This week, Withings has released a home security camera, much like the Piper model that RIoT has covered in the past, and startup Playtabase has shown off its Reemo point-and-click smart home control system, which uses a wristband to let users operate connected devices. US cableco Suddenlink has jumped into the smart home game, and Nest is beginning its European rollout, in Belgium, France, Ireland and the Netherlands later this month, as well as adding more devices to its ecosystem. AT&T is licensing its Digital Life smart home package to Telefonica’s European trials,
LogMeIn is partnering within Verdeva to build connected petrol pumps, with Verdeva stating that the Xively cloud platform saved them about 6 months in development time. LogMeIn has also purchased Meldium and its ID management systems for $15m. Also, here’s an example of the way industrial IoT tech bleeds into the consumer sphere, as Tado’s diagnostic testing for boilers comes to market.
NetworkWorld takes a look at 10 hot IoT startups, and its sister InfoWorld dives into the weird and wacky side of the increasingly long list of wearables. EE Times looks at 4 hurdles to securing the IoT, Google is ramping up work on its Quantum Computer, NXP has released a guide to NFC and the IoT, RacoWireless has released an IoT for Dummies eBook. Dell opened an IoT lab in Silicon Valley, Texas Instruments has released a smart watch dev kit, M2M Spectrum Networks signs a colocation networking agreement with Conterra Broadband in the US, and Sierra Wireless is celebrating its 100 millionth shipment.
The telemedicine market is due to grown at 14.3% CAGR to $36.3bn in 2020, from $14.3bn in 2013, and the Latin American M2M market will reach $8.2bn by 2020. Itron has won a 1.2m smart meter with EDF in France, and there’s more bad news for Sensus, as SaskPower agrees to a $47m refund after blaming Sensus for a spate of smart meter fires.
To round off this week, take a look at a connected offshore mussel farm, and how smart water meters can prevent flooding from burst pipes. Tech Republic also warns that while the IoT is massive, so are its odds of failure. Finally, here’s a lecture on the ethics of autonomous technology: ‘who do you blame when the wrong decision is made?’ – and lastly, here’s a rather alarmist warning that smart grid vulnerabilities could be exploited by Mexican cartels hired by ISIS. We think “grid jihad” is the best term we’ve discovered all week.