UK IoT networking company Wyld Networks has launched a Bluetooth and Wi-Fi based mesh solution to connect sundry consumer and enterprise devices together as a mechanism for localised content marketing, access control, and social distancing.
The firm said its new Wyld Mesh and Wyld Fusion networking solution and content delivery platform is designed for consumer and enterprise networks at sporting events, retail venues, music festivals, and transport hubs. It can also be used to create virtual ‘geozones’ to manage access to sites, buildings and restricted areas and deliver location-aware messaging and safety information.
The app-based mesh component uses the device-to-device capability of peer-to-peer Bluetooth and Wi-Fi built into Apple and Android-based devices, working separately of cellular. Smartphones, tablets, and IoT devices can be connected together in multiple paths to a meshed multi-hop communication network that grows larger and more robust as more devices join the network.
The Wyld Fusion content platform is a multi-tenant integration and content curation platform that allows creation of new services and integration into third-party systems to deliver location-aware content into the mesh network.
The mesh functionality provides a picture of how social distancing is being practiced, the company said, allowing for better planning of building layouts, room occupancy, and workflow schedules. Subject to policy and privacy, employers could also alert users who have been in close contact with anyone tested positive for COVID-19, it suggested.
The Cambridge-based company has a deal with Highland Health Ventures, which works with NHS Highland, the European Space Agency, and the NEXUS life sciences cluster in Inverness, to develop health and care solutions. The new mesh platform is being deployed in care homes in Scotland, to provide coronavirus alerts around contact tracing and social distancing.
Alastair Williamson, chief executive at Wyld Networks, said: “By connecting smartphones directly together as well as IoT devices in a mesh network, we have created a new low-cost additional layer of robust wireless connectivity. Leveraging the resilient nature of the mesh network, our content delivery platform and accurate location capabilities, our solution has far ranging applications in multiple sectors.”
