Aug 24, 2017The following are news announcements made during the past week by the following organizations:
Vizinex RFID, Xtreme RFID;
ORBCOMM;
Cubic Telecom;
Zinnov Zones;
Opto 22;
Runtime, and the Open Connectivity Foundation.
Vizinex RFID, Xtreme RFID Collaborate on Mini RFID Tag
Vizinex RFID, a company that develops and manufactures RFID tags for specific applications, has announced that it has collaborated with Xtreme RFID to launch a new tag specifically built for smaller equipment. The new tag is known as the VX-Mini.
"Our first VX product, the VX-Mid, was very well received in the market. Our customers have asked for the same ruggedness and mounting flexibility in a tag with a smaller footprint and a lower price point, and the VX-Mini is our response to that request," said Ken Horton, Vizinex's CEO, in a prepared statement. "We believe current customers using returnable transport items and tagging heavy equipment or tooling, or anyone who wants to better track high-value assets in outdoor or industrial environments, will get what they need from the VX-Mini."
The VX-Mini measures 17.02 millimeters by 61.47 millimeters by 7.5 millimeters. The mount-on-metal tag has a read range of up to 10 feet and a temperature tolerance of -40 degrees to 374 degrees Fahrenheit. According to the two companies, it can be optionally upgraded to a high-temperature version if higher tolerance is required.
ORBCOMM Launches Cold Chain Monitoring Solution
ORBCOMM, a provider of machine-to-machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, has announced that it has launched the next generation of its cold chain monitoring solution. The compact, ruggedized system, known as the PT 6000, is available as a 3G or LTE cellular or dual-mode satellite-cellular version. It enables fuel and temperature management, maintenance, logistics and regulatory compliance for refrigerated transport assets.
As part of ORBCOMM's telematics solution, which includes sensors, connectivity and the CargoWatch application, the PT 6000 enables complete visibility and control of cold chain operations to help ensure the integrity of temperature-controlled cargo as it moves along the supply chain. The company's reefer-management solution provides the precise temperature-monitoring capabilities and records required for compliance with the FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act regulatory requirements.
The solution can remotely set reefer temperature, change reefer state, initiate a defrost and more with two-way commands. It can also receive real-time alarms when specific conditions are detected, such as an active reefer being turned off, cargo area temperature deviating from the set points or not matching values specified by the order, an asset entering or exiting a geofence, or rapid fuel loss.
The solution is compatible with every type of refrigerated unit, the company reports, and can be installed on the wall of a refrigerated trailer or inside a reefer cabinet. The device supports up to three temperature sensors to accommodate reefers with multiple zones, and has a rechargeable battery that reports for up to 10 days on a single charge when no vehicle power is available. In addition, the device is fully integrated with third-party dispatch and in-cab software providers, including Innovative Computing Corp., TMW Systems, McLeod Software, Add On Systems, PeopleNet, SSI and Prophesy.
"In refrigerated trucking, it is critical for fleet owners to be compliant with the FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act, and ORBCOMM's technology provides the end-to-end visibility and control to meet these regulatory requirements and ensure the highest level of service throughout the cold chain," said Craig Malone, ORBCOMM's executive VP of product development, in a prepared statement. "We continue to see a migration toward IoT technology as part of our transportation customers' core strategies to reduce costs and add efficiencies, and we are pleased to be the solution provider of choice for some of the biggest names in the industry."
Cubic Telecom Closes €40 Million in Series C IoT Investment Round
Cubic Telecom, a global Internet of Things connectivity platform company, has announced the close of a €40 million ($47 million) Series C investment round. The new investment, which brings the total funding to €71 million ($83.85 million), is funded by four participants, including previous investors Qualcomm and Audi Electronics Venture GmbH, a subsidiary of AUDI AG. New investors include Valid Soluciones Tecnologicas SAU and Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF).
Cubic provides mobility solutions that power connectivity for IoT, M2M and connected device companies worldwide, the company reports, and is helping autonomous vehicle technologies and innovative LTE connectivity solutions to become mainstream. Cubic's global tier-one network provides 4G LTE voice and data services in partnership with more than 30 mobile operators spanning more than 180 countries.
"Qualcomm and Audi have both been early investors and steadfast supporters in our vision, and their most recent investment, in partnership with new partners Valid and ISIF, will fuel our continued growth and market expansion," said Barry Napier, Cubic Telecom's chairman and CEO, in a prepared statement. "Without exception, our customers are committed to providing an integrated connectivity experience to their end-users, and today's announcement will help Cubic continue to deliver on that promise."
The new investment will accelerate refinements of Cubic's IoT platform and extend its global footprint. The company will also expand its engineering capabilities in Dublin, bringing more job creation to the company's headquarters. For Qualcomm, this is its fifth investment in Cubic.
"The automotive sector is one of the segments that has advanced the most in terms of analyzing the benefits of the IoT through eSIM," said Carlos Affonso, Valid's global CEO, in the prepared statement. "In this sense, we are reinforcing our strategy in this market by strengthening our relationship with Cubic, in which we are the main partner providing eSIM and the remote customization platform of its clients' subscriptions."
Zinnov Zones Study Gives eInfochips High Marks for Its IoT Technology
eInfochips, a global product-engineering and software R&D services firm, has announced that it has been rated as an "established" and "niche" service provider by Zinnov Zones, for Internet of Things technology services. Zinnov has praised eInfochips for its IoT technology capabilities in product engineering, systems integration, sensors and devices competency, communication competency, and platform and application competency, and as well as for its managed services, big data management and analytics services.
"Today, market dynamics and consumer expectations are changing faster than ever. It requires companies to understand and implement end-to-end solutions, across devices, protocols, cloud, and applications. Through our IoT IPs and Solution accelerators, we help our clients address these unique demands and enable them to get to market faster and stay ahead of the technology curve," said Abhishek Binaykia, eInfochips' associate VP of marketing, in a prepared statement.
"Our recent launch of the Snapbricks Intelligent IoT Gateway framework, coupled with our solutions in Device Lifecycle Management (DLM) and Application Enablement Platforms (AEP), clearly demonstrate our strong competency and tremendous breadth of IoT technology services. We believe this rating is a strong testament to our IoT capabilities," Binaykia added in the prepared statement.
The study, titled "Zinnov Zones 2017—Internet of Things Technology Services," analyzed the global IoT market and trends, then rated global service providers on the competency of their IoT technology services. The ratings were handled across several segments: advisory and consulting, product engineering, systems integration, managed services and their respective sub-segments.
Opto 22 Intros IoT Certification Program for Systems Integrators
Industrial automation manufacturer and Internet of Things platform developer Opto 22 has announced an IoT certification program for authorized system integrators. This program, known as OptoPartners, addresses a specific need as Internet of Things (IoT), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), or Industry 4.0 applications and projects proliferate.
The potential benefits of IIoT applications are enormous, the company reports, from predicting system failures to making processes more efficient to reducing costs. However, to realize these benefits, information technology (IT) and operations technology (OT) teams must work together to leverage and apply each other's technology and skillsets.
"At ACS, we recognized that having the skills to get data where it needs to go was going to be necessary for our growth as a business," says Dave Pilliod, Opto 22's president of IoT certified OptoPartner advanced control solutions. "With their mindset of multi-platform communications, Opto 22 has provided the tools to enable us to have Operations and Information Technologies come together. It would be a disservice to our customers not to be as learned as possible on the technologies of today, even if they lie outside the traditional realm of automation."
IT/OT convergence continues to be a challenge on both the technical and cultural fronts, Opto 22 reports. In today's enterprise, a significant communication gap exists between OT and IT technologies. Each uses its own methods of connectivity, the firm explains, from physical connectors and buses that data rides on to the language each uses to convert bits and bytes into human readable and actionable information.
OptoPartners that carry IoT certification possess a combination of skillsets in both the OT and IT domains, according to Opto 22. These companies have demonstrated proficiency in such OT technologies as sensors, instrumentation, controls and automation, as well as in such IT technologies as networking, databases, computing, data analytics, and cloud or edge IoT platforms.
"Today, knowledge in both operations technologies and information technologies is an absolute requirement for the networked and data-driven applications our customers demand," said Todd Reynolds, the president of Opto 22's IoT certified OptoPartner perceptive controls. "As a result, we've staffed up and educated our team with the necessary skills from both camps. As a long-time Opto 22 systems integrator, we're pleased to see the updated OptoPartner program recognize our unique skill set with the new IoT Certification badge."
Additionally, Opto 22 is part of the IoT ecosystems of three major IT companies: Dell (IoT solutions partner), IBM (registered business partner) and AT&T/M2X (IoT partner). These relationships and the new network of IoT-certified systems integrators will help customers to more easily design, install and commission their industrial IoT projects and quickly realize a return on their investment through increased business intelligence.
IoT Software Provider Runtime Earns Open Connectivity Foundation Award
Runtime, an open-source IoT software provider, has announced that it has received an Outstanding Contributor Award from the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) for its open-source implementation of OIC Core Specification v1.1.0. Runtime's open-source, modern environment allows development using open APIs, running applications on sensors that require small footprints and low power requirements, like many IoT and IIoT applications require.
"The growth and massive deployment of smart cities, agriculture and other IoT applications require an open, platform agnostic, small footprint software," said James Pace, Runtime's CEO and co-founder, in a prepared statement. "We're proud to get the recognition of this award and look forward to continuing our work to support the IoT industry."
In June 2017, Runtime demonstrated a hyper-efficient implementation of OIC Core Specification v1.1.0 based on IoTivity-Constrained—the reference implementation of the OCF application framework—on Qualcomm Technologies' QCA4020 and QCA4024 connectivity system-on-chips (SoC). The demonstration highlighted the ability to run OCF services over higher-speed, IP-based transports (for example, Wi-Fi) and lower throughput, constrained transports such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 4.2 and Bluetooth 5, and communication with iOS- and Android-based client applications.
"Runtime is proud to have demonstrated the OCF framework with Qualcomm Technologies' connectivity SoCs in delivering a tight, robust and flexible implementation of OIC 1.1," said Sterling Hughes, Runtime's CTO and co-founder, in a prepared statement. "Our implementation, ported from the open source Apache Mynewt project, uses only 19KB of NVRAM and 3KB of RAM. Irrespective of the underlying network, the use of OCF specification brings proven app layer coherence across any network in multi-transport environments, from constrained BLE and LoRa to higher throughput Wi-Fi."
The OCF framework is emerging as the de facto open application layer for consumer and industrial applications, a contrast with closed, vendor-driven ecosystems. Key attributes of the OCF specification include a robust security framework and a transport-independent service discovery model. The use of efficient protocols such as CoAP and CBOR make OCF implementations suitable for devices running high throughput applications, the company reports, as well as for constrained devices with battery-power and intermittent connectivity.
Runtime's OCF implementation was derived from Apache Mynewt, an open-source operating system for microcontroller-class IoT devices from the Apache Software Foundation (ASF). Apache Mynewt provides components for general-purpose operating systems, and for IoT devices incapable of running Linux or Android. Apache Mynewt was designed for connected devices that require manageability at scale, and includes deep, controller-level implementations of BLE 4.2 and Bluetooth 5, as well as LoRaWAN.
QCA4020—a tri-mode SoC integrating BLE 4.2 and Bluetooth 5, dual-band Wi-Fi, and 802.15.4-based technologies, including ZigBee and Thread—and QCA4024 integrate Bluetooth Low Energy 5 and 802.15.4. Both solutions help to address IoT fragmentation, allowing for flexible product development for OEMs, along with support for various devices from different manufacturers to talk to each other across various wireless standards, protocols and communication frameworks, while connecting to a system network and cloud and application services. The QCA4020 and QCA4024 IoTivity-Constrained implementation has been validated against iOS, Android, Linux, Mac OS and Windows 10, the company reports, making it suitable for a vast array of connected-device use cases.
