IoT and AI Transforming Lab Working Protocols
MachineQ’s Lab of the Future survey found IoT and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) as emerging as key technologies, with 29 percent and 28 percent of respondents currently using them in their labs, respectively. Additionally, 85 percent plan to adopt IoT, and 87 percent intend to adopt AI/ML as part of their Lab of the Future strategy over the next two years.
“IoT and AI/ML are transforming labs by providing actionable insights that help drive productivity, speed, and innovation,” said Steve Corbesero, Jr., Director of Product & Solutions at MachineQ, a Comcast Company
The survey polled more than 400 U.S.-based professionals across various sectors and includes lab operations, the challenges professionals face, and the growing role of emerging technologies like IoT and AI.
Among the key findings, nearly 60 percent of lab professionals reported significant downtime due to equipment failures, missed calibration schedules, and difficulty locating lab assets. Forty-four percent cited limited visibility into asset locations and quantities as a significant challenge. Related to this issue, 56 percent of survey respondents manually monitor equipment utilization, 14 percent have no system in place, and 30 percent leverage real-time monitoring technology.
“Modern labs face mounting pressure to accelerate drug development—currently at 10 to 15 years, on average—while managing costs and cutting inefficiencies,” said Corbesero.
Silicon Labs Releases New Concurrent Multiprotocol SoC
Silicon Labs’ MG26 family of wireless SoCs is now generally available through Silicon Labs and its distribution partners. The MG26 SoC features double the Flash and RAM of other Silicon Labs multiprotocol devices, and advanced AI/ML processing to empower developers to design future-proof Matter applications.
“With MG26, we’re not just setting a new standard in multiprotocol wireless performance for battery-based, low-power smart home applications—we’re redefining what’s possible for the future of IoT connectivity with Matter,” said Jacob Alamat, senior vice president for the home and life business unit at Silicon Labs. “This device empowers developers to create smarter, safer, and more powerful solutions in an increasingly connected world.”
Silicon Labs is the only Matter SoC device maker that allows customers to customize their order with their own Matter device attestation certificates (DAC), simplifying and accelerating product launches using Silicon Labs Matter-enabled SoCs while preventing IP theft and counterfeiting. The MG26 SoC significantly advances Matter adoption with its concurrent multiprotocol capabilities, enabling integration of various Smart Home and Building devices like LED lighting, switches, sensors, and locks into both Matter and Zigbee networks simultaneously. This allows users to create automations and routines that incorporate more devices across different ecosystem.
In addition, the MG26’s AI/ML capabilities using its embedded accelerator also enhance its performance in critical tasks like predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, keyword detection, vision, and more and more applications that span across the IoT.
Midmark RTLS Joins Epic Toolbox
Midmark RTLS announced it is the first RTLS vendor to join the Epic Toolbox.
The Toolbox integration between Epic and Midmark CareFlow RTLS, a single platform for delivering location information and guiding healthcare operations, provides real-time patient, staff and asset location updates and timestamps in Epic, reducing clicks and manual entry for staff. A bi-directional integration is available as well, centralizing RTLS badge assignment in Epic that further contributes to a simplified experience for staff.
The first CareFlow RTLS-Epic integration was deployed in 2012 and has evolved with our mutual customers over the years to include multiple benefits, including keeping the entire care team up to date with real-time location information in Epic; improving patient flow and staff productivity by automating bed assignments and transfers based on patient location data; and accurately documenting patient experiences and reducing manual data entry using location data to automatically timestamp patient events in the EMR.
“This next step in our long relationship with Epic reflects our shared vision for empowering healthcare organizations with the tools and processes they need to deliver quality patient care,” states HT Snowday, senior director at Midmark RTLS. “We’re pleased to be listed in the Toolbox and look forward to continued collaboration to further streamline healthcare workflows.”
New NFC Reader From STMicroelectronics Enables Contactless Designs
STMicroelectronics new development kit featuring ST25R200 reader/writer IC makes it easier to explore creative applications for contactless near-field communication (NFC) technology, according to company officials.
The STEVAL-25R200SA kit for reader evaluation contains an ultra-compact ST25R200 board ready for power-up and multiple antennas that let users try single, dual, and flexible designs.
“The ST25R200 has been crafted for developers, who may not be experts in NFC technology, with the aim of easing the design process,” said Patrick Sohn, NFC tags and readers business unit manager, STMicroelectronics. “The chip offers a high performance-to-cost ratio, expanding design margin, and the STEVAL-25R200SA evaluation kit offers a large set of ready-to-use antenna configurations.”
The evaluation kit is complete with a 50-Ohm antenna interface and programmable tags, aiding in building a proof-of-concept models to demonstrate convenient short-range wireless communications for device pairing, configuring settings, or product authentication to ensure brand protection. The main board and antennas are NFC-certified and suitable for diverse industrial, consumer, and health technologies, such as medical devices, power tools, household appliances, game consoles, and personal care devices.