The following are news announcements made during the past week:
PRESS RELEASE:
AT&T Expands Smart Cities Offerings With Structure-Monitoring Solution for U.S. Railways, Roadways
For many, a new year ushers in a new set of resolutions. AT&T is resolved to continue developing and delivering Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to help make cities and communities smarter, safer and more efficient. The company is currently testing a new structure monitoring solution that will help improve the safety of roadways and railways. This comes in addition to its smart cities work with several U.S. spotlight cities and its recently launched digital infrastructure solution.
U.S. infrastructure is aging and in disrepair. Almost half of U.S. bridges are more than 50 years old. Organizations normally rely on visual inspections to assess the state of its roadways and railways. Since many are in remote locations, it is difficult to regularly assess. And many of the remote monitoring alternatives use older technology solutions that are bulky and not suited for the long-term. The company is set to deliver a solution so teams can monitor structural and environmental factors remotely in near real time.
“Safety is a top concern of citizens and cities alike. This concern extends beyond the realm of crime and natural disasters. It also includes the safety of our infrastructure,” said Mike Zeto, general manager, AT&T Smart Cities. “We’re pleased to test this solution, which will allow for smart infrastructure analysis and monitoring.
With AT&T Smart Cities Structure Monitoring, selected infrastructure will receive AT&T LTE-enabled sensors to remotely monitor structural factors. The sensors, which measure things like cracks and tilts, also feature alert triggers and email alerts to capture significant events.
The new AT&T Smart Cities Structure Monitoring product will join its growing Smart Cities solutions suite, which includes AT&T Smart Cities Digital Infrastructure, AT&T Smart Irrigation, AT&T Smart Cities Operations Center, AT&T Smart Grid – Solar Solution and AT&T Smart Grid Solutions – Prepay Energy.
PRESS RELEASE:
Quanergy, Cisco Provide Smart-City Connected Roadway Solutions
Quanergy, the leading provider of solid state LiDAR sensors and smart sensing solutions, and Cisco, has announced a Smart City collaboration promoting Cisco’s Connected Roadway efforts. Quanergy’s world-class LiDAR sensors and Qortex perception software will be integrated with Cisco’s advanced networking capabilities to create IoT solutions for smart transportation.
Cisco’s Smart City Connected Roadway solutions, powered by Cisco Kinetic, links people, processes, data and connected devices to create an intelligent network infrastructure that allows cities to use data analytics to gain new insights and make more informed decisions. It can help make streets and highways safer and more efficient for both motorists and pedestrians. Quanergy’s LiDAR sensors and software will integrate with the Cisco Kinetic platform. By working together, Quanergy and Cisco are advancing intelligent transportation systems that examine how cities can improve driver and pedestrian safety as well as traffic flow.
Quanergy and Cisco have implemented a connected roadway experience solution in the city of Las Vegas that focuses on pedestrian safety. The initial intersection is located on E. Clark Avenue between 2nd and 3rd Streets and utilizes Quanergy’s M8 LiDAR sensor to track the flow of pedestrians and, in the future, it will also track cars and buses. The intersection will be live streamed at the Consumer Electronics Show (January 9-12, 2018 in Las Vegas) in the Quanergy booth (#3315) and in the City of Las Vegas booth (#1913), in Las Vegas. In addition to pedestrian safety, Quanergy and Cisco have a number of other proof-of-concept deployments, including vehicle counting, vehicle queue length detection, road worker safety and wrong way driver, in developmental stages throughout the country.
“Las Vegas is a highly trafficked city, especially for pedestrians, so we are constantly working to implement innovative technologies to better understand and manage the flow of vehicles and people,” said Michael Lee Sherwood, Director of Information Technologies for the City of Las Vegas. “With the insights gained from Quanergy’s integration with Cisco’s Smart City Connected Roadway efforts,we’ve already seen the significant advantage that greater sensing and perception capabilities can have on the transportation systems that are integral to any thriving city.”
LiDAR, or light detection and ranging, uses lasers to sense the size and location of objects to create a detailed 3D map of the physical world that is refreshed many times per second. Quanergy is the only LiDAR manufacturer that provides both LiDAR sensor hardware and perception software. This combination allows machines to both sense and perceive their surroundings, meaning they can not only detect and classify objects, but also analyze this data with Qortex, Quanergy’s recently-introduced perception software, to help make informed decisions in real time.
“The goal of the Cisco Connected Roadway solution is to harness the power of technology and edge computing to promote faster data analysis and communication amongst vehicles, drivers, lighting and connected signage to help keep pedestrians, drivers and road workers safe,” said Alison Gleeson,Senior Vice President of the Americas, Cisco. “Quanergy’s LiDAR sensors and software provide unprecedented levels of awareness on the road, and will be a highly valuable asset to the project moving forward.”
“Cisco has its sights set on preparing our cities and roadways for the next evolution in mobility,” said Dr. Louay Eldada, CEO of Quanergy. “Integrating Quanergy’s LiDAR with the Cisco Connected Roadway solution is an important step in updating outdated transportation systems and making them more intelligent. Together, we will play a leading role in making roads dramatically safer and more efficient for motorists, pedestrians and road workers.”
PRESS RELEASE:
Cybeats Raises Seed Round of Investment, Led By iNovia Capital, for Enterprise IoT Infrastructure
Cybersecurity company Cybeats, which provides continuous cyber defence solution for Enterprise IoT infrastructure, has announced it has raised a seed round of investment from iNovia Capital, Maple Leaf Angels (MLA48 II), and cybersecurity industry insiders Dr. Richard Reiner, Brian O’Higgins, and Brian Bourne.
“iNovia is excited to invest in Cybeats and its brilliant team, alongside a great group of investors. IoT and cybersecurity is a space that we have been looking into for a while, we believe Cybeats’ technology is solving a real problem, with the potential to become a global leader in the space”, says Magaly Charbonneau, Principal at iNovia Capital.
“Maple Leaf Angels is pleased to participate in this round with iNovia, Richard and other angels, through its MLA48 Fund II. The cyber security problem is a growing global issue, particularly in IOT devices. We believe that Cybeats has the right team and technology to tackle this problem,” said Managing Director Prathna Ramesh.
Brian Bourne added, “The Cybeats team has built a unique, efficient and highly effective solution to the IoT security problem. They have developed their technology with a keen eye to the needs of enterprise and I am excited to be involved with such a talented team.”
“IoT essentially equips the internet with arms and legs, and brings about a whole new level of concern with safety and security. New technology is needed to address the problem, and Cybeats is right on course to deliver solutions” said Brian O’Higgins.
Cybeats is also announcing that Dr. Reiner, a renowned serial cybersecurity entrepreneur and executive with a long string of successful exits, is joining as Chairman of the company. Dr. Reiner brings to Cybeats many years of experience at the cutting edge of the cybersecurity industry – his insights will enable Cybeats to better identify business opportunities in the IoT cybersecurity market and to deliver better products faster.
“Cybeats solves a critical problem for enterprises deploying IoT technology, and for the manufacturers of these devices”, said Dr. Reiner. “IoT devices, until now, have been vulnerable and easy targets for hackers. Cybeats protects IoT devices throughout their lifecycle, so enterprises can benefit from the value of IoT technologies without increasing their risk profile.”
The funding will be used to scale Cybeats’ sales team, to further develop new Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning capabilities for the Cybeats platform, and to expand the company’s services into APAC and EU markets. Cybeats builds an immune system-like cybersecurity software for Enterprise IoT (EoT), Industrial IoT (IIoT), and Critical Infrastructure IoTdevices, such as those used in energy grids.
Taking an “inside out” approach to cybersecurity, Cybeats’ software is embedded into the devices to provide continuous protection, allowing devices to detect the most sophisticated threats instantly and gather data to help security professionals neutralize them. Cybeats’ Cloud service then analyzes data from the infected device, and provides a full threat diagnosis and treatment plan.
With an estimated 50 billion connected devices by the year 2020, the Internet of Things (IoT) is quickly becoming an integral part of our world. But with the increased opportunity the IoT brings, so too come a multitude of new threats to cybersecurity – recent examples include avulnerability in Intel’s processor chips allowing an attacker to access kernel memory and dump data, including passwords and encryption keys.
Out of the billions of newly connected IoT devices, 70% of the most commonly used contain vulnerabilities, meaning an exponentially larger number of access points that need to be safeguarded from cyber criminals. With all these vulnerabilities, Cybeats believes the future of IoT protection in the global connected age will function similarly to how our own bodies detect, analyze and treat infections. Cybeats’ microagent is embedded into the devices to provide continuous protection, allowing devices to detect the most sophisticated threats instantly and gather data to help security professionals neutralize them.
As vanguards of the “Industry 4.0” trend – the revolutionary changes in automation and data exchange within manufacturing technologies – European nations will rely on innovations in data privacy and cybersecurity; and this demand is all the more urgent given that each nation must demonstrate compliance with the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) this year. South Korea, meanwhile, is where much of the R&D for Chinese-manufactured IoT devices is headquartered. Both regions are therefore of strategic importance to the IoT industries.
“I am thrilled by the generous support from our investors and their commitment validates our mission to provide a true cyber immune system for industrial, critical infrastructure and Enterprise IoT companies,” said CEO and co-founder Dmitry Raidman about the investment.
PRESS RELEASE:
InfluxData Integrates Time Series Platform With ThingWorx to Simplify IoT Developer Experience
InfluxData, the modern Open Source Platform built specifically for metrics and events that empowers developers to build next-generation IoT, analytics and monitoring applications, has announced that it has joined the PTC Partner Network. Joining the PTC Partner Network and integrating its platform with the ThingWorx industrial innovation platform will enable InfluxData to simplify thedeveloper experience for IoT developers using the ThingWorx platform, allowing them to deliver their applications and solutions faster.
As part of the PTC Partner Network, InfluxData will be discoverable and accessible via the ThingWorx Marketplace, making it easier for developers to discover and use InfluxData’s time series data platform in their IoT applications. This will allow developers to easily store, analyze, and act on IoT data in real-time. For more information, see: https://www.influxdata.com/integration/ptc-thingworx/
“Fundamentally, all sensor data is time series data,” said Brian Mullen, VP of Business Development at InfluxData. “Any meaningful IoT application should be accompanied by a data platform built specifically for that purpose. With this in mind, we are excited to partner with PTC to make InfluxData more compatible with the ThingWorx industrial innovation platform. We are solving the time series data challenge for IoT developers so they can focus on their primary objective of building applications.”
“One of the goals of the PTC Partner Network is to assemble a lineup of helpful, specialized tools that enable customers to accelerate the development of their IoT applications,” said Kevin O’Brien, SVP, ThingWorx Partner Sales & Alliances, PTC. “We are excited to welcome InfluxData to our program. They share our focus on the IoT developer experience and we look forward to working with them.”
Now ThingWorx customers can use InfluxData to more quickly build monitoring, alerting and notification applications for ThingWorx-connected devices and sensors; IoT applications supporting millions of events per second, providing new business value around predictive maintenance and real-time alerting and control; and real-time analytics applications that are focused on streaming data and anomaly detection
InfluxData has rapidly built its developer and customer base across industries – including manufacturing, financial services, energy, and telecommunications – by delivering the fastest growing Open Source Platform that enables customers to derive better business insights, data-driven real-time actions, and a consolidated single view of their entire infrastructure – from applications to microservices, and from systems to sensors. More than 350 customers, including Cisco Systems, Coupa Software, IBM, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Nordstrom, and Tesla, have selected InfluxData as their modern data platform for metrics and events. InfluxData is pioneering the shift to time series in a modern metrics and events platform, and is making it possible for customers to become data-driven and take on digital transformation initiatives.
PRESS RELEASE:
Phunware Adds Acuity Brands’ IoT Indoor Positioning Solution to Its Mapping, Navigation and Wayfinding Offering
Acuity Brands, Inc. has announced that Phunware, an enterprise mobile software company, has joined the AtriusInternet of Things (IoT) partner ecosystem. Phunware will be adding the Atrius Navigator software development kit (SDK) to its indoor positioning technology offerings, providing customers an innovative, energy-efficient option to support Phunware’s hardware-agnostic location capabilities.
Phunware currently provides an indoor wayfinding solution, available on both Apple iOS and Android operating systems, which can be embedded within a fully configurable Phunware-managed native app or within a customer’s existing app via Phunware’s Mapping and Location SDKs. By becoming an Atrius IoT Partner, Phunware is now able to offer customers an additional supported indoor positioning service (IPS) with increased reliability and centimeter-level precision, increased energy efficiency and lower maintenance costs.
The Atrius Sensory Network, including luminaires enabled with Atrius, features embedded Bluetooth low energy (BLE) and Visible Light Communication (VLC) technologies acting as all-in-one access points for indoor and adjacent outdoor environments. Phunware’s customers are expected to benefit from using the Atrius IoT platform for indoor positioning because the communication technology is embedded in LED luminaires, eliminating the need for additional hardware components such as stand-alone beacons that require separate installation, maintenance, and power.
“The ease of integration and highly adaptable nature of the Atrius IoT platform makes this technology suite ideal for creating high-value mobile applications that deliver indoor navigation, mobile marketing automation, contextual content and much more,” said Matthew Lindenberger, Vice President of Engineering at Phunware. “As an Atrius partner, we can also help deliver the added benefit of networked intelligent lighting that provides highly accurate location awareness, significant energy savings and digital controls to our customers.”
PRESS RELEASE:
Smartrac Showcases What ‘Internet of Your Things’ Has in Store
At Retail’s BIG Show in New York, Smartrac is not simply showing the way toward the ‘Internet of Your Things’. Together with its partners Blue Bite and Temera, the RFID and IoT pacesetter is also presenting innovative solutions and real-world examples of how brand owners and retailers can utilize it here and now.
Once products are digitized via embedded RFID technology and the digital IDs associated with the tags are securely married with the product data, the stage is set for the profitable utilization of the newly created ‘Internet of Your Things’. On the occasion of NRF’s annual event in New York, January 14-16, 2018, Smartrac’s booth is the showcase for several real-life applications.
Digital content provision specialist Blue Bite is demonstrating solutions it has developed for many leading brands like Spyder and Dyne. These solutions leverage Smartrac’s NFC technology and provide enhanced product value and an improved consumer experience.
“We are excited to be featured as part of the Smartrac NRF showcase. In terms of a product’s full lifecycle from concept to production, and from a store into a user’s hands, our combined ability to provide a fully integrated, end-to-end solution is something truly unique in the marketplace”, says Mikhail Damiani, CEO and Co-Founder of Blue Bite.
Luxury software applications specialist Temera is presenting an array of latest solutions tailored to the needs of the high fashion and luxury markets, for instance Interactive Fitting Room and Digital Warranty. Temera joined forces with Smartrac almost one year ago.
“It is our pleasure to join Smartrac at Retail’s BIG Show and to showcase our services and solutions that simplify our customers’ logistics and production processes, while providing anti-counterfeiting functionality and end-customer market analysis”, says Arcangelo D’Onofrio, CEO and Founder of Temera.
Besides its own Experiences customer loyalty and engagement solution, Smartrac is providing live demos of its comprehensive product authentication solution called Proofs. This solution leverages innovative NFC tags that provide a proof of authentication. Each time an NFC-enabled mobile device is tapped on these tags, one-time authentication tokens are generated and transmitted as a new, unique portion of a URL. Since that link cannot exist twice, it is for the very first time possible to identify copied links. To leverage that ability, Smartrac has created a Web Service that verifies the tokenized web link and hence empowers brand owners to react appropriately.
“During Retail’s BIG Show in New York, Smartrac and its partners are convincingly substantiating the claim that the ‘Internet of Your Things” not only exists, but that it also pays off for our customers. The possibilities for its utilization are truly limitless, and we invite brand owners and retailers to visit our stand and to benefit greatly from gaining deep insights into our offerings”, says Amir Mobayen, Chief Revenue Officer at Smartrac.
PRESS RELEASE:
InfluxData Strengthens Position in DevOps Monitoring, IoT Market
InfluxData, the modern Open Source Platform built specifically for metrics, events and other time series data that empowers developers to build next-generation monitoring, analytics and IoT applications, has announced it has named former Apcera and VMware sales executive Jay Stephenson as its new VP of Worldwide Sales and Field Operations. In this role, Mr. Stephenson will be responsible for scaling sales and operations to meet rapidly growing global demand for InfluxData’s products.
“The addition of this proven sales executive will accelerate the expansion of InfluxData’s product offering for DevOps and IoT applications worldwide,” said Evan Kaplan, InfluxData CEO. “Jay brings a wealth of experience building successful companies in the Monitoring, DevOps, and Systems Management sectors. We will rely on that knowledge and experience as we gear up for the next phase of InfluxData’s rapid global growth.”
InfluxData has rapidly built its developer and customer base across industries – including manufacturing, financial services, energy, and telecommunications – by delivering the fastest growing Open Source Platform that enables customers to derive better business insights, data-driven real-time actions, and a consolidated single view of their entire infrastructure – from applications to microservices, and from systems to sensors.
More than 350 customers, including Cisco Systems, Coupa Software, IBM, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Nordstrom, and Tesla, have selected InfluxData as their modern data platform for metrics and events. InfluxData is pioneering the shift to time series in a modern metrics and events platform, and is making it possible for customers to become data-driven and take on digital transformation initiatives.
“I am excited to join InfluxData with its strong team, leadership position in the rapidly growing market of time series data, and its enablement of new management capabilities that provide the business and technical insight for modern applications and IoT services,” said Jay Stephenson, VP Worldwide Sales and Field Operations. “I look forward to applying my expertise in enterprise management to drive sustained growth in this next phase of the company.”
PRESS RELEASE:
Skills Shortage in Agritech Sector Holding Back IoT Innovation, According to Inmarsat
The potential for Internet of Things (IoT) technology to drive innovation, efficiency, and increased productivity in the agricultural sector is at risk, as agritech businesses must urgently upskill current employees and embark on recruitment drives to ensure they have the capabilities to deliver the technology. According to independent research commissioned by Inmarsat, while the vast majority of agritech companies are moving towards IoT, a significant proportion lack the staff and skills needed to take advantage of the technology.
Market research specialist Vanson Bourne interviewed respondents from 100 large agritech businesses across the globe and found that while over 46 per cent of agritech businesses reported full deployment of IoT solutions and a further 16 per cent have initiated a partial deployment, many currently lack the skills needed to do so effectively. Additionally, agritech businesses require an uplift in skills at the strategic level, where 65 per cent of respondents identified a shortfall, as well as the management and delivery of IoT deployment, where over 50 per cent of respondents said they lacked staff.
The research also revealed the specific IoT skillsets that agritech companies are lacking. 55 per cent of agritech companies reported a shortage in cyber security personnel, with analytical and data science skills coming in second in demand at 53 per cent.
Chris Harry-Thomas, Director of Sector Development Agriculture, Inmarsat, commented on the findings: “IoT is the frontline of the Fourth Agricultural Revolution, providing a digital nerve system with a network of connected and automated devices and sensors. Farmers are leveraging these technologies to dramatically improve the efficiency and precision of their operations, automating irrigation systems so that water is only delivered to where it is needed, and optimising fertilisation to improve yields.
“The automation of these processes is reducing the need for manual intervention on the ground, but creating new requirements for staff skilled in areas such as data analysis and cyber security which, as we have seen from our research, the industry is currently lacking.
“With the digital transformation in full swing, many traditionally mechanical-physical industries, such as agriculture, find themselves in a race to recruit digital specialists to support their IoT ambitions. Competing with the likes of Silicon Valley tech companies for skilled staff will be a challenge for the agritech industry, but as these businesses look to take on the burden of data security to build market share in the agriculture sector, it is critical that they recruit staff with the capability to do so.”
Chris concluded by stating that forming strategic partnerships with third parties can help agritech companies to bridge the gaps in their IoT skills portfolios: “Agritech businesses must upskill their existing staff and attract new talent if they are to develop successful IoT solutions. However, longer term, the focus needs to be on establishing strategic partnerships with IoT specialists. With greater economies of scale, specialist partners can draw together complex IoT solutions across multiple communication networks, including satellite and cellular data, to deploy sophisticated, automated IoT networks across the agricultural industry.”