Rajant Corporation is one of the leading providers of wireless networking solutions specializing in Kinetic Mesh® technology. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, USA, the company focuses on delivering robust and reliable wireless networking solutions for mission-critical applications.
Interview with Alice DiSanto, Vice President of Global Marketing at Rajant Corporation.
Easy Engineering: A brief description of the company and its activities.
Alice DiSanto: Rajant Kinetic Mesh® enables flexible, scalable, self-healing wireless networks that adapt to dynamic environments and challenging conditions, providing continuous connectivity anywhere. This networking allows organizations to establish high-performance wireless connectivity across large outdoor, indoor, and underground areas, including remote and harsh terrains, where traditional networking solutions may be impractical or unreliable.
The company’s products and solutions address the unique connectivity requirements of mobile and stationary assets, enabling real-time data communication, video streaming, IIoT/IoT applications, and AI edge computing in demanding environments–– all without infrastructure and usually at far less expense than other traditional high-risk options. Rajant’s portfolio includes a range of wireless nodes, accessories, and management software tailored to meet the diverse needs of its customers in a manner that is easy to deploy and operate.
With a focus on innovation and customer-centricity, Rajant continues to advance its technology to meet the evolving demands of modern industries. The company’s solutions empower organizations to enhance operational efficiency, improve safety and security, and unlock new opportunities for digital transformation in ever-changing, autonomy-aspiring environments around the globe.
E.E: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
A.D: Telecommunications, industrial indoor Wi-Fi, above-ground and underground mining, heavy construction, defense, oil & gas, ports, utilities, rail, public safety, agriculture, utilities, and rural broadband.
E.E: What’s the news about new products/services?
A.D: Recent products:
RiSM: Rajant In-line Security Module (RiSM) is a high-speed Hardware Security Module (HSM) designed to provide robust encryption capabilities for network security. RiSM is easier to set up than other HSM solutions, more affordable, and more reliable than software solutions that require a multi-tunnel approach.
RiSM is ideally suited for all Federal Agencies using cryptographic security systems to protect information in network-based systems. Industries such as utilities, TELCOs, or transportation that must comply with new federal requirements for securing critical infrastructure, public safety, smart city infrastructure, remote offices, banking, and healthcare are also best-fit partners.
Any data deemed critical to a business can and will be protected at a FIPS level with RiSM. It allows users to meet the latest NIST encryption standards (FIPS 140-3) and requirements for safeguarding Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) data.
RiSM ensures data security by utilizing advanced encryption techniques and limiting access to cryptographic keys only to designated crypto officers. This helps prevent unauthorized access and tampering of sensitive information. Unlike conventional encryption strategies, RiSM utilizes a separate processor dedicated solely to encryption tasks. This results in faster data encryption and transmission without compromising network performance.
The product mitigates the risk of hacking through backdoored software updates, unauthorized bootloader access, or modification of cryptographic algorithms. Its robust security features make it extremely difficult for unauthorized parties to compromise data.
Cowbell: Rajant’s Cowbell platform represents a comprehensive solution tailored to businesses deploying and managing AI applications in industrial environments. The platform encompasses a range of hardware, software, and applications, all integrated to offer a seamless and efficient solution.
The Cowbell platform includes rugged, industrial-grade hardware components housed in an IP67-rated enclosure suitable for indoor and outdoor use. This hardware encompasses powerful multi-core CPUs and GPUs, as well as many wired (serial, ethernet) and wireless (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LoRa, Rajant Kinetic Mesh®) connectivity interfaces. This robust hardware infrastructure ensures reliability and resilience in challenging industrial environments.
Cowbell’s software platform is built on a microservices-based architecture, offering scalability, flexibility, and extensibility. It provides foundational services for deploying and managing AI applications, including simplified deployment processes and seamless integration with third-party applications through open APIs. The platform’s distributed edge cluster architecture enables scalability over time, accommodating evolving business needs.
The Cowbell is equipped with various AI-enabled applications tailored for specific industrial use cases. These applications include automated warehouse inventory management with features like pallet barcode detection and tracking, environmental exposure detection and tracking for identifying hazardous conditions, large animal monitoring, smart patient rooms, and more. These applications leverage the platform’s hardware capabilities and software services to deliver actionable insights and optimize operations.
One of the critical features of the Cowbell platform is its seamless integration with Rajant Kinetic Mesh®, a wireless networking technology known for its reliability, scalability, and flexibility. This integration ensures robust connectivity across industrial environments, enabling real-time data exchange and communication between devices and applications.
Security is a top priority for the Cowbell platform. It offers comprehensive security features, including data encryption at rest and during transport, network isolation when necessary, and optional add-ons for NSA-grade security modules. These security measures ensure that sensitive data remains protected and that businesses can adhere to compliance requirements.
Benefits to Businesses:
- Improved Efficiency
- Enhanced Safety
- Cost Savings
- Scalability
- Reliability
Rajant’s Cowbell platform provides businesses with a turnkey solution for harnessing the power of AI in industrial settings. It offers a combination of hardware, software, applications, and connectivity to drive efficiency, safety, and competitiveness.
E.E: What are the ranges of products/services?
A.D: Rajant Corporation offers a wide range of products that help businesses remain connected, secure, and able to make decisions quickly and efficiently. Below are highlights of some of our prominent solutions:
Wireless Networking BreadCrumbs®: These BreadCrumb® nodes are the backbone of Rajant Kinetic Mesh® industrial wireless infrastructure. They boast high functionality, are remarkably simple to install, and are less expensive than other options, such as private LTE. Working harmoniously with InstaMesh®, they facilitate seamless voice, video, and data communications over a shared mesh infrastructure compatible with any other wireless system. What’s fascinating is that you can deploy hundreds of these nodes rapidly, and they’ll autonomously self-configure, forming a fully mobile, high-bandwidth industrial Wi-Fi network.
Reios: Rajant’s Reios IoT platform represents the pinnacle of data bridging and edge computing capabilities. It empowers users to bring comprehensive, predictive intelligence, cost efficiency, and automation to their operations. One standout feature is its ability to satisfy all data collection and monitoring needs through a single, open, and flexible IoT platform seamlessly integrated across a Rajant Kinetic Mesh® network.
Rajant Health: Better known as RHI, Rajant Health is the developer of cutting-edge technology that provides on-demand health insights. RHI’s intelligent products make raw data understandable and actionable for researchers, healthcare providers, and everyday users so individuals can live healthier lives. The company’s mission is to revolutionize health discovery on a global scale, which is done through its software, Trovomics, and hardware solutions sold by Rajant, known as the Cowbell and Q-Stat.
E.E: What is the state of the market where you are currently active?
A.D: Seamless automation, artificial intelligence integration, full mobility, and an interconnected ecosystem of machines, applications, and people –– all demand an agile and ubiquitous network to enable. Rajant is the only provider of continuous connectivity anywhere. The challenge is overcoming the marketing hype of wireless alternatives making similar claims. Kinetic Mesh® fills the gap in the market that LTE and Wi-Fi cannot service, making any connection better with never-break consistency.
E.E: What are the most innovative products/services marketed?
A.D: Kinetic Mesh® represents a groundbreaking advancement in wireless connectivity. It fills the gaps between Wi-Fi and LTE by offering unparalleled mobility, resilience, and scalability. Unlike traditional high-risk networks, Kinetic Mesh® operates autonomously, enabling every node to act independently with full routing capabilities. This ensures seamless connectivity even in dynamic environments with mobile assets. It is unlike anything else available in the market today.
This technology, born from military and mining applications, has a 20+ year proven track record of withstanding harsh conditions while guaranteeing uptime for mission-critical applications through its self-healing capabilities and absence of single points of failure. Kinetic Mesh® networks maximize performance and efficiency by dynamically utilizing all available radios and optimizing bandwidth utilization. Features such as ruggedness and high-level security, coupled with rapid scalability and adaptability, make Kinetic Mesh® a unique solution for industries requiring reliable, resilient, and mobile-enabled connectivity beyond the limitations of traditional Wi-Fi and LTE networks.
E.E: What estimations do you have for the beginning of 2024?
A.D: End users are asking for complex equipment with connectivity capabilities required to run applications for things, such as increased visibility of equipment health and the automation of services, such as remote access and predictive maintenance. Such a network must be ubiquitous, reliable, redundant, and secure. Rajant is the solution for customer needs. No “rip and replace” infrastructure or high-skilled engineering is necessary; the Rajant family of products built on Kinetic Mesh® will integrate with any existing networking to improve operations with seamless and continuous wireless communication.