The document provides an overview of SIGFOX, a global network operator for the Internet of Things. It describes SIGFOX's ultra narrow band technology which uses low bandwidth messages to enable long range wireless connectivity. Key features highlighted include energy efficient transmission, outdoor and indoor coverage, and support for two-way communication of small payloads. Common use cases for SIGFOX technology include utility metering, smart cities, logistics tracking, and DIY IoT projects. The document also discusses SIGFOX's hardware partners and options for prototyping, as well as its data management capabilities including uplink and downlink messaging and callback APIs.

1. Get started with
SIGFOX
Iot Shifts, Barcelona — 2015.10.20

2. SIGFOX in a nutshell

3. About SIGFOX
• SIGFOX has invented a radiocommunication
protocol
• SIGFOX is operating a global network
• SIGFOX does not sell hardware components
• SIGFOX does not build connected solutions

4. Why SIGFOX
• Hub-based technologies are not compatible with
independent devices
• Need for a protocol designed for the IoT, and
not one tweaked to address it.

5. Ultra Narrow Band
• The SIGFOX protocol relies on the Ultra Narrow
Band technology, and a BPSK modulation
• A message : ~100Hz wide
• Each base station listens to a 200KHz part of the
spectrum
• Hard part: detect message without knowledge
of the precise frequency or schedule

6. Frequency used
• SIGFOX uses unlicensed sub-GHz bands :
• 868MHz in Europe
• 915MHz in the US

7. Unlicensed != unregulated
• SIGFOX complies with both ETSI (Europe) &
FCC (US) regulations
• ETSI : 1% duty cycle
• FCC : duration of emission

8. Core concepts
• Energy efficiency
• Very Long Range
• Out of the box connectivity
• Outdoor + Indoor
• Two-way communication
• Low bandwith, small messages
• Ultra Narrow Band

9. Energy efficiency
• Tx : ~25/30 mA pendant quelques secondes
• 99.x% of the time, device is silent
• Idle consumption is key
• Idle : a few µA

10. Very Long Range
• Countryside : 40, 50 kms
• Cities : A few kms
• Direct line of sight : wow !

11. Out of the box
• Network is serving the devices, not the other
way round
• Device simply sends a frame, message is
detected by n base stations
• Message is validated / deduplicated by our
backend

12. Outdoor + indoor
• 868MHz has good propagation properties
• But radio waves are not magic
• Consider ~20dB of attenuation indoor, and
~30dB for light underground or tricky buildings

13. Two-way communication
• No full duplex here
• Default behaviour: wake up, send, back to sleep
• No passive Rx mode
• Device can receive a message upon request
• Every communication is instigated by the device

14. Low bandwidth
• 100 bits / s
• 12 bytes per message

15. 12 bytes !?
• Yes. Seriously. 12 bytes.
• This is the available payload.
• You can put a lot of info in 96 bits
• 2^96 is a 30ish-digit number.
• 8 billions of billions of billions of possible values

16. How frequently ?
• 140 times a day

17. Coverage

18. Current - Nationwide
• France
• Netherlands
• Spain
• UK

19. Rollout in progress
• Belgium
• Denmark
• Italy
• Luxembourg
• Portugal

20. Rollout in progress
• Belgium
• Denmark
• Italy
• Luxembourg
• Portugal
• USA

21. Current - cities
• Bogota
• Dublin
• Milan
• Munich
• Santiago
• San Francisco
• …

22. USA
• Currently: San Francisco
• Early 2016 : 10 majors cities, including Atlanta,
Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles,
NY
• And we’re just starting :)

23. Use cases

24. Good use cases
• Not that talkative devices : small messages
every now and then
• Independent devices

25. Metering & utilities

26. Smart City

27. Ifttt-like
• Press the button, send an
empty frame & trigger any pre
determined action
• « Mom I’m home ! »
• « Get me a taxi»
• « Hey PizzaHut, remember ? Yes,
same than last time »

28. More
• Assisted .. and Predictive Maintenance
• Logistics : GPS Tracking
• Security
• Healthcare, stay-at-home people

29. DIY Projects
• Connected wine cellar. Because french.
• Connected cat food dispenser. Because cats.
• Kitchen garden: temperature, moisture, …
• GPS Tracking of anything

30. You ?
• You can build a PoC very quickly
• Lot of funny stuff to make
• And lot of $$$ to make too ;)
• KISS, dumb device means:
• Cheap
• Less prone to failure

31. IoT != Connected gadgets
Sexy Stuff
BORING
BUT USEFUL
IOT

32. Hardware

33. Hardware SIGFOX
• SIGFOX is not a hardware vendor
• Many established partners offer SIGFOX-ready
chips: Atmel, TI, Silicon Labs, Axsem, Atim, …
• Most Sub-GHz radio transceivers are
compatible, it’s just about a software upgrade.

34. Prototyping
• Arduino : Snootlab, Atmel
• Raspberry Pi : Yadom
• Can be bought one unit a time
• Get started within minutes
• Not for industrial use

35. Modules
• Easy to work with : AT commands
• Price range from ~10 to 20€
• Evaluation boards available from
manufacturers : Adeunis, Telecom Design,
Telit, ..

36. SoC, transceivers
• TI CC1120, Atmel, SiLabs, Axsem, ..
• Cheap
• More complex to work with if not familiar
• Certification needed if you don’t stick to the
provided ref design.

37. Antenna
• Critical when doing radio
• 868MHz -> best case is 17cm (lambda/2)
• Helicoidal, patch, … antennas possible.

38. Data management

39. Get your data
• 3 ways
• View - website
• Pull - HTTP API
• Push - HTTP Callback

40. Common use case :
push callbacks
• Get notified each time of your devices send a
message
• Can trigger whatever you want : alarm,
notification, data processing, …
• Example here: http://github.com/nicolsc/sigfox-
callback-demo

41. Downlink
• Message sent to a device can be
• Automatic with a pre configuration
• Sent from your own server

42. Downlink auto
• Simply set what message you want to send back
• Hardcoded
• Time, Station ID, .. for sync purposes

43. Downlink callback
• Same mechanism than the uplink callback
• Set up an URL
• An when called, send your 8-byte frame within
the response body

44. Me
Nicolas Lesconnec
Developer & Maker Evangelist
nicolas.lesconnec@sigfox.com
http://makers.sigfox.com
Twitter: @nlesconnec
Github: @nicolsc