A number of heavy IoT hitters including Qualcomm QCOM -3.66%↓ and Wiliot have formed the Ambient IoT Alliance. The membership will include not only users and customers, but ambient IoT manufacturers, suppliers, integrators and operators.
Ambient IoT refers to IoT devices powered by harvesting ambient energy from radio waves, light, motion, heat, or any other viable ambient energy source, the alliance said. “Ambient IoT is an evolution of legacy IoT and RFID technologies that promises lower costs and high scalability through support by global telecommunications standards, including Bluetooth, 5G Advanced, and 802.11bp,” the alliance said.
Ambient IoT-enabled devices can detect location, temperature, humidity, and more, and communicate with the wireless infrastructure, the alliance said. For instance, a nearby mobile device can receive data provided by ambient IoT-enabled devices. This includes leveraging IoT with smart appliances and wireless access points to open up supply and retail chains, healthcare delivery services and other industries.
Other members include Atmosic, Infineon Technologies AG, Intel, PepsiCo and VusionGroup.
“It allows us to rearchitect wireless tracking solutions to either use very little power or harvested energy, so everything can remain connected continuously and companies can operate at maximum efficiency,” said Atmosic co-founder David Su.
