Seed vs Bluetooth

We've just had a very successful launch of the Seed Rapid Prototyping Kit. This is a direct response to the overwhelming success of our Seed Smart Module, unveiled just a few weeks earlier.

So what exactly is the essence of Seed? In a nutshell, it is a software stack built on top of Bluetooth Smart (BLE).

We have always considered Bluetooth Smart a great candidate for IoT and especially for Home Automation. The reasons I have explained already in a series of posts (here, here and here). But when we started the Bluetooth Smart project at Seed, we learned the hard way, this technology was very difficult to use it for what we wanted.

Bluetooth Smart has been designed for tiny sensors (peripherals) communicating with smartphones (central devices). So building an activity tracker or a bathroom scale that talks to a smartphone application is easy. The sensor wakes up, calls the phone, exchanges data, goes to sleep. The problem with home automation is that we have the event sequence in the opposite direction. The phone (central) wants to send data to a peripheral (a lamp or a socket or a kitchen appliance). This can be done when the peripheral connects to the phone beforehand and maintains the connection. The problem is, in Bluetooth Smart, a peripheral can be connected to only one central device. So when a lamp is connected to my phone, other phones cannot control it. Even more, they do not see it at all. Also there is a practical limit of maximum of 8-10 peripherals to be simultaneously connected to a central. This all just does not add up to create a highly interactive and complete smart home experience.

Seed solves exactly this problem. We provide a complete many-to-many mesh network stack on top of Bluetooth Smart. A network that allows many centrals (smartphones and other devices) connect and command many peripherals at the same time. A network that allows sending a single command to groups of devices (eg lights in a multi - lamp chandelier), controlling them in full synchronicity. A network that extends the radio range by forwarding packets from one device to another. And all that without breaking compatibility with the massive installed base of Bluetooth 4.0 devices.

Pushing the Bluetooth Smart to the limits (but not breaking them), Seed allows a single Bluetooth node to be in multiple roles simultaneously. So for example a ceiling lamp can be a standard peripheral, and a packet router, and a location beacon at the same time. And finally we are adding such important features as a secure over the air firmware update.

On top of the mesh transport layer we also provide several smart home application - oriented services, like the ultra - easy unboxing experience, role - based security (public / private modes),  groups, scenes, and proximity - based indoor location.

Being a software company we sometimes cannot stop ourselves from fixing the existing hardware. So to enable even better consumer products, we have designed a powerful Bluetooth Smart communications module that defies conventional wisdom of the short radio range of Bluetooth. Operating at +10dBm Tx power and with -98dBm Rx sensitivity, our module offers 108dB link budget that translates to 1000ft (350m) line-of-sight range in the open air. Of course the indoor range is lower, but it is still very good and combined with meshing offers an excellent solution for smart home products.

It's been a great journey so far and the future at Seed shapes even more exciting. Based on what we are working on, I just can't wait for our next product launches. Stay tuned!