We are thrilled to announce the release of our latest major version: DeepHub 2022 R1 – 2.0.0.

The DeepHub is the first, premier implementation of an omlox hub, a software middleware that acts as the core of the omlox standard. It bridges the gap between locating technologies and applications – independent of the underlying technology or manufacturer.

As a co-founder of the omlox standard and through our extensive involvement in various solutions, uses cases, and implementations in the omlox ecosystem, we continue to fine-tune our expertise and perfect the DeepHub to meet current and future requirements of our partners, customers, and the market at large.

With this DeepHub release, we emphasized flexibility, stability, and ease of use. We’d like to take this opportunity to highlight a few new features and enhancements. For the full changelog (including bug fixes), please refer to our documentation.

Where to Get Latest DeepHub, Example Configurations, & Code Snippets

To make our users feel more at home and to further build up our developer and user community, we have changed our distribution channel for the DeepHub.

Starting with this version, the binary is now available at Docker Hub. This is not only true for the latest stable release, but for beta versions of the DeepHub that will be published there as well. Check out our repository at Flowcate@docker and get the latest Docker images of the DeepHub and the DeepHub UI.

Additionally, you can find example configurations for running the DeepHub and the DeepHub UI orchestrated through Docker Compose, source code examples on how to use the REST API of the DeepHub, and much more at Github! Check out Flowcate@github and download/clone the “deephub-basic-setup” repository to begin experimenting and test driving the hub.

New Features & Enhancements

DeepHub® Rule Engine

With this release, we have introduced our new rule engine feature that significantly extends the capabilities and flexibility of the DeepHub. This makes the DeepHub the only locating middleware with a rule engine that can be applied across all locating technologies and providers.

In certain environments, such as smart factories, multiple locating technologies may be installed that simultaneously track individual objects. For example, an automated guided vehicle could be tracked using ultra-wide band and Wi-Fi, where each technology sends location updates to the DeepHub at the same time. This makes it challenging to determine which location update is more accurate.

The DeepHub rule engine circumvents this issue by enabling greater control of your data. You can apply rules that dictate the prioritization of location information in relation to trackables. For example, you can define that location data from an ultra-wide band system should take precedence if the data is not older than the location information from a different tracking technology. The reasoning behind this is that an ultra-wide band system is considered to be the most accurate.

Through the DeepHub API or the DeepHub UI, you may define either a ruleset that applies to all trackables, or specific rules for individual trackables.

For more information on this feature, and to learn how to implement it in your own DeepHub instance, refer to our documentation.

Support for ISO/IEC 24730 Interface

To extend flexibility and promote interoperability, the DeepHub now supports the ISO/IEC 24730 standard RTLS interface, and may be configured to connect to RTLS that are compliant with this interface. By supporting this well-established interface, the hub streamlines connections to many more RTLS products on the market, thereby reducing integration and development time.

For more information on this, and to learn how to implement it in your own DeepHub instance, refer to our documentation.

Support for Eventually Consistent Databases

Previously, only an embedded SQlite database could be used for the DeepHub to store configuration information and usage statistics. This is great for performance when the hub is deployed on-premise or on the edge, but greater flexibility is sometimes needed. To address this, it is now possible to stick with SQlite, or to operate the DeepHub with a separate, dedicated database, such as Apache Cassandra. This ensures the DeepHub can be deployed in cloud setups that require scalability, high availability, and exceptional performance. No matter what your IT setup looks like, the DeepHub has got you covered.

Location Providers Added to UI

In the past, a criticism from our users was the inability to modify location providers using the DeepHub UI. This was a fair point, so we gave location providers their own dedicated tab in the UI!

The user experience when working with location providers in the UI will feel familiar and intuitive – it’s very similar to that of trackables, zones, and fences. This new tab makes it easy to create, delete, and manage location providers from the UI – instead of having to use the REST API.

Extended Monitoring of DeepHub Health

As a DeepHub operator, you need to thoroughly understand and monitor the health of your hub instance to ensure your system is functioning correctly.

We’ve extended our /health endpoints of the REST API to provide much more information on different components of your hub instance – enabling you to easily identify any irregularities or issues.

Docker Containers Usable in Read-Only Mode

When Docker containers are run in production, you do not want the processes inside of them to be able to modify the contents from the image. Therefore, for security reasons, it is best practice to run Docker containers in read-only mode and to move persistent data into a separate volume, mounted host filesystem, or database.

To conform with this best practice, and to make the DeepHub better-suited for OpenShift and Kubernetes deployments, the default configuration of the DeepHub has been changed to run in read-only mode.

Fence Events More Intuitive in UI

If a trackable is linked to a location provider and it enters/exits a fence, you will get fence enter/exit event notifications in the Live View for both the trackable and location provider. The DeepHub UI has been updated so that these notifications are more clear and intuitive – trackables and location providers are now distinguished with a vertical coloured bar. In the example illustrated below, the trackable has a vertical green bar, and the location provider (testprovider57) has a vertical blue bar.

What’s Next?

This is our first DeepHub release under our new Flowcate banner! The focus this time was on flexibility, stability, ease of use, and furthering our developer/user community by moving to Docker Hub and Github. This version comes with a plethora of new features and improvements, so make sure to upgrade today.

If you have any questions, or would like more information, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Our Partner Management team would be happy to help.

This year is full of exciting, new developments from our team. Make sure to follow us on LinkedIn to stay up-to-date on everything that’s upcoming!