What the Duck?
We have been talking a lot about Ducks lately. You might have figured out by now that we are not referring to the ones that are flocking into memes. We are talking about the ones that are used to create connectivity.
What is a Duck?
Ducks are IoT devices that seamlessly connect to each other generating an encrypted, wireless ad-hoc network with a single click of a button. It uses LoRa radio to communicate with each other in a mesh network. LoRa is a low-bandwidth (9.6 Kbps) radio technology that operates in the ISM band. What does that mean? Well, it means that we can have connectivity over long distances. The trade-off is that the data rate is low which means we will not be able to catch up in the new season of Stranger Things.
What can we do with this wireless mesh network? This network provides that 1% connectivity needed to relay critical information. In natural disasters, critical information is an SOS message sent to first responders. In an oil rig, critical information is monitoring any fugitive methane leaks to prevent them from escalating to the atmosphere. In logistics, critical information is tracking important assets so it doesn’t get lost.
Ducks are able to send messages at a long-range, typically around a 1–2 km line of sight on the ground. We can strategically place these Ducks to create a network, called the ClusterDuck Network and expand the coverage area or keep it with ourselves to continuously stay connected with a ClusterDuck Network.
What Makes a Duck Tick?
The core of this technology is the ClusterDuck Protocol (CDP). CDP is a protocol for the Ducks that instructs them on how to create data and handle incoming and outgoing messages within the ClusterDuck Network. In March 2020, CDP officially became an open-source project under the Linux Foundation. The CDP attracted a community dedicated to connecting the people, places, and things we care about most. With 1100+ (and counting) members contributing thousands of lines of code, the CDP is evolving to become more resilient and efficient than ever before.
Do Ducks Evolve?
In 2018, we proposed our duckin’ solution to IBM’s hackathon, Call for Code, to help mitigate natural disasters and we won! But that was just the beginning. For that submission, we used an off-the-shelf microprocessor and a cool form factor for the enclosure, the icosahedron. An icosahedron is a 20-sided shape that looked amazing and was able to float in water displaying the shape’s convenience during natural disasters. We were just excited to see the icosahedron miraculously appear in front of our eyes (more like after 10 hours) in our 3D printer.
After our first deployment, we quickly realize that we had to part ways with the icosahedron. It is a beauty but it did not provide any purpose other than for eye candy. In reality, we needed something that was sleek and purposeful. Over the years, with great leadership from the product team, we yanked out bits that we didn’t need and glued together the things we did. For example, the Ducks didn’t need an OLED display but did need a GPS chip which led to the handheld form factor today (see feature image).
In addition, we made different species, if you will, of the Ducks. Each specie provides an additional feature. If there needs to be a permanent network, say for monitoring air quality in cities, we can deploy SolarDucks. Solar Ducks are Ducks attached to a solar panel for eternal power.
As our technology continues to evolve, we are getting a step closer to make the world more resilient through connectivity. We are integrating our communication technology to solve the task at hand– whether it is creating an emergency network, monitoring fugitive methane leaks and/or air quality, creating a localized positioning system and more!
