Ryan Hickey (BEng’97) and the team at Eleven-X are playing a key role in building the “Internet of Things.”

The company recently launched a rooftop station that will hopefully be the base of a large network of sensors. The sensors will transmit data from “things” such as fridges and garbage bins, reminding owners to empty the bin or replace a particular food item.

It is widely believed that connecting everyday objects to the internet is the future of technology, and Hickey’s company is at the forefront. Eleven-X’s low-power, wide-area network is believed to be the first of it’s kind in Canada.

“This is very early, things are evolving and developing all the time,” says Hickey, a former BlackBerry employee.

“You can see that in four to five years from now it can be life-changing for a lot of people and businesses and governments,” Hickey says. “It is going to be huge.”

Read more in “Waterloo startup senses big Internet of Things opportunity,” on waterloochronicle.ca.

Photo: Peter Lee/Record staff