Machine-to-Machine

Communications

Aleksandr Ometov
08.03.2016
Tampere, Finland
 Why M2M from human being
point of view?
– To save us from repetitive, boring and time
consuming work
– To help us in real-time working on Big-Data
– To have an opportunity to evolve!

Machine-to-Machine (M2M) means no human

intervention while devices are communicating
end-to-end. [Mischa Dohler]

2
 What is M2M
• Machine-To-Machine
– Machine – sensor/actuator that is monitoring/actuating in
uplink/downlink
– To – network to operate end-to-end communication
– Machine – device that is processing gathered information
• Origin of term “Machine-to-Machine”:
– Nokia M2M Platform Family [2002] = Nokia M2M Gateway
software + Nokia 31 GSM Connectivity Terminal + Nokia M2M
Application Develop. Kit (ADK)

3
 Networks for M2M
– Wired (Ethernet, optics, etc.) dedicated
cabling between sensor – gateway.
• pros: very reliable, very high rates, small delay, secure
• cons: expensive to roll out, not scalable, no mobility.
– Wireless:
• Capillary (WLAN, BLE, ZigBee, etc.)
– pros: cheap to roll out, generally scalable, low power
– cons: short range, low rates, weaker security, interference,
lack of universal infrastructure/coverage.
• Cellular (3G, LTE, WiMax, etc)
– pros: excellent coverage, mobility, roaming, generally
secure, infrastructure
– cons: expensive, not cheap to maintain, not power
efficient, delays.

4
 M2M Novelty
– Number of devices to support
– Interconnection
– Coverage

5
 Popular Directions
– Building Automation
– Smart Grids
– Industrial Automation
– Smart City
• Generally:
– Wireless sensor networks
– Traffic flows
– Wearable health monitoring
– Vehicular networks
– Smart energy meters
– ..and so on, and so on.
6
 Smart City Technology Platform

M2M in Smart Cities

Internet Improve Efficiency

Smart City Offer New Services

Crowdsourcing
Operating System

Sensor Streams Wireless

Power M2M Technologies
Applications

Machine-To-Machine (M2M)
Smart City Technologies
Wireless in M2M
© 2012 M. Dohler, D. Boswarthick, J. Alonso-Zárate

Low Cost
32

Capillary M2M

Low Energy

Cellular M2M
Low Env. Footprint

© 2012 M. Dohler, D. Boswarthick, J. Alonso-Zárate 33

 General Challenges in M2M
• Design for huge number of devices
• Reduction of control signaling
• Optimization for low data transmissions
• Cost reduction
• Congestion control algorithms (for cellular)
• Load distribution/balancing
• Security, e.g., denial of service
• Traffic Models
• etc..

8
 About Capillary M2M
• Mostly embedded design, low power, low
cost design
• Short-range communication systems
• Power consumption
• To this end:
– M2M will be dominated by industry-
driven standardized low-power
solutions.
• IEEE802.11ah may be a solution

9
 Design for Capillary M2M
• Each node typically consists of these basic elements:
– Sensor
– Radio chip
– Microcontroller
– Energy supply
• Targets:
– Low – cost
– Low – complexity
– Small – size
– Low – energy
• Problems:
– Different vendors (characteristics, inoperability between devices)
– Interference, fading
– MAC protocols were designed for humans
– Scalability 10
 Cellular M2M
• LTE-A
• Advantages:
– Capillary networks only provide local coverage
– Users are already familiar with the infrastructure
– Easier configuration: suitable for short-term deployments
– Cellular networks provide ubiquitous coverage and global
connectivity today
– Mobility and High-Speed Data Transmission
– Interference can be managed
• Challenges for operators:
– Human-to-human expectations
– New market requires new way of thinking
– High cost and applications complexity 11
 Novelties for Cellular M2M
• Current cellular systems are designed for human-
to-human (H2H):
– Not so many human users
– We tolerate delay even for voice connections
– We like to download a lot, mainly high-bandwidth data
– We are ok to recharge our mobiles daily.
• New paradigm:
– Enormous number of M2M nodes
– Applications are delay-intolerant (mainly control)
– No traffic/mainly uplink
– Nodes need to operate autonomously for a long time
– Automated security and trust mechanisms.
12
 LTE Limitations for M2M
• Not efficient for small data transmission
• Device cost issues
– Scalable bandwidth
– Data rate (overdesigned UE categories)
– Transmit power (max. 23dBm)
– Half Duplex operation (sensor is simple device)
– RF chains with 2 antennas
– Signal processing accuracy
• Overload issues - big number of devices
• Low mobility support
• Four reasons, when capacity is not required:
– Longevity (long-term deployment of infrastructure)
– Potentially Lower Service Costs (compared to 2G or 3G)
– Scalability (IPv6)
– Superior performance (for demanding M2M applications) 13
Optimization Possibilities for M2M
• May be based on specific scenario requirement:
– Low Mobility – Reduce reporting frequency
– Time Controlled
– Time Tolerant – Applications that can delay
transmissions
– Small Data Transmissions
– Priority Alarm Message – Maximum priority for alarm
traffic
– Secure Connection
– Location Specific Trigger – Location information from
operators
– Infrequent transmission
– etc.
14
 WiFi for sensors - IEEE802.11ah
• IEEE 802.11ah use cases target low rate, long range applications
(metering, sensors, automation)
• Battery operated devices should limit the power consumption by:
– limiting the packet transmissions
– limiting the awake/receive time (for low transit power devices,
RX power consumption may be comparable with TX power
consumption)
• Listening for beacons/traffic information maps (TIM) frames
consumes power:
– clock drift during long sleep requires an early wake up
– reception of beacon may require several milliseconds

15
 General Conclusions
• The networks for M2M communications
already exist as a mirror from human ones,
but there is still a lot to improve like:
– Delays
– Power consumption (target for M2M - years)
– Deployment and service costs (pure M2M
networks would be much more expansible)
– Human to machine interfaces

16
 Lessons learned
• Challenges for capillary community:
– Reliability: despite license-exempt bands
– Range: multihop/mesh seems to be a must
– Delays: minimize end-to-end delay
– Standards: interoperability
– Infrastructure: maintenance
• Challenges for cellular community:
– Nodes: management of huge amounts sending small
packets
– Rates: fairly low and rather uplink from small packets
– Power: high efficiency
– Delays: quick wakeup after sleep
– Application: to operate not disturbing current networks.
17
Thank you

18