A complete, user-friendly remote firmware update system for smart building application
Firmware update system design and bootloader writing
Witekio provided a complete system integration service, from firmware update architecture integration to radio frequency communication and a web application that displays update statuses.
One of the key requirements for the project was to propose, develop, and integrate a complete reliable firmware update system. The aim of the development and integration of the system update for Adeunis’ STM32 based sensors is to allow remote update of all the sensors. Since Adeunis sensors are using batteries that are not replaceable by the final user, the firmware update developed by Witekio had to respect a mandatory requirement of power management.
The Witekio engineering team investigated different update strategies and tested them against Adeunis’ constraints before making the final choice. Among the strategies compared by the team were a MeSH network viral update strategy and a multi-hop strategy that allows maintenance technician to check update deployments live.
Developing the overall energy saving firmware update system was a major success in this project. Radio frequency signals were used to allow the update of all the sensors and the firmware update system bootloader was developed with the real time operating system, FreeRTOS.
A Web application for seamless sensor updates, implementation and status visualization
To allow seamless updates of the different sensors, Witekio developed an Ionic web application, respecting Adeunis’ graphical charter, while also proposing a proficient UI / UX approach by analyzing practical use patterns. Combining a fancy user interface and industrial standard, this web application enables efficient and time-saving sensor updates.
Adeunis’ Building Management System can now be automatically updated from a distance of several hundred meters.
The maintenance technician can visualize the list of devices that need an update. When on site, they can scan the local network and gets the list of devices needing an update that within reach before launching the update and checking the device status post-update to ensure success.
Security
To avoid updating with the wrong firmware, to avoid partial replay from hackers, and to avoid waking-up of the device by hackers that overuses the battery, Adeunis needed to prioritize security.
Security within any IoT system is a key focus point. To protect the overall firmware update systems from any man-in-the-middle attacks, a deep cryptography layer was added to the project. Since all the radio frequency-based communications between Adeunis modules and the web app were secured, Witekio significantly reduced the risk of attacks on the system.
