Consumer motivation to participate in residential demand response (DR) has historically been low due to inflexible electricity pricing mechanisms that do not account for individual use. A new predictive home energy management system (PHEMS) addresses this issue with a real-time pricing mechanism. This system customises electricity prices based on end-user energy consumption, thereby motivating consumers to actively participate in DR. Going ahead, it holds the potential to enhance engagement and efficiency in residential energy management. (more…)
July 26, 2024
Posted by: Magda Dabrowska
LG Electronics has acquired an 80% stake in Athom to strengthen LG’s position in the smart home market. The company’s founders Stefan and Emile will stay on as executives.
With this acquisition, the Homey operating system, connectivity and partnerships that Athom has developed over the past ten years will become available to LG, instantly making LG one of the leading provider of smart home solutions worldwide.
Homey will continue as it is, with Athom remaining committed to developing Homey Cloud and Homey Pro, and keep working on an ever-expanding lineup of new products. Backed by LG’s knowledge and experience in manufacturing, partnerships and worldwide sales, Homey can now grow even faster than before. (more…)
July 4, 2024
Posted by: Magda Dabrowska
Tuya Smart has announced a partnership with V2 Indonesia to jointly advance the deep integration of cutting-edge technologies, including AI, into the realm of smart homes.
Through this partnership, which was formalised at the 2024 Tuya Global Developer Summit, Tuya Smart and V2 Indonesia seek to enable customers to capitaliase on the immense opportunities presented by the burgeoning Indonesian smart home market. (more…)
July 2, 2024
Posted by: Magda Dabrowska
Actelis Networks has announced that it has received an initial order, as part of a larger project, to provide a municipal utilities company in a major German city, with its hybrid-fibre networking solution. The order was placed by a local partner of Actelis in Germany. (more…)
July 1, 2024
Posted by: Magda Dabrowska
Soracom has announced that it has joined the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Accelerate Programme, a co-sell programme for AWS partners that provide software solutions that run on or integrate with AWS. (more…)
June 19, 2024
Posted by: Magda Dabrowska
pSemi Corporation has announced that it, alongside its parent company Murata, has expanded its role to “Participant” level with The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), an international community of more than 675 technology companies committed to open standards for the Internet of Things (IoT). In addition, Peter Bacon, the director of systems engineering at pSemi, was recently appointed to the Zigbee Working Group, a subcommittee of CSA that is dedicated to defining standards for the wireless technology designed for low-power devices that need to communicate with each other over short distances.
CSA’s mission is to create standards, tools and platforms that make all connected devices work together to enhance end users’ day-to-day experiences. Its members, which include LG, Samsung, NXP, and others, work collaboratively to develop IoT technology standards, offer certification programmes and promote the benefits of open, global standards for a wide range of connected technology solutions, including Matter, Aliro, Zigbee, and others.
pSemi’s increased role with CSA aligns with the company’s expanded IoT product offerings as it recently announced the PE562212—its smallest PA-LNA-SW IoT front-end module (FEM). PE562212 is an ultra-compact multi-protocol 2.4 GHz FEM that enables a variety of connectivity options for IoT devices and is designed in adherence to the IEEE 802.15.4 Zigbee requirements to support the CSA-led Matter protocols, an industry framework that focuses on simplifying connected experiences.
“Murata has been a proud member of CSA for more than a decade, and at pSemi, we are thrilled to expand our involvement to ‘Participant’ level this year, particularly as we expand our IoT offerings,” said Bacon. “Our increased participation underscores our commitment to the connectivity market and willingness to collaborate with the entire ecosystem to advance the industry. I look forward to working closely with my peers and colleagues to address some of the most pressing issues the connectivity industry is facing and to play a part in defining standards that will accelerate the adoption of IoT products.”
pSemi will also participate in the upcoming CSA Alliance Member Meeting in Washington, DC on June 25, 2024. For more information about pSemi and its connectivity solutions please visit www.psemi.com. For more information about CSA, its mission and current initiatives, please visit www.csa-iot.org.
Comment on this article below or via X: @IoTGN
June 17, 2024
Posted by: Magda Dabrowska
Sigfox SA, a robust and low-power technology, was selected by the National Treasury as the network to underpin the new smart water meter ecosystem. The tender, commonly known as “RT29” awarded to various System Integrators, will see existing meters adapted or replaced to become smart meters to improve revenue collection and service delivery. All the new meters will run on the nationwide Sigfox IoT network. (more…)
June 11, 2024
Posted by: Magda Dabrowska
Lantronix has announced that it has published its case study on HY-LINE Group’s Smart Shelf, an easy-to-deploy digital retail shelf signage solution that delivers customer engagement and buying behavior analytics. Utilising Lantronix’s E210 Series Router (E214) with IoT SIM Connectivity Services and Lantronix’s Percepxion Cloud IoT Edge Solutions platform, this solution is securely and centrally managed for global deployment.
“Lantronix’s proven IoT solutions enabled HY-LINE Group to create a digital retail signage solution that combines the best of online and in-person shopping while giving retail chains the ability to capture insightful analytics on customer behaviors,” said Mathi Gurusamy, the chief strategy officer for Lantronix. “IoT Solutions in the retail industry provide additional opportunities to showcase our solutions in this growing market.”
According to Berg Insight, the retail industry is one of the top vertical markets for IoT devices. Global shipments of IoT devices in the retail sector are projected to grow at a CAGR of 10% over the next three years, reaching 19 million units in 2027. Lantronix’s innovative gateways and software are designed to target this market, supporting these growth trends through plug & play connectivity services and the Percepxion IoT Edge Solutions Platform.
Utilising Lantronix’s IoT solutions, including its E210 Series Router (E214) with IoT SIM Connectivity Services and Percepxion Cloud IoT Edge Solutions platform, HY-LINE developed its interactive point-of-sale Smart Shelf Display solution. Combining the best of online and in-person retail shopping, the Smart Shelf engages customers and captures buying behaviors while delivering analytics to generate increased sales and revenue growth.
Utilising Lantronix products and services enabled HY-LINE to build connectivity into the Smart Shelf Solution, providing an easy way for retailers to deploy and manage Smart Shelves across their stores, regionally, nationally or globally. Since the Smart Shelf comes pre-configured with the interactive display and router, to get started, retailers just plug it into a power outlet and connect it to the network. From there, it automatically connects to Cloud IoT management, where Percepxion provides chain-wide remote management of the connectivity.
For more information and to read the use case, please visit Lantronix’s HY-LINE Smart Shelf Digital and Retail Signage case study here.
June 10, 2024
Posted by: Magda Dabrowska
Hewlett Packard Enterprise has announced the #1 U.S. consumer brand for almonds and almond milk, Blue Diamond Growers is continuing its 100-year tradition of quality, innovation and food safety by modernising its wireless networking infrastructure with an HPE Aruba Networking Wi-Fi 6E-enabled solution.
The deployment improves mobile and IoT device connectivity in support of the California-based cooperative’s three manufacturing facilities that processes approximately a billion pounds of almonds annually for domestic and worldwide consumption on behalf of its 3,000 grower-owners. Stretching across over 3.3 million square feet of manufacturing facilities, including 40 acres of outdoor crop receiving areas, the new Wi-Fi network also provides AI-powered intelligence that is speeding troubleshooting by 50%.
“Our enterprise has a rich history of using innovation to produce and market almond products,” said Ryan Funk, the IT infrastructure director for Blue Diamond Growers. “Today, we rely on mobile and IoT-enabled technologies for moving almonds that arrive fresh from the field through production quickly, efficiently and safely, which ultimately enables delivering the highest value to our grower-owners.”
As the domestic almond supply and production leader since its founding in 1910, Blue Diamond relies extensively upon Wi-Fi connectivity for receiving and tracking almonds and almond products throughout its manufacturing, storage and distribution processes.
From crop delivery areas through finished product shipment, Blue Diamond workers use a variety of mobile devices, including scanners, tablets and label printers, all of which feed data into the enterprise’s cloud-enabled ERP solution around the clock. IoT-enabled systems are also extensively deployed, such as for constantly monitoring temperatures across the industry’s largest refrigerated storage capacity to maintain quality and freshness, which require reliable, secure connectivity from APs acting as an IoT platform.
“For innovative global food producers that depend upon connectivity for bringing products to market, fast, reliable and secure networking infrastructure is essential for supplying consumers with high-quality, nutritious and flavorful products,” said Stuart Strickland, the wireless chief technology officer at HPE Aruba Networking. “Whether its mobilising employees across indoor production and R&D facilities or ensuring rapid and accurate crop receipts during 24/7 harvest seasons, high-performance intelligent Wi-Fi enables Blue Diamond Growers to fulfill its core mission: maximise grower returns and deliver the benefits of almonds to the world.”
With regulatory approvals in place, Blue Diamond was eager to act on their vision to move to Wi-Fi 6E APs. To answer their mobile and IoT data traffic demands, while minimising operating overhead, the company adopted an AI-powered wireless solution that includes HPE Aruba Networking Wi-Fi 6E Access Points (APs) for indoor facilities and ruggedised outdoor Wi-Fi 6 APs for exterior connectivity. The network is unified and managed with HPE Aruba Networking Central, which streamlines and simplifies administration.
According to Funk, the network intelligence supplied by HPE Aruba Networking Central is important for enabling company’s ultra-lean IT staff to manage multiple geographically-disbursed facilities. “Having a powerful, centralised and intuitive management tool that also supports manufacturing frameworks for NIST and ISO is essential,” he said. “In addition, with HPE Aruba Networking Central, we’re resolving Wi-Fi trouble calls 50% faster, reducing IT overhead while improving user experiences.”
Prior to its new Wi-Fi infrastructure, Blue Diamond began saving more than USD$250,000 annually vs Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) by adopting HPE Aruba Networking EdgeConnect SD-WAN to gain a self-driving wide area network that serves as a foundation for zero trust and secure access service edge (SASE) cybersecurity. In addition, the company deployed HPE Aruba Networking Boost, for WAN optimisation.
Looking ahead, Blue Diamond expects its new networking infrastructure will continue powering company R&D efforts and business growth. “The combination of exceptional enterprise Wi-Fi and ongoing support we receive from HPE Aruba Networking enables us to envision operational and product innovations that were impossible before,” Funk said.
To learn more, visit HPE Aruba Networking.
Comment on this article below or via X: @IoTGN
June 6, 2024
Posted by: Magda Dabrowska
Aqara unveiled on Thursday the Roller Shade Controller T1S, a tubular motor supporting Matter compatibility over bridge for superior interoperability across smart home platforms and devices. A solution that blends into any interior, this motor offers homeowners enhanced convenience, energy efficiency and privacy. By automating shades, it eliminates the need for manual adjustments, providing holistic smart home experience.
Whether through remote control, preset schedules, mobile apps, voice assistants, or complete home automation, the Roller Shade Controller T1S makes it a breeze to adjust multiple shades simultaneously, including those in hard-to-reach windows. It features a myriad of automation and controls that intuitively respond to users’ needs, allowing for the creation of ambience, adjustment to lighting throughout the day, temperature regulation in concert with other smart devices, and enhanced privacy from the outside world.
Compatible with various window coverings such as roller shades, zebra roller blinds, Shangri-la blinds, and honeycomb blinds, this Zigbee-based roller shade motor offers maximum flexibility and seamless integration with Matter-compatible platforms via an Aqara Matter bridge.
The T1S connects with Aqara Home and third-party platforms including Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, Home Assistant, Homey, and SmartThings, offering homeowners greater choices in creating personalised smart home scenes and automation.
Featuring advanced DC motor technology, the Roller Shade Controller T1S operates at a high speed of 25 rpm while maintaining a low noise level of under 27 dB, ensuring a peaceful atmosphere conducive to relaxation, focus, and productivity. The Aqara Home app supports even quieter operation of the motor by allowing it to open or close slowly and gradually over a preset time period, such as 30 minutes.
Last week, Aqara released Smart Lock U50, its latest addition to the smart lock product line. Aiming to bring convenience and added security, the entry-level solution comes equipped with advanced features like Apple home key unlocking and Matter compatibility over a bridge. The launch transforms traditional key access into a keyless, integrated experience for more households.
The Smart Lock U50 offers multiple secure entry options including Apple home keys, which allow for effortless unlocking with a simple tap of an iPhone or Apple Watch. Homeowners can also manage and share home access with one-time and recurring passwords, as well as NFC cards. Physical keys are provided for added peace of mind, and the lock includes a USB-C port for emergency charging, ensuring access is never lost even if batteries are depleted.
May 31, 2024
Posted by: Anna Ribeiro