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PHOTO: AMAZON
How Amazon’s Sidewalk Works
Amazon’s Sidewalk network is in many ways different from Apple’s Find My network, though it also uses encryption for security, says Manolo Arana, general manager of the Sidewalk project at Amazon. For one thing, the devices that power it stay put, so the network is not constantly in flux. And rather than just tracking the location and identity of things, Sidewalk can be used for nearly any kind of short two-way communication, he says.
Cities blanketed by the Sidewalk network could allow devices to function even when their main connection to the internet goes down, or is unavailable. Say your Ring smart security light is too far from your home’s Wi-Fi router, or maybe you just lose internet connectivity. If a neighbor’s Echo or Ring device is in range, your security light could still function by routing its tiny bits of traffic through that other connection.
The Ring Video Doorbell Pro will use Bluetooth to connect Level smart locks to Amazon’s Sidewalk network.PHOTO: RING
Tile, which makes Bluetooth device-tracking tags that have been popular for years, is adding the ability to track them through Amazon’s Sidewalk network, which allows them to connect directly to Echo devices. Tile’s previous attempts to create its own network similar to Apple’s Find My have been hampered by, among other things, the way iPhones frequently ask Tile users for permission to track their location, says Tile chief executive CJ Prober.
Apple’s Find My Network uses short-range wireless Bluetooth signals to communicate with nearby Apple devices—as well as a recently announced handful of other products, such as Chipolo trackers and VanMoof bicycles. Amazon’s Sidewalk also uses Bluetooth, but is adding long-range wireless technology known as LoRa to the Sidewalk network via certain Echo and Ring devices.
LoRa systems have generally been used for enterprise applications, such as sensors and actuators in manufacturing and the energy industry. They can communicate small amounts of data across many miles when placed atop towers or even on satellites, using relatively little power. When placed inside a device like an Echo speaker, inside a home, the range can still be about a mile, says Marc Pegulu, vice president of LoRa at semiconductor-maker Semtech, one of Amazon’s technology partners.
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Sidewalk’s long range will enable a new way to track people with dementia who may wander, says Adam Sobol, CEO of CareBand. CareBand’s smartwatch-style wrist monitor with built-in GPS can communicate via LoRa to Sidewalk-enabled Echo or Ring devices, allowing family members and caregivers to remotely monitor the whereabouts of a loved one. Mr. Sobol says that 90% of seniors with dementia who wander stay within a mile. Another advantage of Sidewalk is that users wouldn’t have to pay any cellular fees to use devices like the CareBand tracker.
Mr. Wood of CCS Insight says that embedding wireless networking into devices that are popular in their own right, such as Ring security cameras, is a good strategy. “If you look at where there’s already a high density of Ring devices, in Los Angeles especially, where Ring started, you could imagine a scenario in which this invisible Amazon Sidewalk network becomes this incredible asset to Amazon and a value-add to Prime subscribers,” he says. |
