Products, discussion and more from the world of IoT
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.
A nice insight into what impact the IoT may have on businesses, from Anna Johansson over at the Huffington Post…
Many industries may fundamentally change when IoT becomes mainstream. Some might even become obsolete or completely disappear; for example, the delivery and logistics industry could conceivably become almost completely automated.
With the arrival of Amazon Dash in the UK, Rory Cellan-Jones from BBC News asks are we really that lazy to want to use it?
Amazon brings its Dash push-buttons to the UK, allowing orders to be made without using its website or app.
It was only a matter of time – Fortune has exclusively revealed that Nest‘s entire platform team will now become part of Google, in order to create a unified Internet of Things platform.
The combined group also will continue to work on Google Home, a smart speaker rival to the Amazon Echo, while simultaneously fending off Amazon challenges elsewhere in the smart home.
Apple HomeKit, announced back in June 2014, was Apple’s foray into the smart home market. But as a developer platform it had little interest for consumers. Now, with a large base of HomeKit devices available on the market, Apple are finally launching their Home app in iOS 10, which will let users control their connected home from their iPhone or iPad.
While you’ve been able to control a lot of smart home appliances with your phone through individual apps, the benefit of Home is that it creates one hub that controls everything. You don’t need separate apps for your lights, thermostat, and webcam. The Home app does it all as long as the appliance was built for HomeKit.
Later this month Uber will be bringing a fleet of cars with its automated driving technology to customers in Pittsburgh, USA. The fleet will initially be supervised by humans in the driver’s seat, but nonetheless this is an important milestone that no other automotive or technology company has yet achieved. Has Uber left its rivals Google and Tesla behind?
Uber’s Pittsburgh fleet, which will be supervised by humans in the driver’s seat for the time being, consists of specially modified Volvo XC90 sport-utility vehicles outfitted with dozens of sensors that use cameras, lasers, radar, and GPS receivers.
The DuoSkin from MIT and Microsoft Research enables users to control their mobile devices, display information, and store information on their skin while also making a personal style statement. Fabricated from gold metal leaf and inspired by the new trend of flash tattoos, these on-skin devices are ushering in a new generation of wearables.
For starters, these connected tattoos can take the form of “on-skin input elements that resemble traditional user interfaces, such as buttons, sliders, and 2D trackpads.” That means that DuoSkin turns your body’s surface into a trackpad or a virtual control knob that could adjust, say, the volume of your iPhone.
Smart eyewear, smart shirts and 3D-printed shoes have all been giving Olympians the edge in their preparation for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
The world’s best athletes are currently on display at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, and some are using wearable technology powered by the Internet of Things to help them go for the gold.
A recent agreement between standards bodies the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) and the Thread Group means the two groups will work together on improving interoperability between smart home and IoT devices. As members of the OCF, this is a huge boost for Microsoft and Windows 10’s place in the smart home.
The alliance will benefit smart-home customers, with less guesswork involved in getting devices to work together. The alliance between OCF and Thread Group will help Windows 10 devices natively support and communicate with products from companies like Nest Labs, an Alphabet company.
Vodafone has developed a suite of Internet of Things proof-of-concept connected ‘Smart Summer’ holiday wearables to help protect against damaging UV, keep your children safe on the beach and locate lost luggage. The suite explores the possibilities of using Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), which enables the communication of data to hard-to-reach places using existing mobile networks. The smart collection includes connected swimwear, children’s sun hats and suitcases with embedded tracking technology.
The connected swimsuit includes hidden UV sensors that detect harmful rays, and alert the user through a smartphone app when it’s safe to come out of the shade.
We’re looking forward to this new movie from legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man, Cave of Forgotten Dreams). Lo And Behold: Reveries of the Connected World examines the past, present and constantly evolving future of the Internet.
the Oscar-nominated Herzog chronicles the virtual world from its origins to its outermost reaches, exploring the digital landscape with the same curiosity and imagination he previously trained on earthly destinations as disparate as the Amazon, the Sahara, the South Pole and the Australian outback. Herzog leads viewers on a journey through a series of provocative conversations that reveal the ways in which the online world has transformed how virtually everything in the real world works – from business to education, space travel to healthcare, and the very heart of how we conduct our personal relationships.
The film debuted at Sundance 2016 and is in theatres and on demand services including Amazon Video and iTunes from August 19th.
Hackers run riot as hotels and US police hit
O2 offers internet of things-backed motor insurance
New Internet of Things technology could lower pet insurance premiums
Internet of Things – WebSiteGuide.io
Bosch, Cisco and Foxconn join blockchain IoT consortium
Please note:
"abouttheinternetofthings.com"
is no longer updated
But feel free to peruse the content,
much of which is still valid