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What problem does Helium solve, when Wi-Fi, BT and Cellular works for most people? Most wireless access methods are inefficient and consume large amounts of ba

What problem does Helium solve, when Wi-Fi, BT and Cellular works for most people? Most wireless access methods are inefficient and consume large amounts of battery because they try to cram dozens or thousands of devices into extremely limited, heavily regulated, congested spectrum. Most wireless technologies work very well in laboratory conditions - but then suffer in the real world because of this. It's not clear whether you are doing anything new here to overcome this fundamental issue, except attempt to introduce another 'standard' to compete in the same crowded space.

nl 12y ago
Most wireless access methods either have low range or low transmission rates or high power usage because of physics, not because of regulation. Eg, BTLE optimises low power at the expense of range and transmission rate. It sounds like this is optimised for low power, low transmission rates. There isn't really another widely available protocol optimised for that (except ZigBee). That's a very useful option - devices like FitBits and Garmin bike computers use all kind of work arounds involving teathering etc to try to make connected systems small and still connected.
derefr 12y ago
Presumably, this would mostly be a connection standard for devices that aren't owned by "people", per se. In a true Internet of Things, the Things that matter aren't really consumer goods; they're the Things which make someone money or perform some civic function, and for which it isn't readily apparent when they stop working, unless someone notices and reports the failure. When these devices can report their own failure, they can be fixed much more quickly. The most vivid (and banal) example of this is a paper towel dispenser in a washroom, which can report when it runs out of paper. Other examples include power/water meters (which already operate over 3G), transit card readers (also 3G), traffic lights and cameras, parking meters, etc. It'd also be interesting to use it for drones, though. Anything that can save battery life better spent on flying would be great for that industry.

nl 12y ago

Most wireless access methods either have low range or low transmission rates or high power usage because of physics, not because of regulation. Eg, BTLE optimises low power at the expense of range and transmission rate. It sounds like this is optimised for low power, low transmission rates. There isn't really another widely available protocol optimised for that (except ZigBee). That's a very useful option - devices like FitBits and Garmin bike computers use all kind of work arounds involving teathering etc to try to make connected systems small and still connected.

derefr 12y ago

Presumably, this would mostly be a connection standard for devices that aren't owned by "people", per se. In a true Internet of Things, the Things that matter aren't really consumer goods; they're the Things which make someone money or perform some civic function, and for which it isn't readily apparent when they stop working, unless someone notices and reports the failure. When these devices can report their own failure, they can be fixed much more quickly. The most vivid (and banal) example of this is a paper towel dispenser in a washroom, which can report when it runs out of paper. Other examples include power/water meters (which already operate over 3G), transit card readers (also 3G), traffic lights and cameras, parking meters, etc. It'd also be interesting to use it for drones, though. Anything that can save battery life better spent on flying would be great for that industry.