Episode 19: Accelerating Canadian IoT ventures

ThingsHappen podcast’s mission is to expose Canada’s play in the Internet of Things. With that in mind, we ask all of our guests

• what they think IoT means for Canada, and
• how are we doing as a nation in leveraging IoT

in addition to delving deep into our guests’ unique IoT involvement and passions.

Here is a compilation of their take on those two questions – enjoy.

Guests

·       Nilufer Erdebil from Spring2 Innovation

·       Burak Kantarci from University of Ottawa

·       Gordon Harling from CMC Microsystems

·       Cliff Ellement from ThinkRF

·       Tom Schnekenburger from University of Windsor

·       Yvonne Pilon  from  WEtech Alliance

·       Leo Lax from L-SPARK

·       Rick Huijbregts from Stantec

·       Kirby Koster from CENGN

·       Samer Geissah from TELUS

·       Adam Burley from Rogers

·       Bill Whitelaw from geoLOGIC Systems

·       Brenda Beckedorf from Alberta IoT

·       Michel Langelier from AIoT Canada

·       Robert Saik from AGviserPRO

·       Faud Khan from TwelveDOT Inc.

·       Keith Jansa from the Digital Governance Council

·       Harminder Jandu from HiveMQ

·       Mark Robbins from Transport Canada’s Innovation Centre

 

What about you? What do you think about IoT and what’s in it for Canada?

•   Share your thoughts on the IoT North LinkedIn Group, or
• Post it on Twitter mentioning @iotNorth or hashtag #iotnorth, or
• Let us know in your message as you subscribe to iotNorth on our website

 

Visit IoT North

Website: https://iotnorth.ca

LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12309383

Twitter: @iotNorth

  

Visit Praxiem – our patron

Website: https://praxiem.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/3107474

Twitter: @praxiem

 

Drones – they're flying IoT systems in their own right and smart flying IoT devices as seen by the rest of the world.  But – what are they good for, and what is their place in Canada?  We discuss these questions and delve into the drone innovation supported by Transport Canada, related governance, and the testing and validation of drone functionality and safety in adverse Canadian weather.  And what about that drone-delivered pizza you've been waiting for such a long time – we get into that too.

Guest

Our guest is Mark Robbins, manager of Venture Projects at Transport Canada's Innovation Center.  With Mark's extensive experience in public policy analysis and development, he supports innovative approaches to government, including the deployment and validation of emerging technologies.  His previous involvement in policy research and development includes roles at the Institute on Governance, the Conference Board of Canada, the Canadian Transportation Agency, and IBM.  Mark's work is founded on a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Ottawa, a Master's in Political Economy from Carleton University, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.

 

Links

Mark Online

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-d-robbins-7526a921/

Twitter: @RoboRobbins

 

Transport Canada Innovation Centre

Website: https://tc.canada.ca/en/innovation-centre

 

Resources

Article/Video: Drones are equipped with 6-kg canister equipped with a specialized precision parachute

Article: Mohawk College, Transport Canada agree to test drones near Hamilton beach

 

Visit IoT North

Website: https://iotnorth.ca

LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12309383

Twitter: @iotNorth

 

 

Visit Praxiem – our patron

Website: https://praxiem.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/3107474

Twitter: @praxiem

Connectivity!  A key pillar of IoT. But what is the actual messenger using that connectivity?  We discuss the critical role of MQTT in IoT solutions as a network-agnostic protocol and messenger among IoT architecture elements, including devices, data services, analytics, and more.  Starting with a 101 on what it is and how it works, we delve further into some of its essential attributes, like quality of service and security, and examine how it compares to similar protocols.  We also touch on SparkPlug and its relationship with MQTT.  Finally, we overview some applications and how to get started applying MQTT.

 

Guest

Our guest is Harminder Jandu, Solutions Engineer at HiveMQ in Canada with extensive experience in ICT.  That includes sales and pre-sales engineering at prominent global communications vendors, and solutions engineering and consulting at large communication service providers.  His technical skills were sharpened in senior software design and architect roles involving communication protocols such as CDMA, TDMA, SS7, and GSM.  Harminder’s expertise is grounded in engineering training from Ryerson University, including Electrical Engineering and Data Communications and Software.

 

Links

Harminder Online

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harminderjandu/

HiveMQ

Website: https://www.hivemq.com/

Twitter: @HiveMQ

Resources

HiveMQ MQTT Essential Series
https://www.hivemq.com/mqtt-essentials/

HiveMQ Sparkplug Essential Series
https://www.hivemq.com/mqtt-sparkplug-essentials/

HiveMQ Scalability with 200M Benchmark
https://www.hivemq.com/webinars/how-hivemq-can-scale-to-200-million-connections/

MQTT Buyers guide from HiveMQ
https://www.hivemq.com/buyers-guide/2023-buyers-guide-mqtt-platform-for-iot-iiot/

 

Visit IoT North

Website: https://iotnorth.ca

LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12309383

Twitter: @iotNorth

 

Visit Praxiem – our patron

Website: https://praxiem.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/3107474

Twitter: @praxiem

How can we amplify IoT’s benefits, guard against its pitfalls, level the playing field, and make it more inclusive?  Digital Governance!  We examine the role and importance of digital governance for the Internet of Things in this era of digital-physical transformation.  And - how digital-physical things are the same and different as other digital entities under the digital transformation and governance umbrellas.  We also touch on the IoT-related standards released by the Digital Governance Council and how they define and develop their standards.

 

Guest

Our guest is Keith Jansa, CEO at the Digital Governance Council, with deep experience and knowledge of standards development and management.  That includes work at UL Canada, managing standards and occupational health and safety at the Canadian Electricity Association, and several management roles at the Standards Council of Canada.  Today he leads the Digital Governance Council to neutrally convene Canada’s executive leaders to identify, prioritize, and act on digital governance opportunities and challenges.  He sits on several advisory boards and councils and often contributes to digital governance-related matters at roundtables and events.  

 Keith’s technical and governance acumen is founded on a degree in health sciences from the University of Ottawa.

 

Links

Keith Online: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-jansa-b4b79a22/

Twitter: @JansaKeith

 

Digital Governance Council:

Web: https://dgc-cgn.org/ 

 

Additional Resources

Digital Governance Standards Institute
https://dgc-cgn.org/standards/

Published Standards
https://dgc-cgn.org/standards/all-published/

 

Visit IoT North

Website: https://iotnorth.ca

LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12309383

Twitter: @iotNorth

 

Visit Praxiem – our patron

Website: https://praxiem.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/3107474

Twitter: @praxiem

 

What is IoT security?  It’s consistently the top-ranking IoT concern and hurdle on virtually every IoT survey!  Oh – not to mention privacy pitfalls.  We discuss why that is and what to do about it - not the least of which is to embed IoT security by design.  But – what does that entail from the IoT product providers’ design, development environment, and validation perspectives, and what should adopters expect and do to ensure secure IoT solutions?  Our conversation also turns to the vital role of security standards and regulations and their current state.

Guest

Our guest is Faud Khan, CEO and Founder at TwelveDot, with over twenty years of experience in various aspects of ICT security.  That includes technical management at a prominent insurance company, and security researcher, analyst, and security product management roles at global telecommunications vendors, among other roles.

Faud is active in standards development, including serving as chair for the SC27 and SC41 ISO standards at the Standards Council of Canada, dealing with information security, cybersecurity and privacy protection, and artificial intelligence.

 

Links

Faud Online: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/faudkhan/

Twitter: @encrypto99

 

TwelveDot:

Web: https://twelvedot.com/ 

 

Additional Resources

ISO/IEC 27400:2022 Cybersecurity — IoT security and privacy — Guidelines
Faud as Editor

ISO/IEC 27002:2022 Information security, cybersecurity and privacy protection — Information security controls
Faud as Co-Editor

ISO/IEC AWI 30149 Internet of things (IoT) — Trustworthiness framework
Fuad as Editor

 

 

Visit IoT North

Website: https://iotnorth.ca
LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12309383
Twitter: @iotNorth

 

Visit Praxiem – our patron

Website: https://praxiem.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/3107474
Twitter: @praxiem

 

We live in a physical world undergoing rapid digitalization.  With that resulting Digital-Physical Transformation, we can no longer afford to think, let alone accept, that the physical world is separate from the digital world.  We examine the benefits and pitfalls of the physical’s digital intensification and the knock-on economic, social, human, and governance transformations they drive.  Nilufer and Walter also discuss the imperative for bringing the Digital-Physical Transformation under the broader Digital-Transformation big tent and why and how we must elevate our digital literacy around it.

 

Guest

Nilufer Erdebil is the CEO at Spring2 Innovation, specializing in consulting and training in Design Thinking, helping public and private sector organizations transform their processes, policies, services, and culture.  Nilufer has an extensive and diverse background ranging from hands-on technology development to innovation program management at a large telco to business line management.  She is a TEDx speaker and also frequently speaks about innovation and Design Thinking.  She was awarded the Ottawa Business Journal Forty Under 40 Award and the Canadian Women in Communications and Technology Leadership Award.  Nilufer holds an MBA and Electrical Engineering degrees from Queens University.

 

Links

Nilufer online: 

  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erdebil/

  Twitter: @DigitalNil

Spring2 Innovation online:

  Web: https://spring2innovation.com

  Twitter: @spring2inno

  Instagram: spring2innovation

 

Walter online:

  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/walterknitl/

  Twitter: @waltofk

Praxiem online:

  Web: http://praxiem.com

  Twitter: @praxiem

 

Resources:

Article:   The Digital-Physical Transformation Imperative for the Public Sector

Training:  Digital-Physical Transformation for the Public Sector

 

Visit IoT North

Website: https://iotnorth.ca

LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12309383

Twitter: @iotNorth

With the IoT North Conference coming up in November, we’re taking the opportunity to expand Canada’s IoT Conversation by getting insights about IoT from some of the visionary voices who will be presenting at the conference.  We ask what IoT means to them, what gets them excited about it, what IoT means for Canada and why they are compelled to advance the IoT conversation

Guests

Our guests are:

• Brenda Beckedorf - Executive Director at Alberta IoT
• Michel Langelier - CEO at AIoT Canada
• Robert Saik - CEO at AGvisorPRO
• Bill Whitelaw - Managing Director, Strategy and Sustainability at geoLogic Systems
• Adam Burley - Senior Manager of IoT at Rogers Communications
• Jennie Price - Marketing Manager at Connect Partnership Group

 

Links

IoT North Conference

https://iotnorthconference.ca

 

Visit IoT North

Website: https://iotnorth.ca

LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12309383

Twitter: @iotNorth

Five-Gee – is it yet-another G – just a faster Generation of mobile?  We do touch on 5G’s immense speed but delve deeply into how 5G fulfills its greater destiny to connect the real physical world around us – that is, deliver Massive IoT.  We discuss the role of 5G in IoT adoption and innovation and the state of 5G deployment.  Our conversation encompasses the economic and societal benefits of several use cases involving 5G in IoT, some of the challenges that 5G presents, and how IoT and 5G, tied at the hip, ultimately provide peace of mind.

Guest

Our guest is Samer Geissah, Technology Strategy and Architecture Director at Telus.  He leads a team of senior managers, principal technology architects, biz dev heads, and product and program managers spearheading Telus’s consumer and partner solutions.

Samer’s background includes senior tech-sector roles, including Director of Technical Sales at Siemens, and VP Network Development and VP Innovation at DU in Dubai.  His work is founded on degrees and certificates in Computer Engineering and Science, Corporate Innovation, and the Internet of Things from North Carolina University, Stanford, and MIT.

Links

Samer Online: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geissah/

Twitter: @samergeissah

 

TELUS:

Web: https://www.telus.com/en/ 

Twitter: @telus

 

Visit IoT North

Website: https://iotnorth.ca

LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12309383

Twitter: @iotNorth

Food – we need it and relish it.  And agriculture is how we get it.  But how do we ensure the quantity, high quality, and environmental sustainability we value?  We discuss IoT’s underpinning of Smart Agriculture that answers these needs and values, including in animal, crop, and greenhouse operations.  We delve into the types of systems and autonomous equipment employed, several use cases, and the challenges of farm digitalization.  Our conversation leads us to CENGN’s role in fostering Canada’s smart agriculture and addressing some of the challenges.  We also discuss some of the specific smart agriculture start-ups they helped cultivate.

Guest

Our guest is Kirby Koster, Senior Manager of the Broadband Program at CENGN.  

Kirby has extensive telecommunications sector experience championing network management, data networking, optoelectronics and wireless systems, and more.  He leads CENGN’s rural residential broadband program, bringing high-speed Internet to Ontario’s rural and northern communities.  His past work on farms and at a farming equipment distributor makes him all the more fitting also to lead CENGN’s Smart Agriculture Infrastructure project - fostering the adoption of digital technologies in Canadian agriculture through the CENGN Smart Greenhouse Living Lab.

Links

Kirby Online: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirbykoster/

 

CENGN:

Web: https://cengn.ca 

Twitter: @cengn

 

Case Studies:

https://www.cengn.ca/projects/project-case-studies/?project-area=smart-agriculture-project

 

Smart Greenhouse Living Lab Info:

https://www.cengn.ca/services/commercialization-services/smart-agriculture-program/

 

Visit IoT North

Website: https://iotnorth.ca

LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12309383

Twitter: @iotNorth

Smart Cities – what are they?  Of the many things that make a city “smart”, technological or social, the Internet of Things is at its core.  We not only delve into IoT’s central role and related technologies like AI and 5G but also dive into the raison d'être of Smart Cities and their drivers and benefits.  But – we don’t shy away from pointing out Smart Cities’ challenges and what adopters can do, and where to turn to innovate solutions, build talent, and make a real go of Smart Cities.

Guest

Our guest is Dr. Rick Huijbregts, Global lead for Smart Cities at Stantec.  Rick is an industry veteran with extensive experience at the intersection of real-estate design and technology, including digital transformation such as we’re seeing in smart buildings and smart cities.  That includes roles as Cisco’s VP of Digital Transformation and Innovation, Head of Smart Cities and Buildings in Canada at Cisco, and VP of Strategy and Innovation at George Brown College in Toronto.  Rick’s career is founded on degrees in construction management, real estate development and management, and a design doctorate in real estate and technology.

Links

Rick Online: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickhuijbregts/

Twitter: @DrRickH

 

Stantec:

Web: http://www.stantec.com/

Twitter: @Stantec

 

Smart Cities at Stantec

Smart Cities Articles at Stantec

 

Visit IoT North

Website: https://iotnorth.ca

LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12309383

Twitter: @iotNorth