FreeWave Technologies

Template:Infobox company 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's wireless connectivity and computing solutions are utilized in a variety of enterprises such as energy, utilities, agricultural, government and defense, water and wastewater, manufacturing, and commercial enterprises. The U.S. Army is one of its biggest customers. The Company conducts network design, path studies, and pre-installation engineering services to support its customers.

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. FreeWave expanded its market focus into the utilities markets in 2009 – 2010 with its M2M technology and has continued to increase its presence in the agriculture, water and wastewater, and manufacturing industries since that time. Today, FreeWave Technologies has more than 800,000 industrial radios and embedded modules in the field.

Uses

FreeWave's wireless M2M solutions are deployed across many industries including oil and gas, government and , precision agriculture, golf, water/wastewater, manufacturing, and 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 5,947meters (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 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^TM IQ edge solution 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 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 (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-pecent cost savings, with savings expected to rise as leaks and inefficiencies are detected and corrected.

When strapped to a drone, 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 455 MHz, 900 MHz, 1.3 GHz, 1.4 GHz, and 2.4 GHz radio frequencies; support point-to-point (PTP) and point-to-multipoint (PTMP) configurations; utilize secure Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS); and communicate via multi-protocol Serial communication and Ethernet. Systems operate in temperatures from -40^o C to +75^o C (-40^o F to +167^o F). Interfaces supported include RS232, RS422, RS485, and TTL. Models are available with 128/256-bit AES encryption and C1D2 certification. FreeWave's IQ Application Environment is available on its ZumIQ^TM products, providing the ability to program, deploy, and run applications in any Linux-compatible language.

Products

Template:Overly detailed FreeWave offers a portfolio of products that include module, board-level, and enclosed radios for OEM and industrial end-user connectivity and computing applications. The solution portfolio includes:

Edge Connectivity

• ZumLink^TM: 900 MHz wireless radio for Ethernet communications
• FGR2 Series: 900 MHz wireless radios for serial data communications
• FGR2 Plus Series: 900 MHz wireless radios for Ethernet and serial data communications
• LRS Series Radios: 1.4 GHz and 435 to 470 MHz wireless radios for serial data communications
• MM2 Series OEM Radios: Board-level radios for Ethernet and serial data communications
• GX and GXM Series: 2.4 GHz radios for data communications

Edge Computing

• ZumIO^TM: Edge computer with serial and Ethernet interfaces and on-board IQ Application Environment
• ZumLink IQ Edge Intelligent Radio: Integrated connectivity and edge computing solution

Command and Control

• MM2-M13 Series OEM: 1.3 GHz serial and Ethernet, board-level radios for government and defense applications
• Spartan Series: 1.3 GHz and 2.4 GHz radios for OEMs with FIPS 140-2 Level 2 encryption in a board-level form factor
• Amplifiers: 900 MHz and 1.3 GHz RF transmit power amplifiers to extend the range of FreeWave spread-spectrum radios

Edge Sensing

• WaveContact Series: Modular wireless end-point and data concentrator I/O systems for industrial M2M and IoT applications in hazardous locations
• FGR2-IO Series: 900 MHz remote I/O solutions that can operate in Modbus or wire replacement mode
• I2-IO Series: 2.4 GHz radios with embedded I/O functions that can operate in Modbus or wire replacement mode
• Wired IO Series: Wired I/O expansion modules

Software

FreeWave's Tool Suite is a free program to set up and manage networks, allowing users to configure and control multiple frequencies, security functions, and networks within a single system. Centralized storage provides access to diagnostic data and reports.

External links

• FreeWave's Official Website

See also

• Frequency hopping
• Radios
• Spread Spectrum
• Machine to machine
• wireless
• SCADA

References

• FreeWave
• TA Associates Leads $113 Million Investment in FreeWave Technologies, Inc.
• Control Engineering Engineer's Choice finalist, FreeWave's I/O expansion module, 2012
• FreeWave Sets Sights On Fast-Growing Industrial M2M Marketplace With New Executive Appointments
• The Industrial Internet of Things Takes Center Stage, but FreeWave says Wireless M2M Drives Its Success