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M2M Magazine Article Featuring Mayor Roy D. BuolM2M IMMO Connecting people, devices, and systems, M2M magazine is dedicated to helping vertical industry thought leaders realize the value of machine -to- machine communications through remote monitoring, RFID, sensor networking, smart services, telematics, and telemetry: the Six Pillars of M2M. PIONEERS It takes a little something extra to champion change in the face of uncertainty. These individuals have what it takes. They're teachers and technologists, educators and opportunists, entrepreneurs and enthusiasts. Some are focused on energy, others on automotive; some have the consumer in mind, while others are tackling healthcare head -on. Their backgrounds are diverse and market segments varied, but their drive to succeed and vision for achievement couldn't be more comparable. With each new year comes new opportunity and new challenge, and the 10 individuals named Pioneers for 2010 carry on the tradition of the men and women honored before them, championing change and innovation in the M2M (machine -to- machine) technology marketplace. Looking forward, the task at hand for these individuals is to continue forging new ground in the face of a changing marketplace. As new markets open up and customer segments expand, the opportunities become vast, as do the challenges. But what makes these individuals so unique to begin with is their ability to push forward and forge new ground in the face of adversity. On the pages that follow we honor 10 individuals that are truly pioneering a new direction in M2M technology. Check out past Pioneers winners at www.m2mmag.com. JEFFREY BEZOS ” ROGER DUNCAN GIB StiO" 11 9EAPH RODENBER ARWICK STAG ..ANiOlt l.. ._ rat ROY BUOL Jeffrey Bezos President and CEO Amazon.com www.amazon.com FlBSHMAN THEW GROWN . "95bi4ALD SiPEN - VANDAGENI Kindle Starts the Fire Jeff Bezos, president and CEO, Amazon.com, www.amazon.com, Seattle, Wash., recently said, `Long -form reading is losing ground to short-form reading." He continued that long -form remained an essential way of teaching; some things just can't be condensed to a short format. The goal at Amazon.com, the company that Bezos founded, was going to be to provide long -form reading with some of the best features allowed by the modern era of wireless electronics, all wrapped up in the ereader known as Kindle. The Kindle has radically transformed Amazon's ebook sales, which now account for 10% of the titles it sells. Bezos has always been interested in anything that can be revolutionized by computers. He graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa in electrical engineering and computer science from Princeton University in 1986. Then, in 1994, he designed a business model that leveraged the Internet's ability to deliver huge amounts of information rapidly and efficiently to create Amazon.com Inc. But retail was only a start as Bezos saw other areas that could benefit from computer technology. A spokesperson for Bezos recalls, "We (Amazon.com) as a company have been thinking about ebooks for some time. We experimented with them on our site. Several years ago we decided that if ebooks were going to take off that there needed to be a device that made the experience of ebooks better." When Amazon started out to improve upon the book, its bread and butter product in the retail segment, it knew that an audacious goal had been set for the company. The book has been the standard since the first century and despite many attempts, there had not been a practical, portable reader that made reading digital books better than reading physical books. "If we were going to be successful, we knew that we could not try to 'outbook the book' —we had to take everything we love about books and add breakthrough modern day conveniences," Bezos' spokesperson recalls. She continues, "The number -one design goal for Kindle was to make Kindle disappear. We wanted people to become so engrossed by the story within that they forget they are reading on a device. To do this, we set a few requirements for ourselves: "Kindle had to have ubiquitous wireless access —we had to let customers think of a book, anywhere they were, and have it in a minute. So we built our own wireless delivery system, Amazon Whispernet, that makes this possible. Kindle had to offer an engrossing reading experience —we had to make people forget they were reading on a device. So we gave Kindle an electronic paper screen that reads like real paper, and a design that makes it easy to hold and navigate for long -form reading." The latest version, the Kindle DX with global wireless, now has the convenience of wireless content delivery in more than 100 countries. By changing the way people interact with the written word while connecting them wirelessly throughout the world, Bezos has truly led a pioneering effort in M2M. Return to Top. M2M Mayor In 2009, IBM, www.ibm.com, Armonk, N.Y., announced the first U.S. city to be part of its Smart City program: Dubuque, Iowa. During the next several years, sensors, software, and Internet computing will give the city's government and citizens the digital tools to measure, monitor, and alter the way they use water and electricity. The goal, says IBM, is to develop and pilot a systematic mechanism to give consumers and businesses the necessary information for making informed decisions about how they consume resources like electricity, Dubuque, Iowa water, natural gas, and oil. Based on that criteria, it is easy to see why www.cityofdubuque.org Dubuque was tops on the list, given its track record of successful public /private partnerships and strong belief in sustainability from both its citizens and businesses. Roy Buol Mayor Dubuque's effort to become the "Smartest City" represents the work of many people and was led by one pioneering mayor, Roy Buol, who campaigned on a "sustainability" platform in 2005 and has been working to keep that promise ever since. "The whole sustainability thing for me really began when my wife and I started being blessed with children —we now have seven grandchildren. All the discussion on climate change and its effect really piqued my interest and the more I got involved in it, read and researched it, the more interest I had in trying to come up with solutions." Dubuque developed a citizens' task force, a group that actually developed the sustainability program and brought it back to the city council for final approval. This, along with the public /private partnerships it created, was a key reason why Dubuque was chosen for the Smart City program. According to Buol, "They chose us to model after because they know you need citizen input and buy -in when talking about putting meters in people's homes and gathering information. You have to have a population that believes in the benefits of sustainability." Although the program is just starting, there is a feeling that success will benefit everyone. Buol sees the potential and has a vision for how it will contribute to lowering energy consumption. Buol says, "It has tremendous potential to not only change how we view and consume energy and resources but also how to use realtime information to save money. The individual homeowner can look at how they use energy and change their behavior based on realtime information so they can not only reduce usage but save money in the process." The first phase will involve installing digital water and electricity meters in 250 homes and businesses. The smart water meters include special low -flow sensing technology from a local manufacturer that will help the public works department and residences reduce water use and detect leaks. An estimated 30% of households use water unnecessarily because of undetected leakage in faucets and toilets. The smart electric meters will help households track their energy use and conserve. They will be able to go to a Website and set household temperatures a few degrees cooler in the winter or warmer in the summer and see the savings in energy use and monthly bills. Buol was the first Dubuque mayor to join the U.S. Conference of Mayors in the city's 176 -year history. He joined the mayor's climate protection group and signed onto its climate protection agreement and then went back to his city council and helped them set the goals that have led Dubuque to the center of the Smart City movement. Return to Top. Roger Duncan General Manager Austin Energy The Energy Driver www.austinenergy.com Austin Energy, www.austinenergy.com, Austin, Texas, is the ninth largest public power utility in the country with more than $1.2 billion in annual revenue. The company, which has a goal that 30% of the power it provides by 2020 will come from renewable resources, is currently at 12% -built on contracts for the annual output of 439 megawatts of wind turbines located in West Texas. Last year it completed the installation of smart meters for all 400,000 of Austin's electricity customers, making the utility one of the first in the country with system -wide smart meter capability. The meters transmit readings via radio and are capable of signaling a power outage and then confirming once power has been restored. Roger Duncan, as a two -term Austin City Council member in the early 1980s, helped establish Austin's conservation and sustainability emphasis. He joined Austin Energy in 1998 as vice president of conservation, renewable, and environmental policy. Appointed general manager in 2008, today Duncan sets strategy for the utility and has put together its innovation road map. The "Power Partner Thermostat" program Austin developed is an example of an incentive -based demand reduction program that delivers significant value to both customers and the utility. Austin Energy's thermostat cycling program is the largest in the nation with 86,000 customers participating. Duncan explains, "We offer radio controlled thermostats to our residential customers and it allows us, on a hot summer afternoon, to send a signal and cycle the air conditioning units on and off. The agreement we have with the customer is that during peak periods of energy use we will cycle their air conditioner off for 10 minutes every thirty minutes." Duncan notes, "We don't cycle all the air conditioners off at once, we do a third of a system at a time, we sort of roll it around the city and it has substantial energy savings for us. The summer of 2009 was very hot and we picked up an average of around 30 megawatts of energy savings when we trigger the program. One time we cut them all off for 15 minutes, we dropped almost 90 megawatts of power, so it is substantial energy savings for the utility. And when you cycle it off 10 minutes after every 30 minutes in the afternoon, it doesn't affect the comfort level much at all." The thermostats cost the utility about $250 each but, as Duncan says, "When you compare it to the cost of building a new peaking power plant to cover the 100 megawatts of spikes, that's well worth the cost." Duncan majored in philosophy but has always been interested in technology. "I believe there will have to be a machine interface between the electric grid and the building that will respond to pricing from the utility and start controlling the building use. What I have said is that, in the future, buildings themselves will become the energy drivers. When you have intelligent energy management systems developing the load and determining when load is needed and when loading can be shed, and you combine that with onsite generation both producing power for the building and selling power back on the grid, that is the future of energy." Duncan announced his retirement, effective March 1, 2010. M2M is proud to call him a Pioneer and wishes him luck in his retirement. Return to Top. Hod Fleishman Co- founder and Chief of Safety GreenRoad www.greenroad.com Driving Performance As a stand -up comic will tell you, "It's all in the timing." No matter what data is collected, if the interpretation and analysis of that data is delayed, events will happen that could be controlled, but might not be. In the case of accident data, knowing what happened helps in preventing it next time, but knowing while it is happening can prevent it from causing problems the first time. That is one reason for the products from GreenRoad, www.greenroad.com, Redwood Shores, Calif. Hod Fleishman, co- founder and chief of safety, GreenRoad, recalls how it all started. "The challenge that we were facing was that we wanted to find a scaleable way of helping drivers drive safer and lower risks. Our approach can also help drivers reduce emissions and improve fuel economy based on their driving. We had to find some type of automated, credible way of collecting the information which describes driver behavior in realtime. That got us thinking about new technology, measure and feedback, driver behavior, and other options." There are a wide variety of digital tools available to report on the vehicle's performance and status at any given time. All cars and most trucks built since 1996 have incorporated an OBD II (on -board diagnostics, series II) module that provides data streams on many functions of the vehicle. However, these are vehicle- centric, reporting what the vehicle does or how the vehicle performs. Fleishman says, "What we're interested in is how the driver is performing. To this end, there's no need for us to connect to the OBD or any other sensor in the car at all —we use our own sensors to measure the forces impacting the vehicle. The data that we collect describes a driver's behavior, not a vehicle's behavior, and the choices drivers make while driving, which actually define how low- or high -risk they are. This is the information that we're after." Unlike video -based systems that capture only infrequent extreme events, the GreenRoad service provides an evaluation of every driving event before a crash occurs. The system provides immediate feedback to the driver, and provides management with the detailed information and visibility needed to coach drivers. GreenRoad Live measures G- forces affecting a vehicle as it is driven. Its sensors analyze up to 120 separate driving events and the data is then transmitted, in realtime, to a set of red, yellow, and green LED lights in the vehicle to provide the driver with immediate feedback. You know what is happening —how you are driving —while it is happening, not through a report a week later. GreenRoad Live also transmits the safety data via cellular modem to GreenRoad's servers where overall driving risk and skills are evaluated. Patented algorithms associate risk with vehicle movement and categories of driving to assess driver safety. This data feed automatically updates the online reports and analysis available to drivers and fleet managers through GreenRoad Central. While the data is transmitted over cellular data modems it is also stored locally in the vehicle's unit in case you're out of cellular coverage for a while. Fleishman served as CEO for GreenRoad's first four years and now leads partnership development and drives implementation of data -based safety programs. He says, "M2M basically makes our approach possible; without M2M it would be impossible to collect realtime information, on multiple drivers, and give feedback to many drivers simultaneously." Return to Top. Dwight Gibson Vice President and General Manager, Connected Home Solutions Ingersoll Rand, the parent company of Schlage www.link.schlage.com security. Opening the Door Security is one of the major applications for M2M in commercial and industrial use. Although the concept of the "connected home" has been around for a while, not many companies offer a true M2M approach to One that does is Schlage, www.schlage.com, Carmel, Ind., with its Schlage's LiNK system. Going beyond the digital code keypad added to the deadbolt lock, this system adds remote monitoring via the Internet, alerts to a BlackBerry or iPhone when a door is opened if security is breached, and multiple accessories connected to the home's wireless network including security cameras and light controls. Dwight Gibson graduated magna cum laude from Howard University in 1996 and later from Stanford University with an MBA. At 35, he is vice president and general manager, Connected Home Solutions, Ingersoll Rand Residential Solutions, and oversees its Schlage Link remote home - monitoring product. Gibson and his team have delivered Schlage LINK from the drawing board to the end user, heavily promoting it through television advertising and other media. He recalls how the company entered the M2M arena. "We introduced an electronic locking product for the home in late 2006 —it was basically a lock that you didn't need a key for that used a four digit code. The response we got was so overwhelming in terms of sales that we went from zero to number -one in the market. But customers started saying, 'Wow this is cool and it would be even cooler if I could manage it remotely.' That's what got us started." The other big trigger was Ingersoll Rand's acquisition of Trane, the air conditioning company. "At that point we started down the path of what we were calling our communicating lock," Gibson says. "We thought we had the opportunity to speak to some of the critical needs homeowners had, being able to not only manage and control access to the home but also being able to control energy and comfort. The result was Schlage LiNK." There are three pieces to the LINK system —the device you interact with, a bridge that allows the devices to communicate within the home network, and the application interfaces you use to get information or communicate with the lock. According to Gibson, "All the communications between lock and bridge are encrypted and all the communications between the bridge and the server are also encrypted. You get a starter kit that comes with one bridge, a lock— either a deadbolt or a lever —and one plug -in light module. You can add other locks, cameras, a thermostat, additional lights, and Z -Wave enabled outlets. In fact, anything that you can plug into an outlet you can control, up to 230 -plus different devices." The lock itself is battery powered, not dependent upon the electric power system. All the codes are stored locally on the lock so whether you have power or not you can still get into your home and it has a key back -up. The lock will even send an email when the battery gets low. In addition, you can change codes via the Web or a Web - capable cell phone; you can assign temporary codes, and you can get notification when a code has been used and at what door. Schlage LINK locks are the first Z- Wave - enabled locks and work seamlessly with more than 300 other Z- Wave - enabled home automation devices including products ranging from lighting and temperature to pool and spa controls. Schlage recently demonstrated how its wireless keypad locks can be integrated into a comprehensive home - security solution that works with a variety of security control panels, all through the Alarm.com, www.alarm.com, Tysons Corner, Va., platform, which integrates professional security monitoring services provided by third -party central stations with Alarm.com's easy -to -use Web and mobile security monitoring tools. Integration can also be done with other Z- Wave - enabled devices including lighting and the Trane Remote Energy Management Thermostat. Gibson is positive on the future of M2M in the home security field, saying, "We really believe this will be a significant driver or enabler of the future of our business. So M2M is absolutely strategic for us." Return to Top. Matthew Growney Founder and CEO Isabella Products www.isabellaproducts.com friends and family, the value A Thousand Words If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much is an automatically updating digital picture frame worth? The digital photo frame, displaying pictures stored in the frame's memory chip, has been around for a few years. In various sizes, these products range in price and can be bought anywhere electronics are sold. But those are simple computer monitors in disguise, showing photos you have to manually load onto the device. What if the frame was connected to the greatest storage facility in the world, the Internet? By adding a cellular connection to let the frame access an Internet "cloud" filled with photos from goes sky high —or cloud high at least. That's precisely what Matthew Growney, CEO and founder, Isabella Products, www.isabellaproducts.com, Concord, Mass., thought. "The idea was based around connecting the unconnected," Growney says. "We wanted to connect things like a photo frame and other unconnected devices to offer a very rich mobile Internet experience. Isabella has become one of the first true mobile Internet device companies. We don't just deliver a browser you open up; instead, we worked very hard on our back -end, in what we think is a very rich fashion, and shuttle images back and forth over the cellular network between this back - end and a network of devices." Isabella's Vizit frame is a connected terminal device with a 10.4 -inch LED (light emitting diode) backlit touchscreen that uses a cloud storage environment, accessed via an individual's account at VizitMe.com, Isabella's Website where Vizit frame owners can store and remotely manage their photos. From VizitMe.com, users can build a community of friends and family with whom they can share photos. Somewhat similar to the social networking ideas of Facebook and MySpace, friends and family can be "whitelisted" to be permitted to upload photos to your account to share them with you. The Vizit frame can automatically download the images to display them at any time. Growney explains, "We didn't want somebody to have to leave the frame to go to a PC just to send a photo; we let them send it right from the frame. On the other side, you can send photos to your frame or that of your friends via regular email when you're already on the PC. The sharing aspect today is about social networking online, what we've done is connect the analog version of sharing, our physical frames, with the online richness of being able to basically send photos within minutes covering thousands of miles very seamlessly." He adds, "We let the subscriber pull down the content by simply touching the screen. They don't necessarily know if they have new content, but all they have to do is wake up the device by touching it and then it queries and pulls down all the new content. Return to Top. Dolph Roden berg President TED Knows The growing need for electric power is taxing the capabilities of many generating facilities across the nation. Utilities are scrambling to get "smart meters" and the "smart grid" up and running quickly to prevent brown -outs and blackouts caused by surges in peak power usage. While companies like Whirlpool and Austin Energy (see their Pioneer pages this issue) are making inroads with intelligent Energy Inc. sensors and meters that can remotely regulate energy www.theenergydetective.com consumption, individual consumers are being asked to monitor their electricity use and offered both negative and positive incentives such as higher peak time rates (negative) and lower off -peak rates (positive). But how can households know what their electricity usage is on a minute -by- minute basis instead of only finding out after getting that once a month bill? TED knows. And Dolph Rodenberg, president, Energy Inc., www.theenergydetective.com, Charleston, S.C., wants you to listen to TED. TED —short for The Energy Detective —is a simple yet accurate home energy monitor that allows consumers to see electricity usage in realtime. With a patented solution to home energy management, TED quantifies electricity and displays the results on an easy -to -read LCD screen, your PC or Mac, or on a mobile device. Rodenberg explains his approach by saying, "We believe that technology is growing at an exponential rate. People want information, and they want it fast. Instead of waiting for a monthly bill from a utility, we wanted to create a device that would allow customers to view their electricity usage immediately. (TED) helps customers receive and transfer data in three different ways: on the wireless display (using ZigBee wireless), through their home computer, or through their wireless router, a method which allows TED customers to view information remotely. All of these options allow customers to instantly see their electricity usage, updated every second." The complete TED 5000 system includes one gateway, one pair of CTs (current transformers), one MTU (measuring transmitting unit), and the optional TED 5000 Display. Users who choose to simply access their data via computer can opt for a display -free system. The MTU measures and transmits energy, power, and voltage to the gateway, the heart of TED 5000. The Gateway plugs into any outlet in the home, receives and stores data from the MTU, and transmits the data wirelessly to the display at user - defined intervals. The gateway connects to a computer via Ethernet for programming /Internet access, as well as downloading detailed energy usage data. Using M2M technology and business alliances, Rodenberg has moved the consumer into the future of energy conservation. He notes, "We have partnered with Google PowerMeter in order to use M2M technology to allow comparison of electricity usage. Once activated, Google PowerMeter will communicate with the gateway through a wireless router and will collect and store the information for customers. Because TED's code is open source, we have had a variety of third - party design applications. In particular, several iPhone applications use M2M technology. In a very short while, customers will be able to remotely adjust their heating and air conditioning systems using a TED application while driving home from work to ensure that their home is warm in winter and cool in summer when they arrive." In the energy industry, companies are seeking ways to save their customers from the aggravation of brown -outs and blackouts caused by peak power overloads. But they want to do it without the cost of building new generating plants while trying to get wind, solar, and alternate generating facilities in place. People are looking for ways to use less electricity while saving money. As Rodenberg says, "M2M technology will continue to grow, as can be seen with the growing popularity of home automation systems." Return to Top. Donald Spence CEO Rest, Assured Shakespeare's Hamlet said, "To sleep, perchance to dream ... ay, there's the rub ... for in that sleep of death what dreams may come ... " For most, that is poetry, but for many people, the quote speaks to a daily concern they suffer: sleep apnea. Described as a disruption of breathing while asleep, sleep apnea is a deceiving sleep disorder -90% of people who have it don't know that they have it. Although episodes of choking or gasping for air might occur hundreds of times throughout the night, the sufferer may not have any recollection of struggling for Philips Home breath upon waking in the morning. Healthcare Solutions Medical science has been working with device developers for decades www.respironics . com to find a way to monitor the sleep breathing of known or potential sufferers of sleep apnea. One company that has made inroads towards a practical solution is Philips Healthcare and its Home Healthcare Solutions division, www.respironics.com, Murrysville, Pa. A new wireless, intelligent sleep apnea therapy system is the company's most sophisticated offering to date. One of the men behind this device is Donald Spence, CEO, Home Healthcare Solutions, who previously served as the president of the Sleep and Home Respiratory Group for Respironics. Philips acquired Respironics in 2008. According to Spence, "We were first to commercialize continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices for treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in 1985. Since that time, we have made ongoing advancements in sleep therapy. Our new sleep therapy system provides a range of advanced therapy options, advanced event detection software, and expanded reporting capabilities with the ability to recognize and report when a patient may be experiencing symptoms beyond obstructive sleep apnea." The new system integrates a module that enables two -way communications between the device and Philips' EncoreAnywhere Web -based platform. The device automatically sends patient data over the wireless networks to the secure Web portal where doctors can analyze timely, accurate patient data and instantly change prescriptions. A new pressure prescription can then be sent over the air to the device, improving treatment response time, patient outcomes and comfort. Further, medical professionals have easy access to sleep assessment parameters typically found on diagnostic equipment. HME (home medical equipment) providers can easily access and report patient usage information that is often required for reimbursement. Spence recalls, "Approximately 10 years ago, we integrated smart cards in our CPAP systems to simplify reporting for home medical equipment providers —our customers —and physicians. From there, we developed a wired machine that could communicate directly with the HME's computer much like a fax machine. Soon after, we developed and introduced a wired connection. "That system worked very well but the challenge became mobility. Since many patients travel for business or pleasure, the logical next step was a wireless device that leveraged the key experience and intelligence developed by Philips Respironics' years of innovation. We worked collaboratively to design the wireless integration with the TC65i module. The new Sleep Therapy System can be used anywhere a GSM wireless signal is present," he says. The home healthcare vertical market is poised for growth and Philips Healthcare, with its Home Healthcare Solutions, is on the verge of becoming a leader in many categories. As Spence notes, "We are delighted to demonstrate our commitment to developing smart technology that contributes to improved healthcare. For the future, we envision greater patient access, increased patient engagement, and better management of chronic conditions in the home." Return to Top. The `Smart' Cycle The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, better known as the economic stimulus bill, made funds available for a variety of infrastructure projects around the country, including the smart grid electric system. Grant applications were prepared by thousands of companies to access funds that could bring both jobs and economic benefit to the nation. One such company was Whirlpool Corp., www.whirlpoolcorp.com, Benton Harbor, Mich. As part of the U.S. Dept. of Energy's (DOE), www.doe.gov, Washington, D.C., Smart Grid Investment Grant Program, Whirlpool received a grant of $19.3 million throughout a two year period —which Whirlpool Whirlpool will match with its own investments —to help the company www.whirlpoolcorp.com accelerate its delivery of smart appliances that can connect with the smart grid. For example, the company announced that in 2011 it would deliver one million U.S. - manufactured smart dryers capable of reacting intelligently to signals from the smart grid by modifying their energy consumption. In markets where utilities offer variable or time -of -use Warwick Stirling Global Director of Energy and Sustainability pricing, these dryers could save a typical consumer $20 -$40 per year, while also benefitting the environment. Warwick Stirling, global director of energy and sustainability, along with Henry Marcy, vice president of technology, was responsible for getting the smart grid investment grant. By applying M2M technologies, Whirlpool intends to save both its customers and local utilities money and electricity. Stirling comments, "Whirlpool has been looking at M2M for more than 10 years. For a long time, we've thought about ways to connect appliances in the home and I think that the technology has a lot more potential now, and the consumer value proposition is starting to become a lot more compelling." Whirlpool is going to be running pilots on 10 different technologies in the summer of 2010 and then working toward production units being in the market late in the year or by early 2011. "We're looking at a full suite of products— dishwashers, dryers, refrigerators, and water heaters," explains Stirling. "Each of those is slightly different in terms of the way we would want to control them and do energy management. When we look at M2M, it represents the connectivity piece and once we have that connectivity, and learn what we can do with it, it will take off. And one of the applications is smart energy." Most people don't realize how much power a dryer consumes — anywhere from 4,000 to 6,000 watts during the peak cycle when it's using the heating elements. Stirling notes, "If we need to do load shedding and the utility sends a signal asking us to shed the load while the dryer is running, we still want to maintain all the benefits of the dryer without getting clothes wrinkled. One way to do that is to progressively shut down the heating element; it would be running at about 200 watts, just tumbling using the residual heat and the drying would continue without getting the clothes wrinkled. Even so, we've shed at least 4,000 watts — that's a fairly big load shift. From the consumer's point of view they don't really notice anything different with the dryer, it's still tumbling; the only thing they would notice is the cycle might take a bit longer." There are still technology hurdles to be overcome in terms of how the appliances talk to each other but in general, the executives and a lot of engineers at Whirlpool are very excited about having connected appliances. As Stirling admits, "Once you connect the appliance, there are many things you can do so there is a much bigger value -added in terms of the way the customer uses the product. You really have to work with the power companies, for instance, to get them to have the sensors in their smart grid to identify when the shedding of energy is necessary and to notify the smart appliances. We are working with a lot of the leading utility companies across the country, and we're also working with some of the standards - setting bodies to make this all happen." Return to Top. Doug VanDagens Director of Connected Service Solutions Ford Motor Co. www.ford.com In the Driver's Seat It seems like a long time since we last saw a headline proclaiming a U.S. car company was leading the pack. But it happened in January 2010 when Toyota, www.toyota.co.jp, Tokyo, Japan, the perennial leader, was outsold by the Ford Motor Co., www.ford.com, Dearborn, Mich. Also in January, analysts claimed sales of in- vehicle technology topped $9.3 billion in 2009 and Ford reported that 32% of Ford buyers indicated that Sync, its connected car system, was critical or important in their purchase decision. Even better news for the company was that 70% of potential customers who took Sync demos across the country indicated that they were more likely to buy a Ford vehicle. Ford Sync — developed in cooperation with Microsoft —is a fully integrated, in- vehicle voice - activated telematics system with such features as 911 Assist, Vehicle Health Report, and GPS- based features including business search and call completion. 911 Assist will place a call to a local emergency operator in the event of an air bag deployment. The latest version of Ford Sync, which will roll out on vehicles this year, adds traffic reports, directions, and turn -by -turn route guidance into one "connected driver experience" called MyFord. This new connectivity replaces many traditional vehicle buttons, knobs, and gauges. With more voice commands, LCD screens that can be customized, and five -way buttons like those on cell phones and MP3 players, drivers can choose which information is front and center by a button click, voice command, or touch - screen tap. One of the guiding lights at Ford for the Sync program is Doug VanDagens, director of connected service solutions. Though he currently leads a 40- member team at Ford's in- vehicle technologies group, VanDagens has worked in international operations, business development and joint ventures, finance, marketing, power train, and vehicle engineering. "I've helped Ford launch everything from recycling centers to customer call centers and complicated telematics joint ventures with companies such as Sprint and Qualcomm," says VanDagens. "Wherever I've gone, I've always looked for the opportunity to develop a new technology or take an existing product, create a new market for it, and successfully sell it to customers." When discussing the development of Ford Sync, VanDagens recalls, "In 2002, Ford started a series of discussions with the wireless companies to learn more about Bluetooth technology, which at that point wasn't a well - established standard. When Alan Mulally became president and CEO (of Ford) in 2006, he liked our idea so much Ford set up Connected Services as its own independent organization." He continues, "I think one of things that will govern how quickly and how ubiquitously telematics will emerge in the automotive industry is its relevance —you really have to have a use for it in the car. For instance, traffic directions, access to businesses, access to contact lists; these are all things people want in the car. A lot of companies offer some version of telematics just on their high -end, luxury vehicles with a significant monthly service fee. That's not the Ford way —it's got to be affordable." VanDagens and Ford bring telematics to the everyday driver, and the road ahead seems wide open. Return to Top. Tom Inglesby is a contributing writer for M2M magazine.