Soracom has announced that it has joined the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Accelerate Programme, a co-sell programme for AWS partners that provide software solutions that run on or integrate with AWS. (more…)
June 19, 2024
Posted by: Magda Dabrowska
pSemi Corporation has announced that it, alongside its parent company Murata, has expanded its role to “Participant” level with The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), an international community of more than 675 technology companies committed to open standards for the Internet of Things (IoT). In addition, Peter Bacon, the director of systems engineering at pSemi, was recently appointed to the Zigbee Working Group, a subcommittee of CSA that is dedicated to defining standards for the wireless technology designed for low-power devices that need to communicate with each other over short distances.
CSA’s mission is to create standards, tools and platforms that make all connected devices work together to enhance end users’ day-to-day experiences. Its members, which include LG, Samsung, NXP, and others, work collaboratively to develop IoT technology standards, offer certification programmes and promote the benefits of open, global standards for a wide range of connected technology solutions, including Matter, Aliro, Zigbee, and others.
pSemi’s increased role with CSA aligns with the company’s expanded IoT product offerings as it recently announced the PE562212—its smallest PA-LNA-SW IoT front-end module (FEM). PE562212 is an ultra-compact multi-protocol 2.4 GHz FEM that enables a variety of connectivity options for IoT devices and is designed in adherence to the IEEE 802.15.4 Zigbee requirements to support the CSA-led Matter protocols, an industry framework that focuses on simplifying connected experiences.
“Murata has been a proud member of CSA for more than a decade, and at pSemi, we are thrilled to expand our involvement to ‘Participant’ level this year, particularly as we expand our IoT offerings,” said Bacon. “Our increased participation underscores our commitment to the connectivity market and willingness to collaborate with the entire ecosystem to advance the industry. I look forward to working closely with my peers and colleagues to address some of the most pressing issues the connectivity industry is facing and to play a part in defining standards that will accelerate the adoption of IoT products.”
pSemi will also participate in the upcoming CSA Alliance Member Meeting in Washington, DC on June 25, 2024. For more information about pSemi and its connectivity solutions please visit www.psemi.com. For more information about CSA, its mission and current initiatives, please visit www.csa-iot.org.
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June 17, 2024
Posted by: Magda Dabrowska
pSemi Corporation has announced that it, alongside its parent company Murata, has expanded its role to “Participant” level with The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), an international community of more than 675 technology companies committed to open standards for the Internet of Things (IoT). In addition, Peter Bacon, director of systems engineering at pSemi, was recently appointed to the Zigbee Working Group, a subcommittee of CSA that is dedicated to defining standards for the wireless technology designed for low-power devices that need to communicate with each other over short distances.
CSA’s mission is to create standards, tools and platforms that make all connected devices work together to enhance end users’ day-to-day experiences. Its members, which include LG, Samsung, NXP, and others, work collaboratively to develop IoT technology standards, offer certification programmes, and promote the benefits of open, global standards for a wide range of connected technology solutions, including Matter, Aliro, Zigbee and others.
pSemi’s increased role with CSA aligns with the company’s expanded IoT product offerings as it recently announced the PE562212—its smallest PA-LNA-SW IoT front-end module (FEM). PE562212 is an ultra-compact multi-protocol 2.4 GHz FEM that enables a variety of connectivity options for IoT devices and is designed in adherence to the IEEE 802.15.4 Zigbee requirements to support the CSA-led Matter protocols, an industry framework that focuses on simplifying connected experiences.
“Murata has been a proud member of CSA for more than a decade, and at pSemi, we are thrilled to expand our involvement to ‘Participant’ level this year, particularly as we expand our IoT offerings,” said Bacon. “Our increased participation underscores our commitment to the connectivity market and willingness to collaborate with the entire ecosystem to advance the industry. I look forward to working closely with my peers and colleagues to address some of the most pressing issues the connectivity industry is facing and to play a part in defining standards that will accelerate the adoption of IoT products.”
pSemi will also participate in the upcoming CSA Alliance Member Meeting in Washington, DC on June 25, 2024. For more information about pSemi and its connectivity solutions please visit www.psemi.com. For more information about CSA, its mission, and current initiatives, please visit www.csa-iot.org.
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June 14, 2024
Posted by: Magda Dabrowska
Sigfox SA, a robust and low-power technology, was selected by the National Treasury as the network to underpin the new smart water meter ecosystem. The tender, commonly known as “RT29” awarded to various System Integrators, will see existing meters adapted or replaced to become smart meters to improve revenue collection and service delivery. All the new meters will run on the nationwide Sigfox IoT network. (more…)
June 11, 2024
Posted by: Magda Dabrowska
Lantronix has announced that it has published its case study on HY-LINE Group’s Smart Shelf, an easy-to-deploy digital retail shelf signage solution that delivers customer engagement and buying behavior analytics. Utilising Lantronix’s E210 Series Router (E214) with IoT SIM Connectivity Services and Lantronix’s Percepxion Cloud IoT Edge Solutions platform, this solution is securely and centrally managed for global deployment.
“Lantronix’s proven IoT solutions enabled HY-LINE Group to create a digital retail signage solution that combines the best of online and in-person shopping while giving retail chains the ability to capture insightful analytics on customer behaviors,” said Mathi Gurusamy, the chief strategy officer for Lantronix. “IoT Solutions in the retail industry provide additional opportunities to showcase our solutions in this growing market.”
According to Berg Insight, the retail industry is one of the top vertical markets for IoT devices. Global shipments of IoT devices in the retail sector are projected to grow at a CAGR of 10% over the next three years, reaching 19 million units in 2027. Lantronix’s innovative gateways and software are designed to target this market, supporting these growth trends through plug & play connectivity services and the Percepxion IoT Edge Solutions Platform.
Utilising Lantronix’s IoT solutions, including its E210 Series Router (E214) with IoT SIM Connectivity Services and Percepxion Cloud IoT Edge Solutions platform, HY-LINE developed its interactive point-of-sale Smart Shelf Display solution. Combining the best of online and in-person retail shopping, the Smart Shelf engages customers and captures buying behaviors while delivering analytics to generate increased sales and revenue growth.
Utilising Lantronix products and services enabled HY-LINE to build connectivity into the Smart Shelf Solution, providing an easy way for retailers to deploy and manage Smart Shelves across their stores, regionally, nationally or globally. Since the Smart Shelf comes pre-configured with the interactive display and router, to get started, retailers just plug it into a power outlet and connect it to the network. From there, it automatically connects to Cloud IoT management, where Percepxion provides chain-wide remote management of the connectivity.
For more information and to read the use case, please visit Lantronix’s HY-LINE Smart Shelf Digital and Retail Signage case study here.
June 10, 2024
Posted by: Magda Dabrowska
Hewlett Packard Enterprise has announced the #1 U.S. consumer brand for almonds and almond milk, Blue Diamond Growers is continuing its 100-year tradition of quality, innovation and food safety by modernising its wireless networking infrastructure with an HPE Aruba Networking Wi-Fi 6E-enabled solution.
The deployment improves mobile and IoT device connectivity in support of the California-based cooperative’s three manufacturing facilities that processes approximately a billion pounds of almonds annually for domestic and worldwide consumption on behalf of its 3,000 grower-owners. Stretching across over 3.3 million square feet of manufacturing facilities, including 40 acres of outdoor crop receiving areas, the new Wi-Fi network also provides AI-powered intelligence that is speeding troubleshooting by 50%.
“Our enterprise has a rich history of using innovation to produce and market almond products,” said Ryan Funk, the IT infrastructure director for Blue Diamond Growers. “Today, we rely on mobile and IoT-enabled technologies for moving almonds that arrive fresh from the field through production quickly, efficiently and safely, which ultimately enables delivering the highest value to our grower-owners.”
As the domestic almond supply and production leader since its founding in 1910, Blue Diamond relies extensively upon Wi-Fi connectivity for receiving and tracking almonds and almond products throughout its manufacturing, storage and distribution processes.
From crop delivery areas through finished product shipment, Blue Diamond workers use a variety of mobile devices, including scanners, tablets and label printers, all of which feed data into the enterprise’s cloud-enabled ERP solution around the clock. IoT-enabled systems are also extensively deployed, such as for constantly monitoring temperatures across the industry’s largest refrigerated storage capacity to maintain quality and freshness, which require reliable, secure connectivity from APs acting as an IoT platform.
“For innovative global food producers that depend upon connectivity for bringing products to market, fast, reliable and secure networking infrastructure is essential for supplying consumers with high-quality, nutritious and flavorful products,” said Stuart Strickland, the wireless chief technology officer at HPE Aruba Networking. “Whether its mobilising employees across indoor production and R&D facilities or ensuring rapid and accurate crop receipts during 24/7 harvest seasons, high-performance intelligent Wi-Fi enables Blue Diamond Growers to fulfill its core mission: maximise grower returns and deliver the benefits of almonds to the world.”
With regulatory approvals in place, Blue Diamond was eager to act on their vision to move to Wi-Fi 6E APs. To answer their mobile and IoT data traffic demands, while minimising operating overhead, the company adopted an AI-powered wireless solution that includes HPE Aruba Networking Wi-Fi 6E Access Points (APs) for indoor facilities and ruggedised outdoor Wi-Fi 6 APs for exterior connectivity. The network is unified and managed with HPE Aruba Networking Central, which streamlines and simplifies administration.
According to Funk, the network intelligence supplied by HPE Aruba Networking Central is important for enabling company’s ultra-lean IT staff to manage multiple geographically-disbursed facilities. “Having a powerful, centralised and intuitive management tool that also supports manufacturing frameworks for NIST and ISO is essential,” he said. “In addition, with HPE Aruba Networking Central, we’re resolving Wi-Fi trouble calls 50% faster, reducing IT overhead while improving user experiences.”
Prior to its new Wi-Fi infrastructure, Blue Diamond began saving more than USD$250,000 annually vs Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) by adopting HPE Aruba Networking EdgeConnect SD-WAN to gain a self-driving wide area network that serves as a foundation for zero trust and secure access service edge (SASE) cybersecurity. In addition, the company deployed HPE Aruba Networking Boost, for WAN optimisation.
Looking ahead, Blue Diamond expects its new networking infrastructure will continue powering company R&D efforts and business growth. “The combination of exceptional enterprise Wi-Fi and ongoing support we receive from HPE Aruba Networking enables us to envision operational and product innovations that were impossible before,” Funk said.
To learn more, visit HPE Aruba Networking.
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June 6, 2024
Posted by: Magda Dabrowska
Aqara unveiled on Thursday the Roller Shade Controller T1S, a tubular motor supporting Matter compatibility over bridge for superior interoperability across smart home platforms and devices. A solution that blends into any interior, this motor offers homeowners enhanced convenience, energy efficiency and privacy. By automating shades, it eliminates the need for manual adjustments, providing holistic smart home experience.
Whether through remote control, preset schedules, mobile apps, voice assistants, or complete home automation, the Roller Shade Controller T1S makes it a breeze to adjust multiple shades simultaneously, including those in hard-to-reach windows. It features a myriad of automation and controls that intuitively respond to users’ needs, allowing for the creation of ambience, adjustment to lighting throughout the day, temperature regulation in concert with other smart devices, and enhanced privacy from the outside world.
Compatible with various window coverings such as roller shades, zebra roller blinds, Shangri-la blinds, and honeycomb blinds, this Zigbee-based roller shade motor offers maximum flexibility and seamless integration with Matter-compatible platforms via an Aqara Matter bridge.
The T1S connects with Aqara Home and third-party platforms including Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, Home Assistant, Homey, and SmartThings, offering homeowners greater choices in creating personalised smart home scenes and automation.
Featuring advanced DC motor technology, the Roller Shade Controller T1S operates at a high speed of 25 rpm while maintaining a low noise level of under 27 dB, ensuring a peaceful atmosphere conducive to relaxation, focus, and productivity. The Aqara Home app supports even quieter operation of the motor by allowing it to open or close slowly and gradually over a preset time period, such as 30 minutes.
Last week, Aqara released Smart Lock U50, its latest addition to the smart lock product line. Aiming to bring convenience and added security, the entry-level solution comes equipped with advanced features like Apple home key unlocking and Matter compatibility over a bridge. The launch transforms traditional key access into a keyless, integrated experience for more households.
The Smart Lock U50 offers multiple secure entry options including Apple home keys, which allow for effortless unlocking with a simple tap of an iPhone or Apple Watch. Homeowners can also manage and share home access with one-time and recurring passwords, as well as NFC cards. Physical keys are provided for added peace of mind, and the lock includes a USB-C port for emergency charging, ensuring access is never lost even if batteries are depleted.
May 31, 2024
Posted by: Anna Ribeiro
Joint Chinese is launching its latest turnkey smart ring design based on Nordic’s nRF52840 SoC. The Bluetooth LE SoC provides connectivity and supervises the health and wellness sensor algorithms. The out-of-the-box solution comes with a breadth of monitoring options, including V02 max, blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), blood glucose estimation, temperature, heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV), as well as sleep and activity data.
“The J-Style JCRing is the future of personal health measurement and has been developed for users who need to continuously monitor their body data, as well as people concerned about their personal health and fitness,” said Yan Hongwu, the general manager at Joint Chinese Limited. “We have worked with Nordic for many years now because the company has a long-standing reputation in health applications and its ultra low power wireless SoCs are ideally suited to resource constrained applications such as smart rings.”
The J-Style JCRing comes in a miniaturised 8 mm wide and 2.9 mm thick form factor, in a range of U.S. standard ring sizes. Despite its small size, the device offers advanced operation and superior data security, thanks to the Nordic SoC’s rich set of features. The nRF52840 SoC is available in a wafer level chip scale package (WLCSP) to support both cost- and space-constrained wireless designs, while its 64 MHz, Arm Cortex M4 processor with floating point unit (FPU) provides ample computational overhead to supervise the sensors and run the sensor algorithms. The Arm CryptoCell-310 cryptographic accelerator ensures personal data remains secure on the device and during transmission, essential in sensitive health applications.
In typical operation, the J-Style JCRing’s 14.5-21.5 mAh Li-Po battery achieves a life of up to 10 days between recharge, or up to 30 days in standby mode, depending on which features have been activated and the frequency of ring use. This extended battery life is in part thanks to the ultra low power characteristics of the Nordic SoC. The nRF52840 has been engineered to minimise power consumption with features such as the 2.4 GHz radio’s 5.5-mA peak RX/TX currents and a fully automatic power management system that significantly reduces power consumption.
Thanks to the performance of JCRing, J-Style now is one of the leaders in Smart Ring and also aiming to get the smart ring Medical certificate in Q1 2025
The nRF52840 SoC’s robust and stable Bluetooth LE wireless connectivity enables the user to view and analyse their health data via the ‘JCRing’ app on their smartphone. The iOS and Android app also enables users to set personalised goals and receive health advice, while female users can manage and track their menstrual cycle.
The endurance of the battery and Bluetooth range is better than similar products on the market because of Nordic’s leadership in ultra low power wireless connectivity. The nRF52840 SoC’s powerful processor and large memory capacity together ensure the complex sensor algorithms can be carried out rapidly and accurately, while the high radio sensitivity guarantees a stable Bluetooth connection.
“Thanks to the great performance of JCRing, J-Style now is one of the top leaders in Smart Ring and also aiming to get the smart ring Medical certificate in Q1 2025.” said Yan Hongwu.
“By providing comprehensive technical information and reference designs, Nordic also simplifies the development process. An excellent team of application engineers provides quick response and professional support.”
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May 28, 2024
Posted by: Magda Dabrowska
Kinéis and Semtech make satellite connectivity more accessible for the Internet of Things (IoT) by reusing standard terrestrial solutions. This complementarity will enable millions of users to access global coverage simply and directly.
May 27, 2024
Posted by: Magda Dabrowska
The Automotive Edge Computing Consortium (AECC) has announced that Soracom has joined as a member. The AECC is a non-profit consortium of cross-industry players working to drive best practices for the convergence of vehicle, computing and networking technologies.
As a member of the Consortium, Soracom will collaborate with AECC members to evaluate the work being done by mobile network operators, automotive manufacturers, communication companies, cloud players and other related technology standards bodies and technology communities to ensure that new technologies and standards will meet the future needs of connected vehicles. Soracom’s expertise in IoT connectivity will help the AECC to ensure that technologies remain connected with the most consistent and efficient solutions for every instance.
“Connected vehicle services, such as intelligent driving and high-definition mapping, will require secure and reliable connectivity to connect to the cloud. As an AECC member, Soracom will work with the organisation’s global member base to identify a next-generation solution for vehicles to securely connect with their cloud backend to support high-volume data and intelligent services,” said Kenta Yasukawa, the CTO and co-founder at Soracom. Additionally, at the April AECC All Member meeting, he concluded his presentation by saying: “We will conduct a proof of concept of an authentication and secure channel for connected cars using GSMA specification SGP22/32 embedded universal integrated circuit card (eUICC) with AECC members Toyota and ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC), and share the results.”
The AECC accelerates the development of connected vehicle best practices and new use cases by sharing relevant findings, requirements and technology solutions with industry standards organisations. The AECC’s vision is to create a new era where connected vehicles use high-volume data and AI to help improve safety, sustainability, reliability and the driving experience.
“We’re very pleased to welcome Soracom to the Automotive Edge Computing Consortium,” said the AECC board of directors in a joint statement. “Soracom’s technology and experience make them invaluable collaborators for AECC as we work together on solutions for the next generation of connected vehicles.”
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May 23, 2024
Posted by: Magda Dabrowska