Open Source IoT Comms Module for Energy Access

Did you know there is an Open Source Communications module specifically created for energy access organizations that operate in remote communities?

“Cicada” is the IoT communications module with GSM & WiFi capabilities that allows energy access appliances like mini-grids and SHS to send and receive information about energy use. Cicada enables energy service providers to expand their services to rural communities that traditionally have been hard to reach.

When Cicada was created, existing off-the-shelf solutions were not rugged enough to perform in low-connectivity environments. This prompted Okra Solar to develop a solution and open source it, so that other companies on the same mission could use and tweak the technology to their own needs. Cicada is completely Open Source, free to use, well documented, and is also platform agnostic, meaning it can be easily customized to other microcontrollers or OS.

This webinar was recorded on 13 July 2023, with the following presenters:

Georg Lippitsch
Firmware Engineer

Georg works as a firmware engineer at Okra Solar, mainly responsible for IoT protocols and cloud communications. He has been the main developer of the Cicada library since it was established in 2019, and has a wide range of experience with different types of embedded radio devices, like 2G/4G, LoRaWAN or Wi-SUN.

Reinier van Kampenhout
Senior Firmware Developer

Reinier worked as an applied scientist at the Fraunhofer institute before obtaining his PhD in the field of real-time embedded systems. Since then he has specialized in firmware engineering for solar systems, starting at Engie Energy Access and since 2021 with the Access to Energy Institute.

Vivien Barnier
EnAccess CEO

As CEO of EnAccess, Vivien leads a team of experts that promotes and supports open innovations to expedite the implementation of decentralized energy systems in rural and peri-urban areas.

All of the Open Source materials are here.