Introduction

Dr Antony Rix

Weightless could be suitable for a wide variety of applications, from smart metering to healthcare and even asset tracking, as noted in Section 1.3. In this chapter we consider which application requirements fit well with Weightless, explore what is required to build a system that integrates with Weightless, and then look in more detail at example applications in automotive, energy, healthcare and consumer markets. This chapter is not a complete guide on building end-to-end services – substantial organisations exist with this as their main focus – but is intended to provide an informative introduction to some important considerations.

AlthoughWeightless is intended to be reasonably application-agnostic, it is important to understand that design decisions made in defining the standard, and the unlicensed nature of white space spectrum, place important limits on which applications will work best with a Weightless service. For example, while half-hourly readings from a utility meter could easily be sent over the Weightless system, video streaming would likely overload it.

Conversely, the requirements of some applications and business models do need to be addressed within the system, even potentially in the physical layer. Generally these requirements will be common to several markets, so the solutions are of quite generic benefit. Security is one of these requirements, and something which cellular networks address in detail. A topical example of why this is important could be the following. Consider a Weightless-connected diabetes monitor used by a celebrity. Machine IDs like MAC addresses are often assigned to manufacturers in ranges, each range to be used by a particular product to provide traceability, and thus identify not only the vendor but even the type of device. If the machine ID is sent unencrypted over the air, it might be possible for an attacker with a channel monitor to deduce that the celebrity has diabetes, track the celebrity’s movements, or even guess when the device is used. Appropriate security precautions in the system can make this difficult or infeasible.