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Pervasive Sensing for Large-Scale Infrastructure
The WhiteBox Wireless node is a long-range IoT sensing platform engineered for rapid deployment across large public and industrial buildings. It brings high-fidelity environmental monitoring to areas where wired network infrastructure is either unavailable or prohibitively expensive to install.
The Problem: Scaling Connectivity in Legacy Buildings
Retrofitting massive building complexes for energy efficiency often hits a wall during installation. Running Ethernet cables for hundreds of sensors through vintage concrete, city halls, or heritage buildings can cost more than the sensors themselves. Wi-Fi often lacks the range or stability required to penetrate thick walls across multiple floors, creating “dead zones” in the building’s digital twin.
Our Solution: Long-Range Occupancy Mapping
WhiteBox Wireless solves the scale problem by using 868 MHz Sub-GHz radio communication. This low-frequency band provides superior wall penetration and hundreds of meters of range, allowing an entire building’s occupancy profile to be mapped using just a single gateway.
By aggregating data from temperature, humidity, luminosity, audio noise, and PIR motion sensors, the system provides a real-time heat map of space usage. This data is fed into building archives to optimize energy consumption and space allocation.
The Engineering: Industrial Range & Flexibility
- Sub-GHz Connectivity: Uses a proprietary 868 MHz protocol for industrial-grade range and reliability, far exceeding the capabilities of 2.4 GHz systems.
- Agile Deployment: Powered via micro-USB, these nodes can be mounted in minutes, enabling rapid network expansion.
- Adaptive Detection: The enclosure was engineered to support multiple PIR motion sensor configurations, allowing detection patterns to be customized (wide-angle for hallways, focused for desks).
- Data Aggregation: Advanced firmware infer occupancy by cross-referencing acoustic levels with motion data, providing much higher accuracy than motion sensors alone.
Smart City Impact: The Paris Deployment
As part of a strategic partnership with Cisco Systems and the City of Paris, WhiteBox Wireless nodes were deployed across 180 sites, including high schools and administrative buildings. This Smart City program demonstrated how aggregating localized sensor data can drive city-wide energy efficiency and operational intelligence.