Mobile Browser for Internet of Things Launches at Art Gallery Exhibit
Chronicled has teamed up with San Francisco’s 111 Minna Gallery for the launch of Discover by Chronicled and Minna Gallery’s new exhibition, “Alone Together.” The launch event, Art+: Discover the Unseen, features work from artists Justyna Kisielewicz, Emily Burns and Melissa Arendt.
Discover by Chronicled, now available on iOS-based platforms, allows users to discover, purchase, insure and verify the provenance and information of objects equipped with the app and hardware. Brands that use Discover can create unique, interactive experiences for users based on real-time feedback, the company reports. Users and brands can interact with Discover’s proximity-based commerce features as well.
On the back end, each piece is registered on the Ethereum blockchain, which replaces the traditional certificate of authenticity with an immutable, digital public record of authenticity. This technology, the firm explains, can be useful for authentication and engagement with many categories of physical products, including art, contracts, title registrations, luxury goods, routers, smart meters, automobiles, drones, pharmaceuticals, shipping boxes and envelopes.
The exhibit will remain on display at the gallery through Feb. 25. Discover users can attend and access exclusive content regarding the art and artists.
“Launching Discover represents a leap forward in proximity-based engagement and individual accessibility to IoT and enabled devices and objects,” said Sam Radocchia, Chronicled’s CPO and co-founder, in a prepared statement. “We’re putting the ability to interact with any object, by learning about it, purchasing and insuring it in real time, verifying its provenance, and much more, into the hands of users.”
IDC Report on IoT Analytics and Information-Management Technology Provides Guidance for Senior Executives
The Internet of Things will substantially change the mix of enterprise analytics and information management (AIM) investments during the next 24 months to meet the scale, speed, flexibility and automation required to support sensor-based initiatives, according to a new report from International Data Corp. (IDC). The report provides an assessment of 25 AIM technologies that support the IoT, and also offers guidance regarding maturity and the adoption risks for each technology.
A major goal of the IoT is to take advantage of the insights from the continuous collection and analysis of sensor data, and to respond to those insights to drive business value. “Insight to action must fall within a useful time window,” said Maureen Fleming, the VP of IDC’s IoT Analytics and Information Management research practice, in a prepared statement. “That means the IoT AIM technology tier should be designed for the shortest time window of IoT workloads running through the end-to-end system. It is also critical that the correct type of analytics is used to arrive at the insight.”
As enterprises assess their existing AIM infrastructure, IDC reports, they are finding gaps in capabilities, in terms of skills and technology adoption—there is a focus on data-at-rest, for which sensor-based initiatives require data-in-motion supporting continuous analysts. This, the research indicates, will prompt investments in technologies outlined in the IDC IoT AIM TechScape.
The IDC report is titled “IDC TechScape: Internet of Things Analytics and Information Management (Doc #US41841116).” It is designed to help enterprises learn more about the newer AIM technologies that support the IoT, align these technologies with an enterprise’s technology risk profile to determine what is ready to adopt and what should be monitored, and gain a better understanding of where an IoT team will need to create skills and competencies as it plans to adopt newer AIM technologies.
Honeywell, Aereon to Leverage Industrial IoT for Oil and Gas
Honeywell and Aereon have announced that they will collaborate on solutions to help industrial customers boost the safety, efficiency and reliability of their operations by leveraging Honeywell’s Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) ecosystem.
“For years, manufacturers and producers have looked for ways to solve operational problems that were believed to be unsolvable—such as unplanned downtime, underperforming assets and inefficient supply chains,” said Andrew Hird, the VP and general manager of Honeywell Process Solutions’ Digital Transformation business, in a prepared statement. “With the capabilities of the IIoT, we can find new ways to solve those problems. A key part is the creation of an industrial ecosystem that leverages the depth of knowledge and experience of a range of equipment and service providers such as Aereon.”
The INspire ecosystem is a key part of Honeywell’s Connected Plant initiative. The initiative helps manufacturers leverage the IIoT to improve the safety, efficiency and reliability of operations at one or more plants across an enterprise.
Aereon offers products for flare systems, enclosed combustion systems, thermal oxidizers and vapor/gas recovery units. “Aereon’s fundamental strength is its wide array of fit-for-purpose combustion and vapor recovery products supported by in-house expertise to design, manufacture and support its field-installed base,” said Mark Zyskowski, the firm’s senior global VP, in the prepared statement. “We are pleased to be able to bring our expertise to the IIoT ecosystem that Honeywell is developing to help customers around the globe maximize value from their operations by tapping into the power of the IIoT.”
“Honeywell’s capabilities in data consolidation, cyber security and software development, combined with the deep industry knowledge of its collaborators, including Aereon, will help customers solve previously unsolvable problems,” Hird said in the statement. “These problems include eliminating unplanned shutdowns, maximizing output, maintaining regulatory compliance, increasing safety and optimizing supply chain strategies.”
Digi International Acquires SMART Temps
Digi International, a global provider of machine-to-machine (M2M) and Internet of Things connectivity products and services, has announced that it has acquired SMART Temps, a provider of real-time temperature-management systems for restaurant, grocery, education, hospital, pharmacy, blood-bank and laboratory environments. The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
With its third strategic acquisition in 15 months, Digi now has more than 10,000 locations under its management. The acquired SMART Temps technology will continue to be supported, the company indicates, and will be leveraged within Digi’s existing products and services, enabling the firm to expand its portfolio of products for the cold-chain market.
“In addition to strengthening our leadership position in the food-service industry, this acquisition provides Digi with a strategic entry point into the education and health-care markets,” said Ron Konezny, Digi International’s president and chief executive officer, in a prepared statement. “Our objective is to identify the best ideas and technologies across our cold-chain portfolio to bring the most advanced solutions to market.”
The SMART Temps team, led by CEO John Miller, has more than 50 years of experience in bringing wireless temperature-monitoring solutions to various food-service environments. SMART Temps’ educational solution provides menu-integration capabilities, thereby decreasing the amount of time employees require to perform manual temperature-monitoring tasks. Miller and SMART Temps’ employees will become part of the Digi Cold Chain Solutions team and will report to Kevin Riley, Digi International’s COO.
“Our two companies together will bring industry-leading technology to market, so that our customers can be assured of the highest level of safety for their food and health-care monitoring,” Miller said in the statement. “We are excited to be part of Digi’s growing leadership in temperature monitoring and look forward to continuing to expand our service offerings.”
Enfucell SoftBattery Powers Identiv’s Smart Temperature Sensor Solution for IoT
Identiv has announced the launch of the next generation of its uTrust Sense Temperature Tracker, a portable, powered smart sensor that tracks and stores temperature readings. The sensor can be interrogated by any Near Field Communication (NFC) reader, such as a mobile phone, can be uploaded to the Internet for analytics purposes, and provides temperature monitoring for a range of markets, including cold chain and health care.
According to the company, the solution is designed to address the critical needs of temperature-conscious applications. As a turnkey solution for the Internet of Things market, the combined temperature tag, mobile application and cloud service provide a platform to manage a population of NFC smart tags, measuring and storing precise temperature readings, as well as performing cloud-based analytics and remediation to ensure the control and integrity of goods.
“Enfucell is thrilled to see our thin and flexible SoftBattery contributing to remarkable improvements in the logistics of pharmaceuticals and other perishable goods,” said Dr. Markku Ellilä, Enfucell‘s CEO, in a prepared statement.
Use cases include monitoring and tracking temperature-sensitive products for cold-chain applications, medical products and pharmaceutical logistics, and other fragile goods, including such items as fresh fish, wine, blood, vaccines and flowers. The solution is the result of a partnership between Enfucell, Identiv, NXP Semiconductors and Syntel.
Transcends Releases RIFIDI 3.6 for IoT; PMRS Deploys RIFIDI Edge Server for Tag Detection
Transcends has announced the public release of its RIFIDI 3.6 software, intended to connect individuals with the Internet of Things. This release, the company reports, was enabled through client implementations, as well as the RIFIDI open-source community feedback, surveys and forums.
RIFIDI 3.6 includes GS1‘s Application Level Events (ALE) standards as part of the RIFID Edge Platform. ALE provides a simple Web service-based interface for defining business events through configuration, with no coding required. Another key feature is the ability to publish real-time sensor and RIFIDI application state changes to an MQTT message topic, with configurable end points.
In the pharmaceutical industry, applications for RFID include track-and-trace and e-pedigree systems, in which RFID offers feature-rich electronic tracking. PMRS, a manufacturer of pharmaceutical products, has implemented the RIFIDI Edge Server. To enable facility-wide RFID tracking, PMRS has created more than 50 RFID read zones at key processing and storage locations, using more than 200 RFID antennas.
All materials are tracked using a unique Electronic Product Code (EPC), integrated in a printable smart label generated by RFID printers made by Zebra Technologies. RIFIDI provides tag processing, such as received signal strength indicator (RSSI) filtering and read-zone management, to supplement existing location-based business rules.
By using RIFIDI to interface with this RFID infrastructure, PMRS has integrated RFID tag detection with its existing inventory-management systems. The locations of all materials, from in-process to finished product, are automatically updated to reflect each object’s physical position in real time, as communicated by the RIFIDI Edge Server. This has enabled PMRS to improve the accuracy, efficiency and visibility of vital business processes, the company reports.