Think back to a Friday afternoon in high school&hellip; you probably couldn&rsquo;t wait to get out of the building and go out with your friends or catch up on your favorite television show. &nbsp;
But, last Friday, roughly 50 high school students from George Washington Carver High School for Engineering and Science located in Philadelphia, PA elected to stay at school to learn about preparing for a future in a STEM-related field.
InterDigital&rsquo;s John Kaewell, Engineering Fellow, organized a group of engineers that included Mike Jeronis, Vice President, Research &amp; Development; Catalina Mladin, Member of Technical Staff; and Bob Flynn, Senior Staff Engineer, to participate in a STEM mentoring session led by Dr. Ted Domers, Principal of George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science. &nbsp;
The mentoring session consisted of InterDigital staffers rotating through four round table discussions with the highly motivated students. Students posed questions such as how did the engineers choose their university, <a href="/presentations/5g-is-coming">what is 5G</a>, what programing languages and tools are used in their work, what a typical work day contained, and what&rsquo;s the most valuable advice the engineers ever received. &nbsp;It was an extremely successful session for both the students and the engineers! So much so that the group plans to tour the students around the InterDigital offices and attend another mentoring session in the fall. Kudos to John for leading this great opportunity! &nbsp;
The mentoring event is just another example of how committed InterDigital is to investing in the ideas and people of the future. We&rsquo;ve supported several local STEM-related efforts, including sponsorships of the&nbsp;<a href="http://ir.interdigital.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=868009">Delaware Children's Museum Junior Engineers Program</a> and a&nbsp;<a href="http://ir.interdigital.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=905267">wireless communications laboratory</a> at Delaware State University.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.interdigital.com/all_results?search_query=stem&amp;search_button=Search">Click here</a> to see more on InterDigital and STEM education.

InterDigital Engineers mentor on a future in STEM

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education is a key to the next generation of researchers, engineers and business leaders as well as the competitiveness of our nation in an increasingly interconnected global economy. <a href="http://www.delawareonline.com/story/opinion/contributors/2015/06/05/businesses-make-stem-difference-schools/28572123/">DelawareOnline </a>recently published an article written by Bill Merritt, President and CEO of InterDigital, which emphasizes the need for an increase in support of STEM education in America.
As a mobile technology research and development company, InterDigital depends on the next generation of researchers, engineers and business leaders to emerge from the work being done in elementary, secondary and post-secondary schools. In the article, Merritt discusses the current under-performance in STEM throughout American school systems and explains the lack of interest in STEM careers even though the number of STEM-related jobs is growing twice as fast as other fields.
&ldquo;That's not something we would like to have; it is something we must have if our company is going to prosper long-term. And there are literally thousands more companies like us, facing this high-skilled labor shortage, in Delaware and across the nation,&rdquo; said Merritt on investments in education and research. Mr. Merritt calls on American companies, the U.S. Government, state governments and U.S. Congress to take action and make a difference in the educational opportunities for STEM.
InterDigital is committed to investing in the ideas and people of the future and has been an active supporter of the STEM community. Recently, the company's local STEM-related efforts include sponsorships of the&nbsp;<a href="http://ir.interdigital.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=868009">Delaware Children's Museum Junior Engineers Program</a> and <a href="http://ir.interdigital.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=905267">wireless communications laboratories at Delaware State University</a>.
To read the full article, please <a href="http://www.delawareonline.com/story/opinion/contributors/2015/06/05/businesses-make-stem-difference-schools/28572123/">click here</a>.

Merritt Calls for Support of STEM Education in the U.S.

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is vital not only for the success of the wireless technology industry, but also for future generations to be encouraged to grow in new directions.&nbsp; InterDigital is committed to the advancement of STEM education and is always excited to pursue new opportunities that support our local communities.&nbsp; Thus, we are thrilled to share that our Internet of Things (IoT) business unit recently sponsored a set of IoT kits for a high school program with which one of our consultants, Nadine Manjaro, is involved.
In October 2016, Nadine presented to a group of STEM Themed Institute students at New Brunswick High School in New Brunswick, New Jersey.&nbsp; New Brunswick High School provides students with the chance to learn in smaller learning communities, which are split into four overall &ldquo;Themed Institutes,&rdquo; including STEM; Fine, Visual &amp; Performing Arts; Law, Human &amp; Public Service; and Humanities.
Nadine, an alumnae of New Brunswick High School, was inspired to pursue her career in engineering after professionals came to the school when she was attending to share their love of STEM with her and her classmates.&nbsp; Her story helped her connect with the students at the school, whose population is over 90% minority students from lower-income backgrounds.&nbsp; As an immigrant, Nadine overcame a number of challenges on her path to engineering success, but her commitment and passion for STEM enabled her to earn undergraduate degrees in both Industrial Engineering and Economics, as well as a master&rsquo;s degree in Engineering Management.
Nadine&rsquo;s presentation and the positive feedback it received was the catalyst that inspired her to develop a program that introduces students to the IoT and create a dialogue that highlights the merits of a STEM-related career.&nbsp; She is fiercely dedicated to encouraging the next generation to pursue STEM careers, and hopes to replicate her experience with other lower-income high school students as an extension of her work in IoT. &nbsp;Nadine shared this enthusiasm with InterDigital&rsquo;s IoT business unit leaders, and they readily jumped on board to sponsor IoT starter kits in support of the cause.
The goal of Nadine&rsquo;s project is to give students a hands-on demonstration of IoT in hopes of generating interest and motivation to pursue careers within the growing STEM field.&nbsp; InterDigital celebrates Nadine&rsquo;s efforts to help the local community and is proud of her support of furthering STEM education.&nbsp; We are excited to see what great stories and conversations come out of this initiative!

InterDigital Works to Advance the IoT and STEM Education with High School Students

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education is essential to the growth and development of our country. InterDigital is committed to the importance of STEM education and has actively driven support in the STEM community through its sponsorship of the <a class="offsite" href="http://www.delawarechildrensmuseum.org/junior-engineers/">Delaware Children&rsquo;s Museum Junior Engineers Program</a>. The company encourages employees to become engaged in local STEM education efforts and is proud to share one of the latest efforts by advanced video research technical staff member, Yong He.
Last Saturday, the math team of Black Mountain Middle School won first place among 40 plus Southern California middle school teams and made history with the first female student to win first place as an individual at the MATHCOUNTS Competition Series held at University of California Irvine.
InterDigital&rsquo;s Yong He has been the competition coach for the Black Mountain Middle School math team located in Rancho Penasquitos, San Diego for the past two years. He received the 2015 California Society of Professional Engineers First Place Team Coach award from MATHCOUNTS for his outstanding contributions as a coach.
&ldquo;The state competition victory was the happiest moment for every student, parent and volunteer who dedicated their time, hard work and support to the team, and I am so proud to have had a part,&rdquo; stated He. &ldquo;This award carries the same significance to me as that of my professional achievement awards.&rdquo;
<a class="offsite" href="http://www.nspe.org/">The National Society of Professional Engineers</a>&nbsp;cofounded MATHCOUNTS in 1983 to empower middle school students to reach their full potential in mathematics. The MATHCOUNTS foundation offers three distinct programs: MATHCOUNTS Competition Series, The National Math Club and Math Video Challenge. The MATHCOUNTS Competition Series is the only national coaching and competition mathematics program for sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. The program has received a number of recognitions including two White House citations as an outstanding private sector initiative.
For more information on the MATHCOUNTS foundation, please visit <a class="offsite" href="http://www.mathcounts.org/">www.mathcounts.org</a>.

MATHCOUNTS Competition Series Southern California State Champions led by InterDigital’s Yong He

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education is key to the competitiveness of our nation in an increasingly interconnected global economy. InterDigital has been an active supporter of the STEM community and is committed to investing in the ideas and people of the future. The company&rsquo;s commitment can be seen in its latest local effort -<a href="https://s25.q4cdn.com/626766191/files/doc_news/2015/04/1/InterDigital-Sponsors-New-Wireless-Communications-Laboratory-at-Delaware-St.pdf"> sponsorship of new wireless communications laboratories at Delaware State University.</a>
On Tuesday, InterDigital announced the contribution of a $300,000 grant to DSU&rsquo;s College of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology (CMNST) during a media event held at the University&rsquo;s Dover Campus. Remarks were made by Dr. Harry Williams, President, Delaware State University; Jack Markell, Governor of the State of Delaware; Thomas Carper, U.S. Senator; Dr. Noureddine Melikechi, Vice President for Research, Innovation and Economic Development &amp; Dean of the CMNST; and William J. Merritt, President and CEO, InterDigital.
The grant funding will be used to establish three new laboratories in the University&rsquo;s Mishoe Science Center: a digital and analog electronics laboratory; a wireless communications, signal processing and controls laboratory; and an advanced micro-controller design lab. The new teaching laboratories will be available for undergraduate studies at DSU beginning this fall.
&ldquo;As one of the leading American companies in the field of wireless technologies, we at InterDigital depend on the work being done here at DSU and in universities across the nation to prepare young people for careers in STEM fields,&rdquo; commented Merritt. &ldquo;We are very pleased to be a part of the Delaware State University College of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology team on a new mission to the future &ndash; a mission to ensure that our young people are well equipped to be the researchers, engineers and business leaders our economy needs.&rdquo;
For more information on Delaware State University&rsquo;s College of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology, please <a class="offsite" href="http://www.desu.edu/mathematics-natural-sciences-and-technology/college-mathematics-natural-sciences-technology">click here.</a> <img src="../../../download/55268acce262282d010002a7" alt="" width="298" height="197" /> William Merritt, CEO, InterDigital, providing his remarks. 
<img src="../../../download/55268acc0de2c0b89300028a" alt="" width="297" height="197" /> (L-R): Tom Preston, general counsel, DSU; Tom Carper, U.S. Senator; Jack Markell, Governor, DE; Dr. Noureddine Melikechi, vice president of research, DSU; William Merritt, CEO, InterDigital; Harry L. Williams, president, DSU; David Turner, board of trustees chairman, DSU; Robin Christiansen, Mayor of Dover; Jannie Lau, general counsel, InterDigital, and Alton Thompson, provost, DSU with display check. <img src="../../../download/55268acce26228f40d000356" alt="" width="300" height="228" /> Dr. Noureddine Melikechi and William Merritt talk post grant announcement.

InterDigital Sponsors New Wireless Communications Laboratory at Delaware State University

Earlier this month,&nbsp;the Philadelphia Business Journal announced that InterDigital's Desa Burton has been named as a 2017 "Veteran of Influence."&nbsp; This award recognizes those who not only excelled in their military careers, but have also turned their experiences into successful business careers.
Desa currently serves on the Board of Directors for the United Service Organizations of Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey (Liberty USO), which is an organization whose mission is to enhance the quality of life of the U.S. Armed Forces personnel and their families.&nbsp; As a member of the Liberty USO Career Transitions Committee, Desa&nbsp;will lead&nbsp;a new initiative focused on STEM education&nbsp;for transitioning military service members and veterans.&nbsp; InterDigital - as the founding sponsor of this initiative - is joined by other Liberty USO partners using the software developer training platform offered through Zipcode Wilmington.&nbsp; Through Desa's efforts, this initative will enable service members and veterans to transition from military service into highly sought-after software development careers.
In addition, Desa has a long history of service in support of veterans' programs and initiatives.&nbsp; Desa was recently selected to serve as the Philadelphia area coordinator for the United States Naval Academy Alumni Association Women's Shared Interest Group.&nbsp; In that capacity, Desa will coordinate the efforts and interests of women alumni of the United States Naval Academy in the local area.&nbsp; She is also a former and founding member of various veterans affinity bar associations, affinity groups, and programs.
Desa&nbsp;is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy.&nbsp; Prior to her legal career, she served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Naval Reserve, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Commander. &nbsp;Desa completed the following assignments while proudly serving her country: &nbsp;Engineering Officer onboard U.S.S. Briscoe (DD-977, Destroyer) responsible for a division of twenty personnel and the ship&rsquo;s emergency response teams; Landing Craft Officer for Assault Craft Unit 2 responsible for five Landing Craft Utility and their crews totaling sixty personnel deploying with the U.S.S. Saipan (LHA-2); Counternarcotics Operations Staff Officer (Colombia) for U.S. Southern Command coordinating assistance provided by the United States to the Colombian counternarcotics brigade; and Staff Officer for U.S. Central Command assisting with counterinsurgency operations following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The Philadelphia Business Journal will be hosting a special awards ceremony on November 9 at the Ballroom at the Ben.&nbsp; Desa will additionally be featured in a special section of the Philadelphia Business Journal, which will be released on November 10 online and in print.
Please join us in congratulating Desa on this tremendous honor!
&nbsp;
<img src="http://ww2.interdigital.com/l/45252/2017-11-13/bb6vzz/45252/136105/IMG_4728.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="451" />
(Pictured from left to right: Ranae McElvaine, Jannie Lau, Desa Burton, Josh Schmidt, Amy Miraglia, Christos Ioannidi)

Philadelphia Business Journal Names InterDigital's Desa Burton a "Veteran of Influence"

<img src="https://www.interdigital.com/resources/img/DSU_Lab_Khan_Image.jpg" alt="" />
&nbsp;
It is a shame that February, the shortest month of the year, is also the month we celebrate Black History, and the myriad contributions from Black and African Americans across the country and around the globe. Black inventors are responsible for some of our most valued and often used amenities, including the three-light stoplight (Garrett Morgan; Patent No. 1,475,074), refrigerated trucks (Frederic McKinley Jones, U.S. Patent 2,780,923), automatic elevator doors (Alexander Miles; U.S. Patent 371,207), the home security system (Mary Van Britten Brown, U.S. Patent 3,482,037), and more. Born enslaved, Sarah Boone was the first Black woman to receive a patent (U.S. Patent 473,563) in 1892 for creating the &ldquo;improved&rdquo; ironing boards we use today. (The original ironing board design was patented by Elijah McCoy, a prolific Black innovator and rumored namesake of the phrase &ldquo;the real McCoy&rdquo;.) In the centuries since, Black women and men have developed countless solutions that improve our lives, often while facing racism and societal prejudices in their own.
At InterDigital, we are committed to supporting innovation and excellence in all communities. It is this spirit that moves us forward and makes our lives boundless. That&rsquo;s why we are so proud of our partnership with Delaware State University, a historically black college and university (HBCU) centering STEM education and fostering the next generation of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPoC) engineers, scientists, and innovators.
<div class="row">
<div class="col-12 col-sm-6">
<img src="https://www.interdigital.com/resources/img/IDCC_DSU_Partnership_2015.jpg" alt=" InterDigital and Delaware State University teams mark partnership in 2015" />
InterDigital and Delaware State University teams mark partnership in 2015
</div>
<div class="col-12 col-sm-6">
<img src="https://www.interdigital.com/resources/img/Lab.jpg" alt="Delaware State University students using new training lab facilities" />
Delaware State University students using new training lab facilities
</div>
</div>
Leveraging funds from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.interdigital.com/post/interdigital-sponsors-new-wireless-communications-laboratory-at-delaware-state-university-" target="_blank">InterDigital&rsquo;s $300,000 grant</a>&nbsp;to the College of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Technology in 2015, Delaware State University has established a cutting edge wireless communications training lab in InterDigital&rsquo;s honor, and to-date has trained more than 300 undergraduate and graduate engineering and computer science students and provided vital infrastructure for teaching professors and faculty. What began as a grant to equip young people with resources to become engineers and business leaders has produced a valuable training lab serving the Black and brown creators and innovators of tomorrow.
Please stay tuned for more information about InterDigital&rsquo;s partnership with Delaware State University, and other expressions of our commitments to make life boundless. We hope you had a happy Black History Month and celebrate with us these accolades and innovations every day.

Celebrating Black History in Tangible Ways

Today we mark World Intellectual Property Day, an important moment to reflect on the importance of strong IP protections in the modern innovation economy. At InterDigital we know better than most businesses about the crucial role that intellectual property, especially patents, can play in the success of a company, and our broader ecosystem as a whole.
In many ways, our patents are the products that we take to market. They are the culmination of years of painstaking research by our engineers which provides benefits to billions of consumers thanks to the way our innovation delivers new experiences in wireless and video.
This World IP Day&rsquo;s theme of &ldquo;Women and IP: accelerating innovation and creativity&rdquo; also gives us an opportunity to explain why more must be done to increase the number of female innovators and bolster the number of women who contribute to and benefit from the global IP ecosystem.
It is clear that our industry is still falling short. According to a March 2021 <a href="https://www.wipo.int/women-and-ip/en/news/2021/news_0002.html#:~:text=In%202020%2C%20women%20inventors%20filed%20international%20patent%20applications,and%20third%20highest%20shares%20%2817.4%25%20and%2016.5%25%20respectively%29.">report</a> by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), only 16.5% of inventors named on international patent applications in 2020 were women. While the proportion has steadily increased compared to previous years, progress is slow: at current rates, gender parity will not be achieved until 2058.
In the United States, the picture is no better: a recent <a href="https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/oce-women-patentees-report.pdf">report</a> from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) found that women made up just 13% of all inventor-patentees in the United States. The report cited research that, if women were to patent at the same rate as men, commercialized patents could increase by 24% and per capita GDP by 2.7%.
To maximize the potential of IP and innovation, more needs to be done to promote diversity throughout the innovation ecosystem. This will require a big effort throughout all facets of society, from supporting women to engage in and study STEM subjects at school and college, to being open-minded in recruitment and promotion, and overcoming economic obstacles to career progression.
At InterDigital, we recognize the importance of having a diverse workforce in helping us to stay at the forefront of developing cutting edge technology in wireless and video. This helps to promote equal opportunities and it also enhances research by bringing new perspectives to technical challenges.
According to our latest data, 28% of our submitted invention disclosures include a named female inventor, as did 34% of our live patents and applications. While these figures put InterDigital ahead of market trends - according to a 2020 USPTO <a href="https://www.uspto.gov/ip-policy/economic-research/publications/reports/progress-potential">report</a> 21.9% of US patents included at least one female inventor - we recognize there is still a long way to go to reach gender parity.
As USPTO Director Kathi Vidal has <a href="https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/news-updates/latest-uspto-report-finds-32-increase-number-us-counties-where-women-patented">made clear</a>, increasing the number of women inventors on patents is &ldquo;critical for job growth and economic prosperity.&rdquo; I couldn&rsquo;t agree more, and I applaud Director Vidal for the leadership she has shown in this area.
We also know the importance that role models play in encouraging women and underrepresented groups to pursue careers in industries that suffer from a lack of diversity. As the activist Marian Wright Adelman said, &ldquo;you can&rsquo;t be what you cannot see.&rdquo; That&rsquo;s why, this week, as we mark World IP Day, we&rsquo;re highlighting several of our female engineers and innovators from our world-class research and innovation team who are helping to shape what is possible for the future.
These outstanding women, Diana Pani and Catalina Mladin from our wireless lab and Valerie Allie and Ga&euml;lle Martin-Cocher from our video lab, are respected innovators who are recognized by their colleagues and industry peers as leaders in their respective fields. But their impact is even greater by the example that they set for other women to follow as they consider careers in engineering.
We know that more needs to be done to grow diversity in IP, but we should also take this opportunity to celebrate our role models and the trails that they have blazed for so many more brilliant, innovative minds to follow.

Recognizing the power of role models on this World IP Day

<img style="float: left; margin: 10px 15px 15px 0;" src="https://www.interdigital.com/resources/img/InterDigital-CEO-Liren-Chen.jpg" alt="InterDigital" width="190" height="253" />
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
This edition of &ldquo;Getting to Know You&rdquo; takes an in-depth look at Liren Chen, who on April 5th assumed the role of InterDigital&rsquo;s President and CEO.
Following an introductory All Hands, InterDigital employees were introduced to Liren and given an insider pass to better understand his background, his drive to join InterDigital, and how he might lead in the path ahead. Here are some of the highlights of the conversation:
&nbsp;
Early Life and Studies
<ul>
<li>Not unlike the topology of Delaware&rsquo;s Eastern Shore, Liren Chen was born and raised in Qingdao, home to beautiful beaches and China&rsquo;s famous Qingdao beer.</li>
<li>After earning his bachelor&rsquo;s degree in Automation from Tsinghua University in Beijing, where he also met his wife of 26 years, Liren came to the United States in 1994 to attend the University of Maine under full scholarship, where he earned his M.S.E.E.</li>
<li>Liren joined Qualcomm after receiving his masters, and while working earned his J.D. degree from the University of San Diego, as well as an MBA from San Diego State University.</li>
</ul>
Career at Qualcomm
<ul>
<li>Prior to joining InterDigital, Liren&rsquo;s most recent role was Senior Vice President and Global Head of IP.</li>
<li>Liren first joined Qualcomm as a software engineer responsible for implementing products for network management software and later spent more than five years working in corporate R&amp;D. It was during this time that Liren developed most of his nearly 120 worldwide patents.</li>
<li>Later, Liren transitioned to spend more than seven years in Qualcomm&rsquo;s IP department running essentially &ldquo;every single functional aspect of IP creation &ndash; all the way to portfolio management, litigation readiness, and patent assertions.&rdquo;</li>
<li>Liren was closely involved in developing and driving Qualcomm&rsquo;s technology-driven IP strategy, and in 2016 joined the Qualcomm Licensing business responsible for technology, business strategy, and ecosystem development.</li>
</ul>
Reflecting on Similarities
<ul>
<li>When reflecting on his tenure at Qualcomm and new responsibilities as President and CEO of InterDigital, Liren noted that commonalities between the companies&rsquo; values helped make the transition smoother.</li>
<li>He specifically highlighted that Qualcomm and InterDigital share similarities in the ways they both &ldquo;drive fundamental research, put value of IP over everything else, deliver value over a long period of time through multiple generations of wireless, and express a willingness, and strong track record, in defending their business model through arbitration or litigation.&rdquo;</li>
<li>Moreover, having led multiple functional areas of the Qualcomm licensing division, Liren strongly resonated with a phrase often used to describe InterDigital&rsquo;s impact &ndash; &lsquo;We punch above our weight class.&rsquo; &ldquo;That is a spirit I share,&rdquo; he confidently replied.</li>
<li>In his words, Liren sees the move to InterDigital as a &ldquo;great career opportunity,&rdquo; but also a chance to bring his unique expertise and value to the company.</li>
<li>Given this background, Liren made clear that his interest in InterDigital stemmed from the company being a leading &ldquo;fundamental technology developer and a major patent holder, both based on both the size and quality of the portfolio.&rdquo;</li>
<li>In addition to the professionalism and caliber of InterDigital&rsquo;s research and leadership, Liren also highlighted the timing of his transition, acknowledging that it comes when the lessons he has learned throughout his career will be most useful to InterDigital&rsquo;s goals.</li>
</ul>
Driving Technology Leadership
<ul>
<li>In the all-hands, Liren made clear his belief that &ldquo;the future is very bright for the technology that InterDigital develops,&rdquo; and identified three technology areas that excite him most.</li>
<li>First, he reiterated the importance of InterDigital&rsquo;s longtime foundation &ndash; connectivity, specifically wireless and cellular communications, including 5G and next G technologies alongside the Wi-Fi evolution.</li>
<li>Next, he noted &ldquo;the multimedia area is super important from my perspective,&rdquo; citing the massive impact of streaming video on internet traffic and the enormous potential for breakthrough technology in video codecs, audio codecs, and more.</li>
<li>He also noted that he is &ldquo;a huge believer in artificial intelligence and machine learning.&rdquo;&nbsp;</li>
<li>Finally, he expressed excitement in exploring the space and opportunities where these three technologies &ndash; 5G wireless, video codecs, and AI &ndash; converge.</li>
<li>Liren reminded his new colleagues that the latest smart phones launches have already highlighted the features that stem from these convergences, which amplifies the importance and impact of InterDigital&rsquo;s research and standards contributions to this industry sector, and beyond.</li>
</ul>
In closing, Liren shared a principle that he said will guide his first few months with the company: &ldquo;There is a reason we have two ears and one mouth. We should listen more than we speak!&rdquo;

Getting to Know You: InterDigital’s New President and CEO Liren Chen

Last Spring, <a href="http://wot.io">wot.io</a> teamed up with a number of partners including <a href="http://www.stream-technologies.com/">Stream Technologies</a> and <a href="https://www.arm.com/">ARM</a> at <a href="http://www.mobileworldcongress.com/what-to-expect/highlights-from-2015/">Mobile World Congress 2015</a> to demonstrate an IoT Smart City solution combining data from live vehicles moving about the London area with data from the <a href="http://data.london.gov.uk/">London Datastore</a>.
We <a href="/wot-io-with-arm-at-mwc-2015">already posted</a> the following video, which provides a good overview of what we presented at the event, but we wanted to take this opportunity to do a deeper dive to describe some of the technology behind the demo.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ufBh2zR9DIE" frameborder="0" width="710" height="399" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
So this will be part 1 of a series of posts where we explore the assembly of an interoperable Smart City solution powered by wot.io and its data service exchange&trade;.
<h2 id="towardsmartercitiesintheuk">Toward Smarter Cities in the UK</h2>
The population in the city of London, UK, is exploding and is <a href="http://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/business-economy/vision-and-strategy/smart-london">expected to reach 9 million people before New York City</a>. In light of that prediction, the governments in London and the United Kingdom have begun to <a href="http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/smart_london_plan.pdf">lay out plans</a> to utilize digital technologies to become a Smart City in an effort to help stem and even solve many of the challenges that arise from such a massive and rapid population increase.
In support of that vision, the <a href="http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor-assembly/gla">Greater London Authority</a> established the <a href="http://data.london.gov.uk/">London Datastore</a> initiative. According to its <a href="http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor-assembly/gla">website</a> the London Datastore was created
<blockquote>
as a first step towards freeing London&rsquo;s data. We want everyone to be able access the data that the GLA and other public sector organisations hold, and to use that data however they see fit&mdash;for free.
</blockquote>
London's passenger and road transport system is among the most advanced in the world, and was one of the first smart services that London opened to developers as part of the London Datastore initiative. The result was an unprecedented volume of open data with which to develop smart city solutions.
As part of our smart city application, we were able to find a whole section in the datastore devoted to traffic and transportation. We built adapters to read from this feed into wot.io and route near-real-time data from traffic cameras and road signs to multiple data services.
<h2 id="smartertrafficthroughinstrumentation">Smarter Traffic Through Instrumentation</h2>
Just one of the many facets to a smarter city initiative is to learn, understand, and make decisions based around traffic patterns. Naturally, analysis and decision-logic require data. Following are a few examples of how wot.io partners are filling these needs with a wide array of <a href="https://www.mbed.com/en/">ARM mbed</a>-based hardware and software products.
<h2 id="connectingdeviceswithmultitech">Connecting Devices with Multitech</h2>
<img src="http://idfiles.leveelabs.com/55bd0288af0b0930ba599bd0c4b7ca38/resources/img_new/labs_wot_io/multitech-car-1.jpg" alt="" />
In order to demonstrate how detailed information about traffic accidents could be used to assist emergency services or even to otherwise manipulate traffic patterns in response, <a href="http://www.multitech.com">MultiTech</a> placed its <a href="http://www.multitech.com/brands/multiconnect-mdot">MultiConnect&reg; mDots</a> (inexpensive radios using the new Semtech LoRa&trade;, low power, wide area RF modulation) inside a remote-controlled model car and drove it around the ARM booth. The car sent sensor info (including x-y-z plane accelerometer readings)
<img src="http://idfiles.leveelabs.com/55bd0288af0b0930ba599bd0c4b7ca38/resources/img_new/labs_wot_io/Multitech-Ultra-low-power-long-operation-range-900MHz-LoRa-Module-660075-l.jpg" alt="" />
to a <a href="http://www.multitech.com/brands/multiconnect-conduit">MultiConnect&reg; Conduit&trade; gateway</a> using the Semtech LoRa&trade;, low-power, long-range wireless access (LPWA) RF technology in the European 868MHz ISM band spectrum. The Conduit packaged and then sent the sensor data to <a href="http://http://www.stream-technologies.com">Stream&rsquo;s</a> award winning IoT-X platform.
<img src="http://idfiles.leveelabs.com/55bd0288af0b0930ba599bd0c4b7ca38/resources/img_new/labs_wot_io/multitech-multiconnect-conduit.jpg" alt="" />
<h2 id="connectingdeviceswithublox">Connecting Devices with u-blox</h2>
Another common requirement for smarter traffic in a connected city is detailed knowledge about the geo-location of devices embedded in vehicles.
The <a href="https://www.u-blox.com/en/product/c027">u-blox C027</a> is a complete IoT starter kit that includes a MAX-M8Q GPS/GNSS receiver and a LISA-C200 CDMA cellular module with SIM card.
<img src="http://idfiles.leveelabs.com/55bd0288af0b0930ba599bd0c4b7ca38/resources/img_new/labs_wot_io/IMG_1173--1-.jpg" alt="" />
As you can see from the photograph, we added an extended GPS antenna to help with satellite reception given that we were going to be using it from inside our urban office building location.
It was easy enough to use the web-based IDE on the <a href="https://developer.mbed.org/">ARM mbed Developer Site</a> to build a lightweight embedded C application. The application simply reads the GPS data from the GPS/GNSS receiver on the device, and sends it to a TCP endpoint exposed by the Stream Technologies <a href="https://api.stream-communications.com/docs/#!/">IoT-Xtend&trade; API</a> using the cellular modem to connect to a local cellular network. Using the cell network for connectivity makes the system completely mobile, which is perfect for vehicles driving around a city.
Ultimately, the embedded application sends JSON messages to the Stream API looking something like the following:
<pre><code>{
"sim_no": SIM_ID,
"quality_idx": QUALITY,
"gps_time": TIME,
"dec_latitude": LAT,
"dec_longitude": LON,
"number_sat": SATELLITES,
"hdop": HDOP,
"height_above_sea": HEIGHT
}
</code></pre>
<h2 id="connectingdeviceswithnxp">Connecting Devices with NXP</h2>
Another ARM mbed device, the <a href="http://www.nxp.com/board/OM11043.html">NXP LPC1768</a>,
<img src="http://idfiles.leveelabs.com/55bd0288af0b0930ba599bd0c4b7ca38/resources/img_new/labs_wot_io/IMG_3441.JPG" alt="" />
was used to demonstrate two-way communications with the wot.io data service exchange&trade;. Ambient temperature was monitored through its on-board temperature sensor, analyzed by business logic, and sent back to the device in the form of specific commands to manipulate the device speaker and LED intensity.
<img src="http://idfiles.leveelabs.com/55bd0288af0b0930ba599bd0c4b7ca38/resources/img_new/labs_wot_io/Screen-Shot-2015-12-03-at-10-40-04-AM.png" alt="" />
<h2 id="livemobiledevices">Live Mobile Devices</h2>
Last, but certainly not least, the demonstration also included a number of cellular-, satellite-, and LPRN-based mobile devices embedded in vehicles traveling about the city of London in real-time. The devices were managed by the Stream IoT-x platform, and telemetry and geo-location messages were communicated to the wot.io operating environment through our WebSocket protocol-based streaming data adapter.
<h1 id="nexttime">Next Time</h1>
Today we took a brief look at the diverse device and open data feed-based sources of smart city data that comprised the wot.io demonstration that we presented earlier this year in Barcelona.
Tune in next time for a closer look at how we managed those devices with device management platforms from <a href="http://arm.com">ARM</a> and <a href="http://www.stream-technologies.com/">Stream Technologies</a>, and how their data was integrated onto the wot.io data service exchange&trade;.

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