IoT trends 2019

IoT is already completely entrenched in our society across end-market segments, but there are still enormous challenges around the design, development, and deployment of devices and services for the IoT, with security at the top of the list in 2019.

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 networksCompared 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

————–

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

  1. Tomi Engdahl says:

    The Keysight IoT Innovation Challenge is Now Open!
    https://www.iotchallengekeysight.com

    Reply
  2. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Amazon admits that employees review “small sample” of Alexa audio
    https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/04/amazon-admits-that-employees-review-small-sample-of-alexa-audio/

    Amazon says it uses human transcriptions to “improve the customer experience.”

    Most of the time, when you talk to an Amazon Echo device, only Amazon’s voice-recognition software is listening. But sometimes, Bloomberg reports, a copy of the audio is sent to a human reviewer at one of several Amazon offices around the world. The human listens to the audio clip, transcribes it, and adds annotations to help Amazon’s algorithms get better.

    Amazon Workers Are Listening to What You Tell Alexa
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-10/is-anyone-listening-to-you-on-alexa-a-global-team-reviews-audio

    Reply
  3. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Sean Gallagher / Ars Technica:
    An Illinois bill for banning IoT devices from collecting audio without owners’ consent was substantially defanged after lobbying by the Internet Association

    Illinois bill banning eavesdropping by IoT devices defanged by tech lobby
    Lobbyists: Bill would punish even if failure to disclose was “accidental.”
    https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/04/illinois-bill-banning-eavesdropping-by-iot-devices-defanged-by-tech-lobby/

    On April 10, the Illinois State Senate passed the “Keep Internet Devices Safe Act,” a bill that would ban Internet device manufacturers from collecting audio from Internet-connected devices without disclosing it to consumers. But the bill was substantially neutered after a fierce lobbying effort by an industry association backed by Amazon and Google.

    The bill passed on the heels of Amazon’s admission that the company sometimes sends copies of audio clips captured by its Echo devices to offices around the world for transcription by employees—something not mentioned in Echo’s terms of service or FAQ pages.

    The bill also requires that any recordings and other personal information captured by devices protect against “unauthorized access, acquisition, destruction, use, modification, and disclosure” of the data.

    Reply
  4. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Chris O’Brien / VentureBeat:
    Nokia’s factory in Finland, where execs say they have automated some product lines to ~99%, shows how high-speed connectivity can transform manufacturing

    Inside Nokia’s factory of the future: Robots, data, automation, 5G, and even some humans
    https://venturebeat.com/2019/04/10/inside-nokias-factory-of-the-future-robots-data-automation-5g-and-even-some-humans/

    Nokia’s “factory of the future” in Oulu, Finland offers a glimpse into a world in which high-speed connectivity promises to transform manufacturing.

    Nokia’s factory, where the company is manufacturing its 5G base stations. The Oulu campus is the heart of Nokia’s 5G radio design and innovation efforts, and having that manufacturing facility onsite allows the company to test and build equipment in tandem with researchers.

    As 5G networks begin to roll out, one of the most heavily hyped use cases is Industry 4.0, or the “factory of the future.” 5G proponents argue that these blazing-fast networks, which can support massive numbers of connected objects in small areas and with no latency, will allow manufacturers to use automation and data to make their facilities far more efficient.

    . “We have our own factory here,” said Jani Leskinen, head of Nokia’s research and development in Oulu. “Why not use this as a playground?”

    the connectivity is actually running on a 4G LTE network, at least for now. Nokia executives point out that 4G networks are currently underutilized and are still rolling out in many areas. Carriers want more time to recoup their investments on 4G even as they continue to make 5G plans, so a company like Nokia faces the delicate balancing act of encouraging greater connectivity now without undercutting 4G.

    Nokia’s message is that companies don’t need to wait for 5G to start connecting their factories.

    And using just 4G, executives estimate that they have automated some product lines in the Oulu factory to about 99%, with some prototyping processes remaining more manual.

    It’s an approach Nokia is calling the “conscious factory.”

    “With data analytics and the high level of automation, this manufacturing environment is full of innovation,”

    Reply
  5. Tomi Engdahl says:

    How Smart Speakers Are Changing the Way We Listen to Music
    https://pitchfork.com/features/article/how-smart-speakers-are-changing-the-way-we-listen-to-music/

    With everyone from Amazon to will.i.am trying to get us to talk to their speakers, should listeners be excited, or worried?

    Almost four years after the Echo and Alexa’s rather inauspicious debut—“The whole thing is a tad baffling, but also intriguing,” wrote TechCrunch at the time—smart speakers are now teetering on omnipresence. Sales tripled between 2016 and 2017, and analysts expect nearly 60 million units will be bought globally this year.

    Reply
  6. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Using Wi-Fi for Low Power IoT Applications
    https://www.electronicdesign.com/white-paper/using-wi-fi-low-power-iot-applications?code=SiliconLabsER1-04112019&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=24771&utm_medium=email&elq2=6c618a8f4c414b06b0181954a765bcf5

    Wi-Fi may not be the first wireless technology one thinks of when considering low power IoT applications, but it should be.

    Reply
  7. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Smart-Building Megatrends: How to Handle the Power
    https://www.electronicdesign.com/power/smart-building-megatrends-how-handle-power?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20190417_ED-003_595&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=24946&utm_medium=email&elq2=7478ae02b241436a86d49aee3f44ab93

    Challenges persist for smart-building electronic components in terms of energy efficiency, miniaturization, and system reliability. Employing proper power-management solutions come to the rescue.

    Reply
  8. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Use context with IIoT to provide automation value
    https://www.controleng.com/articles/use-context-with-iiot-to-provide-automation-value/

    The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has a lot of potential, but without context and a clear goal, value for companies will be less. See 8 ways to move from data to information.

    8 ways to move from data to information

    Drury said he works for a data company, but what does that mean? What does it mean to make data? If companies want to make data, it’s really the beginning of an eight-step process:

    Make data: Gather data from sensors and other devices.
    Move data: Route the data through industrial gateways, wireless modules, and data acquisition devices.
    View data: Put the data on dashboard interfaces and databases.
    Secure data: Ensure the data is securely located whether it’s local or on the cloud, and take steps to safeguard it through cybersecurity and blockchain protocols.
    Use data: Allow the user to access the data through digital twins, rapid service response, and more.
    Scale data: Take the data beyond a proof of concept (POC) and use it to provide the context companies sorely lock and use it to provide a business model.
    Share data: Use the data to form strategic partnerships and build out an ecosystem.
    Analyze data: This, Drury said, is really where Industry 5.0 because now all these bits of information are being analyzed to improve decision cycles through predictive analytics and Big Data.

    The key, Drury said, is the fourth and fifth steps, which is where the information goes being from enabled and integrated to being used. That’s where the shift to providing context begins.

    Reply
  9. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Temperature sensor calibration
    Sensor failure risks are significantly reduced if the temperature sensor can be calibrated in situ.
    https://www.controleng.com/articles/temperature-sensor-calibration/

    Reply
  10. Tomi Engdahl says:

    High-speed engine monitoring IIoT-enhanced
    Analytics improve performance of remote assets.
    https://www.controleng.com/articles/high-speed-engine-monitoring-iiot-enhanced/

    Sensing capabilities are retrofitted by attaching what are described as peripheral universal connection (PUC) modules to an engine. Four PUCs can monitor high-speed engine components and characteristics that include power cylinder, valve train, turbo health, main bearings and frame vibration.

    Reply
  11. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Industrie 4.0 challenges, and its potential
    Meet the cultural changes head-on to derive benefits.
    https://www.controleng.com/articles/industrie-4-0-challenges-and-its-potential/

    Over the nearly three decades since the concept of Lean manufacturing has been implemented, it has changed the way manufacturing companies do business.

    But technology has brought on the next phase: Industrie 4.0.

    Brought into popular use at the 2011 Hannover Messe in Germany, Industrie 4.0 is a cyber-physical system that facilitates more precise and timely decisions based on actual events rather than interpretation.

    Industrie 4.0 allows rules-based programming and potentially artificial intelligence (AI) quickly can make necessary adjustments in order to move forward and allow business processes to process along an optimal path. This drives efficiency, cost recovery and cost avoidance.

    The four key design principles in the Industrie 4.0 model are interoperability, information transparency, technical assistance and decentralized decisions. The first three inform the discussion of decentralized decisions, which is directly related to the culture shift needed to support implementation of Industrie 4.0. The technological capabilities that accompany this new approach only can be realized if the culture is in place to support it.

    For many companies, changing the culture can be the greatest challenge of all.

    Digital innovations, AI advance Industrie 4.0
    https://www.controleng.com/articles/digital-innovations-ai-advance-industrie-4-0/

    International: Industrial artificial intelligence (AI) technology applications are among the important trends in digital transformation for manufacturing and Industrie 4.0 advancements.

    With rapid development of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Big Data analysis, manufacturing enterprises are creating more demand for artificial intelligence (AI). How to integrate AI with industrial applications and enhance value and efficiency are among users’ greatest concerns. By applying Industrie 4.0 digital technologies, leading automation enterprises are well prepared to enter the next stage of AI applications

    AI will accelerate Industrie 4.0

    “Analysis technology and artificial intelligence will exert huge impact on our product portfolio, for artificial intelligence algorithm can be integrated in Festo cloud and onsite components,” Melzer said.

    Reply
  12. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Only 5% of Mid-Size Manufacturers Are Implementing Industry 4.0
    https://www.designnews.com/automation-motion-control/only-5-mid-size-manufacturers-are-implementing-industry-40/107423774460601?ADTRK=UBM&elq_mid=8200&elq_cid=876648

    A new survey finds, in spite of competitive pressure, mid-size manufacturers are late in their build-out of smart manufacturing technology.

    While major manufacturers have been hip-deep in Industry 4.0 implementation for years, mid-size manufacturers have been slow to invest in smart technology. According to BDO’s 2019 Middle Market Industry 4.0 Benchmarking Survey, 99% of mid-market manufacturing executives are at least moderately familiar with Industry 4.0. Yet despite all its potential to create value, only 5% are currently implementing—or have implemented—an Industry 4.0 strategy.

    Here are the key findings of the survey:

    1.) Industry Outsiders Pose the Greatest Threat
    2.) The Biggest Barrier to Implementation is Poor Communication
    3.) Industry 4.0 Is Creating Jobs
    4.) Despite Progress, Silos Remain
    5.) Finite Resources Can Result in Too Much Caution

    The report noted that because their resources are finite, middle market manufacturers tend to be prudent in their Industry 4.0 investments. The possibilities of tomorrow must be tethered to concrete goals and a clear sense of purpose. The prudence may come at a cost. BDO notes that middle-market manufacturers have a limited window of time before Industry 4.0 technology become essential to competing in an ever-advancing digital world. They must master the art of balancing quick wins with longer-term, strategic investments or face dire competitive consequences.

    Reply
  13. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Wireless Makes the Electric Grid Smarter and More Reliable
    https://www.electronicdesign.com/power/wireless-makes-electric-grid-smarter-and-more-reliable?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20190412_ED-003_70&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=24841&utm_medium=email&elq2=00c8d80a8fc146be970e9bf0b31046ff

    Sponsored by Texas Instruments: Demands for a more robust and efficient grid continue to grow louder, and wireless communications—particularly Wi-Fi and sub-1-GHz radios—are up to the challenge.

    Reply
  14. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Week in Review: IoT, Security, Auto
    https://semiengineering.com/week-in-review-iot-security-auto-40/

    Smart-building technology is a factor in marketing new facilities to prospective tenants. The new Cambridge Crossing development in Cambridge, Mass., aspires to attract tech-oriented tenants much like nearby Kendall Square, this analysis notes.

    Processing and analyzing data at the edge is a market Intel would like to dominate. J

    Wing, a graduate of Alphabet and X research and development lab, is initiating a commercial drone delivery service in Canberra, Australia

    Reply
  15. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Google’s Ivan Poupyrev shows off Jacquard, which connects his Levi’s jacket to the cloud
    https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/18/google-project-jacquard-ted/

    Poupyrev was showing off Jacquard, a device that allowed him to use the sleeve of his jacket as a controller for his presentation slides. Google has talked about this work before, and there’s even a $350 Levi’s jacket available for purchase.

    Reply
  16. Tomi Engdahl says:

    7 Challenges of Software Development for IoT
    https://www.eliftech.com/blog/96-7-challenges-of-software-development-for-iot

    IoT Issues Developers Stumbleupon
    Due to the booming demand, the competition among IoT startups and development companies is knife-fighting level fierce. This and the lack of generally accepted standards make programmers constantly looking for new practices and updated protocols. Only a scrupulous approach to every IoT software issue will result in efficient development.

    OS Considerations
    The latest IoT Developer Survey shows that Linux is the top choice for IoT microcontrollers, constrained devices and gateways.

    Choosing Gateways
    Modern intelligent gateways from Dell Technologies, Intel, Nexcom and other top providers have some common mandatory features that make developers’ lives easier. You just have to select the one that meets your IoT application requirements.

    Deciding on the Right IoT Platform
    No sane developer wants to develop software from scratch. Why reinvent the wheel? That’s where IoT platforms come in handy
    Your preferred platform should provide:

    connectivity
    security
    scalability
    easy integration
    usability

    On Security, Again
    “The S in IoT stands for security.”
    Yeah, there’s no S in IoT. By definition, IoT technology includes numerous connected devices, and therefore hackers have multiple juicy targets to scan for vulnerabilities.
    Gartner states that 25% of all identified enterprise attacks will involve IoT by 2020, while only 10% of IT security budgets will be assigned to protect systems against these attacks.

    To reduce the possibility of attacks and unauthorized access, use:

    SSL/TLS encryption technologies
    isolated VLAN
    detached corporate VPN
    modern and updated anti-virus
    end-user and machine-to-machine authentication
    vetted frameworks for web development and design

    Total Control Over Quality
    Quality assurance is another tender spot of software for IoT.

    User-Friendly Design
    Consumer IoT app should be design-driven and as simple as possible – nobody wants to study the manual to update a smartwatch (sorry, technical writers).

    Cross-Platform Deployment
    The IoT ecosystem includes devices with different architectures, protocols and operating systems. All these variables should fit together and work seamlessly. Therefore, IETF, IEEE and other reputable organizations have come up with the open standards and architecture models for cross-platform deployment.

    Bottom Line
    Despite the growth of IoT adoption over the last years, the Internet of Things software development still has quite a few issues left to resolve. Now, IoT companies and startups should watch out for details they haven’t considered before. Embracing the generally accepted standards for IoT projects will allow for partially solving some of the development challenges.

    Reply
  17. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Success with IoT requires the right organizational culture
    https://iot.eetimes.com/success-with-iot-requires-the-right-organizational-culture/?utm_content=buffer82017&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

    The promise of increased productivity, greater efficiencies, newly tapped data streams and immediate cost savings via IoT implementations are compelling. And while these benefits are certainly intriguing, actually accomplishing them presents a legitimate challenge for many organizations. The reason for this is an Internet of Things strategy requires not only the incorporation of new technologies, but also a new mindset about business processes and collaboration.

    Reply
  18. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Microsoftista tuli yrityskaupalla RTOS-talo
    http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/9384-microsoftista-tuli-yrityskaupalla-rtos-talo

    ThreadX on yksi suosituimpia ja käytetyimpiä kaupallisia reaaliaikakäyttöjärjestelmiä. RTOS-guru Bill Lamien (kuvassa) perustama Express Logic siirtyy nyt yrityskaupassa osaksi Microsoftia. Tämä on Microsoftille iso askel IoT-laitteiden käyttöjärjestelmiin.

    ThreadX on RTOS eli reaaliaikakäyttöjärjestelmä, joka toimii pienimmillään 64 kilotavun muistilla varustetussa ohjainpiirissä. Kaikkiaan ThredX on käytössä lähes seitsemässä miljardissa laitteessa. Käytännössä ydin on hyvin kompakti 20 tuhannen koodirivin ohjelmisto.

    ThreadX asettuu osaksi Azure Sphereä, joka on MS:n mikro-ohjainten tietoturvallinen alusta.

    Reply
  19. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
    Docker and Arm announce a new partnership to help Docker developers more easily build apps for the Arm platform — Docker and Arm today announced a major new partnership that will see the two companies collaborate in bringing improved support for the Arm platform to Docker’s tools.

    Docker developers can now build Arm containers on their desktops
    https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/24/docker-partners-with-arm/

    Docker and Arm today announced a major new partnership that will see the two companies collaborate in bringing improved support for the Arm platform to Docker’s tools.

    The main idea here is to make it easy for Docker developers to build their applications for the Arm platform right from their x86 desktops and then deploy them to the cloud (including the Arm-based AWS EC2 A1 instances), edge and IoT devices. Developers will be able to build their containers for Arm just like they do today, without the need for any cross-compilation.

    This new capability, which will work for applications written in JavaScript/Node.js, Python, Java, C++, Ruby, .NET core, Go, Rust and PHP, will become available as a tech preview next week, when Docker hosts its annual North American developer conference in San Francisco.

    Reply
  20. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Docker and Arm Partner to Deliver Frictionless Cloud-native Software Development and Delivery Model for Cloud, Edge, and IoT
    https://www.arm.com/company/news/2019/04/docker-and-arm-partnership

    Docker and Arm today announced a strategic partnership enabling cloud developers to build applications for cloud, edge, and IoT environments seamlessly on the Arm® architecture.

    Reply
  21. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Jared Newman / Fast Company:
    A look at smart home security companies August, Netatmo, Wyze, and SimpliSafe, which are entering markets dominated by Google and Amazon

    These home security startups aren’t afraid of Amazon and Google
    https://www.fastcompany.com/90337606/how-smart-home-security-companies-plan-to-survive-amazon-and-google

    Companies like August and SimpliSafe say they’ve got a plan to survive as the tech giants scale up their smart home ambitions.

    In the business of smart home security, it’s tough not being Amazon or Google.

    Over the last year or so, both companies have released DIY security systems–Amazon under its Ring brand, and Google under Nest–that complement their popular doorbell and security cameras. Both companies can also undercut competitors on price, and can lean on other products like the Amazon Echo or Google Home speakers for unique integrations.

    Do what tech giants (probably) won’t

    “Locks are a surprisingly difficult thing to do well,” Huddart says. “If the mechanical part of the lock is no good, you open up a vulnerability to your home. I think experience does count a lot in a category like locks.”

    Given the scale at which Assa Abloy operates, it can continue to focus mainly on selling hardware, with August bringing in software expertise

    Go even cheaper

    While most smart home security companies risk being undercut by tech giants offering similar gear at lower prices, Wyze has proven an exception by selling capable cameras for as little as $20. Despite the low prices, Wyze’s cameras take clear 1080p video, and the software has lots of helpful features such as motion detection zones, two-way audio, and integration with Amazon Alexa and IFTTT.

    Wyze has sold 1.5 million of those cameras in the last 18 months,

    Reply
  22. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Why can’t Alexa and Google Assistant coexist on one device?
    https://www.fastcompany.com/90300524/why-cant-alexa-and-google-assistant-coexist-on-one-device

    Three possible explanations—and a dash of wild speculation—about why there’s no such thing as a gadget that lets you use both Amazon and Google’s assistants at will.

    Reply
  23. Tomi Engdahl says:

    The power of smart cities
    https://www.electronicproducts.com/Internet_of_Things/The_power_of_smart_cities.aspx?utm_content=buffer888b1&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

    Remotely monitored and managed power distribution units can keep mission-critical smart power systems up and running while helping to reduce energy consumption

    Reply
  24. Tomi Engdahl says:

    ‘It’s time for us to watch them’: App lets you spy on Alexa and the rest of your smart devices
    https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/pringle-smart-home-privacy-1.5109347

    Reply
  25. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Empowering Cities revisited
    https://empoweringspaces.economist.com/empowering-cities-revisited/?utm_source=EIU+Paid+Social&utm_medium=Facebook

    Three years after The Economist Intelligence Unit asked whether smart city initiatives are empowering citizens, there has been progress on many fronts. But city governments are still under-equipped.

    Reply
  26. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Adam Rogers / Wired:
    How Cambridge Systematics, a transportation consultancy, used location data from 5M cell phones in Los Angeles to help the city revamp its bus transit system
    http://www.wired.com/story/future-of-transportation-los-angeles-bus-cell-phone-data

    Reply
  27. Tomi Engdahl says:

    A Farmer’s Guide to Technology
    https://hackaday.com/2019/04/26/a-farmers-guide-to-technology/

    One of the hardest aspects of choosing a career isn’t getting started, it’s keeping up. Whether you’re an engineer, doctor, or even landscaper, there are always new developments to keep up with if you want to stay competitive. This is especially true of farming, where farmers have to keep up with an incredible amount of “best practices” in order to continue being profitable.

    Internet of Things…So What? A Farmer’s Guide To Technology
    https://hackerfarm.jp/2019/03/internet-of-things-so-what-a-farmers-guide-to-technology/

    Reply
  28. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
    Amazon is looking to hire a managing editor of news for its video doorbell company Ring to “deliver breaking crime news alerts to our neighbors”

    A doorbell company owned by Amazon wants to start producing “crime news” and it’ll definitely end well
    https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/04/a-doorbell-company-owned-by-amazon-wants-to-start-producing-crime-news-and-itll-definitely-end-well/

    Because what good is a panopticon if you can’t generate some clicks?

    Reply
  29. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Week in Review: IoT, Security, Auto
    https://semiengineering.com/week-in-review-iot-security-auto-42/

    Wing received an Air Carrier Certification from the Federal Aviation Administration to begin making commercial deliveries with drones. The Alphabet unit is cleared to deliver packages in southwestern Virginia.

    Mozilla’s staff has worked on Project Things, an open implementation of the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web of Things standard, for about two years. Since announcing Project Things in February of last year, the organization now introduces the open-source Internet of Things platform as Mozilla WebThings, with a number of added features.

    As the American population ages, IoT technology is emerging to help the elderly in their daily lives. MedMinder offers a new wrinkle on medication containers, providing a flashing light to remind seniors to take their prescriptions.

    Mozilla relaunches open source IoT platform Project Things as WebThings
    https://venturebeat.com/2019/04/18/mozilla-relaunches-open-source-iot-platform-project-things-as-webthings/

    Reply
  30. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Survey: IoT Developers Prefer Arm-Based Processors
    https://www.eeweb.com/profile/groos/articles/survey-iot-developers-prefer-arm-based-processors

    Survey of more than 1,700 IoT developers reveals top hardware architecture and IDE choices.

    IoT developers face a myriad of hardware and software challenges, ranging from connectivity requirements and interoperability to security issues and data management. Plus, they need to keep in mind a host of design constraints, including power, size, and cost. To gain insight into some of the biggest challenges and commercial efforts by IoT developers, the Eclipse Foundation conducted a survey earlier this year and found that IoT development is happening at a fast pace, with most of the investments driven by the industrial markets.

    The survey found that the top three concerns of IoT developers are security (38%), connectivity (21%), and data collection and analysis (19%). These were followed by challenges in performance (18%), privacy (18%), and standards (16%).

    Reply
  31. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Although TCP/IP (54.1%), Wi-Fi (48.2%), and Ethernet (41.1%) dominate in connectivity protocol usage, the survey indicates that Satellite and Thread have more than doubled year over year. The report also noted the usage of specialized connectivity solutions such as LPWA, Zigbee, 6LoWPAN, Z-Wave, and Satellite, which range in usage between 8% and 15% each.

    Other key findings include:

    The top three security technologies were communication security (38%), data encryption (38%), and JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) (26%).
    The most popular programming language for constrained devices was C, while Java was the most popular for gateways/edge nodes and IoT cloud.
    The three leading IoT cloud platforms were AWS (34%), Azure (23%), and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) (20%).
    The top three communications protocols used by IoT developers were HTTP (49%), MQTT (42%), and Websockets (26%).

    Source: https://www.eeweb.com/profile/groos/articles/survey-iot-developers-prefer-arm-based-processors

    Reply
  32. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Implantable Blood-Flow Sensor is Wireless, Battery-Free, and Biodegradable
    https://www.electronicdesign.com/test-measurement/implantable-blood-flow-sensor-wireless-battery-free-and-biodegradable?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20190501_ED-003_734&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_2_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=25266&utm_medium=email&elq2=c308c3f7cd9c42f49969e3c735ba2f06

    Researchers developed a self-powered, in-situ, biodegradable sensor of fluid flow in blood vessels that combines a capacitive pressure transducer with an RF antenna.

    Reply
  33. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Tips and Tricks for Successful IoT Software Development
    https://www.electronicdesign.com/iot/tips-and-tricks-successful-iot-software-development?NL=ED-005&Issue=ED-005_20190501_ED-005_463&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=25234&utm_medium=email&elq2=2f6494670b8e40d89a4cc27c5bb6ea50

    Ideally, you need an approach that results in software that drives IoT solutions for the future, while keeping the users’ evolving needs in mind and delivering on the promise and benefits of connectivity.

    How is this accomplished?

    Test Often, Gather Feedback, Iterate

    Testing and gathering critical feedback is what makes product development a success. You want to get a version of the software into as many users’ hands as soon as possible and be prepared to address their feedback.

    An iterative, cross-platform software collaboration, born out of the agile methodology, is more advantageous due to its flexibility and direct connection to the end user. An iterative approach is micro-goal driven, with an easy process in place to adjust to changing requirements. This improves your team’s ability to accurately and efficiently manage costs, and it provides the quickest route to market.

    Unlike waterfall, where there is a sequential, straight-line process, agile addresses every component in the stack in a series of continuous, quick-moving sprints that deliver an improved, market-ready product faster. The project moves in manageable pieces. There are no surprises lurking at the end of the process.

    Communication is vital to the collaborative and iterative agile approach. Developers should be in ongoing contact with the customer through daily scrums, biweekly planning meetings and biweekly reviews.

    Linear software development (aka waterfall) doesn’t work in IoT solutions Here are the steps you should take to ensure that your software stack addresses the impact of connectivity and meets users’ evolving needs.

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*