Episode 56: Sensor Networks

In this episode we discuss sensor networks with our guest Steffen
Schaefer, who is the Technical Thought Leader for Sensors &
Actuator Solutions at IBM. The discussion resolves around the TREC
device, which can be mounted on containers to track them on their
journey over seas, railway tracks and roads. The TREC is a small
embedded device developed by Steffen's employer, IBM, that has
various sensors and communications channels.

In the episode we first talked about container transport in
general, and then looked at how the TREC device works -
specifically, it's hardware, software and power management. We then
looked at the necessary backend infrastructure. The main part of
the discussion covered the communication between the device and the
backend, using technologies such as Zigby, GSM and satellite
communications. We also looked at the middleware infrastructures
used, such as the MQtt messaging tool.

We closed the episode with a little discussion of the "Internet of
Things" and some discussion about embedded software devleopment in
general. Note that SE Radio will feature more embedded topics in
the future - an introduction to embedded development will be put
online soon.