An IoT (internet of things) laboratory has been established in the University of Tehran’s Tech Park to accelerate the domestic tech sector’s growth.
Meysam Yousefi, an official with the Tech Park, said the IoT lab is a joint project launched by the university, Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology, and Mobile Telecommunications Company of Iran, ISNA reported.
“The lab, also called IoT Arena, represents a collaboration between the academia, the government and the industrial sector,” he said.
According to Yousefi, IoT is the extension of internet connectivity into physical devices and everyday objects.
Embedded with electronics, internet connectivity and other forms of hardware (such as sensors), these devices can communicate and interact with others over the internet and can be remotely monitored.
The laboratory is a platform for harnessing internet of things resources and developing related services by bringing together tech enthusiasts and startups working on the global trend.
“The lab provides premier networking and business development possibilities for strategic, technical and corporate alliances,” he said.
It plans to gather investors, mentors and consultants to help the IoT startups expand their businesses.
Yousefi said numerous teams of talented university graduates and around 40 companies and startups working on IoT or relevant fields have settled in the lab.
He noted that the technology can also be applied in public transportation, vehicle quality inspection and agriculture industries.
Because the field is rather foreign to Iran’s technology ecosystem, IoT should be gradually inducted to find its proper position.
“IoT Arena is a pilot scheme, which is expected to be soon duplicated in tech parks and innovation factories across the country,” he added.
The development and use of smart solutions and the internet of things in Iran are growing, although much work is needed to expand the application of technologies, for instance, in managing natural resources.
Natural Resource Management
Earlier, Information and Communications Technologies Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said the IoT sector has seen a twofold expansion in the past several years.
"Tech aficionados have successfully completed the idea development stage and produced several innovative products. Now it's the right time to facilitate their presence in a broader context in the domestic market," Jahromi said.
Pointing to the fact that the ICT Ministry is not a customer of IoT products, Jahromi promised to bring on board other related executive bodies to facilitate the presence of smart gadgets in the local market.
The ICT minister highlighted the strong effect of smart technologies on streamlining natural resource management and said IoT products and ideas have significantly helped control energy consumption and modernize agricultural methods.
“Judicious energy consumption has posed a serious challenge in the country, as no comprehensive and workable solution has been developed so far. Hence, IoT-based products can help make energy consumption more efficient and resolve some of the most challenging issues facing the country,” he added.
Jahromi described water scarcity in Iran as a chronic limitation, especially because inefficient conventional agricultural methods are employed in the country.
“The agribusinesses will be able to reduce water use and simultaneously boost production by incorporating smart techniques,” he said.
Experts believe that smart solutions and IoT technology can help resolve chronic problems, particularly those related to metropolises, such as water shortage, environmental pollution and traffic congestion.
Resource Consumption
As a small part of IoT expansion in the country, the use of smart electricity metering system is gaining momentum.
This is exemplified by energy-intensive agricultural units and households, which have been equipped with locally-developed smart electricity meters over the past few years.
According to a report by the Energy Ministry, these smart meters have been installed on an estimated 3,000 farmlands and houses in the mountainous province of East Azarbaijan since 2016.
The ministry reports that close to 5,000 more units are being equipped with metering devices in the region.
In addition, the government-affiliated Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company has installed 307,000 smart meters at farming units in or near Tehran, Mashhad, Ahvaz, Zanjan and Isfahan over the past couple of years.
For instance, the transformation of traditional wells into smart wells in Sabzevar, Khorasan Razavi Province, has reduced the extraction of underground water by 20%, according to the provincial water company.
A total of 1,600 authorized wells in the city are equipped with smart electricity meters to lower water extraction from underground resources by 20%, the company reported.
Smart metering is one of the first steps to develop citywide smart grid systems for curtailing energy and water consumption.
By providing real-time data on electricity and water usage, smart meters allow utility providers to optimize energy and water distribution while also empowering consumers to make smarter decisions about their consumption pattern.
Government Stepping In
Last year in August, the Iranian government introduced a new investment scheme to help startups working on emerging technologies, which was to be spearheaded by the Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology.
The investment scheme is focused on tech teams specializing in artificial intelligence, blockchain, augmented reality, virtual reality, internet of things and smart cities, which are considered the world’s top trending technologies.
Mohammad Mohammadi, an official with the vice presidential office, said the program is to be implemented in five fields, including bootcamps, for materializing academia-born ideas.
Mohammadi said the office will cover 50% of the costs of bootcamps while the private sector provides the rest.
Academic dissertations on targeted tech fields are invited to apply for grants worth 100-500 million rials ($430-2,170).
The official noted that startups working on viable products will be paid loans to the tune of 1.5 billion rials ($6,430) for acceleration costs.
MVP is a version of a product with just enough features to satisfy early customers and provide feedback for future product development.
“In case a startup manages to pass the acceleration stage and build up a fledgling business, they will be exempted from repaying 50% of the loan,” he added.
Besides, the vice presidential office and its affiliated entity Iran National Innovation Fund initially make a pre-vetted investment in startups up to four times more than their initial capital.
Mohammadi noted that established tech firms willing to forge ties with universities, academia and startup growth centers will be offered financial aid to the tune of 3 billion rials ($12,800).
Tech authorities believe that new technologies can help transform Iran’s conventional, oil-based economy into a dynamic and knowledge-based economic system, by curbing the country’s reliance on exports of raw materials.
To this end, the government has opened up its coffers to fledgling startups and knowledge-based firms since President Hassan Rouhani began his first tenure in 2013.
