Few people look at a vending machine or a golf cart for rent as a telecommunications device, but for many companies these and other products have one thing in common: They may have to relay transactional or inventory data to their owners.
Typically, they use analogue phone lines to transmit sales, inventory or credit card information, but eDevice, a French company that specializes in creating machine-to-machine systems, has unveiled a model for those with a need for speed.
The BridgeD130 is a PSTN to GPRS converter that connects wired modems to wired networks without a PC. “The benefits of it are quite substantial,” said Michael Freudmann, the company’s vice-president of sales and business development. “It allows you to convert a legacy device (to cellular) without changing it.”
Any equipment connected by phone line to a back-end server for remote monitoring or control can use the D130, he said, by just plugging it into the phone line. IT can also be battery powered. It does, however, also need to be plugged into a standard electrical wall outlet.
Competitors include companies such as Airlink Communications, whose products are sold through Bell and Rogers. eDevice, established in 1999, focuses on software and hardware solutions that enable equipment to remotely connect to the Internet over wired and wireless networks.
The range of products that use such transmitters is almost unlimited, and include household gas and electric meters, alarm systems, point of sale devices and espresso machines.
With analogue phone lines disappearing in some regions, the D130 becomes a good replacement, said Freudmann. The unit could also be a money-saver if cellular data charges of service providers drops close to or below analogue charges.
He also said it could solve billing problems for hardware like vending machines that have to connect and share on-site phone lines. With the D130 there is no need to use the local phone connection.
eDevice products are sold through distributors or carriers. “We believe this is an excellent solution for fast-tracking mobile carriers’ growth in the machine-to-machine space, allowing them to take whole market segments and convert them to cellular,” said Freudmann.
The D130 is not a protocol converter, he said, but an emulator that generates rings, dial tone and power and includes a TCP server. It can run a customized embedded application to analyze data before relaying it.
Available in Canada through distributor Interface Design Solutions (IDS). Company president Michael Katkov said the D130 is too new for him to comment on. The most popular of eDevice products sold here are the eDbox 300-series of embedded cellphone modules, which can be build into a number of appliances.
