PRESS RELEASE | LEXI Introduces World’s First Universal IoT Platform

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White Label, Multi-Protocol + Edge-to-Cloud Offering – Enables Companies to work with all leading ecosystems and across all major wireless protocols

BERKELEY, California – December 1, 2022 – LEXI, the company behind the industry’s most comprehensive IoT technologies that are transforming how both enterprises and consumers manage and automate their Smart Spaces, today announced the LEXI IoT Platform – a sizable step forward in easing the IoT experience for everyone connecting products, across apps, and across ecosystems.

LEXI’s suite of software and hardware provides complete functionality for enterprise customers to deploy a comprehensive Smart Home offering or Commercial IoT project.

Fully interoperable with leading IoT products/brands, the LEXI IoT Platform is being deployed across market segments including Smart Building, Smart City, Smart Home, Smart Agriculture, Environmental Monitoring, Industrial Control, Logistics and HVAC.

Universal. Multi-Protocol. Interoperable. Intelligent.

What differentiates the LEXI IoT Platform from everything else on the market is it’s far-reaching, future-ready design that supports all major wireless protocols including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Z-Wave, 900MHz, LoRaWAN® and cellular – plus it’s upgradable to Thread and Matter. Intentionally universal, the LEXI IoT Platform caters to all major smart home ecosystems including Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, IFTTT and soon Apple HomeKit, HomeAssistant and HomeBridge.

“This essentially is the missing piece to move IoT stakeholders and users into the next level of smart living as the future is multi-protocol and it’s all about interoperability,” said John E. Osborne II, COO, LEXI. “Manufacturers, telcos and retailers need a flexible, future-proof IoT platform to wrap their brand around, while their customers need the ‘it just works’ factor to finally kick in and spur the adoption and expansion of smart-everything.”

Already being rolled out to international telcos, the LEXI IoT Ecosystem is comprised of three core components:

  • LEXI Mobile Apps: Customizable, white-label iOS and Android mobile apps to add, control and manage devices. Works both with and without the LEXI Universal IoT Gateway.
  • Universal IoT Gateway: Includes support for ALL 5 major wireless protocols plus a powerful NXP processor to run AI models at the edge.
  • LEXI Cloud: U.S.-based cloud includes an admin portal, customer service portal, Roles-Based Access Control (RBAC), remove device control, a Big Data backend, and rich reporting & analytics dashboards.

Additional differentiators include:

  • Only IoT platform cloud built independently; delivers up to 90% cost savings over AWS IoT Core (utilized by competitive offerings)
  • 40% faster in performance (compared to major cloud services)
  • Forward compatibility with new wireless standards including Matter
  • White-Label Options: App, cloud, software, smart devices, Tier 1 customer service, reporting & analytics, warehousing
  • Platform-as-a-Service: Reduced operating costs, effective scalability, provides platform maintenance and flexibility, ready for the future
  • Multi-layered network security with the power to run AI models at the edge
  • Four U.S. patents in the application of Machine Learning (ML), Computer Vision, and Artificial Reality to IoT
  • Flexible suite of recurring revenue services can be resold as monthly subscriptions

The LEXI platform is interoperable with third-party devices as well as a wide variety of LEXI white-labeled Smart Devices for Smart Homes, Buildings, and Industries. Products fall under the categories of lighting and controls, sensors, security cameras, air quality monitors, water management, asset trackers and more.

“Companies can buy devices from overseas manufacturers, but they don’t have the resources to develop all the necessary software to competitively deploy, manage, report and support the IoT universe they’re offering to customers,” said Scott Cahill CEO, LEXI. “Our white-label, edge-to-cloud LEXI IoT Platform, which we have spent six years developing, brings relief to today’s often frustrating digital existence by providing not just smart, but intelligent connections to generate new revenue streams, attract new subscribers, and increase customer loyalty through a rewarding connected experience.”  

 Connect with us here to swap thoughts about intelligent IoT platforms.

Follow LEXI LinkedIn as we settle into orbit in the forthcoming multi-protocol universe .

Be part of the charge into the IoT’s next frontier: see LEXI’s Republic Campaign page.

About LEXI®

LEXI offers the ultimate gateway to the IoT universe. Our intelligent IoT platform is flexible, future-proof, and designed to empower companies to easily and intuitively add and manage Smart Devices for the home, building, city and agriculture. Our executive team is involved at the board level within leading global standards bodies that are charting the course for the connected future. Built by design to work with ALL leading ecosystems*, ALL major wireless protocols** and to bridge competitive third-party products, our Universal IoT Gateway is unrivaled, the LEXI Mobile App is comprehensive yet uncomplicated, and our U.S.-based cloud services were built by us from the ground up, enabling LEXI to deliver truly unique functionality at up to 90% cost savings over all our competitors. Learn more about the LEXI IoT Edge-to-Cloud Platform and other intelligent advantages at lexi.tech.

*Supports Amazon Alexa®, Google Home®, HomeKit®, IFTTT® & Samsung SmartThings®

**Far-reaching and future-ready: 900MHz, Bluetooth, LoRaWAN, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Z-Wave plus OTA to BLE Mesh, Thread and Matter

Media Contact:

Caroline Gick | LEXI Marketing/PR | pr@lexi.tech 

13 Reasons Wi-Fi is a Poor Choice for the Smart Home

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By Scott Cahill, CEO, LEXI

There are more than 250 million Smart Homes across the world and the market for Smart Home technology is forecasted to grow to $138.9 billion by 2023[1]. When thinking about how to connect all these smart devices, Wi-Fi is still more often than not the assumed protocol. However, except for IP Cameras, which require a Wi-Fi connection to send video data, using Wi-Fi for connectivity in the Smart Home is the least flexible, least effective, least reliable, and least secure option.

Why? Below are 13 reasons Wi-Fi is a poor Smart Home protocol:

1. Power Hog.  Wi-Fi was never designed to be a low power protocol.  As such, it uses a lot of power, rendering it completely unusable for battery powered devices like sensors.  An analysis we did for a customer showed that a battery powered Zigbee Water Leak Sensor would have 5 years of battery life while a Wi-Fi version of the same device would only last 6 months.

2. Bandwidth Hog.  Wi-Fi was designed for bandwidth intensive activities-web browsing, gaming, music & video streaming, etc. Your average Wi-Fi router can only handle 33 connections before it maxes out.  And it will begin dropping connections before it gets to 33. The average US home has 81 lights for example, far beyond the capacity of the average router.

3. DHCP addressing. Related to Bandwidth Hog.  Home routers are limited in the number DHCP addresses they support.   This example is fairly robust with 64, which is on the high side.

4. Smart Home Devices Lowest Priority.  Wi-Fi routers are often configured to prioritize computers, phones and streaming.  As such, the first devices they will drop are smart home devices.  

5. Dual Band Routers & Frequency Hopping.  Since they are primarily designed for computers and phones, new Wi-Fi routers no longer separate out SSIDs for 2.4G & 5G.  In fact, these new routers are designed to frequency hop between these bands to optimize the right frequency based upon device range.  Most Wi-Fi smart home devices are 2.4G only, which makes them difficult to connect to new routers and even when they can be connected, they drop connections more frequently.  

6. Star Topology (vs Mesh).  Wi-Fi is a Star Topology.  This means that every device connects directly to the router.  Unlike a Mesh topology in which each device can connect to one another.  In a Mesh network, as more devices are added, the network gets stronger, as opposed to a Star topology in which adding more devices makes the network weaker.  All the common smart home wireless protocols are mesh protocols (Bluetooth Mesh, Zigbee and Z-Wave).  

7. Each Device Connects to the User’s Router.  This means that the user must go through the sometimes difficult process of connecting the device directly to their home router.  Osram Lightify found that 80% of their customer service calls were about how to connect to the user’s router.

8. Wi-Fi Frequently Drops Connections.  How often does your phone or computer drop its Wi-Fi connection and then attempt to reconnect?  A lot.  That problem grows exponentially as the number of Wi-Fi smart devices increases.  Other Smart Home wireless protocols are designed to “bind” the device to the gateway or phone, thereby eliminating dropped connections.

9. No Gateway Support.  Wi-Fi devices connect directly to the user’s router.  In this case, the Smart Home Mobile App serves as a virtual gateway.  However, when the phone is not connected to the Internet or is turned off, key functionality such as schedules, alarms and notifications don’t work.  A gateway enables significantly more robust functionality.  

10. Each Wi-Fi Device Represents a Security Risk.  Every Wi-Fi device has an IP address and is often visible to an experienced hacker.  Other Smart Home protocols, notably Zigbee and Z-Wave have security built right into the protocol to prevent hacking.  In addition, they are not visible to the Internet as they are sitting behind a gateway.  

11. WiFi Requires a Constant Internet Connection.  Lose your internet connection and you lose control of your smart home.  

12. Limited Range.  Wi-Fi devices are limited to the range of the Wi-Fi router as opposed to mesh networks which continue to extend the range as more devices join the network.

13. Matter over Wi-Fi Requires Either a Gateway or an IPV6 Enabled Router Running the Matter Application Layer.  And only 28% of Wi-Fi Routers currently support IPV6.  

To overcome all these limitations and give companies that provide Smart Home solutions an option that will truly work, LEXI has built a Universal IoT Gateway that supports ALL major wireless protocols, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Mesh, Zigbee, Z-Wave, 900 MHz, LoraWAN, 3G/5G/LTE cellular, and is upgradeable to Thread and Matter.

The future is multi-protocol and as the first of its kind, LEXI’s Universal IoT Gateway enables customers to be wireless protocol agnostic when they select their devices, so they can truly focus on the Right Protocol for the Right Purpose.

Learn more about LEXI’s Universal IoT Gateway at lexi.tech.

[1] According to Statista.com, Smart Home – Facts & Statistics, March 16, 2022

MEDIA ALERT | LEXI to Work with Major International Telco (74M+ Subscribers) to Launch Smart Home Pilot Program

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WHO: LEXI, the company behind the industry’s most comprehensive IoT platform that’s transforming how enterprises and consumers manage and automate their Smart Spaces, has signed a term sheet with a Major International Telecommunications Company for a Smart Home pilot program in 300 homes.

WHAT: The pilot program consists of: 1) Smart Home Kits for each of the 300 sites, including a LEXI Universal IoT Gateway and a variety of smart home devices such as video cameras, sensors, lighting, and lighting controls, 2) the comprehensive LEXI mobile app to add, control, and manage devices, and 3) the LEXI Cloud for reporting and analytics, administration, and customer service.

WHEN: The pilot is expected to begin deployment in Q1 2023. Following a successful pilot, production rollout will begin on a full scale launch to the Telco’s full subscriber base in 2023, which includes 4M broadband and 70M non-broadband subscribers.

WHY: LEXI’s white-label enterprise IoT platform is based on a truly multi-protocol gateway designed to support forthcoming international interoperability standards. This future-proof, comprehensive IoT offering provides all the necessary components – hardware and software – for Telcos and service providers to offer unmatched, robust and flexible Smart Home solutions, enabling them to gain significant advantages over competitive offerings, generate new revenue streams, attract new subscribers, and increase customer loyalty.

About LEXI®

LEXI offers the ultimate gateway to the IoT universe. Our intelligent IoT platform is flexible, future-proof, and designed to empower companies to easily and intuitively add and manage Smart Devices for the home, building, city and agriculture. Our executive team is involved at the board level within leading global standards bodies that are charting the course for the connected future. Built by design to work with ALL leading ecosystems*, ALL major wireless protocols** and to bridge competitive third-party products, our Universal IoT Gateway is unrivaled, the LEXI Mobile App is comprehensive yet uncomplicated, and our U.S.-based cloud services were built by us from the ground up, enabling LEXI to deliver truly unique functionality at up to 90% cost savings over all our competitors. Learn more about the LEXI IoT Edge-to-Cloud Platform and other intelligent advantages at lexi.tech.

*Supports Amazon Alexa®, Google Home®, HomeKit®, IFTTT® & Samsung SmartThings®

**Far-reaching and future-ready: 900MHz, Bluetooth, LoRa, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Z-Wave plus OTA to BLE Mesh, Thread and Matter

Media Contact: Caroline Gick – LEXI Marketing/PR – pr@lexi.tech 

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