Brought to you as a public service of the Open Spectrum Foundation (Stichting Open Spectrum), Amsterdam - Prague

NEWS

Huge public RFID sensor mesh proposed in Australia

Telepathx's "managed mesh" for SPAusnet in the Australian state of Victoria uses Telstra Mobile's network as a backbone:

From "Telepathx 150 million dollar state wide RFID mesh Network," company press release, 2 February 2007 (via PR Leap):

"Telepathx Ltd., the Melbourne, Australia based communications developer, has proposed to the Victorian government there a 150 million [Australian] dollar state-wide mesh network based on the company's proprietary RFID technology.

"James Eades, company founder and CEO, said the multifunction wireless network platform would provide an array of potentially life-saving services to industry, consumers and the state's essential service providers. The autonomous sensor network, which would be the first and largest ever built, will monitor an estimated 100,000 kilometres of Victorian road network for fire ignitions, auto accidents and power outages.

" 'Bushfires are a very big issue with Victorians these days' said Eades; in the last two months Victoria alone has lost more than 1 million hectares of land to wild fires... [A] recent public survey conducted by Quantum Research shows strong public support (86% in favour) of the government's adaptation of the technology that pinpoints events and incidents within minutes.

"‘ 'What started out as a simple idea to develop a self-managed energy network for TXU' (now SPAusnet), said Eades, 'has evolved into providing real life saving solutions that everyone will benefit from'. Roadside fire ignitions in outer urban areas are something Australians are all too familiar with; on average they will see over 4000 incidents per year.

"This number, however, pales in comparison to what's happening in Europe and in the United States, countries [where] the company is said to be planning much larger mesh networks. Just having the ability to report and pinpoint a fire's existence or an event that has happened within minutes will significantly reduce the impact on communities and government services.

"Another function of the proposed network will be to monitor roadside infrastructure for auto accidents, such as autos colliding into fixed objects like guard-rails and signage. It will also relay hazardous road conditions to variable message [signs] and provide roadside assistance [in response to motorist requests], similar to GM's OnStar or Intelematic's CarCom but at a fraction of the price.

"The company is also planning on offering emergency vehicles operators... RFID based signal light priority technology that will allow ambulances or buses to traverse city streets unabated. All of this, said Eades, has come about from members of the Victorian government, industry and leading academics wanting to develop new applications for the shared platform.

" 'The other area that we will offer services in are industrial and consumer alarm monitoring. Our position is that if we have a network in place, we can monitor just about anything in range. The alarm monitoring market is a 50 billion dollar industry, and the benefits of using the mesh network for all of these services is that your operating costs are greatly reduced by consolidating them on a single platform. These savings can then be passed straight back to the consumer.

" 'Bringing intelligence to the energy network, however, is our primary and core business. The technology will allow energy providers and their switchgear manufacturers to start building... RFID components into the distribution grids, creating self managed energy networks that will significantly reduce power outages in the region. This, however, will take decades to complete. But just having the platform in place to provide the service will be a big step forward for the number of switchgear manufacturers that have already expressed interest in integrating the next generation technology into their products.'

"Interestingly enough, the power outage that left much of Victoria state in the dark last week could have been averted had SPAusnet put the technology to use."

[RFID - 2 February 2007]