The innovation behind Acklio’s software:
Due to the drastic bandwidth constraints of LPWAN networks, the emerging IoT networks do not follow the Internet model based on IP protocols. Indeed, the IP stack was until recently considered too greedy to be transported by these constrained networks. Well, that was before 2016 and Acklio’s innovation!
Our co-founders are at the origin of a technology for compressing and fragmenting messages exchanged on LPWAN networks to ensure full compatibility of these messages with Internet protocols. It allows the interoperability of the devices to the different LPWAN networks, and more broadly to the applications deployed on the Internet. This technology, SCHC, is about to become an open IETF standard.
SCHC (pronounced “Chic”) is a compression and fragmentation framework tailored for LPWAN. Static context header compression (SCHC) prevents synchronization between elements communicating on the network. Synchronization is actually the operation that consumes the most bandwidth.In LPWAN networks, the nature of data flows is highly predictable. So, rather than saturating the bandwidth with this information, we found it smart to store these communication contexts both in the device and in the network management platform.
This is how SCHC makes it possible to reduce the amount of data transmitted over radio connectivity. This, in the end, makes it possible to use IP.When the data is still too heavy to be transported under the given network conditions, SCHC incorporates a fragmentation. This splits the messages and manages their transmission in the network.
SCHC is a compression mechanism to reduce CoAP/IPv6 headers to just a few bytes, which can then be transported over any LPWAN networks. You can imagine SCHC as an adaptation layer between IPv6 and the LPWAN connectivity.
Use of the IP/TCP protocol stack on constrained long-range networks.
Dynamic adaptation of message size to radio transmission conditions.
Rapid development of services independent from the underlying radio technology.
Transforms an LPWAN device into a native IP device, easily addressable from business applications.
Seamless integration with the customers’ operation network and application architectures.
The SCHC technology is currently in the final stages to be validated as a IETF standard.
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is the international body that defines the standards that guarantee the interoperability and evolution of Internet networks since 1986. The IETF Task Force is a large open international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet. It is behind the success of the Internet, by building a scalable system capable of connecting billions of devices and remaining operational after 30+ years.
Alexander Pelov, CEO of Acklio, is co-chairing the IETF working group dedicated to the IPv6 standardization over LPWAN networks with Pascal Thubert, Principal Engineer at Cisco.
IPv6 messaging between a SCADA controller and a remote utility grid storage unit.
➡️Demo with Cisco
Supervision link for electric vehicle charging: demonstrate IP-over-LoRaWAN seamless communication.
➡️Demo with EDF and Objenious
Demonstrates LPWAN applications to transparently run over different IoT radio technologies.
➡️Demo with Sigfox
