/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/ image/sidewalk.
Amazon is moving its Sidewalk network out of neighborhoods and into public places.
The image is from Amazon.
Amazon is starting with a bang after going quiet on its Sidewalk network. The Amazon Sidewalk Bridge Pro powered by Ring was launched today.
The bridge is designed to extend the low-bandwidth, long-distance wireless network into public spaces, such as city parks, state parks, city centers, universities, businesses, and other places where there aren't likely to be a lot of Ring and Echo devices hanging out.
The director of Amazon's Sidewalk said in an interview that the long-term vision is to drive proliferation of smart and connected things. Connected devices are the biggest challenge today. Landi says that cellular and wi-fi are too expensive and that they are limited in coverage. An open network like Sidewalk that is available everywhere was needed.
:noupscale(cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorusasset/file/23151024/sidewalkindoorr_ 2500x 2500.
The Sidewalk Bridge Pro is designed for use by large organizations.
The image is from Amazon.
To promote the benefits of the expansion of Amazon Sidewalk, Amazon collaborated with Arizona State University and Thingy to launch pilot programs. Thingy is using the bridge to connect its air quality systems in wilderness areas where firefighters battle wildfires, and the university is using the bridge in its smart cities research.
Scott Waller, CEO and co-founder of Thingy, said that they designed Thingy AQ for very remote locations, where power efficiency and range were critical for fire ground operations. Amazon Sidewalk Bridge Pro brings us the power of loRa in a massive number of needed locations, easy integration with our existing applications in Amazon Web Services, and trusted security for the devices and applications.
Landi says Sidewalk has gained strong residential coverage in over 100 metropolitan areas. The primary purpose is to extend the connection for smart home devices.
Sidewalk is the type of network that will spur innovation.
As the smart home steps outside the home, to landscape lighting, outdoor motion sensors, garage door controllers, and pet tracking, these gadgets can struggle to keep a connection to a home's wi-fi. These devices can be extended by Sidewalk.
In homes, most smart speakers and Ring cameras act as Sidewalk bridges, allowing them to sip a little bit of each device's bandwidth to power their network. The stronger the network, the more your neighbors have Sidewalk bridges. When setting up their speaker, users of the echo device can choose to turn it on or off.
The Sidewalk Bridge Pro could use less devices. It is a rugged device that can be used outside. Landi says that an ideal spot would be on top of buildings. The same way your phone connects to a cellular tower, it can pick up any Sidewalk signal. You can still find him if he runs off to the city park.
The Sidewalk Bridge Pro needs to be connected to the internet over a PoE or wi-fi network with the option for cellular service. It has a built-in battery backup.
Landi says it will be a long journey for year number two of Sidewalk. This is the type of network that will spur innovation. Our goal is to connect billions of devices. Landi thinks that Sidewalk is a network for developers to build devices that they couldn't make before, due to the cost challenges associated with the current options.
The Bridge Pro is a step in the right direction for Sidewalk, it needs to be a robust network if developers are going to build for it. Amazon wants businesses and towns to partner with it. Landi says that there is no pricing yet, as how exactly it will come to market is still undecided.
