Coach
Wahoo Fitness is a brand that touts Bluetooth connectivity and produces iPhone-centric devices. But this company, having first created its own profile for the Kickr trainer, is collaborating with ANT+ to create a standardized trainer profile. This will make it possible to sell different types of them and work with different online training programs. Existing Kickr trainers have been updated since the final public release, but the user will also have to update their computer or mobile device.
For a profile to be valuable, programs that can read its data are needed. A collaboration between Wahoo and Kinomap, the latter's videos are fully integrated with Kickr (and eventually other trainers). This allowed, for example, the software to change the load depending on height or other training program data. In other words, ANT+ technology allows you to synchronize efforts with video and vice versa. When the app starts, it looks for compatible sensors so it knows what data to work with, so it needs to program what piece of information will go to the virtual athlete on the screen.
Integration efficiency
So what happens if someone wants to submit new information that is not in their current profiles? According to Barnowski, this can be done in two ways. The first and fastest option is to create your own profile, which is necessary to quickly bring a product to the market or to hide something from other devices. This can be done at any time at the manufacturer level, which significantly speeds up the development cycle.
The second option is to request a new public ANT+ profile. This is necessary if, say, Speedplay wants to convey sole pressure or pedaling speed. This requires a computer company that will receive this data and, upon request, provide it to various electronics for reading and display. In this case, Speedplay representatives will contact ANT Plus and tell you what they need.
Kinomap Products
According to the developers, there is a demand for premium content on top of the huge amount of user-generated data. To take advantage of it and open up other possibilities using Kinomap Reply, a new open API that allows other developers to transmit Kinomap content through their own third-party application. They can purchase dedicated streaming hours or receive unlimited content for a monthly fee, which is then passed on to the end user.
There is also a Kinomap Group Training model that allows you to track many people and average out their efforts to train at spinning gyms.
What is Ant plugin service for?
Today, two main dominant trends are the development of wearable electronics and the Internet of Things. Fitness trackers and smart watches are conquering the world, and household devices that are completely ordinary and simple in purpose are acquiring unprecedented capabilities and their own IP. Previously, we were attracted by the very fact of connecting to the network, and the development of gadgets was subordinated to the idea of improving methods of communication. Today, a new era is dawning: we are turning into centers of tiny networks named after ourselves. We begin to surround ourselves with devices that record our physical state, movement in space and type of activity, creating round-the-clock logs of our existence. Our homes are gradually filled with appliances and devices that can (and should) be controlled remotely and centrally. As a result, the smartphone will become increasingly important as a kind of center where information from all kinds of trackers, sensors, smart light bulbs and other numerous high-tech satellites flows. Obviously, in these conditions, some generally accepted communication protocol is necessary. And one of the most promising candidates for this role is the ANT+ protocol, implemented in YotaPhone 2.
What is ANT+
This is a proprietary protocol designed to communicate with near-field sensors.
Basically they are: ANT+ is an adaptive synchronous protocol. An ANT+ network consists of logical connections between two nodes. Within each connection, one node is the master and the other is the slave. However, the same slave can be a master in relation to another node with which it forms a different logical connection. In an ANT network, any node can connect to any node.
Logical diagram of the ANT protocol in Android:
Comparison with Bluetooth
This protocol also has a number of other advantages. For example, thanks to different network topologies, ANT+ allows you to implement many more custom connection scenarios. In addition, the ANT+ service for Android allows you to simultaneously run multiple independent applications using a single communication module.
Conclusion
Despite the proprietary nature of the protocol itself, the number and composition of external devices connecting to the gadget is unlimited. Is it just the number of radio frequency channels? That is, you can simultaneously receive information from a variety of sensors, depending on the task at hand. At the moment, this mainly applies to sports and physical activity, but with the development of the Internet of Things, we can expect a significant expansion in the range of connected devices. For example, ANT+ already allows you to control music playback, receive information from gas and torque sensors on a motorcycle, as well as navigation data from GPS devices.
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Disadvantages of the ANT standard
Among the disadvantages of the ANT data transmission method are conflicts with other technologies. Its creators did everything to ensure that devices equipped with it worked stably. But in some situations, when other technologies (Bluetooth) are activated, some losses and interruptions in the incoming signal occur. Therefore, users should make sure that they are not encountered in active mode on devices.
Unlike the similar Bluetooth standard, ANT is not as widespread. And there are problems in supporting it with other devices.
Differences from Bluetooth
ANT+ is similar to the famous Bluetooth wireless protocol, and they operate at a common frequency, but they have a number of differences:
Information transmitted by equipment sensors can be received by different devices; with the ANT HAL Service for Android, it is possible to simultaneously launch several applications supporting one communication module. The standard in question sends less additional data for the same amount, and fewer transactions are required for each connection.
A plus in favor of ANT+ is also added by low energy consumption during scanning, as well as initiating a connection and other processes, so from the point of view of saving battery power, there are significant advantages on the part of Android devices with ANT HAL Service. In some cases, packets of information are lost during data transfer due to different devices connecting simultaneously to Bluetooth and ANT+ and using the same frequency. We are not talking about replacing Bluetooth, especially since the narrow focus of the ANT+ standard should be taken into account, but many of the functions inherent in the “old” protocol are quite feasible using the new technology.
Operating range
Although the specification states that ANT+ has a range of up to 30m, it doesn't say that all devices must have that range. Most likely, sensor manufacturers will settle on a fairly minimum, such as the distance from the bike sensor to the handlebars, thereby reducing power and significantly improving the device's internal battery life. The Kickr is mains powered so it can handle maximum ANT+ signal. The receiver on the PC also operates at full power. Therefore, you should not be surprised if you easily receive signals from Kickr that the online calorie counter installed on your bike stops functioning if the exercise machine is moved a little further from the receiver.
Principle of operation
The protocol is capable of providing communication between two components, where one device in the connection is a sensor from which data comes, while the other receives it. At the same time, any devices that support the standard can form a logical connection and transmitting information can receive it in another formed connection with another object. ANT+ Plugins includes system elements that allow smartphone applications to access ANT+-enabled devices, regardless of Android OS version. The feature has already been implemented on smartphones from well-known manufacturers Samsung, Sony, etc., unlike Apple, but this does not mean that the technology cannot be applied to them. You can work with the adaptive standard even in the absence of integrated hardware support, via an OTG cable and an ANT+ USB stick using the ANT+ USB Service application. So, for mobile devices with USB/OTG, computers and devices with MacOS you need a USB adapter.
To make it more clear what kind of ANT HAL Service program is in a smartphone, we can give as an example any system installed in the house with an electronic sensor, from which signals will be sent to the control center, that is, to the phone where there is software that uses ANT+ transmission. The technology is also convenient when used for medical purposes, for example, when a doctor located at some distance from the patient (of course, within the range of the standard) receives data from sensors from the patient about his condition.
Application permissions
Another feature of the ANTRS program is that it will not download data if the Internet is available. The only time is to install the program on Android and provide access to Internet communication sockets. This connection is also necessary in order to link the ANT Radio Service with the Ant USB Stick program on a personal computer running Windows OS. Is the Internet and network access necessary when communicating ANTRS with a local computer?
The program will also request access to the system settings of the Android device. This is necessary so that the program can see whether the phone is working or in airplane mode.
And one more permission that the software needs is access to Bluetooth. Some ANT Radio Service configurations may require system-level Bluetooth functionality. But this service will not run a Bluetooth scan or create new connections.
What devices use the technology?
ANT is built into a large number of different devices, mainly sports equipment:
- All kinds of speed sensors, including exercise bikes;
- Glucometers, calorimeters, scales, pedometers;
- Blood pressure measuring devices;
- Indoor lighting control;
- Speed measurements in vehicles;
- All kinds of fitness equipment;
- Activity sensors;
- Tracking the location of objects;
- Manage music player settings.
In our phones, ANT can be used in different situations. For example, if the gate in your yard is equipped with a sensor that supports the standard, it can respond to the approach of a manipulator. When you get close to them, the sensor will go off and the gate will open. Examples can be given for a long time. ANT technology is also used in the development of smart homes, medicine, and mechanical engineering.
This may be useful: Duo - what is this program on Android.
