see the battery, which is totally like that, this can be a mobile related system. and it’s then used for instance, parcel monitoring, we’ve received all kinds of pageants right here with me, and when the parcel is open, we truly detect the parcel is open as a result of the seal breaks.

– [Ryan] Wow, okay.

– [Ollie] So on this case, we’re utilizing a battery, or we’re utilizing a battery that’s absolutely recyclable. So what we do, we have now two elements, we have now the highest and the underside half, the underside half is recyclable with supplies like zinc for instance, that are additionally utilized in medicines for instance, after which the highest half is the electronics, which we are able to utterly reuse.

– [Ryan] Incredible, okay.

– [Ollie] In order that’s one instance, after which the opposite is, when we have now for instance, a tracker like this one, only one energy as an alternative of a battery a supercapacitor.

– [Ryan] Okay.

– [Ollie] An indefinite variety of cost cycles. So reasonably than like your smartphone, you’ve gotten it for 3 years, and then you definately actually do have to exchange it as a result of the battery isn’t functioning anymore.

– [Ryan] Proper.

– [Ollie] That’s due to the restrict to the chemistry inside.

– [Ryan] Okay. and enormous cycles it could possibly deal with, and these capacitors can truly deal with 1000’s of occasions, as many charts cycles, due to this fact by no means having to get replaced inside the system.

– [Ryan] So when the capacitor is being charged by the solar, how lengthy does that final? You stated a number of them form of rapidly burn up their cost, however is that this one thing that it shops, and form of holds onto till it’s wanted to activate and ship knowledge, or be utilized by the system? Or how does that work?

– [Ollie] So we have now two forms of capacitors. Now we have commonplace capacitors, which don’t maintain cost very effectively, however are very quick at charging and discharging.

– [Ryan] Okay.

– [Ollie] These are used on all kinds of electronics. You might have actually small capacitors which can be used truly for energy regulation on electronics.

– [Ryan] Positive.

– [Ollie] These capacitors that I’m exhibiting right here, even have lithium ions inside, so it’s a hybrid capacitor, it’s form of in between a battery and a capacitor, so it and has the advantages of charging and discharging rapidly, So you possibly can cost your complete system in beneath two minutes reasonably than a number of hours, and it has an virtually indefinite variety of cost cycles.

– [Ryan] That’s superior, that’s actually cool, thanks for exhibiting that, that’s fairly neat, I like that. I needed to transition simply barely to a unique space of dialog earlier than we wrap up, and it’s actually round, on this space of form of sustainable IoT that we’ve been speaking about for a couple of minutes right here. The place are you seeing the largest challenges? And perhaps kinda tying that into extra trade broad challenges too that you simply’ve seen during the last couple of years, or perhaps even at the moment the place we are actually, or I assume prohibiting sure adoption of applied sciences or a few of these applied sciences scale extra rapidly than we’d like them to. Simply what are you seeing out of your standpoint relating to these challenges proper now?

– [Ollie] Thanks for that query. One of many issues that might be on everybody’s thoughts is the present element scarcity, we see that due to some very weak hyperlinks in our provide chain, we’re reliant on sure paths, that when there may be let’s say, a deficiency of elements, we’re unable to get them.

– [Ryan] Proper.

– [Ollie] Which causes individuals to over buy excessive quantities of inventory to scale back their danger, and that actually places a pressure on the entire market. That’s one of many largest challenges additionally to sustainability, as a result of what will we wanna work in direction of, is a mannequin whereby we are able to innovate as rapidly as potential.

– [Ryan] Okay.

– [Ollie] And if we have to purchase giant portions of inventory to provide to have the security let’s say, to have the ability to present units to our purchasers, then it’s way more tough to undergo innovation cycles, as a result of we have to, reasonably than having various kinds of merchandise and altering them over time, as an alternative of that, we’re having extra of the identical merchandise. That’s one huge problem. One other one is the price of new improvements. So the brand new modules that come out which have decrease energy performance, or these capacitors that I’m exhibiting you, they’re produced in decrease volumes, than the normal much less low energy, and fewer sustainable options, additionally much less broadly adopted. One thing that I actually preferred to, and that is perhaps one thing we are able to share, within the communications round this podcast, is an article about versatile PCBs,

– [Ryan] Okay.

– [Ollie] And this incapability comparability of a inflexible versus a versatile PCB.

– [Ryan] Okay.

– [Ollie] And that there are vital financial savings available, however as a result of the entire trade works round inflexible PCBs, the fee is decrease, the time to market with a product is faster, despite the fact that it’s a lot much less sustainable. And we’re attempting to make prospects conscious of that, in order that they’re prepared to be extra affected person and doubtlessly at first pay extra for options, to bear that value reasonably than that the atmosphere must bear that value.

– [Ryan] Gotcha, what have you ever seen coming to once you speak to prospects? What are the challenges that they’re coming to you with? How does that form of match into the general view of the market relating to the challenges that we’re form of going through? What are they form of coming to you and form of explaining which can be huge points for them, that they’re seeing from their angle earlier than they begin working with you?

– [Ollie] One instance that I actually like is that, we work with an organization that’s within the agricultural area. And what they do is they supply supplies to farmers. And for instance, agrochemicals, and they’re required to ship these supplies in like giant containers, whether or not it’s for liquids, or for seeds, and in that course of, they don’t have full management over the provision chain of the place these containers are.

– [Ryan] Okay.

– [Ollie] And that causes them to need to have, a very giant extra inventory of those containers, which implies that there’s a bunch of containers standing round which plastic was wanted to create them, and so they come to us to on the one hand, take a look at how can we cut back the waste in that manner, and use monitoring to know the place every thing is, and optimize that provide chain, and on the opposite facet, we tried so as to add revolutionary options. So what you’ll see is that for instance, a container of liquid could also be so low-cost that it’s not value including a tracker. So let’s say the container prices 200 euros or {dollars} to make.

– [Ryan] Proper.

– [Ollie] And the tracker prices perhaps half or a bit lower than half of that, then the enterprise case is tough to show itself. However by for instance, measuring the amount of the liquid, or the quantity of liquid contained in the container, through the use of, in our case radar, to measure the space to the highest of the liquid, we may give extra data after which the shopper, or our buyer can go to their buyer each time they know that the liquid has virtually utterly been used up, and supply advertising data and say, “Hey, isn’t it time to purchase new product.” After which it makes the enterprise case value it. In order that then permits us, to get extra of that kind of round mannequin, of getting these containers again to the shopper, reasonably than having to constantly produce new containers for his or her product cargo.

– [Ryan] That’s unbelievable, I admire that. That’s actually good insights there to form of get a way of what individuals are seeing as challenges and form of how that is all becoming collectively. Now, let me ask you as we wrap up, the place do you see the trade going form of over the subsequent variety of months to a few years on the sustainability facet? Like what do you see know-how sensible that’s perhaps coming down the pipe you’re most that you simply’re most enthusiastic about, that’s actually gonna begin to allow extra adoption on this facet of issues?

– [Ollie] On the one hand, I see an enormous push on the sustainability facet, within the sense that like carbon equal emissions, have to be lowered on all elements of corporations, so that they may even take a look at utilizing IoT to scale back their waste and their emissions, and I believe there that it is going to be actually helpful for ourselves, but in addition different corporations to deal with that, as a number one dialogue level with prospects.

– [Ryan] Positive.

– [Ollie] On the innovation facet, I see so much taking place within the machine studying, on the system facet.

– [Ryan] Okay.

– [Ollie] So we are able to do way more with that little little bit of vitality, and that little little bit of processing energy we have now, on an embedded system, making them smarter and making them by, for instance, updating the firmware remotely on a tool, and including extra tips into it, for getting extra knowledge out of it, we are able to allow many extra use circumstances. So every particular person IoT system will solely turn into extra invaluable over time.

– [Ryan] Yeah.

– [Ollie] After which perhaps lastly, the place I see a very huge rise for the time being is in the entire area of satellite tv for pc IoT communication.

– [Ryan] Positive.

– [Ollie] So in all places the place there may be at the moment no protection, there’s going to be low-cost, so inexpensive, and dependable protection as effectively.

– [Ryan] Yeah, the satellite tv for pc area is tremendous fascinating for positive. We’ve been talking with corporations, concerning the nano-satellites and what they’re doing, and the way they’re taking part in a task on this, and likewise how they’re seeing this allow potential options and wider adoption due to that extra strong protection, so completely agree with you there. Very last thing I wanna ask you is, for the listeners and the watchers on the market, which can be listening to this, watching this episode, what’s one of the best ways for them to observe up with any questions, in the event that they wanna be taught extra about SODAQ, form of all of the various things you’ve gotten occurring, what’s one of the best ways to try this and finest method to attain out?

– [Ollie] So the perfect factor to do is to contact us immediately. So you possibly can contact me on LinkedIn for instance, you possibly can attain out to our assist crew, we have now a discussion board as effectively, which might all be discovered by means of our web site, we’re going to be at most of the occasions within the close to future, such because the CES Cell World Congress, and I believe extra within the rapid time period, we have now a very cool undertaking operating about air high quality monitoring, the place you will discover extra data on Kickstarter as effectively.

– [Ryan] Incredible, effectively, that’d be so much, that’s very thrilling, and along with that Kickstarter, form of data is there anything popping out from a information standpoint, or announcement standpoint that we should always look out for?

– [Ollie] So within the coming 12 months, we’re going to be doing increasingly with the good label know-how. So embedding know-how into paper skinny options.

– [Ryan] That’s superior.

– [Ollie] And that’s gonna be our huge shift for 2022.

– [Ryan] That’s very cool, I’ve heard about that, firm’s attempting it, however I’m very excited to really see it work. And I believe you guys have some very thrilling and fascinating issues occurring, so very excited to form of maintain a watch right here, for every thing occurring at SODAQ. So, Ollie, thanks once more in your time, actually admire it for being right here.

– [Ollie] Thanks as effectively, Ryan, and it was a pleasant to have this chat.

– [Ryan] Completely.

– [Ryan] All proper everybody, thanks once more for watching that episode of the IoT For All Podcast, for those who loved the episode, please click on the thumbs up button, subscribe to our channel, and you’ll want to hit the bell notification so that you get the most recent episodes as quickly as they turn into out there. aside from that, thanks once more for watching, and we’ll see you subsequent time.