Overview / Usage

A cigarette pack sized Curie powered transmitter senses if a given object (mast of a sailboat, zoo fence, fallen tree...) is upright or not. Insurance companies benefit from well managed damage recovery, including detection of fallen objects. Consumers can be offered a lower premium.

Sensing whether objects are upright is useful information, often out of reach but easy to monitor with the right tools.

The Curie MCU can leverage Intel Quark SE sleep to run for a year or more on a litheum battery. An Intel Innovator makes a subgigaherz PCB connected to the TinyTILE's UART to send telemetry to a IP connected Dell IoT gateway.

The cross transport (subgig wave to short range) communication as well as long distance (kilometers) and low power (milliwatt) transmission showcases technology only about one year old.

Value is added with a energy harvesting circuit. The device features an array of IXYS IXOLAR components storing electrical charge in a matrix of capacitors. This design fully powers the device for eterntity! It's a very unique feature that appeals widely with user friendly maintenance free application. It means that the device can be placed in very high or hard to reach corners with no fear of downtime.

Consumers like to lower insurance premiums of their sailboats, mobile homes, vacation houses, ranches, or other property. This device is low mantenance, so a consumer can place it on a tree once and forget it's there forever.

Total cost of parts and manufacturing totals less than $40, allowing for widespread use and fulfilling a key role in the ubiquitous nature of the Internet of Things.

Consider a better management of property damage, as well as an early warning notification system. When one tree goes down in a storm, others will follow. The pattern of upright sensing can be extended to more general motion.