In an interview with Machina Research during Mobile World Congress, Patrick Kuo, CEO of ThroughTek, shares his thoughts on the mobile industry and addresses challenges in developing IoT devices for surveillance and smart home market.
Machina Research: For readers who aren't very familiar with ThroughTek, can you introduce us to your company?
Patrick Kuo: ThroughTek is a software company, providing turnkey IoT solution and cloud services with the Kalay Platform. Our extensive partnership with chipset vendors enables businesses to easily implement and rapidly deploy IoT ecosystems. We work mostly with enterprises, such as technology brands, device manufacturers, system integrators, and service providers to deliver managed services for multimedia and smart home application with integrated products.
What are ThroughTek's main focus areas?
Security continues to lead in smart home applications, so delivery of multimedia content plays a large part in surveillance. Our streaming server, is what largely differentiates us from our competition, supporting real-time two-way communication for the transmission of audio and images simultaneously. We offer video recording features with event detection to automate event capture capability and video playback to offer a complete smart home security.
ThroughTek also works with device makers to extend their application use. We have started to see an increase in demand for smart home devices that relate to security, such as doorphones, which are now wireless and require remote access for monitoring and controlling door entry. Lighting, on the other hand, works well when combined with motion sensors to improve levels of comfort for the home, and adds a certain level of security when combined with wireless cameras. Robotics and telecare devices are another area we expect to make an impact in the near-future, used for the elderly and for child care to provide improved communication and interaction between end points. At the same time, we are currently improving our service offerings and expanding our partnerships to integrate third-party services to enrich applications for the delivery of IoT security, live broadcast and video analytics.
Additionally, ThroughTek is currently developing the data collection and analytical framework of the Kalay Platform to define standards for data processing and machine learning. Through adaptive learning, we hope to offer an enterprise solution to capture and analyze data in real time to create values for predicting anomalous events or behaviors. Our goal is to provide an end-to-end solution to help enterprises connect devices and then manage and make the most out of their data through business intelligence.
Until now, ThroughTek has focused a lot of attention on the surveillance segment. Which sectors do you think are particularly ripe for growth in 2016?
Absolutely, the security and surveillance market was our main focus last year, but it will continue to grow across the globe, particularly as new applications create different types of demand. We are seeing the smart home market slowly mature, as telecoms and service providers are waking up and beginning to integrate security systems as part of their overall services. This has given us the opportunity to work on delivering increased manageability to devices and sensors for energy saving, security, and comfort for a more comprehensive smart home solution. End users can assign device groups, control lighting, room temperature, and more from their smart phones, wherever they happen to be.
Can you share some thoughts on what the mobile industry is doing to support IoT, in particular as it affects the areas on which ThroughTek focuses?
As consumers begin to buy-in with IoT, we will start to see device manufacturers realize the need to work closer with software companies. Semiconductor companies will be required to provide comprehensive solutions — for instance, those that involve security, software, or systems integration services in addition to hardware. ThroughTek being an example, we have always and will continue to work closely with our chipset partners to ensure that embedded chips within devices will be able to support software applications and increase product innovation.
With the Internet of Things, real-time communications is key in real world networking environments. IoT growth will require comparably significant infrastructure development. Telecoms and service providers will need to improve network infrastructures in order to manage largescale data transportation, as more devices and sensors will be processing and handling data. The ability to operate efficiently and scale management of network infrastructure will be required to achieve the promise of the Internet of Things. Telecoms and service providers will also need to evaluate whether their pricing models will be competitive enough to scale and meet consumer needs.
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