Esensors to develop bluetooth sensors gateway for smart building, IoT

NEW YORK, USA: Esensors Inc., An electronic sensor development company has announced that it is developing an Internet gateway for Bluetooth LE enabled sensors -- A crowdfunding project -- which is aimed at smart buildings, smart grid and Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

The gateway is based on a standard Linux platform with a Bluetooth wireless transceiver which processes and reformats sensor data as Internet/Ethernet accessible formats, said a press release.

"The intention is to provide APIs which will translate data from commercially available Bluetooth sensors into standard Internet formats," the release said and further added that Esensors will rely on its experience in designing Websensors and other IP enabled sensors, as well as its experience in standards development, to provide a quick solution.

Bluetooth LE has become a preferred choice for many wireless sensor applications because of its attractive features, including automatic configuration (plug&play), good range, low power consumption and low cost. However most Bluetooth enabled sensors can only be readily accessed by cell phones or tablets, which are appropriate for personal sensors such as heart rate monitors, but not for those intended for smart buildings.

For these applications continuous access to the Internet is needed, as provided by a gateway. Presently available Bluetooth gateways or access points are not LE enabled, do not provide sensor interfaces and have prices several times that of our proposed solution. The current focus is on sensors for the smart grid and smart buildings, said Esensors.

The release further added that the company supports standards development, in particular IEEE 21451.