NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things) has proven itself as a powerful solution for low-energy-consuming devices relying on batteries to transmit small amounts of data while maintaining low power usage, affordability, and extensive coverage. This technology is increasingly being adopted across the IoT sector, especially as advancements continue in indoor coverage, cost efficiency, and energy savings. The smart home industry has also begun exploring the potential of NB-IoT, leading to significant developments. On July 27th, Haier spearheaded the "New IoT, New Scenarios, New Ecosystem – Smart Home Industry NB-IoT Application Promotion Summit Forum," where they unveiled the first smart home NB-IoT standard and launched the industry's inaugural NB-IoT solution – NB-UHomekit. This initiative showcased three complete NB-IoT commercial solutions for smart appliances, smart communities, and commercial appliances. To gain further insights into how NB-IoT integrates with smart homes, let’s explore an interview with Fan Jiqing, Director of Haier U+ Development.
Firstly, regarding the technical background, Director Fan Jiqing outlined the evolution of NB-IoT technology. He highlighted that wireless communication has thrived over recent years due to its inherent convenience and accessibility. Not only has it become widely adopted in business sectors, but it has also seen substantial growth in military applications. As the scope of services offered by networks has expanded, so too has the capacity of communication terminals to process information. Services like mobile office work and mobile shopping have transitioned from theoretical concepts to practical realities. Smart home appliances have similarly entered households worldwide. Among various wireless communication technologies, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and cellular mobile communication are commonly utilized in smart homes. However, as the demand for smarter devices increases, the variety of connected devices grows, along with their diverse requirements. While high-speed usage of 3G and 4G systems suffices for faster services, medium-rate demands are met by 2G communication, leaving low-rate applications lacking a standardized, low-power cellular protocol. Current standards like 4G, 3G, and 2G fail to meet the demands for low power consumption, low cost, wide coverage, and large capacity. Technologies such as Lora, Sigfox, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and ZigBee encounter issues related to information security, mobility, coverage, and capacity.
To address the needs of the IoT sector, narrow-band IoT communication standards emerged.
When comparing the advantages and disadvantages of commonly used wireless communication technologies in smart home appliances, refer to the following table:
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Secondly, the smart home industry faces several challenges during its development. Currently, China's smart home market has reached a certain scale, yet most consumers view the convenience offered by smart homes as more of a luxury than a necessity. Director Fan Jiqing summarized the primary obstacles confronting the smart home industry today, identifying four key areas:
(1) Operational Convenience:
The goal of smart homes is to enhance life's ease and comfort. However, due to technical limitations, many smart home appliances, including networking, binding, and usage processes, prove challenging for users. What was intended to simplify life has instead complicated it, significantly impacting user experience.
How to make operations simpler and functions more accessible and appealing to users remains the industry's foremost challenge.
(2) Network Capacity and Signal Coverage:
Home environments vary greatly. When the number of smart devices increases, communication between them can be disrupted, affecting device functionality. Ensuring adequate network coverage in large homes, such as duplexes or villas, presents a major hurdle for the smart home industry. Communicating with appliances like water heaters and washing machines in areas like balconies or bathrooms proves difficult in wireless networks.
(3) Security Risks:
Network security is paramount in the communications sector, and smart homes are no exception. Balancing convenience with security poses a challenge for every vendor.
(4) Lack of Uniform Standards:
Due to an immature standard system, smart home appliances from different brands often fail to recognize each other or communicate effectively. Designing smart home appliances involves significant investment, with long development cycles and numerous complexities. Thus, it represents a significant challenge for smaller enterprises.
Director Fan Jiqing believes that addressing these challenges and overcoming obstacles in creating user-friendly smart home appliances is a shared responsibility within the industry.
Thirdly, the NB-IoT solution – NB-UHomeKit:
The advent of the NB-IoT technology standard offers an excellent solution for low-rate, low-power, wide-area network applications, complementing existing device access technologies. Leveraging the technical features of NB-IoT and drawing from years of expertise in smart home appliances, Haier U+ crafted and delivered the comprehensive NB-IoT access solution, NB-UHomeKit, to the industry.
Director Fan provided a detailed overview of Haier NB-UhomeKit's open-source application solution. He explained that NB-UhomeKit is a solution enabling the Haier U+ Smart Life Platform to connect smart home appliances and home design applications via NB-IoT technology, adhering to a protocol standard.
NB-UhomeKit comprises: device-side SDK, client SDK, and M2M access gateway;
The NB-UhomeKit system framework is as follows:
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The technical advantages of NB-UhomeKit include the following five points:
1) A dedicated compression algorithm to resolve the conflict between NB-IoT's limited data flow and smart home's high data demands;
2) A specialized data acquisition algorithm to address the contradiction between NB-IoT's low rate and smart home's real-time demands;
3) A standard protocol to enable interoperability;
4) National security standards to balance security requirements with ease of use;
5) A standard development kit to reduce development costs, shorten development cycles, and expedite time-to-market.
Fourthly, the solution example:
Director Fan also discussed Haier's practical application case. After the NB-IoT standard was finalized in June 2016, Haier actively collaborated with Huawei, Qualcomm, Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom. By the end of 2016, Haier U+ had established the NB-IoT standard for smart home applications. In July 2017, Telecom achieved nationwide NB-IoT network coverage. By the end of June 2017, Haier U+ completed the design, development, and technical implementation of the NB-UHomeKit solution. In July, the NB-UHomeKit solution was used to connect smart air conditioners, smart door locks, and community washing machines to the U+ platform using NB-IoT technology in a short timeframe.
U+ has now connected three types of devices, offering complete commercial solutions:
Household Appliances - Household Air Conditioners:
1) Easy access using an optimized device, app, and cloud NB-UhomeKit.
2) Communication data decompression technology to meet APP data requirements.
3) No need to allocate a network, power on and connect.
4) Easy to use, scan to control.
5) Stable connection anywhere.
Battery-Powered Equipment - Smart Door Locks:
1) Reduced power consumption using an optimized device terminal NB-UhomeKit.
2) U+ security SDK ensures door lock security.
3) NB-IoT door lock, power-on scan code binding ready to use.
4) Strong signal coverage in stairwells.
5) Ultra-low power consumption, replaceable every two years.
6) Real-time SMS notifications when switching locks, ensuring safety and control.
7) Reliable communication,æ— å¿§å”®åŽ.
Commercial Electrical Equipment - Community Washing Machines:
1) Monitor device status using an optimized device-side NB-UhomeKit.
2) Standard API interface, no need to modify the APP side.
3) Powered-on washing machine, monitor machine status and keep income at your fingertips.
4) Wide signal coverage and low operating costs.
Through Director Fan Jiqing's introduction, the reporter truly appreciated Haier U+'s leadership in the smart home industry. By collaborating with industry leaders, Haier has pioneered NB-IoT-based industry solutions in the smart home field. The first NB-IoT open-source application solution released by Haier in the smart home industry, NB-UhomeKit, offers NB-IoT solutions for rapid access, cloud integration, security, and communication standards, promoting deep integration between NB-IoT and smart homes. It aids enterprises in swiftly adopting NB-IoT and constructing a smart home ecosystem adapted to intelligent products. The reporter believes that with the implementation and application of NB-UhomeKit, China's home appliance industry will break through NB-IoT application capabilities, seizing the commanding heights of IoT technology applications internationally, and heralding a new boom period for China's smart home appliance sector.
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