Thus, the ARTEMIS project DEWI („Dependable Embedded Wireless Infrastructure“) will provide key solutions for wireless seamless connectivity and interoperability in smart cities and infrastructures, by considering everyday physical environments of citizens in buildings, cars, trains and aeroplanes, which will significantly contribute to the emerging smart home and smart public space.

DEWI-Map_1000

The DEWI Sensor & Communication Bubble

To make this possible DEWI introduces the concept of a locally adaptable wireless “sensor & communication bubble” (DEWI Bubble), featuring: locally confined wireless internal and external access; secure and dependable wireless communication and safe operation; fast, easy and stressfree access to smart environments; flexible elf-organisation, reconfiguration, resilience and adaptability; open solutions and standards for cross-domain reusability and interoperability.

The DEWI Bubble consists of 3 main elements:

  • Sensor and actuator nodes
  • Gateways, serving as interfaces between different bubbles or to the external world
  • Users (internal and external), human or machine

In addition, the bubble consists of appropriate extensions that provide functions for the bubble such as flexible data acquisition, aggregation and fusion, smart architecture, HW/SW co-design, security/data protection/authorization, re/auto/self-configuration, intelligent energy management and energy generation, reliability/robustness/safety, wireless standards, wireless sensor/device detection & localization.

Several different wireless communication technologies can be used within such a bubble. DEWI has a clear focus on shortrange technologies and corresponding standards such as Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11), ZigBee, WirelessHART, ISA100 (IEEE 802.15.4), Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15.1), NFC (ISO 15408 und ISO 14443/ ISO 15693), 6LoWPAN/ IPv6 (PFC 4919), ZWave (ITU-T G.9959), TETRA, TETRAPOL (PMR) or DLNA (UPnP). In this context, not all nodes necessarily need to be wirelessly connected to each other; in this case, other nodes can act as relays. DEWI bubbles can also have different topological layouts and be organized as distributed (ad-hoc) or centralized networks. Incidentally, the DEWI Bubble is principally autonomous and should not be regarded as solely an extension to the Internet or as a first/last mile solution.

Addressing societal challenges

The application innovations provided by DEWI fully addresses specific societal challenges, as supported by ARTEMIS, such as “Green, safe & supportive transportation” and “Smart buildings & communities of the future”. These solutions will allow citizens (both private and professional) more local personal control, less stress, lower overhead and increased comfort and safety in everyday life. With its four industrial domains (Aeronautics, Automotive, Rail and Building), DEWI will add clear benefits to interoperability and cross-domain issues in the area of wireless sensor networks and wireless communication, in terms of the reusability of technological bricks, as well as architecture, processes and methods. Consequently, the currently fragmented research results will be integrated into a harmonised architecture for dependable wireless systems development, building on and extending existing domainspecific and domain-independent standards.

DEWI will also contribute to emerging international standards, will influence upcoming regulations and will lay the basis for efficient certification processes. DEWI will significantly contribute to and benefit from existing ARTEMIS Tool Platforms, the ARTEMIS Repository and ARTEMIS sub-programmes, with its well-defined technology items providing concrete input and applications such as embedded systems for healthcare profiting from strategic input.

Critical mass and strong symbiosis

As a large and strategic initiative, DEWI involves 58 key European Embedded Systems players in transportation and building automation – both LEs, SMEs and academia – from 11 EU countries. This creates the necessary critical mass to achieve both societal impact regarding future safer transport and building and technological advances in terms of cross-domain, platform-based reusability. In general, DEWI will raise awareness, as well as prepare the ground, for the broad introduction of wireless sensor networks and wireless communication. This is made possible by a strong symbiosis between industry, research, and education and is underpinned by the equivalent of 130 dedicated persons working full-time for 3 years in the DEWI project.

DEWI will really help boost employability in Europe, by opening up novel business opportunities and new markets, in particular for European SMEs in cooperation with LEs having direct global market access (DEWI has an outstanding ratio of SMEs to LEs of 2:3). Thus, DEWI will create new high-quality sustainable jobs and will promote academic education in the area of wireless sensor networks & wireless communication. Eventually, DEWI wants to foster Europe’s leading edge position in the design, development and deployment of smart dependable wireless environments, in particular regarding quality, cost effectiveness, composability, flexibility, reusability, acceleration of time-to market, continuous integration of innovations and sustainability. It will strengthen European competitiveness and will increase the reliability of wireless communication, to enable new markets and societal applications for citizens.