Mobiles move on

Kim Thomas reports on machine-to-machine communication, a new use for mobile phones

On the face of it, the uses of mobile phone technology have been exhausted: we can now use our phones to talk to each other, text each other, send photos and even watch television.

But one area remains ripe for exploitation – the real future of mobile phones is not about human communication, but about communication between machines. Machine-to-machine, or M2M as it is now known, is the next big thing for mobile phone technology.

As Eric Goodyer, principal lecturer at De Montfort University and head of the university’s newly opened M2M laboratory points out, the market for mobile phones that can be used for human communication cannot grow any further:

‘Unless you’re going to have quadraphonic sound with four phones attached to each ear, the mobile phone voice market is saturated,’ he says.

‘They [the mobile phone companies] are nicking business from each other. The big growth area is industrial global system for mobile communication (GSM) telemetry. It is a huge worldwide market.’

Analysts agree: US-based research firm Alexander Resources is predicting that the worldwide market for M2M will grow to $270bn by 2010. And Europe, which unlike the US has been consistent in its adoption of the GSM standard, offers a wealth of opportunities.

There are many reasons why businesses might want machines to talk to each other. Metering is one common use. If, for example, a company has to ensure that refrigerated food is kept at a certain temperature, a cheaper alternative to sending an operative to check it regularly is to make sure that a monitor on the refrigerator sends a message to the server any time the temperature gets too high or low.

Businesses can also use M2M for data collection, vehicle tracking, security and, in conjunction with barcodes or radio frequency identification tags, stock control.

M2M has, in fact, been around for a while. A good example is the burglar alarms in many homes that automatically send a message to the police station when they sense an intruder.

Two things have changed, says Goodyer. ‘One is that mobile phone technology, and the ability to send messages wirelessly over GSM, makes communication between machines easier and potentially cheaper. The GSM network gives you worldwide distribution within the industrialised world. You can immediately set up a network,’ he says.

The second change is that setting up an M2M system used to be a cumbersome process involving multiple partners. An M2M system typically consists of hardware to extract the information from the machine; the network, over which the data has to be sent; and the server-end software to interpret it

‘Previously, the technology’s been there but you have had to glue it together yourself,’ says Mark Blowers, a senior analyst at Butler Group. ‘Now there are people providing solutions, so they provide you with the hardware, software, and gateways that you require.’

The advent of industry standards, such as extensible mark-up language (XML) has made it easier to integrate different technologies, says Blowers. Goodyer, meanwhile, points out that the introduction of always-on general packet radio service (GPRS) has also proved beneficial.

‘GPRS gives you a virtual circuit, a point-to-point connection,’ he says. ‘It is an IP-based service, so you can bring in a whole load of other IT concepts.

‘We can bridge the gap between the GSM world of bits and bytes and what people are more comfortable with at the other end, which is a Linux or Windows-based file server.’

Suppliers are also waking up to the revenue opportunities of integrated M2M systems. ‘The traditional business model has been low revenue by high volumes and long life,’ says Michael Reilly, head of M2M at Orange Business Solutions.

‘The market is changing, but the total addressable market could be anything up to £100m in the UK, if you get that managed service right.’

Orange, a co-sponsor with M2M distributor Linkwave, of De Montfort’s laboratory, is marketing M2M Connect, a secure and centrally managed gateway that enables enterprises to connect their devices wirelessly. Vodafone is also moving into the market, with M2M Gateway Services.

Many of the emerging M2M applications focus on automating what would otherwise be a somewhat laborious human process. Daily’s, a firm specialising in electronic messaging for retailers, publishers and train companies, has introduced a system of monitoring newspaper stocks in supermarkets.

Sensors are mounted on the stands and, when papers are almost out of stock, a message is automatically sent to the Daily’s web site, which then forwards it by email, text message or fax to the relevant person. For Daily’s customers, says managing director Craig Lewis, the service has meant an increase in newspaper sales in monitored stands of between 10 and 20 per cent.

Another growing market is security. Auto-txt, made by RDM Automotive, consists of a small control unit installed in a car.

The unit can identify the car’s owner by sending a signal via Bluetooth to the owner’s mobile phone as he or she walks towards the car. Only the owner is able to start up the car’s engine.

The combination of a GPS sensor and GSM modem in the unit means the vehicle can be tracked and immobilised remotely.

‘When the car is confirmed as having been stolen and is being monitored, the police can instruct our secure operating centre to immobilise it,’ says Chris Cole, engineering director at RDM Automotive.

Other suppliers are focusing on metering systems for the energy and utilities market, driven both by the high cost of oil and gas and the growing compliance burden. French utilities company Suez Energy International, for example, uses M2M technology from Wyless to provide metering of residential water supplies, enabling it to gather data on usage levels and leaks – a use that could have widespread application in all utilities sectors.

Food business operators are similarly required to comply with the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point principles, which require an audit trail of temperatures, while the EU Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings, which came into effect this year in the UK, provides a compelling reason to monitor energy use.

Once a business has an M2M infrastructure in place, more applications can be adopted on the back of the initial one, says Bob Tuck, head of technology at M2M application provider BT Redcare. He argues that a business owner with a wireless M2M security system in place might then decide to add the capability to switch air conditioning on and off remotely – an application that on its own would not justify the expense.

Steven Whitehead, technical director at M2M consultant Comtech, believes that, in time, the business model for introducing machine communication technologies will change. ‘The first phase is about reducing costs,’ he says.

‘The real benefits will start to come as companies adopt it from a service-based aspect.’

As an example, Whitehead describes a vending machine that uses M2M to send information about its stock levels. ‘The operator collects information about the machine to optimise route planning and the order in which the machines are fixed,’ he says.

‘The supplier is more interested in keeping his inventory to a minimum. If he knows the inventory that is going to go out, he can have less stock in hand and thus make his supply chain more efficient.

‘The machine manufacturer might be more interested in increasing the reliability of the machine. If he can see cups that are jamming then he will be able to fix those problems at source. The data from that machine is valuable to everybody that surrounds that machine.’

Tuck agrees. ‘What we are finding with the new wireless world is that it is linking all the bits of a value-chain together, and it is that which is the exciting part,’ he says.

‘You do one bit and then you think, wouldn’t it be nice if that bit was linked. It is finding those interested parties and bringing them together that has big implications for your commercial model and for how you develop these applications.’

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