Last week, the Blues team had the pleasure of attending The Things Conference, the flagship event for LoRaWAN® and Low-Power Internet of Things (IoT). Alongside over 1,500 IoT professionals, we spent two inspiring days engaging with partners, industry leaders, and exploring the latest advancements in IoT technology—including the launch of our very own Notecard for LoRa.
The Blues Booth: Innovation on Display
As gold sponsors, we wanted to deliver an immersive experience! Our booth showcased the complete range of Blues Notecards and Notecarriers, giving attendees a hands-on demonstration of our technology. Attendees were excited by our live demo measuring the air quality of the venue in real-time, visualized through a dashboard powered by our partner, Datacake.
Introducing the New Notecard for LoRa
We kicked the event off with the unveiling of the new Notecard for LoRa. This system-on-module device offers the same plug-and-play simplicity and m.2 connector as previous versions, but with castellated edges, making it easier for product developers to embed the Notecard directly onto their PCB for volume production.
With Blues, your device is pre-registered with The Things Stack, reducing the complexity of connecting to The Things Network. Ready to experience it? Get your hands on a Blues Starter Kit for LoRaWAN® from our store here.
Blues Wireless for Opta PLC: Expanding Possibilities Through Partnership
Recently we launched the Wireless for PLC, an expansion module that adds cellular and Wi-FI connectivity to any Arduino® Opta® PLC. At our booth, we demonstrated this module in action, as the connectivity solution for an energy management system. This solution showcased how Wireless for PLC can enable remote commands, provide telemetry for solar panel energy usage, and automate appliance control based on real-time data which was displayed on the Arduino Cloud Dashboard—all made possible through seamless IoT connectivity.
Learn more about this demo here.
Insights from the Blues Team
Our presence at the conference wasn’t just about showcasing products, Blues team members took to the stage to share their expertise on the evolving IoT landscape:
- Brandon Satrom, SVP of Product and Experience, delivered his keynote ‘The Twelve Factor Thing’, a methodology for building next-gen managed edge devices. His presentation outlined twelve essential factors for developing connected products based on over a decade of IoT experience. Catch his full presentation here, or dive deeper at the companion site, 12factor.io.
- Alistair Fulton, COO and VP of Ecosystems, discussed ‘How IoT Can Save the World’, an insightful presentation focused on how IoT can drive economic and environmental sustainability, helping us achieve more while reducing our ecological footprint. Watch his presentation here.
- Rob Lauer, Senior Director of Developer Relations, led a workshop on developing for the Blues Notecard, guiding attendees through the process of building versatile, wirelessly connected products. Missed it? You can catch his ‘Getting Started with Wireless IoT’ tutorial here.
Hanging out with the Blues Team
After a busy first day, we took a step back to hang out with our partners and customers on a scenic dinner cruise along the Amsterdam canals. The Things Conference does an incredible job of bringing together professionals from all corners of the IoT industry, and this cruise provided the perfect setting to connect outside the showroom and discuss the future of IoT.
See You Next Year!
Once again, Blues had an incredible time at The Things Conference, from unveiling the new Notecard for LoRa, to sharing insights on the future of IoT. The event provided a fantastic platform for engaging with industry leaders, and exploring innovation with our partners and customers. A big thank you to The Things Conference for hosting such a well-organized and inspiring event. We look forward to continuing to push the boundaries of IoT and can’t wait to see you there again next year!