The networking of machines via NarrowBand IoT (NB-IoT) is the focus of Deutsche Telekom's Embedded World trade fair appearance. Over 200 companies and start-ups are working on the development of new products with this technology. The Group will be presenting some of these products at the trade fair:

The NB-IoT Makers Kit from Gimasi is an Arduino-based kit that is suitable for both prototyping and testing NB-IoT applications. In addition to the Arduio board, the kit includes temperature sensors, SIM card, OLED display, switches and relays.

Another demonstrator: the streetlights from Flashnet that are networked via NB-IoT. They increase the energy efficiency of lighting and help to optimize the maintenance of the street lighting network.

In Nuremberg, the start-up IoT Venture is presenting its tracking system for e-bikes and pedelecs based on NB-IoT, which is characterized by a long range, low energy consumption and low costs. The company plans to launch the product on the market in fall 2018.

With the expansion of the NB-IoT network in Europe and the USA, Deutsche Telekom is also laying a building block for the future viability of its mobile network in conjunction with 5G. While 5G technologies are in demand for the transmission of large amounts of data with low latency times, NB-IoT shows its strengths in narrowband applications with extremely low energy consumption and high building penetration.

Deutsche Telekom is also presenting the "Cloud of Things" in Nuremberg, an IoT platform that allows users to access device data and control machines. With the "Cloud Field Bus", Deutsche Telekom offers a solution for connecting production machines via the Profibus, Modbus and CAN protocols. A machine can be networked with the platform in just a few minutes without any additional programming. The Smartbox from Pssystec Automatisierungstechnik, for example, offers users a cloud-based plug & play solution for monitoring systems and significantly optimizing system service. Up to 20 Modbus-capable field devices can be connected to the Cloud of Things via the serial interface (RS485) using the RTU Modbus protocol. This allows customers to configure the settings of their building automation devices such as pumps, chillers, e-meters or ventilation systems in the Cloud of Things.

Another example of the use of the Cloud of Things platform is the networked water analysis device Testomat from Heyl. The water analysis devices can determine more than 20 parameters, including water hardness, free chlorine and chlorine dioxide. They are used, for example, in drinking water or food production as well as in industrial cooling and heating circuits.

Building dryers can also be networked via the Cloud of Things. The powerful devices are used, for example, after water damage in private or commercial properties. They are fast, efficient and require electricity. Until now, it was often difficult to correctly allocate energy costs. With the help of the Cloud of Things platform, operating hours, productivity or defects can be recorded and costs allocated and charged accordingly.

MQTT and SDK

Cloud of Things with fieldbus connection

• The Cloud of Things supports communication via the MQTT protocol (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport), an open message protocol for machine-to-machine communication. As MQTT is based on the common Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), it can be encrypted at any time using SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or TLS (Transport Layer Security).
• Software Development Kit 1.0 (SDK1.0). The Cloud of Things SDK 1.0 enables integrators to develop and implement software and hardware projects more quickly and significantly reduces the effort involved in developing software. The first release of the Cloud of Things SDK 1.0 is available in the JAVA programming language.

Employees wanted

Deutsche Telekom is looking for talented people with an entrepreneurial mind and start-up spirit who think in a networked way and want to drive digitalization forward in the areas of IoT, cloud, big data and IT security. Our colleagues at the trade fair stand are looking forward to talking to IT consultants, developers, IT architects and project managers, IoT and big data specialists. Further information on the solutions on show at Embedded World can be found at IoT.telekom.com.