Smart Protocol Stacks for IoT-Enabled Devices from Stackforce

Robust LPWAN Data Transfer Protocols from Stackforce

Protocol Stacks

Stackforce is a software development company known in particular for its Protocol Stacks. These turn, for example, manually readable meter readers into 'smart' IoT devices that wirelessly transmit data. With wired and wireless software products, Stackforce is positioned for applications in smart city, smart metering, Industry 4.0 and building management, among others.

In 2020, Stackforce became a founding member of the mioty alliance.

Success Story powered by: the Think WIOT Group, mioty alliance and Stackforce

Robust LPWAN Data Transfer Protocols from Stackforce

Interview

Expert in Standard Protocol Stacks, offering readily available products for proven technologies

Based on mioty technology, Stackforce has developed the mioty Protocol Stack, which enables data transmission via Telegram Splitting Multiple Access (TSMA). In 2023, the company, based in Eschbach in southern Baden, Germany, manages 16 employees, 10 of whom are engaged in technology development.

David Rahusen is the Technical Managing Director of Stackforce.

1. Mr. Rahusen, what prompted Stackforce to become a founding member of the mioty alliance?

Due to our excellent networking in the IoT environment, we had information about the mioty development at a very early stage. As a provider of Protocol Stacks for the different low-power IoT applications, it is very important for us to be on top of the technological development.

We were convinced very early on about the benefits and the different use cases of mioty, and we were aware that we could make an important contribution to the mioty ecosystem by developing a mioty Protocol Stack, thus taking another step towards digitization with LPWAN. That is why we became a founding member of the mioty alliance in 2020.

2. What product did Stackforce contribute to mioty?

We have developed a Protocol Stack for mioty that allows the establishment of mioty wireless transmissions and that can be used on a variety of hardware platforms. The mioty Protocol Stack is an efficient and particularly robust as well as scalable solution for modern IoT connectivity, setting new standards in the field of wireless data transmission through the innovative technology of Telegram Splitting.

The mioty Protocol Stack is based on the ETSI wireless transmission standard TS 103 357, which is independent of a dedicated hardware platform, i.e. it can be ported to a wide range of microcontrollers and wireless chips, thus offering greater applicability and choice compared to other LPWAN technologies.

3. Why do you consider mioty important?

Mioty has been developed to enable low-interference radio transmissions over long distances with many devices. Interference is generated both by other mioty devices and by third-party devices transmitting in the same frequency range, and is a particular problem when participating devices want to scale.

If numerous meters such as water, heat, gas, or electricity meters or sensors for level measurement, air quality, CO2 measurement, etc. are deployed or additionally added to an LPWAN radio network, which is the stated goal of the IoT, then the likelihood that the many radio signals will interfere with each other increases.

In such a scenario, in a smart city environment, meter readings might not be recorded, full trash cans might not be emptied, or machine status data might not be received in an industrial setting.

However, in a digital system, it is imperative that data transmission is guaranteed. This is so important because very large wireless networks with many nodes are implemented with mioty to achieve maximum scalability.

4. What is your reaction to the claim that mioty is essentially superfluous in the age of 5G?

The use cases in the IoT environment are very diverse and the local conditions also vary greatly. 5G certainly has its raison d'être, but especially in use cases where long battery lifetimes and therefore very low power consumption play a crucial role, LPWAN technology like mioty is the only option. On the other hand, with 5G, I am dependent on the infrastructure from a mobile network provider, with the risk of not being able to guarantee the necessary data transmission security. Depending on the situation, however, a co-existence of mioty and 5G can make perfect sense.

5. Can mioty also be used in existing LoRaWAN networks?

Yes, of course. Mioty is a software solution that can be implemented on relatively large number of hardware platforms. Sensors in existing LoRaWAN networks can easily be integrated into a mioty network by changing the software.

Stackforce

Stackforce GmbH was spun off in 2014 by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Axel Sikora from the Steinbeis Transfer Zentrum (stzedn) for Design and Networking as a middleware provider. The range of services includes system architecture and software development and associated integration services in the area of embedded connectivity solutions as well as Standard Protocol Stacks based on common LPWAN technologies and other protocols such as the well-known M-Bus protocol.

The goal of Stackforce is to expand its standard products in the area of Protocol Stacks to provide easy access to the networking of IoT devices. Customers are primarily device and chip manufacturers as well as integrators. In 2015 Stackforce joined the LoRa Alliance and in 2020 became a founding member of the mioty alliance.

Protocol Stacks

M-Bus Stack and Multi-Stacks

The M-Bus protocol is a standardized protocol for the communication of consumption meters such as water, gas, heat and electricity meters. It follows the European standard EN 13757 and is used not only in Europe but in many regions worldwide. Stackforce offers a wired and a wireless M-Bus Protocol Stack for the transmission of consumption data.

Devices with the M-Bus Stack can easily replace older devices without a communication interface and make the entire application IoT-enabled. In a single software product, Multi-Stacks offer the possibility to choose between different Protocol Stacks and radio technologies such as Wireless M-Bus, mioty, LoRaWAN or Sigfox for applications.

The mioty Protocol Stack

In order to keep the amount of data to be processed and thus the energy consumption low, the mioty Protocol Stack is less extensive than the M-Bus Stack, for example.

It consists of two layers: the physical layer, where the data is located, and the transport layer. The protocol located there regulates the transmission via Telegram Splitting.

Telegram Splitting Multiple Access

The fundamental idea of Telegram Splitting by mioty is not to send the data to be transmitted in its entirety, but to split it into several redundant sub-packets that are sent several times over different frequencies in the band. Only 50 percent of the packets need to be received correctly for a complete transmission.

This method takes into account the fact that interference - even from other mioty devices (hence 'multiple access') – cannot be avoided. The insensitivity even to own signals allows a high scalability. Mioty networks can contain hundreds of thousands of independent devices without having to coordinate their transmissions.

The error rate in transmission with TSMA is only one-tenth of the usual error rate, namely one percent.

Integration of mioty Technology

Mioty can be integrated as a ready-made communication module. For this purpose, the existing sensor hardware is simply and cost-effectively equipped with a pre-programmed mioty radio module.

Alternatively, a dedicated microcontroller and radio chip can be integrated into a system-on-chip solution that is used specifically for communication. The amount effort required for hardware integration is somewhat greater, while the software integration effort remains the same.

The third and simplest option for connectivity is to purchase mioty-compliant hardware on which to run the sensor application. This architecture is particularly interesting for high-volume products.

The error rate in transmission with TSMA is one percent

What is a Protocol Stack?

Protocols regulate communication in a network. To enable better maintainability of the various layers of an IT architecture, specific protocols are defined for the application layer, data transport, Internet-based data traffic and network access. They are bundled into so-called Protocol Stacks.

These regulate what is to happen to the data received at the respective level and how it is to be passed on to the next level. A Protocol Stack enables devices such as meters or status measuring devices to transmit data wirelessly. It is located on a microcontroller inside the respective device, invisible to the eye.

Comparison mioty – LoRaWAN

Mioty and LoRaWAN are currently the most powerful LPWAN technologies. LoRaWAN is considered the precursor of WLAN and has been around since the 1990s. The LoRa transmission method was developed by Semtech and is based on the frequency spreading method.

The LoRaWAN protocol uses different frequency spreading factors (SF) to transmit different amounts of user data at different ranges. LoRaWAN is widely used in smart city applications.

Mioty is similar to LoRaWAN in many ways. It was launched in 2020 by the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Erlangen and Diehl Metering.

With 3.5 million possible messages per base station per day, an almost unlimited number of network participants and a very low error rate in data transmission, mioty has a greater suitability for massive IoT applications in comparison to LoRaWAN.

Which LPWAN Network?

Transmitting low-energy data and thereby digitizing important infrastructure functions – this is a task of the future that municipal utilities and energy providers will have to face in the course of the energy transition. LoRaWAN is better known than other LPWAN networks, more widespread and more cost-effective.

However, if very large wireless networks with many nodes are to be implemented, mioty is the more suitable technology, as maximum scalability with more reliable data transmission security can be achieved here. Converting to mioty is also very simple, as it is possible to send data via mioty with LoRaWAN-enabled hardware.

LPWAN technologies are characterized by low energy consumption and long ranges – but how do they differ?

Use Case: Industrial IoT

Malfunctions of machines and systems are detected with mioty sensors before they occur

Malfunctions of machines and systems due to temperature, humidity, vibration or noise are detected with mioty sensors before they occur.

With mioty, individual machine parameters such as temperature, flow, pressure or fill level can be reliably monitored.

Machine Condition Monitoring with mioty

For digital production in Industry 4.0, robust IoT connectivity is a key requirement. This is where mioty comes in: It is designed to reliably transmit machine condition data over long distances in the complex environments of manufacturing, mining, and the oil and gas industry.

Data such as temperature, flow rate, pressure or filling level can be retrieved and evaluated remotely in a convenient and cost-saving way. With connected analysis instruments, limit parameters can be defined and maintenance requests can be automatically triggered.

Excellent Penetration

Resistance from rocks or narrow buildings is no obstacle to data transmission with mioty. From the base stations, which are usually set up at high altitudes, for example on the fifth floor, a transmission range can be achieved down to the third basement level.

This makes mioty the ideal emergency communication solution for industrial settings and lone worker scenarios.