Aurora Lighting was due to launch its first smart home solution, the AOne™, when the Aurora IoT team encountered issues with regards to wireless control with and without internet access as well as data security. It was then that they turned to both Gooee, who was already assisting Aurora with its AXiO smart platform, and Nabto for a solution.
Mike Jones says that the Nabto and Gooee partnership worked extremely well for him and his team:
”Firstly, we knew Gooee could provide us with the cloud technology, and although we knew the security element was also available from Gooee in the future, we needed assistance urgently so alongside Gooee we approached Nabto. Nabto provided two key components in the implementation; firstly it gave us reassurance the communication from our AOne mobile app to the gateway was secure. Secondly we had to make it possible for users to control their lights in a variety of situations; at home, even without an internet connection, and whilst being away. The Gooee-Nabto partnership would ensure all of this, as well as a quick integration process that enabled us to leverage the Gooee cloud.”
Gooee provides a central IoT platform for lighting and sensing, which acts as a data brain for different devices and sensors. Every building has a lighting infrastructure capable of becoming a sensory network, so there is huge potential across a wide range of applications to deliver a variety of different services over the lighting network.
Using sensing hardware and cloud-based software, which is combined into a single solution for smart buildings, Gooee is the first to bring together lighting, beacon networking and space analytics to drive application-enabling intelligence for developers, building occupiers, property owners and managers. Scalable and interoperable, Gooee can be used across all sectors to simplify installation complexity, transform human engagement and significantly reduce energy costs.
Gooee’s Intelligent hardware and cloud infrastructure paired up with Nabto’s sophisticated communication tunnelling technology unlocks a direct secure connection to a lightweight IoT gateway that typically supports sub-50 nodes.
”To meet Aurora’s requirements we wanted a solution that allowed lower powered gateways to integrate into our cloud. Nabto provided us a secure lightweight communication stack that gave us the flexibility to work with a wide range of IoT gateways and hubs, outside of our own product line,”
– Sam Hall, Solutions Architect at Gooee
Nabto technology enables user identification when connecting to Gooee’s platform, security and mobile device commissioning.
”A key requirement for Gooee is to offer secure local and remote connectivity from applications. The gateway required a local connection without having to use internet access – and with Nabto we could achieve this,” says Hall. ”Nabto gives Gooee a unique key related to the user’s mobile device. This is then used to ensure the validity and security of the connection between the mobile device and the gateway.”
High levels of security and low latency were important factors that required attention. In the lighting industry, latency between the command and real-life reaction should be very low. The time between pressing the button on a mobile application and the time when the light actually turns on/off should feel immediate from the users’ perspective. If a light takes too much time to change state – approximate to the blink of an eye – it irritates people and results in them opening new commands or tapping the refresh button.
”Everyone is used to a regular light switch, therefore the remote control requires the same level of immediacy.”
– Sam Hall
The Nabto-Gooee solution enables secure and robust transfer of wireless sensor information, supporting high volumes of data, across thousands of connected devices.
”It is a direct connection; the message can be sent from the phone to the gateway without going via the cloud, regardless of whether both devices are on the same network or connected directly via a Nabto remote connection.”
– Sam Hall.
Providing these extra features on a single platform gives users of Gooee powered systems that optimise device performance, ensure high levels of data security and increase energy savings.
Nabto have seen a variety of customer scenarios and therefore have prepared standard pre-solutions that are easy to apply to customers’ unique needs. Working with Gooee, a gateway communication solution was created that passes through the firewall without compromising security; every transfer between the internal application and third-party services is secure using industry standard cryptography.
We needed a solution for the client within a very tight timeframe. One of the things Nabto gave us was speed to market and security