According to Intel IoT is expected to be a multi-trillion-dollar market, with 50 billion devices creating 44 zettabytes (or 44 trillion gigabytes) of data annually by 2020. But that widely cited 50 billion IoT devices in 2020 number is clearly not correct! Forecast of 50 Billion Devices by 2020 Is Outdated. In 2017 we should be talking about about some sensible numbers. The current count is somewhere between Gartner’s estimate of 6.4 billion (which doesn’t include smartphones, tablets, and computers), International Data Corporation’s estimate of 9 billion (which also excludes those devices), and IHS’s estimate of 17.6 billion (with all such devices included). Both Ericsson and Evans have lowered their expectations from 50 billion for 2020: Evans, who is now CTO of Stringify, says he expects to see 30 billion connected devices by then, while Ericsson figures on 28 billion by 2021.
Connectivity and security will be key features for Internet of Things processors in 2017. Microcontroller (MCU) makers will continue to target their products at the Internet of Things (IoT) in 2017 by giving more focus on battery life, more connectivity of various types, and greater security. The new architectures are almost sure to spawn a multitude of IoT MCUs in 2017 from manufacturers who adopt ARM’s core designs.
ARM will be big. Last year, ARM’s partners shipped 15 billion chips based on its architectures. The trend toward IoT processors will go well beyond ARM licensees. Intel rolled out the Intel Atom E3900 Series for IoT applications. And do not forget MIPS an RISC-V.
FPGA manufacturers are pushing their products to IoT market. They promise that FPGAs solve challenges at the core of IoT implementation: making IoT devices power efficient, handling incompatible interfaces, and providing a processing growth path to handle the inevitable increase in device performance requirement.
Energy harvesting field will become interesting in 2017 as it is more broadly adopted. Energy harvesting is becoming the way forward to help supplement battery power or lose the need for it altogether. Generally researchers are eyeing energy-harvesting to power ultra-low-power devices, wearable technology, and other things that don’t need a lot of power or don’t come in a battery-friendly form factor.
Low power wide area networks (LPWA) networks (also known as NarrowBand IoT) will be hot in 2017. There is hope that f LPWA nets will act as a catalyst, changing the nature of the embedded and machine-to-machine markets as NB-IoT focuses specifically on indoor coverage, low cost, long battery life, and enabling a large number of connected devices. The markets will become a kind of do-it-yourselfers paradise of modules and services, blurring the lines between vendors, users and partners. At the same time for years to come, the market for low power wide area networks (LPWA) will be as fragmented and is already in a race to the bottom (Sigfox, said to be promising costs approaching $1 per node per year). Competing technologies include Sigfox, LoRa Alliance, LTE Cat 1, LTE Cat M1 (eMTC), LTE Cat NB1 (NB-IoT) and other sub-gigahertz options almost too numerous to enumerate.
We are starting to see a battle between different IoT technologies, and in few years to come we will see which are winners and which technologies will be lost in the fight. Sigfox and Lora are currently starting well, but telecom operators with mobile networks NB-IoT will try hit the race heavily in 2017. Vendors prep Cat M1, NB1 for 2017: The Cat M1 standard delivers up to 380 Kbits/second over a 1.4 MHz channel. NB-1 handles up to 40 Kbits/s over 200 kHz channels. Vendors hope the 7-billion-unit installed base of cellular M2M modules expands. It’s too early to tell which technologies will be mainstream and which niche. It could be that cellular NB-IOT was too late, it will fail in the short term, it can win in the long term, and the industry will struggle to make any money from it. At $2 a year, 20 billion devices will contribute around 4% of current global mobile subscription revenues.
New versions of communication standards will be taken into use in 2017. For example Bluetooth 5 that adds more speed and IoT functionality. In 2017, we will see an increase in the number of devices with the new Bluetooth 5 standard.
Industrial IoT to gain traction in 2017. Industrial applications ultimately have the greater transformative potential than consumer products, offering users real returns on investment (ROI) rather than just enhanced convenience or “cool factor”. But the industrial sector is conservative and has been slow to embrace an industrial IoT (IIoT), but is seems that they are getting interested now. During the past year there has been considerable progress in removing many of the barriers to IIoT adoption. A global wide implementation of an IIoT is many years away, of course. The issues of standards and interoperability will most likely remain unresolved for several years to come, but progress is being made. The Industrial Internet Consortium released a framework to support development of standards and best practices for IIoT security.
The IIoT market is certainly poised to grow. A Genpact research study, for instance, indicates that more than 80% of large companies believe that the IIoT will be essential to their future success. In a recent market analysis by Industry ARC, for instance, the projected value of the IIoT market will reach more than $120 billion by 2021. Research firm Markets and Markets is even more optimistic, pegging IIoT growth at a CAGR of 8% to more than $150 billion by 2020. And the benefits will follow. By GE’s estimate, the IIoT will stimulate an increase in the global GDP of $10 to $15 trillion over the next 20 years.
Systems integrators are seeking a quick way to enter the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market. So expect to see many plug and play IoT sensor systems unveiled. There were many releses in 2016, and expect to see more in 2017. Expect to see device, connectivity and cloud service to be marketed as one packet.
IoT analytics will be talked a lot in 2017. Many companies will promise to turn Big Data insights into bigger solutions. For industrial customers Big Data analytics is promised to drive operational efficiencies, cut costs, boosting production, and improving worker productivity. There are many IIoT analytic solution and platform suppliers already on the market and a growing number of companies are now addressing industrial analytics use.
In 2016 it was all bout getting the IoT devices connected to cloud. In 2017 we will see increased talk about fog computing. Fog computing is new IoT trend pushed by Cisco and many other companies. As the Internet of Things (IoT) evolves, decentralized, distributed-intelligence concepts such as “fog computing” are taking hold to address the need for lower latencies, improved security, lower power consumption, and higher reliability. The basic premise of fog computing is classic decentralization whereby some processing and storage functions are better performed locally instead of sending data all the way from the sensor, to the cloud, and back again to an actuator. This demands smarter sensors and new wireless sensor network architectures. Groups such as the Open Fog Consortium have formed to define how it should best be done. You might start to want to be able to run the same code in cloud and your IoT device.
The situation in IoT security in 2016 was already Hacking the IoT: As Bad As I Feared It’d Be and there is nothing that would indicate that the situation will not get any better in 2017. A veritable army of Internet-connected equipment has been circumvented of late, due to vulnerabilities in its hardware, software or both … “smart” TVs, set-top boxes and PVRs, along with IP cameras, routers, DSL, fiber and cable modems, printers and standalone print servers, NASs, cellular hot spots, and probably plenty of other gear. IoT world at the moment is full of vulnerable devices, and it will take years to get then replaces with more secure devices. Those vulnerable devices can be used to make huge DDoS attacks against Internet services. The 2016 October 21 cyberattacks on Dyn brought to light how easily many IoT devices can be compromised. I expect that kind of incidents will happen more in 2017 as DDoS botnets are pretty easy to build with tools available on-line. There’s no question that everyone in the chain – manufacturers, retailers and consumers – have to do a better job securing connected devices.When it comes to IoT, more security is needed.
2,275 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Brian Heater / TechCrunch:
Smart lock maker Otto, which unveiled its first product in August 2017, suspends operations
Smart lock maker Otto suspends operations
https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/01/smart-lock-maker-otto-suspends-operations/
Otto showed the world its digital lock in August. Four months later, the company has suspended operations. Hardware is hard. It’s a cliche for a reason.
The company made the decision just ahead of the holidays, a fact that founder and CEO Sam Jadallah recently made public with a lengthy Medium post now pinned to the top of the startup’s site. The extended survey of the Bay Area company’s short life is punctuated with the pithy title, “So Close,” a nod to the spitting distance the startup came to actually bringing a product to market.
the company was about to be acquired by someone with a lot more resources and experience in bringing a product to market, only to have the rug apparently pulled out at the last minute.
“You’re not in charge of your own destiny, and the margin for error is a lot smaller,” Jadallah told TechCrunch. “Building a really exciting hardware product needs a ton of resources, and is probably best inside of a bigger company. Frankly, that’s part of the reason I was excited about the acquisition. I knew it would take us out of the cyclical venture capital market and put us inside a company that knew how to make and ship products.”
The executive wouldn’t name the interested party during the call, but Otto was almost certainly made hopeful by the recent acquisition of August Home by Assa Abloy, the world’s largest lock manufacturer. The big players have no doubt that there’s plenty of room to grow in the space, and the connected home category shows no apparent signs of slowing. NPD reported a 43 percent growth in smart home sales in 2017. Security is a big piece of that puzzle, but there’s still plenty to unlock on that front.
Tomi Engdahl says:
M.G. Siegler / 500ish Words:
Amazon’s “Alexa everywhere” strategy is winning the smart speaker battle, and Apple’s delayed and high-priced HomePod may not be able to compete
Alexa Everywhere
And what that might mean for Apple’s HomePod
https://500ish.com/alexa-everywhere-eeee670a5f02
Tomi Engdahl says:
M.G. Siegler / 500ish Words:
Amazon’s “Alexa everywhere” strategy is winning the smart speaker battle, and Apple’s delayed and high-priced HomePod may not be able to compete
Alexa Everywhere
And what that might mean for Apple’s HomePod
https://500ish.com/alexa-everywhere-eeee670a5f02
“Having sold 75% of all smartspeakers, Amazon is now the world’s biggest speaker brand.”
Anyway, that was the jumping off point for a post, then Amazon put out their annual press release this week touting their holiday sales numbers. While Amazon famously (infamously?) doesn’t give absolute numbers, there’s no denying that even the relative numbers must be impressive. And the most impressive of these numbers are all about Alexa.
But I think Amazon — and to a lesser extent Google — has not only established a market ahead of Apple’s entry, but has done so in such a way that will make the HomePod sound a bit out of touch upon launch.
Tomi Engdahl says:
GE’s latest smart lighting includes Alexa and HomeKit options
Plus a smart ceiling fixture and smart wall switches.
https://www.engadget.com/2018/01/02/ge-smart-lighting-alexa-homekit/
Creating a smart home can be a complicated affair, with a ton of options available to add voice-control and automation to your lights, window coverings, thermostats and more. GE wants to simplify your options (with its own branded products, of course), and its bringing some new smart ceiling fixtures, wall switches, and lamps to market in 2018.
The C by GE series of connected lighting now includes what the company calls the industry’s first voice-integrated ceiling fixtures that hide all the smarts in a flush mount or recessed can option. There’s a smart wall switch, too, which can provide voice-control to your connected lights, turning them on or off, dimming them, or changing the temperature of the light. No separate GE hub is needed, either, and there’s a built-in antenna to make sure you can access it, even if someone accidentally flips the switch manually.
If Amazon Alexa devices are your thing, you can now use it with GE’s Sol lamp extensions
Finally, GE brings Apple HomeKit compatibility to (only white) C-Life and (temperature shifting) C-Sleep smart bulbs via the C-Reach bridge, which lets you use Siri on an iPhone or iPad,
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Week in Review: IoT
Zacks likes MRVL; securing the IoT; market research.
https://semiengineering.com/the-week-in-review-iot-78/
Zacks Equity Research has a “strong buy” recommendation for shares of Marvell Technology Group, noting the chip company’s improving financial results this year and its competitive position in supplying controllers for solid-state drives. “Furthermore, we believe the elevated demand for Marvell’s 4G LTE products could be a key growth driver.
Ray O’Farrell, VMware’s chief technology officer, writes in this opinion piece, “The IoT represents a frontier ripe with opportunity for creating American jobs, boosting American manufacturing and establishing global leadership. Yet for all the limitless potential positive impacts IoT may yet have on our world, there are also intelligent but malevolent actors who imagine leveraging its potential darker side. Their very real existence highlights the critical need for effective cybersecurity.”
Macnica Europe has agreed to distribute H&D Wireless modules for the European IoT market.
Rivetz has joined the Trusted IoT Alliance. The company offers the RvT cybersecurity token for the IoT, blockchain, cloud authentication, and legacy financial transactions.
Semtech will exhibit at the upcoming CES 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will demonstrate displays using its LoRa devices
ABI Research has a report looking at the growth factors driving IoT data traffic per node
Frost & Sullivan forecasts the Industrial IoT market will be worth $90 billion by 2021, thanks to IIoT architecture standards
Navigant Research rates Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, IBM, and PTC as the leading providers of IoT platforms across 10 criteria, in a survey of 15 IoT platform providers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Navigant Research Leaderboard: IoT Platform Vendors
Assessment of Strategy and Execution for 15 IoT Platform Providers
https://www.navigantresearch.com/research/navigant-research-leaderboard-iot-platform-vendors
Utilities and similarly large enterprises seeking to adopt Internet of Things (IoT) technologies rely on an ecosystem of vendors to help them harness the complex nature of these projects. Assistance is needed to manage an increasing number of connected devices and processes, handle the large data volumes they kick off, and then unlock valuable business insights through analytics tools.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Securing the internet of things will be no easy task
http://thehill.com/opinion/cybersecurity/366434-securing-the-internet-of-things-will-be-no-easy-task
Never before has the potential market for modern life been so exciting, driven by the advent of the technology comprising the internet of things. IoT devices are already everywhere and could soon permeate every aspect of everyday life.
Imagine: upon waking up, your voice-controlled assistant dials up the lights to a modest glow so your eyes can adjust and sets the thermostat to a cozy temperature. Your refrigerator greets you with a reminder that you’re almost out of milk — but not to worry, it’s already ordered you more from your grocery delivery service. Rushing out the door, you’re halfway to work in your self-driving car before you realize you forgot to turn on your home security system. No sweat — with the touch of a button, it’s activated, and you can focus on the day.
This hypothetical morning commute is a microcosm of the potential the IoT market can unleash for our economy and society.
The IoT represents a frontier ripe with opportunity for creating American jobs, boosting American manufacturing and establishing global leadership. Yet for all the limitless potential positive impacts IoT may yet have on our world, there are also intelligent but malevolent actors who imagine leveraging its potential darker side. Their very real existence highlights the critical need for effective cybersecurity.
Some consider IoT proliferation to be “the next Industrial Revolution.” A recent Business Insider report estimates that by 2021, there will be 22.5 billion connected IoT devices — up from 6.6 billion in 2016 — with the IoT sector seeing an expected $4.8 trillion in aggregate investment in that time.
That’s an incredible marketplace for consumers and investors, but as with any new market, there is a risk that consumers may not flock to an innovation if they have concerns about its safety.
This does not have to be, however, and the IoT discussion should not be a “gloom and doom” discussion. Yes, there are risks, but they are risks that can be significantly mitigated by the application of proper cyber hygiene. It’s comparable, of course, to the kind of cyberattacks that already occur. A major, sweeping breach happened this summer in the credit space. They’ll undoubtedly happen again, but they don’t have to be commonplace.
A 2017 Gartner report boldly claims that “IoT security as a distinctive market is dead” due to the pace of innovation in this sector. We cannot take a patchwork approach to IoT security after devices are introduced to market; securing IoT devices before they can be used as entry points or vectors to attack other parts of cyber infrastructure is paramount to overall strong cybersecurity. The major wave of ransomware attacks this summer that wreaked havoc in the industrial, healthcare and logistics sectors were enabled in part by vulnerable devices that were not built securely or with patching in mind.
major breaches could have been eliminated or dramatically reduced if some fundamental principles of cyber hygiene had been followed, including constant patching, least privileged, encryption, micro-segmentation and multi-factor authentication
The market potential is outstanding. Promoting good cyber hygiene will go a long way toward creating the individual, business and government consumer confidence necessary to make certain that potential is met.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Factory Automation in the World of IIoT
https://www.mentor.com/embedded-software/techpubs/download?id=98546&contactid=1&PC=L&c=2017_12_29_esd_factory_auto_wp_ro_esd
A new era of factory floor is being driven by the standards-based Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). The IIoT architecture provides secure access to vast amounts of enterprise data generated by factory…
Tomi Engdahl says:
M2M within the IoT – Pushing Security from the Cloud Down to Every Last Endpoint
https://www.mentor.com/embedded-software/techpubs/download?id=98535&contactid=1&PC=L&c=2017_12_29_esd_factory_auto_wp_ro_esd
When designing for the IoT, security needs to be addressed from the Cloud down to each and every edge device. Protecting data is both a hardware and a software requirement, as more data is being stored…
When designing for the IoT, security needs to be addressed from the Cloud down to each and every edge device. Protecting data is both a hardware and a software requirement, as more data is being stored and analyzed in edge devices and gateways. This whitepaper examines the latest solutions for software and hardware security for today’s IoT designs. The paper provides an overview of security concerns for IoT, emerging hardware-based solutions, the latest in software-enabled approaches, and end-to-end IoT security solutions.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Yes, Your Amazon Echo Is an Ad Machine
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/18/01/03/229259/yes-your-amazon-echo-is-an-ad-machine
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gizmodo:
CNBC reports that Amazon is in discussions with huge companies that want to promote their goods on Echo devices. Proctor & Gamble as well as Clorox are reportedly in talks for major advertising deals that would allow Alexa to suggest products for you to buy. CNBC uses the example of asking Alexa how to remove a stain, with Alexa in turn recommending a Clorox product. So far it’s unclear how Amazon would identify promoted responses from Alexa, if at all.
Amazon has big plans for Alexa ads in 2018; it’s discussing options with P&G, Clorox and others
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/02/amazon-alexa-is-opening-up-to-more-sponsored-product-ads.html
Amazon is in talks to let companies promote their products on Alexa, sources tell CNBC.
Ads will focus on sponsorship opportunities within skills or use data about a buyer’s shopping history to suggest products.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Roomba will soon be able to build a map of your home’s Wi-Fi coverage
Cleaning and spotting dead spots
https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/3/16845006/roomba-wifi-map-home-coverage-irobot
Roomba, the robotic vacuum, is gaining an indoor Wi-Fi mapping feature in its iRobot app later this month. The Wi-Fi Coverage map feature means Wi-Fi-enabled Roombas will be able to produce a map of indoor signals, which show weaker areas and signal dead zones. Some Roomba models can be controlled remotely using Wi-Fi, so the feature is handy in terms of understanding where the robot might be out of range for remote control.
iRobot says when users start a cleaning job, the Roomba will collect Wi-Fi signal information as it goes and produce a map. Users will be able to swap between the signal map and the app’s Clean Map feature, which displays where the robot has already cleaned. The Wi-Fi map should be useful for people to figure out if a room might have a spotty connection, and if they ought to reposition their router, or get a new one or a range extender.
The feature is opt-in and will be available through a beta program within the app in the US starting mid January.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Using Digital Twins to Reduce Costs in Machine Commissioning
Using digital twins for virtual commissioning, can reduce costs in machine-building.
https://www.designnews.com/automation-motion-control/using-digital-twins-reduce-costs-machine-commissioning/52301496858023?ADTRK=UBM&elq_mid=2736&elq_cid=876648
The push to develop and release disruptive products ahead of the competition can come unstuck during the early commissioning phases of product development. Too often, design problems only come to light as components or subsystems are being integrated into the machine during the first customer build, forcing the need for late-stage design changes that cause costs to escalate and projects to overrun significantly.
To mitigate these risks, many suppliers are adopting multi-domain, dynamic modeling and simulation tools for performing virtual integration of the machine’s components, very early in the development process. These predictive models, usually based on physical laws and empirical data, are increasingly being referred to as digital twins or virtual commissioning.
Time to start turning digital twins into improved productivity
Digital manufacturing in the auto industry is changing the way products evolve. From design to manufacturing, digitalization is optimizing the process.
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/time-to-start-turning-digital-twins-into-improved-productivity/a38846e85d43351fc5e3d403a68d6822.html?OCVALIDATE&[email protected]&ocid=101781
Tomi Engdahl says:
Virtual factory management: the cutting edge of Lean
https://www.controleng.com/single-article/virtual-factory-management-the-cutting-edge-of-lean/7578d4d968a5b12a47bc99831e3896da.html?OCVALIDATE&[email protected]&ocid=101781
A virtual factory is an integrated model that brings together cloud computing, advanced Lean data analytics, and real-time collaboration in order to solve problems quickly and make holistic improvements.
Industry 4.0, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), smart manufacturing. There is a lot of change happening in our industry right now! But what is something on the absolute “cutting edge” of lean? Answer: Virtual factory management powered by AI-based Lean analytics.
Technology and new processes are revolutionizing factories, just as lean itself did over 30 years ago. But they’re not here to replace Lean – what’s new and next will make lean even better. Continuously improve continuous improvement, you know? And virtual factory management is set to make waves.
What is virtual factory management?
A virtual factory is an integrated model that brings together cloud computing, advanced Lean data analytics, and real-time collaboration in order to solve problems quickly and make holistic improvements. Virtual factory management, then, allows for views of the whole factory at once to make informed decisions. Apply Lean best practices for a recipe for improvement!
In the past, the virtual factory was only a framework for planning and testing. But with emerging technology that lets all the components of a factory communicate with each other, the virtual factory is now a reality. When every machine, value stream, and person is connected, the power of Lean in manufacturing increases significantly.
How a lean strategy and virtual factory management work together
Virtual factory management combines real-time information, Lean best practices, and on-demand computing. It offers a better picture of what is going on at any time, with any machine or person. That’s a given. But the real cutting-edge potential is the ability to visualize, analyze, and take action on the data.
Summary
Now, cloud-based systems exist that can manage a company’s entire lean manufacturing operation. Project management, team collaboration, status updates and tracking, measurement, and savings attribution can happen online, in a system that anyone can access anywhere, anytime. Data from multiple sources, like different ERP systems or factories across different physical locations, can be brought together. Everything really is at a Lean team’s fingertips.
The Lean best practices that so many smart people developed over the last 30 years can now be implemented and tracked more effectively. With more information about more of the processes in a factory that can all be accessed in real time, the opportunity to find areas for efficiency improvements increases. Now, there is a factory that can actually communicate and highlight priorities!
Tomi Engdahl says:
Voice Recognition to Drive More ‘Conversational’ Platforms
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1332788
Two years ago, Gartner predicted that 30 percent of our interactions with technology in 2018 would happen through conversations with voice-based systems. Last month, an analyst predicted that Amazon’s Alexa will drive $10 billion in sales by 2020.
Voice recognition was a popular topic at last year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), with many commentators musing that 2017 would be the year of voice recognition. According to market research firm Gartner, conversational platforms — including voice recognition — will be one of the top 10 strategic technology trends for 2018. T
Tomi Engdahl says:
Demand for IoT Edge Processors Will Continue to Grow in 2018
Factories, farms, and smart homes will all need low-cost MCUs with on-board connectivity.
https://www.designnews.com/electronics-test/demand-iot-edge-processors-will-continue-grow-2018/160450071057973?ADTRK=UBM&elq_mid=2701&elq_cid=876648
Microcontrollers (MCUs) will get a fresh look in 2018, as chipmakers meet a growing need for “edge intelligence” on the Internet of Things (IoT).
Tomi Engdahl says:
IoT Security Manifesto
Exploring new human-centered approaches to securit
https://semiengineering.com/iot-security-manifesto/
Securing tomorrow means rethinking how we design intelligent devices by embracing concepts from outside the digital realm and taking advantage of advanced new technologies.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Digitized Plant Will Go Mainstream in 2018
Automation technology that once belonged to large companies is getting deployed by smaller manufacturers.
https://www.designnews.com/automation-motion-control/digitized-plant-will-go-mainstream-2018/142303979857978?ADTRK=UBM&elq_mid=2701&elq_cid=876648
Tomi Engdahl says:
Navigant Research Leaderboard: IoT Platform Vendors
Assessment of Strategy and Execution for 15 IoT Platform Providers
https://www.navigantresearch.com/research/navigant-research-leaderboard-iot-platform-vendors
Utilities and similarly large enterprises seeking to adopt Internet of Things (IoT) technologies rely on an ecosystem of vendors to help them harness the complex nature of these projects. Assistance is needed to manage an increasing number of connected devices and processes, handle the large data volumes they kick off, and then unlock valuable business insights through analytics tools.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Navigant Research Leaderboard: IoT Platform Vendors
Assessment of Strategy and Execution for 15 IoT Platform Providers
https://www.navigantresearch.com/research/navigant-research-leaderboard-iot-platform-vendors
Utilities and similarly large enterprises seeking to adopt Internet of Things (IoT) technologies rely on an ecosystem of vendors to help them harness the complex nature of these projects. Assistance is needed to manage an increasing number of connected devices and processes, handle the large data volumes they kick off, and then unlock valuable business insights through analytics tools.
Top 10 Vendors:
1. Microsoft
2. Amazon Web Services
3. IBM
4. PTC
5. GE
6. SAP
7. Cisco Jasper
8. Oracle
9. OSIsoft
10. Ayla Networks
Tomi Engdahl says:
TSN: Converging Networks for a Better Industrial IoT
http://www.electronicdesign.com/industrial-automation/tsn-converging-networks-better-industrial-iot
Success in the IIoT requires that information- and operational-technology networks work in tandem—time-sensitive networking can make it happen.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Amazon announces Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit for wearables and Alexa Premium Voice Development Kit to improve far-field voice reception in third-party hardware
Alexa is coming to wearable devices, including headphones, smartwatches and fitness trackers
https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/05/alexa-is-coming-to-wearable-devices-including-headphones-smartwatches-and-fitness-trackers/
Amazon wants to bring Alexa to more devices than smart speakers, Fire TV and various other consumer electronics for the home, like alarm clocks. The company yesterday announced developer tools that would allow Alexa to be used in microwave ovens, for example – so you could just tell the oven what to do. Today, Amazon is rolling out a new set of developer tools, including one called the “Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit,” that would allow Alexa to work Bluetooth products in the wearable space, like headphones, smartwatches, fitness trackers, other audio devices, and more.
This kit is already being used by several companies, including device makers and solution providers Bose, Jabra, iHome, Linkplay, Sugr, Librewireless, Beyerdynamic, Bowers and Wilkins.
Amazon Alexa Mobile Accessories: A New Alexa-Enabled Product Category with Dev Tools Coming Soon
https://developer.amazon.com/blogs/alexa/post/564685cf-0b1b-4fe4-824e-2ce1e88e3e78/amazon-alexa-mobile-accessories-a-new-alexa-enabled-product-category-with-dev-tools-coming-soon
Tomi Engdahl says:
Khari Johnson / VentureBeat:
Google says Assistant is available on 400M+ devices, while it sold more than one Home every second since Home Mini Oct. launch, which translates to 6M+ speakers
Google sold over 6 million smart speakers in 2017
https://venturebeat.com/2018/01/05/google-sold-over-6-million-smart-speakers-in-2017/
Google Assistant is now available on 400 million devices, including more than 6 million Home smart speakers sold since the Home Mini first became available last October.
“All told, Google Home usage increased 9X this holiday season over last year’s, as you controlled more smart devices, asked more questions, listened to more music, and tried out all the new things you can do with your Assistant on Google Home,” said a blog published today.
Tens of millions “of all Google devices for the home” were sold in 2017, the blog said, and at least one Google Home device has been sold every second since the Home Mini began to ship a few months ago, the company said. That’s roughly 6.3 million Home smart speakers sold in 2017, and about 6.7 million to date.
How Google Home and the Google Assistant helped you get more done in 2017
https://blog.google/products/assistant/how-google-home-and-google-assistant-helped-you-get-more-done-in-2017/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Report: IoT company Sigfox misses 2017 build-out target, ousts U.S. chief
http://www.cablinginstall.com/articles/pt/2018/01/report-iot-company-sigfox-misses-2017-build-out-target-ousts-u-s-chief.html?cmpid=enl_cim_cim_data_center_newsletter_2018-01-22&pwhid=6b9badc08db25d04d04ee00b499089ffc280910702f8ef99951bdbdad3175f54dcae8b7ad9fa2c1f5697ffa19d05535df56b8dc1e6f75b7b6f6f8c7461ce0b24&eid=289644432&bid=1980618
Sigfox, which is building a slow-speed wireless network for IoT applications across the United States, has confirmed that its U.S. chief is no longer with the company. Sigfox also confirmed it did not reach its network coverage goals for 2017.
Confirmed: Sigfox U.S. chief out, IoT company misses 2017 network buildout target
https://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/confirmed-sigfox-u-s-chief-out-iot-company-misses-2017-buildout-target
Sigfox, which is building a slow-speed wireless network for IoT applications across the United States, confirmed that its U.S. chief is no longer with the company. Sigfox also confirmed it did not reach its network coverage goals for 2017.
Light Reading first reported that Allen Proithis, who had led Sigfox’s North American operations since 2015, left the company in the last week, following the departure of Spectrum Manager Thomas Schmidt.
Sigfox also said it did not reach the network coverage buildout goals it laid out at the beginning of 2017. “While we did not reach our anticipated 40% population coverage in 2017, we did reach other milestones which we will announce later this month, including network densification in key regions. As with any fast-growth startup, we pivoted to react to customer demands, growing out our network in regions that were less populous, but key to our customers and partners, such as the Permian Basin,” Mason wrote.
Sigfox and Ingenu Ingenu are just two of a handful of companies building wireless networks focused on the IoT. Others in the United States include Comcast and Senet, which are building LoRa-powered wireless networks, while Sigfox continues to build out its own slow-speed wireless network in the United States and elsewhere. Meanwhile, AT&T and Verizon are looking to counter the rise of these IoT networks by tweaking their own LTE networks to offer LTE-M services.
But as carriers work to customize their networks and technologies designed for the IoT, companies that provide only LPWAN solutions may be finding the market much more competitive.
Healthy food says:
Please let me know if you’re looking for a author for your blog.
You have some really good articles and I think I would
be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d absolutely love
to write some content for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine.
Please send me an email if interested. Cheers!
Bob the Robber says:
Thanks designed for sharing such a nice opinion, article is nice, thats
why i have read it completely