Thread – a Smart Choice of Future Wireless Mesh Technology for IoT Solutions

As an independent Technology Development Partner, Develco is constantly following the development within technology, digitization, and Internet of Things IoT. The need for data transmission varies from business case to business case with differences in data volume, range, environment, usage pattern, security, network, and other important factors. Common to all data transmission is the application of a wired or a wireless communication technology. Develco is experts in wireless communication with many years of experience with well-known communication protocols such as Wi-Fi, Wireless M-Bus, Bluetooth BLE, Z-Wave, SigFox, ZigBee, NB-IoT, LoRaWAN, and NFC.

Unique IPv6 Addresses and Increased Cybersecurity

In the smart home, the consumers have IoT devices to control indoor climate, lighting, security, entertainment etc., while companies and public buildings can improve efficiency, functionality, automation etc. with other IoT solutions. Exactly for IoT solutions with a need for communication with many IoT devices, Develco considers the Thread technology as a suitable communication protocol, as Thread is a Mesh technology built for Internet of Things IoT, where a unique addressable IPv6 address is allocated to each IoT device. To meet the increased need for Cybersecurity and security of IoT devices, the Thread protocol is also a wise choice, as it has a high level of security and encrypts data so that users of IoT devices can avoid hacking of their data. Some IoT solutions require multiple protocols in the same radio communication. For these IoT solutions Thread can be applied as the one parallel communication protocol together with eg. WiFi, Bluetooth, or ZigBee.

Advantages with the Thread Technology

Besides the unique IPv6 addresses and the increased Cybersecurity, Develco sees a number of advantages by applying the wireless Thread protocol for IoT solutions:

  • IoT devices with Thread apply a Mesh technology providing a more robust network with longer range and the possibility of reliable communication between IoT devices and the Cloud.
  • The Thread technology is designed to use a gateway, also named a Border Router, which has the purpose to move data from IoT devices to the Cloud. As Thread is IPv6 based, the application logic lies in IoT devices, and consequently different Thread products can use the same gateway.
  • The latency in data transmission with the Thread technology is low, and the collected valuable data are quickly forwarded to the Cloud for data analysis.
  • Thread is designed with user-friendliness in mind, and new IoT devices can easily be connected to an existing Thread network by e.g. scanning a QR code with smartphones, tablets, and other digital devices.
  • The battery consumption is low, so IoT devices with Thread have a longer product lifetime.

“With the above-mentioned advantages, Develco sees new opportunities with the wireless Thread technology for solutions with Internet of Things IoT for companies and Smart Home,” comments CEO / CSO Jakob Bjerre

Develco Thread Technology