IIIT Hyderabad, Silicon Labs launch Wi-SUN network for smart city applications

Wi-SUN needs no towers or expensive communications infrastructure and allows sensors to connect easily to the cloud. The project will convert all 100 streetlights on campus to Wi-SUN smart streetlights. 

The International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIITH), in collaboration with the US-based Silicon Labs, has launched a campus-wide Wi-SUN (wireless smart utility network) to enable research and solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart cities. 

“Wi-SUN needs no towers or expensive communications infrastructure and allows sensors to connect easily to the cloud. The project will convert all 100 streetlights on campus to Wi-SUN smart streetlights,” said Ramesh Loganathan from IIITH. He said, “It will help build a dense and steady network to allow other sensors such as energy meters, indoor deployments, etc. anywhere on campus to utilise these lights as router nodes to send sensor data.” 

Wi-SUN to be rolled out by IIITH Smart City Living Lab 

Wi-SUN is an open-standard protocol enabling interoperable solutions through open-source software with multi-layer security. “Wi-SUN will allow utilities, municipalities, and other enterprises to deploy long-range, low-power wireless mesh networks connecting thousands of IoT nodes,” Loganathan said. 

The Wi-SUN network will be rolled out by the institute’s Smart City Living Lab. “The network will add to the existing modes of sensor communications including Wi-Fi and LoRa (Long Range radio communication technology),” he added. 

IIITH is an autonomous research university founded in 1998 that focuses on the core areas of Information Technology, such as Computer Science, Electronics and Communications, and their applications in other domains through inter-disciplinary research that has a greater social impact. 

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