Direct Communication, No Fees
The core concept behind our Moto Mod concept is essentially a digital walkie-talkie, enabling Moto Z devices with our Modulator Moto Mod™ to communicate directly with each other without the need for any existing network infrastructure and with some actual usable range similar to current standalone digital portable radios. We are also building an ecosystem of sensors that can be accessed directly from a Moto Z device with our Moto Mod™. The target frequency bands are license free and present no cost to the user. The use cases for this type of direct device-to-device communication are numerous:
Privacy & Security Conscious Users
- Transmitted Data Does Not Pass Through Any Third Party
- Private Channels, Broadcast Capability, Multi-User Support
- Strong Encryption Is Enabled By Default In Radio Protocol
- Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum Increases Resistance To Eavesdropping And Interference From Other Radios
Areas With No Cell Service
- The Great Outdoors: Camping, Skiing, Boating, etc.
- Developing Nations With Fewer Existing Networks
- Think Walkie-Talkies That Can Text And Send Media Files
IoT Devices
- Ideal For Field Technicians
- Proven Industrial Use Technology
- Hardware Support For ZigBee / IEEE 802.15.4 Compatibility
- Monitor Remote Devices From Your Phone
- Direct Messaging Beacons For Public Spaces
Enterprise Grade, Consumer Friendly
The Enterprise and Consumer versions of the Modulator software share many features such as strong AES-256 encryption and randomized frequency hopping, essentially negating the risk of intercepted or replayed messages. The Modulator app supports multiple channels, with each channel protected by a secret key that is never shared over the network.
The Modulator Team
Our team was originally working on a module for Google's Project Ara modular smartphone platform before the project was cancelled in September 2016.
We have switched our focus to developing a Moto Mod™ for Moto Z devices and we are partnering with CA Technologies to service the Enterprise market. The Modulator Moto Mod™ and CA Technologies Enterprise software solutions for authentication, authorization and message persistence will open up a new world of IoT possibilities.
Project Status
We have a lot of R&D already completed due to the fact that we spent the last year working on a module for Project Ara. We have a working prototype based on digital transceiver developer modules from our transceiver chip supplier. We also have the complete Altium project from our supplier for the reference design we are using to create our Moto Mod™ prototype boards. Having the complete Altium project of the reference design saves us a significant amount of money due to the fact that we don't have to spend nearly as much on circuit and RF design. The modifications to the reference design are limited to moving the SPI and power connections to match the placing on the Moto Mod™ platform.
We have a working Android application and also a Swing application for testing on the Raspberry Pi platform. Current development efforts are focused on fine tuning the frequency hopping algorithm and testing different radio configurations to determine the effect on range and error rate.
We just received our Moto Mod™ developer hardware in January 2017 and we are working on porting the existing prototype over to the Moto Mods™ platform. Our main focus is integrating the existing radio transceiver driver into the Moto Mod firmware based on NuttX and moving as much of the frequency hopping code and other radio logic into the firmware as possible.
Plans For Funding
We are planning on using the funds we raise to create the first Moto Mod™ specific prototype PCBs that we will be able to use for FCC certification testing. We are also planning on using some of the funds to pay for the FCC certification as well. We are aiming to get modular certification from the FCC so that we can use the same PCB for our Moto Mod™ and for standalone devices such as the Raspberry Pi.
