Sometimes it’s the obvious things that open up a whole world of opportunities once realised. That was the message impressed upon by Simon Ford, Co-Founder of Blecon, who spoke to IoT Insider at Hardware Pioneers and makes up part two of this four-part series spotlighting experts. Blecon spoke to IoT Insider following on from the launch of their latest IoT connectivity solution, which was debuting for the first time at the show.
The solution in question relates to Blecon’s network and hotspots, packaged into one product, which enables physical devices to communicate with Cloud applications using Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) chips.
It came out of a need experienced by companies in the sector for a solution that would address common pain points when looking to adopt Bluetooth LE technology for IoT connectivity, including the cost of production, deployment, operation and development.
Speaking exclusively to IoT Insider Editor Caitlin Gittins, Ford explained that the idea for founding Blecon came from his experience working at Arm. “One of the projects I did there was building platforms for IoT development, and we ended up dealing with hundreds of thousands of developers. You got inundated with all the different things people are trying to do. We solved a lot of problems very well,” he said. “One thing we didn’t solve although we had Bluetooth, is people wanting to adopt it for IoT connectivity.”
He eloquently outlined the pains felt when walking into a meeting and having to explain to customers why something couldn’t be done – which, in turn, stirred this question of why. “At some point you ask, why hasn’t it been solved? That was the impetus of the company.”
Ford was keen to impress the power of Bluetooth, a wireless technology whose recognition lends it a significant advantage: “A lot of people are familiar with Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) and chips, they understand that world,” said Ford, who pointed out that companies are not necessarily using Bluetooth for what it is designed for. A “classic” scenario is using Bluetooth LE in a device connected to your phone or laptop, like wireless headphones.
“Bluetooth is a technology that is globally recognised and people are discovering some of the capabilities that they perhaps didn’t understand,” Ford added.
Blecon’s own solution looks to broaden the use cases for Bluetooth LE, beyond being understood as technology that enables you to connect your wireless headphones to your phone. “Classically, you pair it to your phone and that’s a local connection. What we want it to look like, is more like a cellular network,” Ford explained. “We’re enabling devices like phones or laptops, tablets that industries use out in their field.”
The advantages Bluetooth offers stresses the benefits of adopting it as a technology, according to Ford: “The price point, the fact that you can run it on small batteries and fit it into small spaces make it an amazing technology.
“Bluetooth has been designed to be small and cheap; a major reason people like this technology is because it’s incredibly low cost,” he continued.
There are three kinds of noted responses to Blecon’s solution: “We have people saying they’ve always wanted to do this and knew the potential; there are people who understand the technology but haven’t had the time or inclination to pull it off themselves; and then the third category is people who have it explained to them and you see the penny drop.”
Bluetooth has an “unfair advantage”, Ford said in his final thoughts. “Bluetooth is embedded in every phone, every laptop, every table, and it can be turned on as a hotspot in our network. No other technology can do that. It’s like a superpower that Bluetooth gives us but something we’re exploiting,” he concluded. “It seems obvious but it does take some time to realise how many opportunities that opens.”
This is part two of a four-part series. To read part one, click here.
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