2. Current State of IoT, Assumptions and Need for Expansion
The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the connections of physical devices and items to the internet for data gathering and
control. Within the IoT are many subsets, including Connected Homes, Connected Cars, Connected Cities, Industrial
Internet and Wearables. There are many companies currently in most aspects of the IoT, but one that few companies
have bothered to address has been the need to take existing outdoor “dumb” structures, such as bridges, buildings,
stadiums, etc. and providing a means to gather data from or around them in a cost effective and efficient manner.
There is also a dearth of companies providing a platform for the gathering and analysis of the data from these same
structures. Instead, the focus has been almost entirely on consumer goods for home use and wearables, along with
industrial internet for improvements to existing industrial processes. What is lacking, and what AirView will address, is
the need to connect the vast majority of these outdoor “dumb” structures in a cost effective manner and to provide
useful data that results in cost reductions as well as future sources of revenue. Indeed, 99% of these structures are
currently not connected to the internet in a way to gather data around or about them. By doing so, we hope to show
that there is a major area of overlap between Connected Cars and Connected Cities that AirView is ideally suited to
address with its unique technologies. Before diving into the AirView Vision, let us discuss some key assumptions that we
are making.
Communication Technology
Communication Technology for the IoT will focus increasingly on two keys aspects: Wi-Fi and “Fog” computing
Wi-Fi. The IoT will require primarily wireless communications. As a result, we expect Wi-Fi to be the key
communications standard for IoT, much like DSL/Ethernet was for the fixed Internet and 3G/4G for the mobile
Internet. The following graph shows today’s wireless landscape, with AirView’s focus on utilizing existing WiFi:
The “Fog”: Much has been written about “cloud” computing where data is stored outside of your local device,
often on servers in large data centers sometimes thousands of miles from where the data was generated. But in
the age of the IoT, we expect more of the network intelligence to reside closer to the source: what technologists
call the network edge or the “fog”. Look for the rise of fog computing architectures, as most data will be too
noisy or latency-sensitive (think: it needs to get there and back super-fast) or expensive to be carried all the way
back to the cloud.
Focus on Software Platform
Increasingly, hardware (such as sensors and broadband lines to deliver data) will become a lesser and lesser focus of the
IoT, with the main focus shifting to software platforms. This applies equally to sensors as it does to the means of
viewing data, such as smartphones and tablet computers.
3. As we are discussing the expansion of the IoT to outdoor structures and the data gathered from them, we expect that
the main use cases for this type of data will be Enterprise Platform related. Within Enterprise software, there are many
areas of focus:
Managing the communication with connected devices/sensors;
Providing middleware for integration to data repositories;
Storing and securing the data; and
Analyzing and visualizing the data
We will shortly discuss AirView’s focus on the above areas.
AirView Vision
“Everything should be made as simple as possible …” Albert Einstein
To confront the need for that the expansion of the IoT to the vast majority of structures in the real world that are
outside a building, we at AirView have come up with a unique approach involving the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
(UAVs), also known as drones, for the placement of environmental sensors to these structures. AirView has multiple
patents pending which combine to a system of UAV charging pads and sensor placement technology that allows for the
real time gathering of data in an urban area. To be clear, AirView is a data company, not a UAV manufacturing company.
As such, when discussing the enterprise software platform paradigm, AirView will primarily focus on the following:
The building of a robust low cost infrastructure through the placement of sensors and the managing the
communication with connected devices/sensors
Analyzing and visualizing the data gathered within the sensor infrastructure
The building of the proposed sensor architecture and infrastructure would be via:
1. Small UAVs with appropriate sensors that can land on and attach themselves to various surfaces. This has the
advantage of being low cost and low maintenance
2. UAVs will also be able to place sensors on various surfaces through patent pending technology; sensors will be
off the grid. By doing so, there is no need to have people place these sensors, which would become
prohibitively expensive if done more multiple urban areas
3. UAVs charge wirelessly on patent pending charging stations periodically, removing the necessity to have people
change the batteries of the UAV & sensor kit
4. The data that is gathered is communicated via WiFi to the internet.
4. The following diagram lays out the system for which AirView has built and tested a rudimentary prototype:
System
Database
Server Platform
Communication
Module
Mission
Module
.
.
.
Network
Flight Path
Computation
Module
Wireless
Charging Hub
Wireless
Charging Hub
Wireless Charging
Hub
Network
Sensor
Sensor
.
.
.
Sensor
Sensor
.
.
.
Sensor
Sensor
.
.
.
5. Why use UAVs when, arguably, people with the appropriate trucks or other equipment can place these same sensors on
these structures? There are a number of reasons:
UAV will be able to leave the spot that they are positioned in to collect additional or more detailed information
(e.g. visual information, weather data, etc.)
Self-adhering, self-charging UAV sensor package
Can easily swap out with the latest sensor and communication technology automatically, or add additional
sensors with little effort
With the decrease in cost of computing power, eventually the UAVs will have enough processing power to do
much of the analysis prior to sending the data to servers on the cloud. This allows for quicker analysis and
communication i.e. on the edge of the “fog”
The reasons to pushing more of the analysis to occur within the sensors itself is to allow for:
Filtering and sampling of data in order to reduce the amount of data that is needed for decision making
(optimization)
Set up analytics for decisions that are actionable (quickly)
Sample use for sensor placement:
6. Market Use Cases
“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” Alan Kay
There are many use cases for the building out of the infrastructure proposed through the means provided by AirView.
Some of the use cases are:
Remote security and control
Environmental monitoring and control
Infrastructure monitoring for maintenance needs
Real-time data on accidents and changing road conditions
Machine-to-infrastructure communication
Updates to make digital maps more precise
Continuous monitoring of, and firmware upgrades for, vehicles
Asset tracking of goods on the move
Real-time street view
Telehealth: remote or real-time pervasive monitoring of patients, diagnosis and drug delivery
Revenue Generation
The data provided would have a transformative effect on the Connected Cities and Connected Car markets, along with
other market segments.
Connected Cities: Frost & Sullivan forecasts that the global Smart Cities market will reach $1.56 trillion by 2020.
One of the key use cases that AirView technologies could drive significant value and incremental revenue is
through crime detection and public safety. There are multiple high-growth companies that have developed
businesses selling sensor placement and software platforms that promote crime detection and public safety.
One such example is ShotSpotter, which has developed a business with an estimated $15 million in revenue
installing audio sensors and a software platform to analyze these sensors to illustrate gunshot activity in
multiple cities. Another key use case is the video surveillance market, which was over $16 billion in annual
revenue in 2014. Chicago alone has spent over $65 million dollars over the past 5 years to install cameras to
enhance public safety. AirView’s technology is very well suited for implementations that enhance public safety.
Environmental monitoring: Gas leaks in the United States have killed at least 135 people, injured 600 and
caused $2 billion in damages since 2004. Annually, an estimated $3 billion is lost in natural gas leaks and is not
accounted for. AirView will emplace methane sensors, costing less than $20 a piece, to target the location and
the severity of these leaks. Similarly, other types of sensors can be put in place to monitor air quality, more
precise weather conditions, or other environmental conditions.
Infrastructure monitoring: There are over 215 million daily crossings on 61,064 U.S. structurally deficient
bridges in need of repair. An average inspection costs $4,500 and happens bi-annually; it is estimated that more
than $1.4 billion is spent per year inspecting bridges. AirView’s technology will emplace vibration monitoring
sensors that can provide an early warning system.
Real-time street view: Currently there is no company that offers real-time views of city streets and the
surrounding area. Google’s Streeview product has video that is often multiple years old. Real-time city view
would be valuable for businesses, governments, and individuals. For instance, real estate shoppers would be
able to get better visibility into an area; it would drive additional users to access Zillow, Trulia or other real
estate websites; Zillow and Trulia have over 123 million unique monthly users. Connected Vehicles: The self-
driving car market will rapidly expand; Boston Consulting Group predicts it will be $42 Billion market by 2025;
drivers will pay an estimated $6000 more to own a self-driving car. AirView will help drive adoption in self
driving and other connected car applications.
o The self-driving car market will require not only enhanced sensors in cars but more reliable and robust
information on real-time road and traffic conditions as well as integration of this information into
routing applications. Vehicle sensors will not provide adequate alerts when there is an accident in front
of the vehicle. It will become increasingly important to have a sensor network in front of the vehicle in
7. locations that can alert the navigation application of upcoming hazards. AirView’s sensors and
integration of data into routing applications will be a key enabler of safer self-driving applications.
o The self-driving car market also relies on precise digital maps for safe navigation. For example, a road
that is closed but not updated on a self-driving car application poses a significant safety risk. Leading
mapping companies (e.g. Google, Nokia, TomTom, etc.) spend hundreds of millions annually to update
maps. AirView technologies can significantly bring down these maintenance costs by capturing real-
time information that can be ingested into map update processing tools.
o AirView’s data will also provide the impetus for better information on available parking and better real-
time information on traffic and accidents. This enhanced data will enable providers of mapping
applications to raise the price that they charge fleet management and private consumers. A typical
license for navigation and telematics can cost more than $200 annually. Enhanced data typically enables
an uplift of approximately 10% in the fees.
In addition to the above use cases, we believe that broadband service providers will able to better leverage
and monetize their broad WiFi network through data that is collected through AirView’s sensors. Data
will flow through the broadband service providers’ WiFi network, thereby utilizing spare broadband to
generate further revenue with no additional effort needed on the part of the broadband service providers.
All of these channels of revenue translates to tens of billions of dollars in potential annual revenue to the
companies best able to provide the infrastructure as well as platforms to analyze the data gathered. AirView,
with its unique cost effective approach of utilizing UAVs and its strong management team, has the ability to
expand the IoT in directions not currently being taken.
