Actility and IMT Atlantique Release Open-Source Reference Implementation of SCHC Through Joint Laboratory “lab.SCHC”

Press Release – July, 2024 – Rennes, France

In a significant advancement for the Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity, lab.SCHC (https://lab-schc.fr/), launched in April 2024 by Actility and IMT Atlantique, announce the release of the open-source SCHC embedded SDK. This initiative aims to accelerate the implementation of IP based applications over low-power wide-area networks (LPWAN) across the globe.

Significance of SCHC

Static Context Header Compression (SCHC), standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF, RFC8724 and RFC9011) plays a vital role in optimizing IP-based communication over LPWANs. Many popular automation protocols such as ModBus for industrial automation, KNX for building automation, or OCPP for EV charging, have been designed for IP networks and SCHC now enables these protocols to leverage the low-range, low-power RF network known as LPWANs, including the very popular LoRaWAN® protocol developed by the LoRa Alliance. SCHC is particularly relevant for automated meter reading (AMR). As the leading AMR protocol worldwide, DLMS/COSEM also requires IP networks and is traditionally implemented over powerline communication protocols such as G3-PLC. However such powerline protocols have failure rates that are very dependent on the quality of the distribution network, and also often not economically usable in low-density environments. As a result, it is not uncommon to have over 20% of “isolated” meters. LPWAN can now be used as a back-up or main technology for DLMS, as standardized by IEC 62056-8-12:2023.

Impactful Deployment Examples

Massive AMR projects have recently incorporated SCHC over LoRAWAN® as part of their core design, such as Italgas’s Nimbus deployment of over 7 millions meters. In this large scale gas metering project, low-power consumption is critical and dual-connectivity combining LoRaWAN® and NB-IoT ensures the high level of quality of service required. In Africa, SCHC over LoRaWAN® is being considered as the prime AMR technology for rural networks, as thousands of villages are looking forward to get access to improved access to water and electricity networks, and often need support for real-time prepaid features. Many other networks are currently experimenting with the possibilities offered by combined G3 PLC and LoRaWAN® for transport of DLMS/COSEM for electric meters, where LoRaWAN® is used whenever G3 does not work or G3 concentrators are too expensive to deploy.

Innovation through Collaboration

The joint laboratory lab.SCHC, established by Actility and IMT Atlantique following Actility’s acquisition of Acklio in July 2023, serves as a hub for innovation and standard development in SCHC technologies. This collaboration has now yielded the open-source SCHC client SDK, available on Github at https://lab-schc.github.io/ . This toolkit is designed to empower meter manufacturers to seamlessly integrate state-of-the-art LPWAN and cellular IP and non-IP capabilities, such as NB-IOT NIDD, into their products.

Free access to test LoRaWAN® network infrastructure and SCHC server is also provided through Actility’s ThingPark Community network.

Open-Source Advantages

The release of the SCHC client SDK as an open-source resource underscores the commitment of lab.SCHC to foster broader adoption and innovation in the IoT landscape. It provides developers and manufacturers with robust, tested tools to implement efficient communication protocols in power-sensitive applications.

Future Developments

Looking forward, lab.SCHC  continues to focus on enhancing the SCHC standard, with upcoming features like Forward Error Correction (FEC) and other enhancements aimed at meeting the evolving needs of IoT connectivity.

For additional information about lab.SCHC and the newly released SCHC client SDK, please visit the website of the laboratory https://www.lab-schc.fr/ .

About IMT Atlantique

IMT Atlantique is one of the top 10 Technical Universities in France, and one of the top 400 universities in the world in THE World University Ranking. It is a general engineering grande école financed by the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, and the first Institut Mines Télécom « Mines-Telecom » Technological university, founded on January 1st, 2017 from the merger of Mines Nantes and Télécom Bretagne.

IMT Atlantique is:

  • a Higher Education Institution with first-rate research potential, internationally recognized for its research (present in 5 disciplines in the Shanghai, QS and THE rankings).

  • a resolutely multi-site institution reflecting the world in which we live. An institution with a strong local presence, and a commitment to contributing to local development

  • an institution which is aware of its environmental and societal responsibility. In 2019 it was awarded the sustainable development & social responsibility accreditation.

  • and finally, an institution that trains executives capable of understanding and mastering the complexity of the highly interconnected systems of the future, by combining their knowledge of the systems with that of the networks that link them.

https://www.imt-atlantique.fr/fr

About Actility 

Actility is the world leader in low-power wide-area networks (LPWAN) industrial-grade connectivity solutions for the Internet of Things. Actility provides its ThingPark™ platform and network technology to deploy, operate and maintain public and private wireless IoT networks within a unified, scalable and versatile network infrastructure. The vast majority of nationwide LoRaWAN® network service providers (over 50) and hundreds of enterprises trust ThingPark™ all over the world. Through its subsidiary Abeeway, Actility also provides patented ultra-low power tracking solutions. ThingPark Market offers the largest selection of interoperable IoT gateways, devices and applications to simplify and accelerate deployment of numerous use cases.

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