FreeWave Technologies

2022-05-19T15:53:41Z

2600:1700:98A0:1C90:5CE:D107:D1BF:39AD: Leadership and industry information

{{Multiple issues|{{no footnotes|date=June 2018}}
{{advert|date=September 2015}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2019}}}}

{{Infobox company
| name = FreeWave Technologies, Inc.
| logo = FreeWave Logo.png
| logo_size =
| type = [[Private company|Private]]
| foundation = 1993
| location = 5395 Pearl Parkway, Suite 100, Boulder, CO 80301
| key_people = Kirk Byles (CEO), Mike Tate (COO and SVP Sales/Marketing), Parthesh Shastri (CTO)
| industry = IIoT, wireless networking, Edge computing, RF Communications, M2M
| products = [[Wireless]] [[Machine-to-machine convergence|M2M]], edge sensing and connectivity, edge computing, networking
| revenue = Undisclosed
| num_employees = Undisclosed
| homepage = {{url|www.freewave.com}}
}}
'''FreeWave Technologies, Inc.''' is an industrial company based in [[Boulder, Colorado]], where it designs and manufactures secure machine-to-machine wireless networking, communications, and computing systems. FreeWave's radios capture and transmit data from devices such as sensors, gauges, valves, robots, drones, and unmanned vehicles over long distances (60+ miles / 96+ kilometers) in clear line-of-sight environments and harsh environments. FreeWave radios support a variety of industrial applications, such as [[supervisory control and data acquisition]] (SCADA), wireless [[I/O]], [[cathodic protection]] (CP) and [[remote monitoring]], [[telemetry]], and [[analytics]]. The Company sells to a variety of enterprises such as energy, utilities, agricultural, government and defense, water and wastewater, manufacturing, and commercial enterprises. The Company conducts network design, path studies, and pre-installation engineering services to support its customers. {{citation needed|date=September 2015}}

==History==
FreeWave Technologies was founded in August 1993 by Jonathan Sawyer and Steve Wulchin. From the beginning, Sawyer and Wulchin aimed to help customers transmit mission critical data via secure, highly reliable licensed and license-free [[spread spectrum]] radios. FreeWave has manufactured all of its radios in Boulder, Colorado since the first radio was shipped in 1994. In June 2007, TA Associates led a $113 million investment in FreeWave Technologies. The Company's major markets are [[oil & gas]], government, and defense, [[agriculture]], [[Water industry|water]] and [[wastewater]], and [[manufacturing]] industries since that time.[https://www.freewave.com/industries-applications/] Today, FreeWave Technologies has more than 800,000 industrial radios and embedded modules in the field.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sensorsmag.com/iot-wireless/industrial-internet-things-takes-center-stage-but-freewave-says-wireless-m2m-drives|title=Industrial Internet of Things Takes Center Stage, but FreeWave Says Wireless M2M Drives Its Success|date=January 12, 2015}}</ref>

==Uses ==
FreeWave's wireless M2M [[Solution selling|solutions]] are deployed across many industries including oil and gas, government, precision agriculture, traffic systems, water/wastewater, manufacturing, and other utilities. For instance, FreeWave radios are used by energy companies to maximize production and reduce operating costs for mission critical applications within the military, and for environmental monitoring to provide warning of impending natural disasters such as volcanoes.

The Institute of Geophysics of Ecuador uses FreeWave technology at [[Tungurahua]], the highest volcano in the world which operates at below zero temperatures from a height of 5,947 meters (19,511 feet) above sea level. FreeWave M2M devices capture early-warning signs that an eruption is imminent and transmit images from the top of the volcano. With hundreds of thousands of residents living around the volcano, early warning is crucial to take precautionary measures and evacuate citizens before an eruption can take place. The Geophysical Institute of Peru also uses FreeWave technology to capture and transmit sensor data across a line-of-sight path of up to 127 kilometers (78 miles) at 115 Kbps or up to 67 kilometers (41 miles) at 1 Mbps.

At an elevation of more than 6,000 feet (1,829 meters), the [[Mount Washington Observatory]] (MWO) in [[New Hampshire]] uses a FreeWave solution{{solution-inline|date=August 2019}} to capture data from six weather stations and transmit the data to an Ethernet-connected gateway. The data provides information such as temperature and wind speeds for MWO's climate research. Weather observations are reported to the [[National Weather Service]] and [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] for use in nationwide and global forecasting models.

The operator of a Rocky Mountain based livestock facility implemented a secure ZumLink IQ edge solution{{solution-inline|date=August 2019}} with a custom application to monitor water levels in remote tanks from the cloud via an Internet connection. Using the [[Node-RED]] programming language, an app was created quickly and easily to gather data from analog sensors. The solution{{solution-inline|date=August 2019}} helps drive down operating costs by reducing the amount of travel for visual inspections in the event of a problem such as a leak that prevents a tank from filling.

The Sangamon Valley Public Water District<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://waterfm.com/wave-smart-water-solutions/|title=A Wave of Smart Water Solutions|last=Farr|first=Andrew}}</ref> (SVPWD) in [[Mahomet, Illinois]], implemented FreeWave radios in a new SCADA system to communicate with remote wells and control equipment and settings from a central locations rather than sending personnel to collect data and monitor the water system. SVPWD reported a 50-percent cost savings, with savings expected to rise as leaks and inefficiencies are detected and corrected.

When strapped to a drone,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.denverpost.com/2018/07/21/colorado-company-drone-usage/|title=Colorado tech companies take advantage of drones to expand use of their products|last=Skilling|first=Chaney|date=July 21, 2018}}</ref> FreeWave's technology can monitor remote environments and detect such issues as thermal fluctuations and fallen power lines in real time. Then the radios can relay information to such parties as fire departments, insurance and telephone companies, and dispatchers.

== Technology ==
FreeWave's product platform includes edge connectivity and computing technologies designed to support a variety of network infrastructure, communication, and application requirements. Available models operate in the [[ISM band|900 MHz]], and [[ISM band|2.4 GHz]] radio frequencies; support [[Point-to-point (telecommunications)|point-to-point]] (PTP) and [[Point-to-multipoint communication|point-to-multipoint]] (PTMP) configurations; utilize secure [[Frequency-hopping spread spectrum|Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum]] (FHSS); and communicate via multi-protocol [[Serial communication]] and [[Ethernet]]. Systems operate in temperatures from -40o C to +75o C (-40o F to +167o F). Interfaces supported include [[RS-232|RS232]], [[RS422]], [[RS-485|RS485]], and [[Time to live|TTL]]. Models are available with 128/256-bit [[Advanced Encryption Standard|AES]] encryption and [[Electrical equipment in hazardous areas|C1D2]] certification. FreeWave's IQ Application Environment is available on its products, providing the ability to program, deploy, and run applications in any [[Linux]]-compatible language. 

==Products==
{{overly detailed|section|date=June 2018}}
FreeWave offers products that include module, board-level, and enclosed radios for OEM and industrial end-user connectivity and computing applications.
==See also==
*[[Frequency hopping]]
*[[Radio]]s
*[[Spread Spectrum]]
*[[Machine to machine]]
*[[wireless]]
*[[SCADA]]

==References==
*[http://www.FreeWave.com/ FreeWave]
*[http://www.nbcnews.com/id/29555727 TA Associates Leads $113 Million Investment in FreeWave Technologies, Inc.]
*[http://www.sensorsmag.com/networking-communications/internet-of-things/news/industrial-internet-things-takes-center-stage-freewave-says-16804 The Industrial Internet of Things Takes Center Stage, but FreeWave says Wireless M2M Drives Its Success]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freewave Technologies}}
[[Category:Technology companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Privately held companies based in Colorado]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies based in Boulder, Colorado]]
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FreeWave Technologies