Category: IoT News

The Internet of Things is big news – with a profusion of views and articles published on the web every day. Here at About the Internet of Things we’ll wade through that news each week to bring you regular updates on all that is IoT – finding, in our opinion, the most interesting items making the IoT news headlines.

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Netherlands becomes first country with nationwide Internet of Things

Dutch telecoms group KPN has announced that its low-power, long-range, wide-area network (LoRa) enabling Internet of Things (IoT) applications is now available across the Netherlands.

it already has deals to connect 1.5 million objects and believes that number will grow substantially now the nationwide network is online. Already, trials of the technology are underway with baggage handling at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, depth sounding at the port of Rotterdam and rail switch monitoring at Utrecht Central station

Read the full article on TechRadar

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Murder by IoT

An amusing look at how our wonderful IoT devices might just end up killing us…

Then it got dangerous. We craved more connectedness, so we started to connect every damn thing we could find, making everything we own susceptible to life-threatening hacks. We’re now a few taps away from a truly horrifying reality: the Internet of Murder-y Things.

WARNING: contains some offensive language

Read the full article on Tech.Mic

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How the Internet of Things is revolutionising retail

Sharon Goldman at CIO.com takes a look at how the IoT is impacting retail and concludes that the retail industry will never be the same again.

Tech-savvy retailers looking to gain a competitive advantage are installing smart shelves that detect when inventory is low, RFID sensors that track goods throughout the supply chain, systems that send personalized digital coupons to shoppers when they enter the store, and sensors that monitor the quality of perishable items.

Read the full article on CIO

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BMW uses Connected Drive to pair with your home

Autocar reports on how BMW is using its SIM card-based Connected Drive technology to integrate all of its new cars into the Internet of Things by pairing its vehicles with owner’s homes using its Smart Home integration.

You can see if your smoke alarm has gone off because you’ll get a notification in the car, or you can see if there’s a water leak and then speak to whoever’s in the house to find out what’s going on

Read the full article on Autocar

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Oticon Opn – the connected hearing aid

Not to be dismissed as a simple gadget, the Opn from Denmark’s Oticon actually sounds useful. The Opn, which can be used with IFTTT (If This Then That) recipe-based automation, ensures the wearer knows when someone rings the doorbell, the smoke detector goes off or a baby monitor is alarming.

In the case of Opn, IFTTT provides the means for an Internet-connected doorbell to trigger an automated audio message to the person wearing the hearing aid, saying something to the effect of “There’s someone at the door”

Read the full article on Fortune

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The Internet of Nano Things (IoNT)

At the heart of the Internet of Things are the wireless microsensors and microprocessors that collect and transmit information. Scientists have now begun shrinking these sensors from millimetres or microns in size to the nanometer scale, small enough to circulate within the living body and to mix directly into construction materials. The interconnectivity of these nano-scale devices is described as the Internet of Nano Things (IoNT).

Because they are so small, nanosensors can collect information from millions of different points. External devices can then integrate the data to generate incredibly detailed maps showing the slightest changes in light, vibration, electrical currents, magnetic fields, chemical concentrations and other environmental conditions.

Read the full article on Scientific American

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Meet Olli – the first self-driving, IoT Smart Bus…

The first self-driving, 3D-printed smart bus has just landed on the streets of Washington, DC. Created by Arizona-based Local Motors in conjunction with IBM Watson Internet of Things, Olli (meetolli.auto) is the first vehicle to have the capability to analyse and learn from transportation data.

Using IBM Watson technology, the bus will be able to answer questions about how it works, where it is going and how it makes decisions, Local Motors said. Passengers will also be able to ask Olli about destinations, such as “Olli, can you take me downtown?”

View the full article on EcoWatch

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Bluetooth 5 – the optimum IoT wireless standard?

With four times the range, two times the speed and eight times the data broadcasting capacity than previous versions, Bluetooth 5 looks set to become the optimum wireless standard for ‘connectionless’ IoT applications.

Bluetooth 5 will transform the way people experience the IoT by making it something that happens simply and seamlessly around them,” said Mark Powell, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG

Read the full article on TechWeekEurope UK

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Monitor your plants from your phone with Gro.io

Every plant grower can now become a master grower with Gro.io, “the world’s most intelligent hydroponics system.”

instead of outputting all that information to a local monitor, the Gro.io will push it to the branded iOS app on your phone via the tower’s integrated Wi-Fi receiver. The app allows you to monitor the long term growth of your plants…, adjust nutrient and light levels and receive notifications if anything goes awry.

Read the full article on Engadget

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The IoT – a force for good and evil

The U.S. Department of Commerce recently sought public comment on the “benefits, challenges and potential roles for the government in fostering the advancement of the Internet of Things.” The responses highlighted the general belief that its impact will be both beneficial and adverse…

The IoT may become a means to deliver a disabling, global attack. Connected IoT devices have potential to reveal more than a novelist about a person’s behavior and bring privacy invasion to a new level. On the plus side, improved automation may save lives, keep people healthy and increase food production.

Read the full article on Computerworld