Here are some IoT trends for year 2019 to watch:
More device: There are four times as many devices connected to the Internet as there are people in the world, and the number of devices is increasing rapidly. There are computers, smart phones and many different kind of connected devices. Gartner forecasts that 14.2 billion connected things will be in use in 2019, and that the total will reach 25 billion by 2021,
Voice: The integration of voice into IoT devices creates an user experience that many consumers seem to enjoy. The next few years will see voice automation take over many aspects of our lives. The current major players in the IoT voice world are Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Google Assistant. Microsoft’s Cortana seems to have already lost in the game as Satya Nadella says Cortana won’t challenge Alexa and Google Assistant directly; Microsoft will focus on making it a skill on other voice platforms instead. Voice won’t change everything but it will be one part of a movement that heralds a new way to think about our relationship with devices and data. Consider voice as a type of user interface to be added to the existing list of UI technologies. Voice will not kill brands, it won’t hurt keyboard sales or touchscreen devices — it will become an additional way to do stuff; it is incremental. We need to learn to design around it.Deloitte expects the sales of 164 million smart speakers at an average price of $43 in 2019. The smart speaker market will be worth more than $7 billion next year, increasing 63% from 2018’s $4.3 billion.
Automobiles: Automobiles are leading the way in IoT adoption. Gartner predicts that one in five cars will be connected by 2020. Both Google and Apple have tools that allow drivers to control calls, listen to messages and control apps using voice.
IoT clouds: Developing for the Internet of Things is a complex endeavor, and nobody wants to do it from scratch. IoT data platforms offer a jumping-off point by combining many of the tools needed to manage a deployment from device management to data prediction and insights into one service. There are many IoT cloud platforms to choose from. All cloud platforms have their own distinctive areas of pros and cons. Ultimately the project needs and cost-effectiveness determine whom to choose. Utilizing cloud services also brings new potential risks that are good to understand already at the beginning of the project. I wrote on article to Uusiteknologia.fi magazine issue 2/2018 on IoT cloud platforms.
Digital Twins: Digital twin tech, or a virtual representation of a product, is a critical concept in IoT that’s still being sorted out. Digital twin refers to a digital replica of physical assets (physical twin), processes, people, places, systems and devices that can be used for various purposes. Definitions of digital twin technology emphasize two important characteristics: connection from the physical model to the corresponding virtual model and this connection is established by generating real time data using sensors. Physical objects and twin models interact. Digital twins applications typically integrate internet of things, artificial intelligence, machine learning and software analytics with spatial network graphs to create living digital simulation models that update and change as their physical counterparts change. In various industrial sectors, twins are being used to optimize the operation and maintenance of physical assets, systems and manufacturing processes.
Edge computing: The shift from centralized and cloud to edge architectures is well under way in the IoT space. In the future, computing the edge of the network will become an increasingly important way of processing data from networked devices and sensor networks. Compared to traditional centralized cloud computing, the new edge computing brings computing servers closer to the edge of the communications network. Compared to cloud centered IoT solutions, edge computing allow for lower delays and more reliable operation with respect to cloud services. At the same time, it promises improved security as not all potentially sensitive information needs to be transferred from the site to cloud. However, this is not the end point because the neat set of layers associated with edge architecture will evolve to a more unstructured architecture comprising of a wide range of “things” and services connected in a dynamic mesh. In thins kind of system data processing can be done on almost all network devices from IoT modules to gateways and in the future to 5G base stations. Relevant standardizing organizations on this field are Edge Computing Consortium Europe, OpenFog Consortium and Industrial Internet Consortium.
5G: 5G networks start to arrive. The standards for 5G will be defined in large part by the direct integration of Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial IoT (IIoT) devices into global networks and devices. 5G networks are expected to be 10 to 100 times faster than current LTE technology. If you are in need for very high speed, your application resides inside the small 5G test networks coverage areas and your IoT device is allowed to consume considerable amount of power (more than 4G solutions), then you might be able to consider 5G. For all other cases I don’t see 5G would offer much for IoT applications in 2019. There is not yet ready 5G standards specifically designed for IoT applications. So for 2019 IoT and IIoT will need to be pretty much stick to 4G technologies like NB-IoT and LTE-M. For 5G to shape industrial computing application in larger scale than just some small tests we will have to wait till 2020. Addressing the issues behind Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices and 5G is important in next few years. Qualcomm, the largest supplier of modem chips used in smartphones, has introduced the X50 modem to give IIoT devices the ability to communicate over 5G networks. Beware of “fake 5G” marketing in 2019. The promise is that 5G will enable the future enterprise technologies everyone is predicting and waiting for: fleets of self-driving delivery trucks, virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR), and a world of enterprise Internet of Things (IoT) deployments — systems that will define an era that the World Economic Forum termed the “Fourth Industrial Revolution.” Those promises will take years to realize, you will not see most of them in real use in 2019.
AI: Number one in Gartner’s predictions, no surprise, is artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence and machine learning will be talked a lot with bold claims that AI goes from expert-only to everywhere. I would not expect it to be everywhere in 2019. Gartner, said in a statement, “AI will be applied to a wide range of IoT information, including video, still images, speech, network traffic activity, and sensor data.” At the moment many neural network systems are power hungry when implemented with traditional computer hardware. “For example, the performance of deep neural networks (DNNs) is often limited by memory bandwidth, rather than processing power.” By 2023, it’s expected that new special-purpose chips will reduce the power consumption required to run a DNN, enabling new edge architectures and embedded DNN functions in low-power IoT endpoints.
IIoT: The concept of a Smart Factory is composed of many different physical and informational subsystems, such as actuators and sensors, control systems, product management systems and manufacturing systems that all work together. This is a very complex system. It is critical to understand differing operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) priorities to achieve collaboration and integration. Without this, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and control projects will fail. Also finding the right Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) vendor partner is crucial to success. OPC Foundation has on initiative to extend OPC UA out to field devices to provide vendor-neutral, end-to-end interoperability beyond the plant. Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) network works well for OPC UA applications.
Value chain: IoT as an umbrella term will diminish. There are strong views that “Internet of things is not valuable in and of itself” so the conversation is going to shift away from an ambiguous buzzword to the actual use of technology. For product designers this means that when we design our connected world, we need to pull ourselves away from the cool technology that we are building and look at the system through our customers’ eyes. The sales pitch will be more like “It’s about the use cases, it’s about the solutions, it’s about the applications, managing and monitoring assets, performance management solutions, different kinds of solutions coming together to solve a problem—that’s really what the value proposition is.”
IoT platforms: IoT vendors will compete to be the destination for IoT platforms. The IoT supply chain has been moving toward more collaboration to provide development and design kits designed for specific use cases and industries. IoT development kits are sold more and more with bundled IoT could service offer. IoT cloud service providers offer and recommend hardware that is tested to work well with their platforms. IoT platform vendors will be narrowing their scope in 2019, honing in on specific use cases. Business professionals aren’t looking for one industrial IoT platform to manage every process going on at their company, they are instead looking for platforms that specialize in specific tasks.
New development kits: A new breed of development kits is incorporating the three tenets of IoT design — ease of use, security, and business value. The promise is that the design engineers don’t need to have specialized expertise in several areas like networking protocols or security-related tasks, enabling a much faster development time. One way to simplifying design work is by intelligently reusing the fundamental building blocks.
Security: Wireless IoT devices are considered a major threat to the security of industrial networks. A growing number of embedded systems are open to security threats as a result of increasing connectivity and IoT device adoption. And it’s costing OEMs a lot in terms of money and reputation. A 2018 Gartner Inc. survey found that nearly 20% of organizations surveyed experienced at least one IoT-based attack in the past three years. IoT security is already a 1.5 billion dollar market. The market research firm Garnet expects that global spending on IoT security will rise to $3.1 billion in 2021, up from $1.5 billion in 2018. It is not about the spending on IoT security products. Already “a significant portion of OEMs’ existing in-house labor cost is already dedicated to addressing security” and is rising faster than development costs. VDC pegs the worldwide embedded engineering labor spend related to security at $11.6 billion in 2017, representing nearly 8% of the overall cost of embedded engineering labor. There will be different kind of certification marks for IoT product cyber security – some mandated with laws on some countries and some voluntary. 5G is going to increase security risks. Do we understand the 5G security threats to come? Most probably not because we don’t seem to understand well even that 5G really is.
eSIM: The embedded SIM card has been spoken for a long time, and even the first smartphones in which the SIM card has been implemented with an integrated circuit have already been introduced to the market. Infineon has presented the world’s first industrially qualified eSIM. Of course, eSIM shares opinions. Many operators do not like it.
Infonomics and Data Broking: Last year’s Gartner survey of IoT projects showed 35 percent of respondents were selling or planning to sell data collected by their products and services.“Data is the fuel that powers the IoT and the organization’s ability to derive meaning from it will define their long term success,” This brings us to Social, Legal and Ethical IoT because“ Successful deployment of an IoT solution demands that it’s not just technically effective but also socially acceptable,” It is possible tha tIoT Firms Face a ‘Tidal Wave’ of Lawsuits.
IoT Governance: As the IoT continues to expand, the need for a governance framework that ensures appropriate behavior in the creation, storage, use and deletion of information related to IoT projects will become increasingly important. We also need to manage IoT devices to keep them secure and make sure that they do what they are supposed to do. A market for IoT managed services will develop to help manage and operate fragmented IoT assets. “The idea of managing the ongoing end-to-end life cycle of a connected product is becoming more important, and ultimately this managed service opportunity is going to need momentum in the coming year,”
New Wireless Technologies: IoT networking involves balancing a set of competing requirements, such as endpoint cost, power consumption, bandwidth, latency, connection density, operating cost, quality of service, and range. No single networking technology optimizes all of these.
Trusted Hardware and Operating System: Gartner surveys invariably show that security is the most significant area of technical concern for organizations deploying IoT systems. Today organizations often don’t have control over the source and nature of the software and hardware being utilised in IoT initiatives. “However, by 2023, we expect to see the deployment of hardware and software combinations that together create more trustworthy and secure IoT systems.
Home automation: Arm predicts that the intelligent home goes mainstream. In survey results they published two-thirds of respondents said technology became “more a part of my life” during 2018. Cisco Systems is saying connected homes will be a big driver for the Internet of Things. “Connected home applications, such as home automation, home security and video surveillance, connected white goods, and tracking applications, will represent 48%, or nearly half, of the total M2M connections by 2022, showing the pervasiveness of M2M in our lives,” Cisco states in its new white paper, Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Trends, 2017-2022. The market is starting slowly. Bundled IoT services will try to motivate a slow consumer market.
Smart cities: Cities are becoming smarter and smarter in an effort to improve efficiency in operations. Smart cities bring in both benefits and risks. Between smart lighting, traffic controls, and public transportation, smart cities are bringing in a whole new family of threat vectors. Cybercriminals will target smart cities with ransomware attacks. Smart cities need to take precautions.
Silicon Chip Innovation: “Currently, most IoT endpoint devices use conventional processor chips, with low-power ARM architectures being particularly popular. However, traditional instruction sets and memory architectures aren’t well-suited to all the tasks that endpoints need to perform,” New special-purpose chips will reduce the power consumption required to run a DNN. Very low power circuit designs are important in many applications. Battery-powered designs require complex optimizations for power in the context of area, performance and functionality. Devices that work without battery and gather operating power from environment are maybe even more challenging. Clearly, sensors are a big part of any connected device, and there is a lot of innovation occurring in this market that delivers new features — think AI — all housed in smaller packaging.
Open source: 2019 Will Be the Year of Open Source in IoT and embedded systems applications. From software and even hardware, we saw more activity in open source than ever before in 2018. And the momentum isn’t likely to slow down in 2019. Arduino is pushing strongly to IoT markets with MKR1000 series of IoT boards. Raspberry Pi is very widely used in IoT systems, especially on prototyping and small scale deployments
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Links to other articles for IoT trends for 2019:
Internet of Things in 2019: Five predictions
Kymmenen tulevaisuuden kuluttajatrendiä ja ilmiötä
Deloitte’s 9 tech predictions for 2019
New Chip Architectures, Sensors and Trust in Top 10 IoT Trends (Gartner presented its top 10 strategic IoT technology trends)
Week In Review: IoT, Security, Auto (predictions from Arm, Deloitte and Juniper Research)
Predictions 2019: The Internet Of Things
Gartner Identifies Top 10 Strategic IoT Technologies and Trends
1,283 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Consumer-focused healthcare can save lives by focusing on changing behavior
It’s the 40% stupid
https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/12/consumer-focused-healthcare-can-save-lives-by-focusing-on-changing-behavior/?sr_share=facebook&utm_source=tcfbpage
Tomi Engdahl says:
Teknologia on harvoin pullonkaula IoT-projekteissa
https://www.dna.fi/yrityksille/blogi/-/blogs/teknologia-on-harvoin-pullonkaula-iot-projekteissa?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=artikkeli&utm_term=IoT&utm_campaign=natiivi&utm_content=teknologia_on_harvoin_pullonkaula_iot_projekteissa
Tomi Engdahl says:
Matt Day / Bloomberg:
Amazon and Google are asking smart gadget makers to continuously send status updates to Echo and Home devices, even if customers aren’t interacting with devices — As Amazon.com Inc. and Google work to place their smart speakers at the center of the internet-connected home …
Your Smart Light Can Tell Amazon and Google When You Go to Bed
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-12/your-smart-light-can-tell-amazon-and-google-when-you-go-to-bed
The tech giants are demanding a continuous stream of customer information from smart-home manufacturers, prompting privacy concerns.
For several years, Amazon and Google have collected data every time someone used a smart speaker to turn on a light or lock a door. Now they’re asking smart-home gadget makers such as Logitech and Hunter Fan Co. to send a continuous stream of information.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Healthcare wearables level up with new moves from Apple and Alphabet
https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/04/healthcare-wearables-level-up-with-new-moves-from-apple-and-alphabet/?sr_share=facebook&utm_source=tcfbpage
Tomi Engdahl says:
Choosing Cell Modems: The Drama Queen of Hardware Design
https://hackaday.com/2018/11/15/choosing-cell-modems-the-drama-queen-of-hardware-design/
So you went to a tradeshow and heard about this cool new idea called the Internet Of Things; now it’s time to build an IoT product of your own. You know that to be IoT, your Widget D’lux® has to have a network connection but which to choose?
You could use WiFi or Bluetooth but that would be gauche. Maybe LoRaWAN? All the cool kids are using LoRa for medium or long range wireless these days, but that still requires a base station and Widget D’lux® will be a worldwide phenomenon. Or at least a phenomenon past your bedroom walls. And you know how much user’s hate setting things up. So a cell modem it is! But what do you have to do to legally include one in your product? Well that’s a little complicated.
We’ve talked about government certification testing before (seriously, go read that article. Bob did a great job!) and it’s entirely relevant here but cell modems add a couple layers to that onion. There are a bunch of entry points to this discussion so let’s pick one and dive in.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2019/01/05/tech-tattoos-trace-two-dimensions/
Tomi Engdahl says:
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION ON THE INTERNET OF THINGS AN EU PERSPECTIVE
https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/263707
Distributed Computing for the Internet of Things Using IoT Hubs
https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/234236?_ga=2.176686117.1246319293.1545156563-507306469.1545156563
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.iotsecurityfoundation.org/best-practice-guidelines/
Tomi Engdahl says:
A test guide for small-satellite constellations and NewSpace applications
https://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/out-of-this-world-design/4461531/A-test-guide-for-small-satellite-constellations-and-NewSpace-applications?utm_source=Aspencore&utm_medium=EDN&utm_campaign=social
As launch costs continue to fall, almost 17,000 small satellites will be built over the next decade to deliver the next generation of space-based applications.
NewSpace companies around the world are planning large constellations to provide global, low-latency internet coverage, Earth-observation analytics, and satellite-based IoT for asset management.
Tomi Engdahl says:
WALMART PATENTS A SYSTEM FOR LISTENING TO EVERY SOUND IN STORES
https://www.futurism.com/the-byte/walmart-patents-system-listening-sound
Not only is the proposed system capable of determining things like how many people are in a line, based on the distance between noises made by guests, or the number of products purchased, based on register beeps, but it also listens to interactions between employees and customers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Google says Nest’s secret microphone was ‘never intended to be a secret’
https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/20/nest-secret-microphone/
Google said there’s absolutely, positively, nothing to worry about the secret microphone in your Nest Secure smart home hub that it didn’t tell you about. Nope, not at all. Just an oversight, said Google. No need to be alarmed. Everything is just fine.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Rice University Researchers Developed an “Unclonable” Security Key for IoT
https://blog.hackster.io/rice-university-researchers-developed-an-unclonable-security-key-for-iot-dedb6d6c4a0
In order to increase that security, researchers from Rice University have created a new “physically unclonable function” based on the imperfections of transistors within a chip.
http://news.rice.edu/2019/02/20/rice-u-researchers-unveil-internet-of-things-security-feature/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Circuit Secures the IoT Against Quantum Attack
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/computing/embedded-systems/circuit-secures-the-iot-against-quantum-attack
One of the most frequently mentioned fears about future quantum computers is that they will someday crack our encryption codes and lay all our digital secrets bare. Despite it being a truly far-off possibility, cryptographers are already taking the threat very seriously.
The solution seems to be to develop one or more classes of encryption schemes that classical computers can use but quantum computers can’t crack.
“Lattice-based cryptography is a promising candidate because of its small public key and signature sizes,” MIT doctoral student Utsav Banerjee told engineers at the conference.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Japan to Probe IoT Devices and Then Prod Users to Smarten Up
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/internet/japan-aims-to-probe-unsecured-iot-devices-and-then-prod-users-to-smarten-up
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://blog.arduino.cc/2019/02/24/arduino-at-mwc-2019/
The Arduino team is in Barcelona this week for Mobile World Congress! MWC is one of the biggest technology events in the world, so we’re really excited to be invited to participate in the Mobile IoT Experience’s developer expert zone by event organizers GSMA
Tomi Engdahl says:
MWC Barcelona 2019: A New Era of Testing for the IoT
https://spectrum.ieee.org/at-work/test-and-measurement/mwc-barcelona-2019-a-new-era-of-testing-for-the-iot
Tomi Engdahl says:
Blockchain May Be Overkill for Most IIoT Security
Without an efficient blockchain template for IoT, other options are better.
https://semiengineering.com/blockchain-may-be-overkill-for-most-iiot-security/
Blockchain crops up in many of the pitches for security software aimed at the industrial IoT. However, IIoT project owners, chipmakers and OEMs should stick with security options that address the low-level, device- and data-centered security of the IIoT itself, rather than the effort to promote blockchain as a security option as well as an audit tool.
Only about 6% of Industrial IoT (IIoT) project owners chose to build IIoT-specific security into their initial rollouts, while 44% said it would be too expensive, according to a 2018 survey commissioned by digital security provider Gemalto.
Currently, only 48% of IoT project owners can see their devices well enough to know if there has been a breach, according to the 2019 version of Gemalto’s annual survey.
Software packages that could fill in the gaps were few and far between.
Still, the recognition is widespread that security is a problem with connected devices. Spending on IIoT/IoT-specific security will grow 25.1% per year, from $1.7 billion during 2018, to $5.2 billion by 2023, according to a 2018 market analysis report from BCC Research. Another study, by Juniper Research, predicts 300% growth by 2023, to just over $6 billion.
Blockchain also can be used to track and verify sensor data, prevent duplication or the insertion of malicious data and provide ongoing verification of the identity of individual devices, according to an analysis from IBM, which promotes the use of blockchain in both technical and financial functions.
Use of blockchain in securing IIoT/IoT assets among those polled in Gemalto’s latest survey rose to 19%, up from 9% in 2017. And 23% of respondents said they believe blockchain is an ideal solution to secure IIoT/IoT assets.
Any security may be better than none, but some of the more popular options don’t translate well into actual IIoT-specific security, according to Michael Chen, design for security director at Mentor, a Siemens Business.
“You have to look at it carefully, know what you’re trying to accomplish and what the security level is,” Chen said. “Public blockchain is great for things like the stock exchange or buying a home, because on a public blockchain with 50,000 people if you wanted to cheat you’d have to get more than 50% to cooperate. Securing IIoT devices, even across a supply chain, is going to be a lot smaller group, which wouldn’t be much reassurance that something was accurate. And meanwhile, we’re still trying to figure out how to do root of trust and key management and a lot of other things that are a different and more of an immediate challenge.”
Others agree. “Using blockchain to track the current location and state of an IoT device is probably not a good use of the technology,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ten trends shaping the Internet of Things business landscape
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/digital-mckinsey/our-insights/ten-trends-shaping-the-internet-of-things-business-landscape
Experience working on the Internet of Things indicates where the value lies.
As we’ve worked with clients on Internet of Things (IoT) projects over the past year, we’ve noticed ten trends shaping the industry that we expect to continue in 2019.
1. IoT is a business opportunity, not just a tech opportunity
2. Disciplined execution across multiple use cases is the path to value
3. IoT is gradually enabling more subscription business models, but consumers are resistant
4. Favorable winds are blowing in heavy industrial sectors
5. Amazon and Google have hit critical mass in connected homes
6. Chinese IoT firms are winning locally and starting to gain ground globally
7. Conflicts over data access are delaying business impact
8. Cost pressures are determining whether the cloud or the ‘edge’ environment wins out as the IoT host environment
9. Cyberattacks are not noticeably derailing existing IoT efforts
10. Artificial intelligence (AI) has caught on in IoT in the past two years
AI has been around in some form since the 1960s but often has generated more hype than results. While some hype remains, real use cases with valuable results are emerging, particularly around machine learning (ML), as adoption steadily increases. According to our research, AI and ML are being used in 60 percent of IoT activities. What changed? Three major things have spurred the increase in the use of AI: the convergence of algorithmic advances, data proliferation, and tremendous increases in power and storage capabilities at a lower cost. For AI and ML to scale, production-grade data platforms are needed. Clearly, business leaders expect that to happen, with adoption of AI and ML expected to outpace other technologies
Tomi Engdahl says:
Week in Review: IoT, Security, Auto
Google smartwatch; access control; Rivian investors.
https://semiengineering.com/week-in-review-iot-security-auto-32/
Is Google developing a Pixel Watch wearable? Perhaps, if recent job listings are any indication.
IBM Research, SweetSense, and The Freshwater Trust are collaborating on technologies to monitor groundwater use at a North American aquifer.
Keysight Technologies last month demonstrated its network emulation offering at CES 2019 to showcase an Industrial IoT application from NAVER LABS with Qualcomm 5G technology. The proof-of-concept demonstration connected the Snapdragon X50 5G modem from Qualcomm Technologies and Keysight’s network emulation tool to NAVER’s AMBIDEX industrial robotic arm.
Dish Network is a little more than a year away from completing its narrowband IoT network, a project estimated to cost $500 million to $1 billion.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Qualcomm Tightens Connected Grip
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334363
Besides showing off the company’s 5G technology prowess in the mobile handset and cellular network equipment markets, Qualcomm is ratcheting up its “connected vehicle” narrative at the Mobile World Congress this week.
Tomi Engdahl says:
European Telecommunications Standards Institute Publishes New IoT Security Standard
https://www.securityweek.com/european-telecommunications-standards-institute-publishes-new-iot-security-standard
On February 19, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) published the ETSI TS 103 645 V1.1.1 — or more simply, a high-level outcome-focused standard (PDF) for cybersecurity in the consumer-oriented Internet of Things (IoT).
Tomi Engdahl says:
MWC: 5G, Foldables & Connected Cars
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334368&page_number=2
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2019/02/26/embedded-world-2019-yhteistyossa-suojattuja-iot-ratkaisuja/
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2019/02/25/suomalaista-iot-tekniikkaa-embedded-word-tapahtumaan/
Tomi Engdahl says:
LED lighting and control system design considerations
https://www.csemag.com/articles/led-lighting-and-control-system-design-considerations/
Designers need to explore various approaches and requirements to lighting design as codes and standards are becoming more energy-conscious.
As much as the previous generation of electrical engineers and lighting designers may hate to admit, the days of multilamp T8 or T12 fluorescent fixtures—with 6- to 8-ft on-center spacings, accent wall sconces, multilamp chandeliers, and wiring line voltage switches—are no longer the norm.
The energy-conscious standards, such as ASHRAE 90.1: Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), and California’s Title 24, have made it more difficult to consider specifying incandescent, most fluorescent, and high-intensity discharge (HID) fixtures in modern designs. The LED revolution also brings smart, plug-and-play-style lighting devices and control systems that minimize installation and commission time, resulting in a cleaner and smarter product for the client.
Various so-called smart-switch options replace 3- and 4-way line voltage switching, as multiple zones can be controlled within the same switch instead of having to wire multiple line voltage switches. These switches can include occupancy sensors, dimming buttons, and programmable scene buttons or they can even be a small graphic touch screen, which allows multiple scenes with added control options available. The smart switches are typically powered from the room controller through the category cabling, with devices containing 2-RJ45 ports. The touch-screen option may require an additional small power supply, depending on the manufacturer.
Some manufacturers are replacing 0 to 10 V dimming cables with CAT-5e or CAT-6 cables and powering the lights and dimming with the same CAT cable.
Avoid mixing K-Temps and color rendering index (CRI) ratings, since both can cause different effects regarding how items appear in color in a building unless the application calls for it. It can be disorienting to walk from a 4000-K office into a hallway that’s 2700 K and then into the kitchen where it’s 5500 K. If the project is a partial renovation, consider matching the K-Temp to what is already installed to be consistent.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Bosch, Vodafone, and Huawei Successfully Test C-V2X
Tests show C-V2X improves driver-assistance systems that no longer just alert drivers, but actively support them as well.
https://www.electronicdesign.com/automotive/bosch-vodafone-and-huawei-successfully-test-c-v2x?sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=23376&utm_medium=email&elq2=d55b31cf91934302932f59eee84c3e73
Tomi Engdahl says:
LPWAN-tekniikat vastaavat IoT:n vaatimuksiin
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/tekniset-artikkelit/9133-lpwan-tekniikat-vastaavat-iot-n-vaatimuksiin
Tomi Engdahl says:
Week in Review: IoT, Security, Auto
https://semiengineering.com/week-in-review-iot-security-auto-33/
LG Electronics has integrated Amazon Dash functionality into its Wi-Fi connected smart appliances for the home. LG’s dishwashers and washing machines can enable the Dash Replenishment function with the LG SmarThinQ application, connected to the user’s Amazon account.
Cattle ranchers in Australia are using solar-powered ear tags to keep track of their herds, connecting through LoRa technology to locate their bulls, cows, heifers, and steers. SODAQ of the Netherlands and Lacuna Space of the U.K. are providing the Internet of Things technology and satellite-based LoRa connectivity to make this possible. “
LoRa’s Bid to Rule the Internet of Things
https://spectrum.ieee.org/telecom/standards/loras-bid-to-rule-the-internet-of-things
The wireless standard is already behind more than 100 low-power, wide-area networks around the world
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/9144-suositut-korttitietokoneet-rynnivat-ammattilaitteisiin
Tomi Engdahl says:
Designing for the Internet of Things
A Series of Six Articles on the IoT
https://blog.hackster.io/designing-for-the-internet-of-things-1f35312fcba9
Tomi Engdahl says:
Listen to the Sound of Life with Stemoscope, a Smart Wireless Stethoscope
https://blog.hackster.io/listen-to-the-sound-of-life-with-stemoscope-a-smart-wireless-stethoscope-b1738dfa8139
Tomi Engdahl says:
Is Amazon going to announce a HIPAA-compliant Echo device soon?
https://medcitynews.com/2019/02/is-amazon-going-to-announce-a-hipaa-compliant-echo-device-soon/
An LA hospital will put Alexa in over 100 patients’ rooms
https://www.engadget.com/2019/02/26/alexa-trial-aiva-cedars-sinai/?sr_source=Facebook
It provides a hands-free way to call for healthcare providers and to control the TV.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cedars-Sinai puts Amazon Alexa in patient rooms as part of a pilot program
https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/25/cedars-sinai-puts-amazon-alexa-in-patient-rooms-as-part-of-a-pilot-program/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smart Meters and Super Smart Babies
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1333962&utm_source=eetimes&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=podcast-widget
The smart grid begins with the smart electric meter, the boots-on-the-ground intelligent agent of the IoT. An additional 94 million smart utility meters will be added across the globe in 2018, creating opportunities for industrial OEMs, component manufacturers, and software providers. In this episode Vipin Bothra, Director of Market Development at STMicroelectronics, walks us through the layers of sophistication needed hit the industry gold standard of 0.2% meter reading accuracy, and why we even need to draw constant measurements in today’s electricity meters.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smart Radios Map Analog Processing onto Moore’s Law
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334385
A San Diego-based fabless semiconductor startup has developed a single chip wireless internet of things (IoT) platform that allow analog radio circuits to take advantage of the power consumption and performance benefits of digital, enabling analog RF processing to benefit from Moore’s Law.
enables the radio function to be carried out in the digital domain rather than the analog domain, which means a significant part of the RF processing can be implemented on high end process nodes and reducing power consumption by 50% or more for edge-of-network IoT devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Efficient Low-Cost Implementation of NB-IoT for Smart Applications
https://semiengineering.com/efficient-low-cost-implementation-of-nb-iot-for-smart-applications/
Explore challenges of NB-IoT modem design and using a single small CPU/DSP processor for executing a NB-IoT software stack.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2019/02/28/elisa-ja-innofactor-alytehdas-yhteisoon/
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2019/02/28/ennakoivaa-kunnossapitoa-uusilla-tekniikoilla/
Tomi Engdahl says:
IOTA Announces Smart City Development Competition with Groupe Renault, ENGIE Lab CRIGEN, VEOLIA Birdz, Sopra Steria, and Supporting Organizations
https://blog.iota.org/iota-announces-smart-city-development-competition-with-groupe-renault-engie-lab-crigen-veolia-11bc36fffd05
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ben Fox Rubin / CNET:
Amazon says it has decided to stop selling Amazon Dash buttons globally, but will continue supporting new orders made through existing Dash buttons — Amazon has come up with some pretty odd ideas over the years: delivery inside your car, a talking tablet for your kitchen counter …
Amazon stops selling Dash buttons, goofy forerunners of the connected home
https://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-stops-selling-dash-buttons-goofy-forerunners-of-connected-home/
Who needs Dash buttons when your printer buys its own ink now.
Amazon has come up with some pretty odd ideas over the years: delivery inside your car, a talking tablet for your kitchen counter, and even an action series starring that guy from The Office.
One of the concepts that best captures the quirky imagination of the world’s largest online retailer is the Dash button, a handy (and kind of ridiculous) device you press to reorder stuff like dog food, bottled water or septic treatment powder.
But the usefulness and novelty of Dash buttons has waned over the years, and Amazon said Thursday that it had decided to stop selling the gadgets globally. If you still proudly use a Dash button (or a few dozen), don’t worry: Amazon plans to continue supporting new orders through existing Dash buttons so long as the public keeps using them.
Tomi Engdahl says:
European Telecommunications Standards Institute Publishes New IoT Security Standard
https://www.crime-99.com/2019/02/25/european-telecommunications-standards-institute-publishes-new-iot-security-standard/
On February 19, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) published the ETSI TS 103 645 V1.1.1 — or more simply, a high-level outcome-focused standard (PDF) for cybersecurity in the consumer-oriented Internet of Things (IoT).
ETSI is an independent not-for-profit standards organization based in France with 800 members in 66 countries across the world. It is one of just three bodies officially recognized by the EU as a European Standards Organization (ESO).
The hope of the new standard is that it will provide the basis for future IoT certification schemes designed to prevent the loss of users’ personal data in breach of GDPR, and the recruitment of consumer IoT devices into botnets (think Mirai) used to DDoS corporations.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ETSI releases first globally applicable standard for consumer IoT security
https://www.etsi.org/newsroom/press-releases/1549-2019-02-etsi-releases-first-globally-applicable-standard-for-consumer-iot-security
https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_ts/103600_103699/103645/01.01.01_60/ts_103645v010101p.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
“Digital twins” enable machine simulation & maintenance, Industry 4.0
https://www.edn.com/design/automotive/4460761/-Digital-twins–enable-simulation–maintenance–Industry-4-0?utm_source=Aspencore&utm_medium=EDN&utm_campaign=social
One of the key trends in industrial systems design highlighted at the recent Hannover Fair is the increasing interest in creation and use of digital twins. A marriage between EDA/CAD and the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), digital twins hold great promise for optimizing the performance and maintenance of industrial systems. The concept itself has been in use for decades in aerospace and automotive industries, but advances in computing and communications technologies are paving the way for it to become a key element of industrial systems design.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Our Next Step in Preparing the Cloud for 1T Intelligent Devices
February 20, 2019
https://www.arm.com/company/news/2019/02/our-next-step
By: Drew Henry, senior vice president and general manager, Infrastructure Line of Business, Arm
Tomi Engdahl says:
Week in Review: IoT, Security, Auto
https://semiengineering.com/week-in-review-iot-security-auto-34/
Yingzi Technology of Guangzhou, China, has developed a “future pig farm” to demonstrate what technology can do to make keeping pigs more profitable
Sensor data collected in smart cities can help improve the quality of life in those cities, Karen Lightman (formerly executive director of the MEMS & Sensors Industry Group) writes for Axios.
Google is aiming at Internet of Things developers with an open-source software development kit being made available on the Google Cloud Platform. The new Cloud IoT Device SDK runs on the managed Cloud IoT Core service
Arm had a lot of news this week at MWC19 in Barcelona, Spain. The company announced the PSA Certified program, a joint effort with security testing laboratories to certify that IoT devices have Platform Security Architecture implementations
Tomi Engdahl says:
Industry 4.0 brings lucrative opportunities for chipmakers: Q&A with TI manager Matthieu Chervier
https://www.digitimes.com/news/a20190226PD209.html
Global chipmakers have been racing to develop chip solutions associated with Industry 4.0 applications to tap huge business opportunities arising from smart manufacturing in conjunction with the rapid development of 5G and AI applications.
In a recent interview conducted by Digitimes, Matthieu Chervier, systems and application manager at Texas Instruments (TI), shed lights on opportunities for chipmakers from Industry 4.0 applications, and current worldwide progresses and prospects for industrial upgrades based on the concept.
A: There is no significant difference in promoting factory automation around the world. While labor costs in the US and Europe are relatively higher, young people in Asia are increasingly unwilling to enter factories, making production automation an urgent task to complete.
Network infrastructure at factories now commands the largest portion of the costs for industry upgrades with Industry 4.0 solutions. If a factory already owns sound network communications systems, then only sensors and edge processors need to be installed at the factory to conduct instant collection and analysis of production data to facilitate production management and efficiency. Accordingly, factories may differ in their efforts in pursing Industry 4.0 goals, but they apparently move in exactly the same direction.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How Does an Icebox Pay for a Data Plan?
https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1334394
Every chip company selling modem ICs into cellular IoT devices must worry how their customers — device manufacturers — expect to make money on IoT.
In 2011, Cisco famously stated in a white paper what later became IoT gospel, circulated endlessly and uncritically: The world will have 50 billion connected devices by 2020.
Fast forward to March 2019. We all cringe — realizing how wildly optimistic the industry was and how gullible we were.
Since 2011, market predictions for connected devices have been repeatedly adjusted. The 2020 outlook now ranges from 20 to 30 billion connected devices, about half of Cisco’s rosy forecast.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m hardly suggesting that market growth for IoT devices has stalled. Au contraire, it is growing steadily. But a few unresolved issues prevent this segment from racking up its next “trillions.” Oft-cited alibis for the slow growth of IoT are security — or lack of thereof — and fragmentation among IoT products.
IoT products built on diverging connectivity technologies, communication protocols and system-level applications remain problematic. The insecurity of devices is a lingering concern.
Of all, those who promote cellular IoT (LTE-M, NB-IoT, etc.) are banking on their long-term viability.
They claim that cellular connectivity specifications “can cut the fragmentation of IoT” and might even settle the security issues. They say IoT applications such as smart metering, automotive, home automation, agriculture, and asset tracking will benefit from using cellular infrastructure in licensed spectrum, across bandwidth and power operating points.
But here’s the thing. Cellular IoT, too, comes with its own challenges, including the complexity of billing and provisioning for cellular network operators. Every chip company selling modem ICs into cellular IoT devices must worry how their customers — device manufacturers — expect to make money on IoT.
One thing is clear. A consumer with a brand-new fridge gives little thought — even nowadays — to the joy of connecting his or her icebox to the Web. This is why the appliance company is the likely party footing the connectivity bill.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
The servers running social robot Jibo, which had raised ~$76M in total and shipped to the public in 2017 for $899, are being shut down forever
Dying social robot Jibo goes out with a song and a dance
RIP, Jibo
https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2019/3/4/18250104/jibo-social-robot-server-shutdown-offline-dead
Tomi Engdahl says:
How sensor data can help cities improve public spaces
https://www.axios.com/how-sensor-data-can-help-cities-improve-public-spaces-0b227ed9-84d8-4f81-9b2d-177c0607472c.html
Urban sensors are often used to monitor illegal activity — from identifying drivers that run red lights to generating predictive crime maps — but they can also collect data for quality-of-life improvements like reducing emissions and preventing car accidents.
The big picture: Municipalities could use anonymized, secure sensor data in combination with advanced computing to better understand how people travel through and use public space, without sacrificing individual privacy.
Show less
What’s happening: Academic researchers and urban planners can leverage the latest sensors — including “camera-as-sensor” technologies, which convert a camera’s optical image into an electronic signal — to gather and share insights about roads, intersections and public spaces.
Yes, but: Ensuring the data collected is protected and anonymized will be crucial to earning public trust in these efforts.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Isolation is good when it’s digital: Protect your people and devices
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1334308
The programmable logic controller (PLC)[1] is considered the main control center for manufacturing machines, even in Industry 4.0 and other “smart factory” initiatives. It is the central processor for all real-time decisions for the manufacturing process.
Sensors provide input to the PLC about their status so that it can automatically make decisions about the manufacturing process. The PLC is also the interface to a particular machine in real time to allow the human aspect of machine operation to be more automated and secure.
Industry 4.0 and the future of PLCs
Although Industry 4.0 is starting to attract a lot of attention in the market, there are many concerns and risks associated with adopting this “smart factory” initiative based on new and emerging technologies.
While Industry 4.0 and the internet of things are commonly used terms, there are still many people that do not understand the distinction between the two. A survey about the industrial internet of things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0 familiarity, conducted by Control Engineering, showed that 67 percent of respondents have little to no familiarity with Industry 4.0 principles, and 41 percent have little or no familiarity with the internet of things.[2] Today, only one-third of all plant floor equipment has a network interface.
Most PLCs work at 24 V,[4] which is considered the global voltage standard and digital language for industrial applications. In those environments, power fluctuations are frequent and can cause unexpected malfunctions and damage to electronics.
Securing the machines and their electronic components with galvanic isolators is critical to protect essential equipment and ensure continuous operation.
Advantages of digital isolators
Until recently, most PLC circuit boards featured optoisolators or optocouplers.[5] They are inexpensive, easy to install and widely available in the market.
Optocouplers, however, have several fundamental limitations, including poor noise immunity, long delays and low energy efficiency, because they need high current to ensure functionality. Additionally, an optocoupler’s reliability suffers from age, temperature and bias voltage.
CMOS-based digital isolation is immune to the output variations that plague LED-based optocouplers. Digital isolators provide more than 10 times the reliability rate of optocouplers, enabling system builders to offer more extended functionality to their PLCs and longer product warranties.
Silicon Labs’ basic isolators are available in one- to six-channel bi- and unidirectional configurations, fitting smaller board designs and reducing board production costs. What’s more, Silicon Labs has a family of isolators specifically for PLC applications that provide additional integration. The Si838x family features advanced 24V inputs in either sourcing or sinking configurations. This family integrates 8 channels into one package in order to optimize space and costs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Next Wave Of Security For IIoT
https://semiengineering.com/next-wave-of-security-for-iiot/
New technology, approaches will provide some protection, but gaps still remain.
A rush of new products and services promise to make the famously un-secured Industrial IoT (IIoT) substantially more secure in the near future.
There are a number of reasons for this, including:
The uniqueness of industrial operations requires custom security approaches, which are more expensive, more complicated, and relatively unproven.
There are few industry standards, and those that do exist are limited in scope.
More data, more edge devices and different architectures sometimes make it hard to determine what to secure.
Many established operations are skeptical of the value of IIoT in the first place, and security features are not always easy to use.
Tomi Engdahl says:
3 Trends from Embedded World 2019
https://www.designnews.com/electronics-test/3-trends-embedded-world-2019/135993809860359?ADTRK=UBM&elq_mid=7714&elq_cid=876648
Embedded World revealed a number of trends that we can expect to see in the mass markets over the next six months to two years.
Trend #1 – Security is important, but we aren’t quite there yet
All over the conference, I noticed companies promoting security solutions. Security is critical to the IoT, which is a major industry driver at the moment. The problem with security, though, is that companies know they need security, but they don’t know what it means.
Trend #2 – Artificial Intelligence is coming
Artificial intelligence was everywhere at the conference, but it revealed itself through two primary application use cases:
Object detection
Audio processing
Trend #3 – Heterogenous computing
Heterogenous computing is when there is more than one type of processing on a single chip. There are several advantages to doing this — such as dedicating a core for video processing, another for real-time processing, and so forth. I found that these types of systems are becoming far more common in the real-time space (and have been for a while) but they are starting to find their way into microcontroller-based systems.
One problem that developers will be facing is how to coordinate communications between cores that could be running bare-metal, an RTOS, or even a combination. An interesting open source solution that I heard about is called OpenAMP. “The OpenAMP provides an open source framework that allows operating systems to interact within a broad range of complex homogeneous and heterogeneous architectures and allows asymmetric multiprocessing applications to leverage parallelism offered by the multicore configuration.”