The following are news announcements made during the past week:
PRESS RELEASE:
Identiv Expands Distribution of Smart-Card Readers, Credentials in Saudi Arabia
Identiv, Inc. (NASDAQ: INVE) has announced the company has entered into a distribution partnership with Development Trading Company (DTC), the first and leading security printing and services company in Saudi Arabia. In partnership with DTC, Identiv will bring its portfolio of highly secure smart card reader technology and credentials to the Middle East for the first time. This global expansion reflects Identiv’s goal to make affordable, high-security access and identification solutions universally available.
Utilized around the world, Identiv’s smart card-based products and solutionsenable security and identification applications, transaction systems, and e-health and e-government applications. Identiv’s smart card reader portfolio features the broadest variety of contact, contactless, and mobile smart card reader and terminal technology, and digital identity and transaction platforms. Available in varied form factors, Identiv’s comprehensive, end-to-end portfolio of credentials can be used for physical and logical access control, converged access solutions for building and computer access, transit payment, brand protection, time and attendance, cashless vending, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Identiv’s cards are available as single-technology credentials, multi-technology, or credentials with a contact chip for high-assurance deployments using digital certificates. DTC joins Identiv’s 400+ distribution partners and customers in over 50 countries worldwide.
“Identiv shares DTC’s enthusiasm of forging into the connected future of physical and logical access control,” said Dr. Manfred Mueller, Identiv COO and General Manager, Smart Card Readers and Transponders. “For the first time ever, Identiv will offer its complete portfolio of smart card reader technology and credentials to the Middle East, made possible by this exciting new partnership.”
“DTC is focused on bringing radio frequency identification (RFID), brand authenticity, document protection, secure credentials, and the highest security access control to the Middle East,” said Sultan M. Al Ammari, DTC Operations Manager. “We are thrilled to partner with Identiv, the most trusted global provider of physical security and secure identification solutions, and provide our partners with Identiv’s cutting-edge smart card reader and credential technology.”
For more information, or to order Identiv’s credentials or smart card-card based products and solutions, call +1 888-809-8880 or email [email protected].
Identiv is proud to be connected to a growing number of national distribution partners who support the company’s smart card reader, credential, and radio frequency (RFID), near field communication (NFC), and inlay business units. This expert network of security solution distributors supports the industry by delivering progressive, innovative technology to their customers. To join Identiv’s Partner Program or learn more, visit identiv.com/partners.
PRESS RELEASE:
Carnegie Mellon Leverages LoRaWAN Protocol to Build Open IoT Network
The LoRaWAN Academy, a comprehensive university program connecting next-generation engineers with LoRaWAN-based low power wide area network (LPWAN) technology for applied learning and advanced research, announced the participation of the College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in the LoRaWAN Academy curriculum, intended to drive and support universities and their students in learning more about Semtech’s LoRa® devices and wireless RF technology (LoRa Technology) and the global LoRaWAN™ open standard. By leveraging LoRa Technology and LoRaWAN open protocol, CMU developed its own network, OpenChirp, to educate its students in adopting cutting-edge technology to develop innovative Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.
CMU’s OpenChirp, an LPWAN network, is an open-source, completely free and crowd-sourced ecosystem for students, researchers and citizen scientists where they can collect and share LoRaWAN-based sensor data. Users can link in their own gateways to expand the network and easily register their LoRaWAN-based devices. OpenChirp enables users to explore different types of architectures and applications that can impact society. CMU is collaborating with other U.S. universities to host their own LoRaWAN-based services and share devices seamlessly across universities.
“Connecting sensors is often the most expensive and challenging part of a deployment especially when they are located in remote areas where data needs to travel long distances. By implementing battery-operated, low-powered LoRaWAN-based devices and the LoRaWAN protocol, OpenChirp demonstrates that it is feasible to scale low-powered sensing devices for use across large areas, like campuses, manufacturing plants or even cities,” said Anthony Rowe, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, who leads the OpenChirp project at CMU. “At Carnegie Mellon, students are using OpenChirp to develop IoT applications including smart grid demand / response, air quality sensing, and a campus asset-tracking system.”
“The LoRaWAN Academy will help develop a new generation of engineers prepared to tackle the world’s toughest challenges with IoT technology,” said Jaap Groot, acting director of the LoRaWAN Academy. “As IoT becomes more prevalent and LoRa Technology is the defacto IoT platform, it will be important for universities to educate their students with technology that will help with their careers as well as develop new solutions for today’s challenges. Carnegie Mellon’s work is a prime example of the LoRaWAN-based projects that students can develop with LoRa Technology and the LoRaWAN open protocol.”
PRESS RELEASE:
Huawei, Gemalto Team Up to Accelerate NarrowBand IoT Deployments
To help device manufacturers meet a growing demand for long-lasting low-power NarrowBand (NB) IoT modules, Gemalto and Huawei – via its semiconductor arm, HiSilicon – are working together to develop the next generation of modules that combine an extra level of security and consume very low power. By combining the expertise from both companies, these NB-IoT modules will help manufacturers reduce the cost and size of their devices, and lengthen the battery life of the devices to up to ten years.
NB IoT has been developed to address lower bit rates and lower cost segments, and works virtually anywhere. It offers ultra-low power consumption enabling devices to be battery operated for periods of up to 10 years. Applications include smart parking sensors, intruder and fire alarms, personal healthcare appliances, tracking devices, and street lamps to name a few. According to ABI Research, NB IoT modules connecting objects to networks are forecast to represent over 20% of all cellular shipments by 2021.
“2017 is the year of commercial NB IoT rollouts for us, and we will be building 30 such networks in 20 countries worldwide by the end of the year. Huawei has been a major player in this arena, and we continue to capitalize on this vast opportunity,” said XiongWei, president of LTE solution, Huawei. “We look to supply the market with solutions that provide stable connectivity, low energy consumption, and cost efficiency. The network roll-out will now come with an enhanced integration and flexibility thanks to this collaboration with Gemalto.”
“The combination of our expertise in IOT cellular connectivity, and digital security, and Huawei’s high-performance NB IoT chipsets will help device manufacturers and service providers take the plunge into cellular IoT mass deployment thanks to a standardized solution,” said Suzanne Tong-Li, SVP Greater China and Korea for Mobile Services and IoT and China President, Gemalto. “Our collaboration simplifies the implementation of NB IoT projects combining solid security and flexibility.”
PRESS RELEASE:
Senet Launches Global Low-Power Wide-Area Virtual Network for IoT Connectivity
Senet, a leading provider of global, cloud-based software and services platforms to enable network connectivity build-out and management of the Internet of Things, has announced the launch of the Senet Low Power Wide Area Virtual Network (LVN). Moving beyond today’s antiquated network connectivity business models, the Senet LVN creates opportunities for network operators, solution providers, systems integrators, municipalities, and enterprise organizations to proactively contribute to the rapid build out of global IoT connectivity and immediately benefit from revenue share models based on their level of participation.
Senet’s LVN, Managed Network Services for IoT (MNS) and public network are powered by its proprietary Network Operating System, which is built on a common cloud-based services architecture. The Senet operating system provides extremely efficient, scalable and secure options to connect and manage low power, low-cost sensors at massive scale and simplifies historically complex operations related to application and device registration, message accounting and settlements.
Key features of the Senet LVN include:
• A modern IoT architecture built on a highly scalable and secure cloud-based services
• A host platform for Radio Access Network participants
• Global device provisioning and device placement on any LVN Radio Access Network
• Roaming between participating operators and other connectivity providers
• Single billing supporting global device connectivity
• Standardized global device activation and deployment processes
• Comprehensive global network operations support
• Revenue share models across provider classes
• Access to the fastest continuously growing LoRa LPWAN network
“There is an IoT land grab taking place among network operators while, at the same time, solution providers are struggling to model a return on investment because of high network costs and limited coverage,” said Senet CEO Bruce Chatterley. “The Senet LVN addresses these challenges by modernizing IoT connectivity and offering ways for an entire ecosystem of participants to monetize their networks and services. Our innovative LVN technology essentially creates a demand-based and incentive-based ‘Network Effect,’ or ‘Connectivity Marketplace’ to building out the Senet global IoT network. The next big transformation taking place in IoT relates to network connectivity, and the first to market have the most to gain.”
Unique to the Senet Low Power Wide Area Virtual Network are business models designed for organizations to engage at various levels of participation and benefit from a revenue share model based on the role they play in the larger network ecosystem.
For example, a network operator (Cable, Wireless, Fiber, or CLEC) can augment their connectivity portfolio by deploying LoRaWAN gateways on their existing tower or building assets and extend their branded services well beyond their existing footprint to generate revenue from a broader customer base. Domestic and international LoRaWAN networks will interoperate through roaming, allowing connected devices to be placed on any operator network, supporting mobile IoT applications and making global connectivity a reality.
The Senet LVN also creates opportunities for new partnerships between municipalities and service providers. Municipalities, for example, are in a unique position to partner with utility companies to create the backbone for connected city-wide services. LoRaWAN gateways deployed on a combination of city and utility owned assets create a relationship that supports rapid network deployment, broad coverage and revenue sharing without any individual party incurring the brunt of the capital equipment expense. Senet then manages these network assets using its Network Operating System. Once deployed, any device from any application or solution provider that connects to these networks generates a new revenue stream for the municipality and/or utility. Embracing such an opportunity could mean a huge technological leap forward and lay the foundation for true smart and connected cities.
In addition, Senet provides an opportunity for thousands of global IoT application providers, system integrators and enterprises to register their LoRaWAN gateways on the LVN and generate revenue based on the number of qualified messages using their Radio Access Network. This model supports both production deployments and large market trials, allowing for participation in the Senet LVN at various levels of application rollout.
With this new approach to providing LoRaWAN network IoT coverage, Senet is enabling businesses to revolutionize their products and operations by delivering ubiquitous network connectivity wherever it is needed, when it is needed and at the lowest possible cost. To access the Senet network to test LoRaWAN end devices and gateways, sign up for a free Developer Portal account or contact us at [email protected] or +1 877-807-5755.
PRESS RELEASE:
Industrial Internet Consortium, Plattform Industrie 4.0 Stop in San Francisco for IIoT World Tour
The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) and Plattform Industrie 4.0 are stopping for an IIoT World Tour event in San Francisco, California, to continue their partnership to accelerate the digitalization of industrial production. The two organizations have partnered with the Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CESMII) to co-host the event at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Hotel on December 8, 2017, from 9:00am -1:40pm PST. In addition, the German American Chamber of Commerce West serves as a further local partner for the event. Identity and secure transaction technologies solution provider, Entrust Datacard, is the Gold Sponsor of the event.
“Central prerequisites of successful digitalization such as standards and IT security need an approach beyond national borders. Therefore, our IIoT World Tour brings the discussion on these issues to an international level,” said Henning Banthien, Secretary General, Plattform Industrie 4.0. “We are happy to have our next stop in the Bay Area and discuss our ideas and approaches with local companies in a vibrant tech environment.”
“We’re delighted to leverage the cross-industry knowledge of the IIC and the manufacturing expertise of Plattform Industrie 4.0 at the third stop of our 2017 IIoT World Tour to continue our mission of helping to advance the digitalization of industrial systems and smart manufacturing,” said Dr. Richard Soley, Executive Director, IIC. “We’ve received some great results from our testbeds and the IIoT World Tour is a great place to showcase those best practices and lessons learned with the Industrial Internet community.”
“Smart manufacturing can help enhance U.S. productivity, global competitiveness, and reinvestment,” said Jim Wetzel, CEO of CESMII and former Global Reliability Director, General Mills. “Our mission is to ensure that smart manufacturing delivers real-time business and energy improvements in U.S. manufacturing and the IIoT World Tour is the perfect opportunity for us to share our vision.”
The IIoT World Tour event in San Francisco features executive speakers (in the order of the program), including, among others:
• Henning Banthien, Secretary General, Plattform Industrie 4.0
• Dr. Richard Soley, Executive Director, Industrial Internet Consortium
• Dr. Shi-Wan Lin, CEO & Co-Founder, Thingswise, LLC
• Christian Decker, CEO of the German family-owned SME DESMA Schuhmaschinen GmbH
• Jim Wetzel, Director, CEO, Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute
• Gold Sponsor: Josh Jabs, Entrust: VP, Office of the CTO and GM IOT Solutions, Entrust Datacard
The event will also offer panels featuring industry experts on testbeds, standards and reference architecture, and IT security as well as testbed demonstrations and networking opportunities. A light lunch will be served.
PRESS RELEASE:
AT&T Approves Altair’s LTE-M Chipset on IoT Network
Altair Semiconductor (altair-semi.com), a leading provider of LTE chipsets, has announced that the ALT1210 LTE-M chipset has successfully completed AT&T’s ADAPT chipset validation process. The ADAPT validation improves time-to-market and reduces the cost associated with the introduction of new Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
Building upon the first live network trial of LTE-M with AT&T, this chipset validation and commercial availability furthers Altair’s commitment to AT&T and broadens the device and module partner ecosystem supporting LTE-M deployments.
“LTE-M is essential to carriers’ cellular IoT strategies,” said Eran Eshed, VP of WW Sales and Marketing at Altair Semiconductor. “Being able to offer pre-certified chipsets and modules will significantly help vendors bring products to market quickly and cost-effectively. Our LTE-M collaboration with AT&T extends the existing and strategic CAT-1 engagement.”
The ALT1210 is an LTE-M IoT chipset with extremely low power consumption, and is software upgradeable to single antenna LTE CAT-1. ALT1210 is highly integrated with an on-chip PMU, DDR memory and a low-power MCU subsystem with a robust security framework for customer-developed applications, enabling designs with just a few external components.
The ALT1210 is ideal for a variety of IoT applications such as trackers, wearable devices, sensors and numerous other industrial and consumer IoT devices. This highly integrated LTE-M solution is available in certified modules from various module and device vendors.
“LTE-M has the potential to connect more devices and applications than anything before. When you introduce a new technology like LTE-M, it’s very important to bring together an ecosystem of network providers, module providers and chipset providers. Having Altair’s ALT1210 LTE-M chipset certified on AT&T’s network will help accelerate the promise of LTE-M,” said Cameron Coursey, vice president, Internet of Things Solutions, AT&T.
PRESS RELEASE:
People Power Offers Smart-Home IoT Service to Australian Consumers
Internet of Things (IoT) software company providing bot-enabled artificial intelligence (AI) for energy, security and care solutions, People Power has announced the commercial availability of Home HQ from Origin Energy (ASX:ORG), a smart home service for Australian consumers made possible with People Power’s suite of IoT services.
Offered by Origin Energy initially to residents of the state of Victoria, which has a population of nearly 6 million, Home HQ is a simple and affordable connected home solution that allows customers to remotely monitor and control appliances with a mobile app and a range of smart sensors and plugs connected within their homes. Priced at AU$199, the Home HQ Starter Kit includes a gateway, temperature and humidity sensor, smart plug, smart light bulb, a motion sensor and two entry sensors.
Preliminary trials of Home HQ succeeded in providing users peace of mind and control of their homes, encouraging broader market deployment. Home HQ was developed in partnership with People Power and Origin’s recently launched O hub, a Melbourne-based innovation center dedicated to rapid prototyping, trialling and commercialization of new solutions for Origin’s more than 4 million customers. Origin will announce details of product availability in other states and territories in 2018.
“Delivering smart home solutions with a truly innovative partner like Origin – who shares our commitment to develop new services that deliver comfort and control in the home – is inspiring,” said Gene Wang, CEO and co-founder of People Power. “Home HQ combines the attractiveness of a low cost, easy to install and use smart home service paired with a well-positioned consumer brand to bring peace of mind to the people of Australia.”
In May 2017, Origin announced a US$1.2 million investment in People Power that strengthens the partnership between the two companies. People Power was recently named a Cool Vendor in Gartner’s annual “Cool Vendors in Connected Home, 2017” report. People Power’s platform introduces machine learning and true intelligence into the connected home, enabling service providers to offer unique micro services to consumers while shifting revenue models from hardware device sales to recurring service revenues.
“Origin is actively planning for a cleaner and smarter energy future where customers are more empowered and have greater transparency and control over their energy use. Our investment in People Power is part of our strategy to develop digital led solutions for our customers that are simple, personalized and effortless,” said Tony Lucas, Executive General Manager, Future Energy & Business Development, Origin. “This collaboration with People Power has been critical in allowing us to rapidly prototype and trial a connected smart home solution and apply what we learnt into the product we are now launching for sale.”
Home HQ’s geo-location technology allows users to set rules for their connected appliances based on whether or not they are home, and sets their smart lights to come on if they are not home by a certain time. The smart plugs allow customers to remotely control electrical appliances via their mobile phone and do things like check if they left an appliance on, or schedule a fan to switch on if it’s a hot day. Entry sensors and motion detectors can be used to monitor when kids get home from school, or can be set up in an elderly relative’s home to provide an alert if no motion is detected by a set time in a nominated room.
PRESS RELEASE:
IoT Company Gooee Launches in Europe
Gooee, the ‘data brain’ for building activity, officially launched its ‘full stack’ ecosystem amongst its lighting and technology partners at one of Europe’s largest lighting events.
Using sensing hardware and cloud-based software, which is combined into a single solution for smart buildings, Gooee brings together lighting, beacon networking and space analytics to drive application-enabling intelligence for developers, building occupiers, property owners and managers. Scalable and interoperable, Gooee can be used across all sectors to significantly simplify installation complexity, transform human engagement and reduce energy costs by up to 80 per cent.
Neil Salt, Co-founder and MD of Gooee, says, “IoT lighting is transforming the built environment. We’ve talked increasingly about a new era in lighting, but finally that time has arrived. Today we are proud to be celebrating partnerships that are fundamental to the adoption of smart building solutions and pleased to be embarking on trials through our partners with global brands including BMW and CBRE.”
Rick Jacobs, Managing Director, CBRE Global Workplace Solutions: “The built environment has always been open to new technologies to enhance estate management, sustainability, energy savings and occupier satisfaction. However, technological advancements are occurring faster than ever and the introduction of location-tracking technology embedded in luminaires will transform spaces significantly. What Gooee and others are doing is revolutionary and through being interoperable with other systems, it is likely that we will see a rapid adoption rate in our industry.”
Using building data to monitor building occupancy, Gooee enables flexible working space to flourish, and facilitates working preferences, such as lighting, atmosphere and facilities across commercial assets, which increases employee productivity, health and wellbeing. In a retail environment, the ecosystem also gathers real-time analytics enabling retailers to create tailored experiences for consumers and increasing basket spend. The blend of occupancy and beacon data reduces the cost of managing retail spaces, through enhancing floor layouts and stock positioning to optimise store square footage.
“Gooee is a revolutionary system that is not only changing the way we manage buildings,” says Neil, “but the way we interact with the spaces we occupy. Designed to be interoperable with existing building systems and using Lighting-as-a-Host, Gooee’s platform allows developers of software based apps to build value upon our ‘data brain’ without any additional hardware being installed. This future-proofs the investment for the owner, occupier or manager,” he added.
At the event, Gooee announced that Aurora Lighting and Feilo Sylvania have become Platinum Partners, enabling full access to the platform for non-commercial use, dedicated support, access to Beta hardware and full use of the Gooee Florida IoT Test Centre for long-term testing. Other Gooee partners and sponsors of the Gooee IoT Arena at LuxLive included Utilitywise, Dell EMC, Vodafone, TUV Rheinland, Deltavation, Evrythng, Nordic, and Interlight.
Gooee’s technology has been tested and demonstrated by partners Aurora Lighting, which is currently running a trial with BMW, ABSA Bank, and others across warehousing, hospitality, office and retail environments.
This launch follows the recent announcement that Gooee and IoT cloud software pioneer Evrythng have strengthened their partnership agreement with a US$7.5m+ deal, which provides Gooee with a perpetual licence to use Evrythng’s technology in the smart buildings where Gooee is used.