SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WindSpring Inc., a software technology licensing company with deep expertise in compression and optimization for the Internet of Things (IoT), today announced its new SpringBoard suite of IoT tools, designed to accelerate development and enable cost-effective solutions for IoT deployments.
The SpringBoard tools help IoT platform providers, carriers and device makers overcome the challenges associated with low-power, bandwidth-constrained networks; protocol incompatibility; data latency; and the need to preserve device battery life. SpringBoard’s Intelligent Compression APIs and A2A (Any-to-Any) Protocol Connector tools are purpose-built to complement existing IoT platforms by optimizing, connecting and extending the next generation of IoT solutions.
“Every company working on an IoT project is going to face the same technical challenges, now or later,” said Tom Hunt, president and CEO of WindSpring. “When engineering organizations encounter these challenges, they will discover that WindSpring—by adapting our proven expertise in other embedded markets—already offers the solutions they need to complete and optimize their IoT solutions.”
WindSpring’s IoT optimization addresses four converging challenges:
1. Cost. Data networks are expensive, and IoT devices generate frequent, bursty messages that can make data costs spiral quickly out of control. WindSpring’s SpringBoard IoT tools reduce network costs by compressing IoT data by as much as 20x.
2. Battery life. Preserving battery life is critical for IoT devices such as sensors, smart meters and location trackers—where batteries might need to stay on for months or years, but space constraints limit the use of bulky batteries. The SpringBoard IoT tools reduce the size and frequency of data transmissions, which means less radio usage, less battery drain and longer battery life.
3. Operational efficiency. IoT solutions often communicate over slower wireless networks, forcing the need for more actionable data to be extracted faster. The SpringBoard IoT tools optimize data to overcome bandwidth, latency and power issues.
4. Wireless network options. Today’s wireless networks have different data requirements and constraints than in the recent past, which can affect the message size for IoT devices. In particular, low-power WANs (LPWANs) run at extremely low data rates. The SpringBoard IoT tools compress and optimize data so that devices can efficiently operate, regardless of network constraints, over any existing or new protocol that enters the market.
“Optimizing IoT data architecture is the next big step as IoT matures and vendors tune their large-scale endpoint deployments and network architectures,” said Paul Teich, a principal analyst with Tirias Research. “IoT deployments will generate only more data over time, as existing endpoints are upgraded with new software, and new endpoints with more and better sensors are added. Dramatically better ways of compressing data will be crucial for IoT solution providers to enable their customers to reach their operational expense and system performance goals.”
WindSpring brings to the IoT market more than 10 years of expertise in working with low-power, memory-constrained devices and low-power WANs, holding many patents relating to compression and device connectivity. WindSpring’s patented Data Management Technology (DMT) stands as the first and only compression technology that enables users to view, select and decompress any part of a compressed file, without decompressing the entire file. DMT is in use by leading automotive brands including Mercedes Benz, Honda, Toyota, Alpine, Pioneer Denso and Aisin.
“WindSpring’s reliable and field-proven data compression technology will enhance the performance of Connected IO’s cellular modems and routers, which often operate under conditions that make wireless transmission and data optimization difficult,” said Yakov Temov, CEO of Connected IO, an early customer for WindSpring’s SpringBoard Intelligent Compression APIs. “By enabling the compression and optimization of mobile data, WindSpring’s Intelligent Compression APIs not will not only boost the efficiency and battery life of applications using our products, they will also reduce data costs for our customers and help them build better business cases for cellular connectivity.”
SpringBoard Intelligent Compression APIs Reinvent Compression
The SpringBoard Intelligent Compression APIs compact, compress and convert IoT data, going far beyond traditional compression to maximize optimization for the unique constraints of IoT devices, with their limited compute capabilities, limited storage and limited CPUs.
Based on patented WindSpring compression algorithms, SpringBoard’s Intelligent Compression APIs use a multi-stage approach: compacting, or making the data smaller before compression; compressing, or encoding as little data as possible; and converting data, to maximize optimization. The result is compression rates as high as 20x and data that can be sent appropriately over any kind of network.
SpringBoard A2A Protocol Connector Enhances Interoperability
The SpringBoard A2A (Any-to-Any) Protocol Connector enables seamless real-time, two-way, end-to-end network communications. It seamlessly receives device data in any protocol and translates it on the fly into the required network protocol, then sends it to the server or any client device in real time.
The A2A Protocol Connector works with dozens of protocols—including HTTP, Apple HomeKit, Nest Weave, Google Brillo, MQTT, AllJoyn, ZeroMQ (0MQ) and CoAP (Constrained Application Protocol)—and is continually updated to work with new protocols as they are deployed. In this way, it delivers a future-proof connectivity solution.
About WindSpring
WindSpring Inc. is a software technology licensing company providing proven, lightweight Internet of Things (IoT) optimization tools that solve IoT challenges of compression and connectivity. Building on its patented compression and data optimization technology and expertise for applications such as machine-to-machine (M2M) devices and automobile navigation systems, WindSpring offers enabling IoT tools that will be critical for the successful widespread deployments of IoT solutions worldwide. For more information, visit www.windspring.com.
