Brydge is an IoT protocol that enables interactive smart devices powered by Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to leverage the benefits of the cloud. The infrastructure empowers builders to focus on their applications while handling the plumbing required to scale effortlessly.
Brydge utilizes mobile apps as gateways to the cloud, serving as a connectivity layer while providing builders the tools to unlock new value via access control, instant configuration updates, payments and more. Under the hood, Brydge is powered by a proprietary cryptographic token-based protocol and distributed ledger system that's crazy fast and 100% secure.
Brydge is built for mobile-first IoT applications that require features like authentication, configuration updates, event monitoring, OTA and more. In other words, Brydge is an optimal IoT infrastructural solution for consumer, personal and/or marketplace use cases that include mobile apps and/or need authentication/payments/data for the device owner/operator.
Devices that need to send data back and forth on periodic intervals with zero human/smartphone interactions.
Devices that don’t require mobile apps with human interactions.
Devices that require WiFi/cellular connectivity for credit card payments with credit card readers or some real-time feed like location tracking.
WiFi/Cellular - requires a roundtrip from the phone to the cell booster to antenna to cloud to ISP to router to device and all the way back to just start a session.
Brydge - with pre-authenticated tokens (think of them as keys) that are sitting in user’s phone when they tap or press start with NFC/BLE, there is no communication round trip to the cloud as the device simply accepts and validates the token (key) and starts the session (this process is crazy fast up to 50x compared to using traditional WiFi/cellular architecture. This is not a BLE benefit but the value of Brydge and its encrypted tokens that act as a rapid authentication mechanism for devices (regardless of online or offline status).
WiFi/Cellular/Ethernet - when deploying devices with typical cloud-dependent architecture that relies on these elements you may have to deploy extra WiFi repeaters or set up your own network for security as the customer might want it that way. This is labor intensive and requires materials to support. Same principle with ethernet (more costly and more reliable but not bullet-proof) and cellular is more expensive with cell boosters if there’s no cell signal or poor connectivity in the area - both the device and the user’s phone require a strong connection to make things work.
Brydge - this architecture eliminates the need for any IT upgrades whatsoever by making the smartphones the gateway to the cloud. Yes, BLE and NFC is like a remote turning on a TV but it is Brydge that eliminates the need for IT infrastructure with its tokens that enable access control & user authentication, and DLT to bring back data from these devices by storing them in the phone and sending it to the cloud later via any user that interacts with it. Just having BLE in your device means a phone can send a command over the pipe but ask yourself, how would the device know if the person sending the command has access? It’s our tokens that do that. How would the device know that the user cannot use the device after 5pm and it was a change that was made recently. It’s our tokens that do that. How would the device know how to send the event details of a payment or some error or data point of importance to anyone who interacts with it? It’s the encrypted ledgers that do that.
Typical IoT - above, we've covered the roundtrip of information exchange and within that, any broken piece, latency or constraints will lead to downtime to provide users access, get data back reliably and/or to check if a device is healthy.
Brydge - none of those failure points or need for good connectivity to exist. Brydge's ability to remain asynchronous = no downtime = 100% uptime.
Typical IoT - without Brydge you need to consider where connectivity is good/reliable & extend networks to areas in which the devices are deployed, or altogether avoid them. This is restrictive and inflexible as some locations may be better from an optics/usability standpoint and/or cost perspective but you are blocked by these chains of connectivity.
Brydge - deploy your devices anywhere you need/want them. Unlock new markets with ease.
Lower costs of BLE components.
Lower power usage of BLE (less battery or power constraints so you can make your devices smaller or unlock new spaces).
Lower lead times as it’s easier to rely on the supply chains & intelligence of smartphones (backed by Apple/Samsung) over your own supply chain for the devices and the peripheral gateways needed.
Less risk of hardware redundancy if your technology evolves with smartphones and the apps/backend carriers just as much of the logic.
Typical IoT - with cellular you have to pay ongoing cellular sim payments that can be restrictive to some special locations/geographies and results in operating expenses that may outweigh the benefits unlocked & revenue generated from your smart device. WiFi-enabled solutions are typically limited to indoor environments and require ongoing maintenance to support the IT infrastructure.
Brydge - eliminates all the above...
Typical IoT - with the devices directly connected to the cloud it’s more susceptible to hacks.
Brydge - significantly enhanced security due to the multi-hop nature of the architecture which is not directly connected to the cloud.
Typical IoT - 12-18 months development process with 75% of projects failing at the pilot stage because things break.
Brydge - deploy in weeks, not months. Brydge makes it simple by completely removing the pieces prone to breaking in traditional IoT applications.