Your browser is not supported. Please update it.

5 June 2017

Rethink IoT News ATW 162: Around The Web Roundup

Make sure to subscribe to get ATW in your inbox, for free, each Monday.

// M&A, Strategies, Alliances //

  • mCloud has acquired FDSI (Field Diagnostics Services), to integrate FDSI’s HVAC, building, and energy analytics expertise into mCloud’s asset management portfolio.

  • Trimble has acquired NM Group (Network Mapping), to add NM’s data modeling and visualization tech to its utility and energy services portfolio.

  • Sigma Designs has joined the OCF, allowing OCF members to use Z-Wave in their projects, following Sigma’s contribution of Z-Wave to the ITU standards organization last year.

  • The Intelsat and OneWeb merger has fallen through, after failing to convince enough of the Intelsat bond-holders to agree to the Softbank-backed satellite operator merger.

  • Fractal Analytics has acquired 4i, a strategic consulting and AI services provider, aiming to boost Fractal’s analytics and AI-based service offerings.

  • Murata has acquired ID-Solutions, a university spin-off that is an RFID systems integrator that uses its own middleware and application software.

// Laws, Regulation, and Lawsuits //

  • Uber has fired Anthony Levandowski, citing his failure to comply with an order from the court handling Waymo’s IP-theft lawsuit.

// Forecasts, Surveys. Reports, and Blue Sky Thinking //

  • Enterprise wearable revenue will hit $55bn by 2022, according to ABI Research, growing from $10.5bn in 2017, at a CAGR of some 39%.

  • Amazon has been granted a patent for parachute-based delivery systems, likely an extension of its drone-based delivery platform strategy.

// Hardware //

  • ARM has released two new processors, the first based on its new DynamIQ architecture – the Cortex-A75 and the Cortex-A55, as well as a new VR/AR-focused Mali-G72 GPU.

  • MediaTek has launched a new low-power WiFi chipset aimed at smart home devices, with the MT7686 (low-cost porting), MT7682 (data-focused), and MT5932 (compact) skews.

  • Cypress has launched a new 802.11ac WiFi chipset that combines Bluetooth connectivity too, aimed at smart home applications such as gateways.

  • Microsemi has launched the AcuEdge developer kit for Amazon’s Alexa Voice Services (AVS) platform, based around the Timberwolf ZL38063 multi-mic audio processor.

  • Qualcomm has launched its Mesh Networking Platform offering, a stack that combines WiFi and Bluetooth (CSRmesh) for mesh networking – aimed at connected buildings.

  • WISeKey has launched its IIoT security chip with embedded Root-of-Trust, to send authenticated data to the cloud using dual-factor authentication at the device level.

// Networks, Protocols, & Wireless //

  • EnOcean and Silvair have partnered to launch energy-harvesting Bluetooth mesh light switches and sensors, powered by Silvair’s Mesh Stack.

  • TrackNet has picked LoRa for its home monitoring system, using Semtech’s chips in its Tabs wristbands, for child safety apps, and object detection hardware.

  • Upland Global is deploying a national RPMA network in Nigeria, expanding on a deal with Shell that saw it use the Ingenu LPWAN protocol to connect oil and gas infrastructure.

  • Megafon and Russian Railways have announced a connectivity partnership that will lay the ground for rail-based IoT projects in Russia.

  • Bell is launching an LTE-M network in Canada, with an asset tracking demo in partnership with BeWhere and a connected agriculture program with the University of Manitoba.

// Big Data, Cloud, AI, and Machine Learning //

  • HP is apparently launching an Amazon Echo rival, and will be using Microsoft’s Cortana digital assistant as the brains of the box.

  • Globe Telecom has picked Canvas to provide it with digital transformation and office task automation services, as part of the Philippine telco’s strategic evolutions.

  • CS Disco has launched its Disco AI deep learning platform, aimed at tackling the issue of data analysis in complex legal cases, using GPUs for its workloads.

  • Samsung has dropped the ball with Bixby, delaying the voice assistant’s English launch again, to the dismay of financial analysts who are proclaiming proof of it software incompetence.

// Smart Homes and Buildings //

  • Qualcomm has unveiled a mesh-capable WiFi router reference design, with a ZigBee radio and Bluetooth mesh via the CSRmesh technology.

  • Kuna Systems has launched a vehicle-recognition platform for smart home security, for smart security lighting systems to use as a basis for decision making.

  • Essential, the company driven by Android-creator Andy Rubin, has unveiled an intelligent smart home speaker, running Ambient OS, that tries to keep computation local and private.

  • Nest has revealed the NestCam IQ, a new home camera that uses Google’s Cloud to perform facial recognition and video analytics, which is also upgradeable to 4K.

  • Apple has reportedly started manufacturing its Amazon Echo rival, using Inventec as to build the smart home device – the same manufacturer that makes its wireless AirPods.

  • Samsung’s Connect Home WiFi mesh router has gone on sale, supporting both ZigBee and Z-Wave devices, with prices starting at $170, and a three-pack costing $380.

  • Nest and ecobee have signed a cross-licensing patent agreement. Details are confidential, but this agreement should prevent litigation between the two smart thermostat vendors.

// Industrial & Manufacturing //

  • Hitachi has updated its Lumada platform with new Solution Cores for manufacturing plants, covering a progress and monitoring system, and a work improvement support system, which Hitachi says is targeted at high-priority bottleneck work.

// Retail, Marketing, & Supply Chain //

  • Oskar Blues has picked Thinfilm to provide its NFC tagging technology for a series of connected beer coasters, which will be shipped nationally in the US, as a marketing campaign.

// Automotive //

  • Nevada and Nexar are building a state-wide V2X network, in a partnership that they say will create the first such network in the US, based on Nexar’s tech.

  • Volvo and Renova are testing an autonomous garbage truck, aiming to provide safer operation through vehicular sensors while also using less crew members.

  • Toyota will be the first automaker to deploy an IVI system based on the Automotive Grade Linux’s platform, in the 2018 Camry, which will be available in the summer.

  • Fiat-Chrysler has suffered another security blow, after a biker gang gained access to a secure key database and made off with $4.5m in 150 Jeeps in a key-cloning heist that took minutes.

  • Mitsubishi and LexisNexis have partnered, connecting Mitsubishi’s US vehicles to LexisNexis’ Telematics Exchange platform, aiming to prove the case for usage-based insurance.

  • Yandex, the Russian search engine giant, has unveiled its prototype autonomous taxi car, a LiDAR-equipped Toyota Prius, scheduled for public trials this year.

// Security //

// Smart Cities //

  • Libelium and Zolio Rios have shown off a connected service station installation, which uses the Meshlium gateway to track WiFi and Bluetooth connections from cars and smartphones.

  • ConnecThings has joined Current, GE’s smart building and city division, partner system, to promote the use of its Internet of Public Things beacons as a smart city technology.

// Smart Grid & Utility //

  • The Rocky Mountain Institute warns that the use cases around blockchain in smart grid applications are vague, but is launching the Energy Web Foundation to explore the issue.

  • Drift has launched a blockchain-esque energy trading system for deregulated energy markets, looking to combine machine-learning, high-frequency trading and p2p trading.