Week In Review: Auto, Security, Pervasive Computing


AI predictions and announcements filled the news this week, including a statement from the Center for AI Safety that was signed by some top AI execs — including Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI — warning that uncontrolled AI could end up smarter than us and lead to our extinction. Foxconn estimates its artificial intelligence server revenue will double this year with the popularity of generative A... » read more

Sensors In Fire Detection


The last 10 years or so have produced some colossal and deadly fire events that have destroyed whole towns, burned a record amount of acreage, and polluted skies for weeks. And wildfires are not just happening in the Western United States but have burnt out of control in Europe, the Amazon, and Australia. Early wildfire detection and forest management via controlled burns are two ways to pre... » read more

Digitalizing Water Monitoring


Managing water resources has always been important, but that monitoring is becoming increasingly high-tech and much more useful. Rather than a spot check at the tap, or a crude measurement of water levels in a reservoir, chips are making it possible to monitor and measure water quantity and quality at the source, wherever it is stored, the spigot, and in the wastewater systems. As climate ch... » read more

Security Provisioning Moves Out Of The Factory


Security credentials traditionally have been provisioned during chip manufacturing, often as a final part of the testing process. That's starting to change. Logistics management can be improved by pushing that process out — even as far as the on-boarding process. And simpler on-boarding can hide most of the details from the user. “The IT approach to provisioning IoT devices has primar... » read more

The Week in Review: IoT


Acquisitions ASSA ABLOY has agreed to acquire August Home, a startup providing home security products; the purchase price wasn’t revealed. August Home, which raised $75 million in private funding, should fit well with the Scandinavian conglomerate’s Yale lock business. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions; it is expected to close by the end of ... » read more

The Week In Review: IoT


Conferences Artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and 5G wireless communications were the talk of this week’s Mobile World Congress Americas event at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Interesting topics, to be sure, yet they were eclipsed by a panel discussion on Wednesday afternoon about a matter of life or death. At a program put together by 151 Advisors, one of the panel ses... » read more

The Week In Review: IoT


Finance Particle, the provider of a full-stack Internet of Things device platform for enterprises, has raised $20 million in Series B funding, bringing its total venture funding to $30 million. Spark Capital led the new round, with participation by Qualcomm Ventures and existing investors in the IoT startup. Machina Research estimates cellular IoT connections will increase from 334 million in ... » read more