The buzz around the Internet of Things (IoT) tends to center around a set of highly functional, utilitarian ideas: connected objects can make smart homes a reality, where toasters will talk to alarm clocks so your toast is ready when you awaken, and smart refrigerators will know when you are out of yogurt and perhaps even place an online grocery order directly. Seemingly far-fetched applications, once only the stuff of science-fiction movies, such as turning an environment into ambient data visualization, where the hue of your lamp reflects your stock portfolio’s performance or optimizing health habits by checking body activity through your bracelet's color, are now being ushered into the realm of reality, thanks to the pervasiveness of connected smart devices.

As more devices and the environment they operate in, become actuated, connected, and data-enabled, these "enchanted" objects are developing the capacity to contain their own stories. An object can remember its history, understand how it is used, and talk to other objects around it to understand its environment. As these capabilities evolve, these devices no longer become inert backdrops to our experiences, but active participants in our world that can share stories about themselves and us. The key to all this is data connectivity between these devices, and by extension to the omnipresent and ubiquitous internet "cloud".

The entry/exit point for data into homes, which are becoming smarter and more connected, is an internet gateway device. This traffic cop of peripatetic data, connects to, and often manages & controls a smorgasbord of devices within the home on one side, and interfaces with the rest of the world through connections to the Internet on the other side. Advanced connectivity technologies for such a critical “junction” or “hub” are not just an option but a core requirement -- and because of the nature of the information it carries, security is integral to its design. With everyone now expecting to be connected everywhere, and with the all-pervasiveness of the cloud, a company named TeamF1, which provides high-performance networking and security software for these smart internet gateway devices has honed in on an audacious vision of a world where embedded smart appliances everywhere are reachable – and not just reachable, but securely reachable - from anywhere through their gateways, whether the internet connection be through broadband or fiber optic lines, whether DSL or cable, whether 3G or 4G/LTE.

Hurtling Down the Network Speedway

Founded in Fremont, California in 1998 by performance car racing fans and college buddies Mukesh Lulla and Vinai Kolli, TeamF1, Inc. is a privately-held preeminent supplier of turnkey software solutions for the embedded systems market.