The Week In Review: IoT

Finance
August Home (formerly known as Kease), a San Francisco-based supplier of smart door locks and doorbell cameras, reports raising about $17.7 million from venture capitalists, with plans to lock down just shy of $25 million in private funding. The information was disclosed in a Form D filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Protocols
Comcast has joined the LoRa Alliance as a sponsor member, and will have a representative on the alliance’s board of directors. Comcast will host the LoRa Alliance’s 8th All-Members Meeting, Open House, and Marketplace Exhibition on June 12-14 at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.

Products
HARMAN Professional Solutions and IBM Watson Internet of Things have collaborated on Voice-Enabled Cognitive Rooms, which can be set up in corporate offices and medical facilities along with hospitality environments, such as cruise ships and hotels. The rooms bring together IBM’s Watson artificial intelligence technology, HARMAN AKG microphones, JBL speakers, and AMX AV control and switching systems. HARMAN is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics.

Synopsys this week added audio and high-performance sensor support for always-on IoT applications to its ARC Data Fusion Subsystem. Details in Jesse Allen’s The Week In Review: Design column.

Organizations
The IPSO Alliance says it is doing research and development to enable machines to easily exchange data and metadata without using translators. This is needed to offer greater IoT interoperability. The organization also says it continues to work on IoT device security issues. It notes that its Smart Object Guidelines have been downloaded more than 500 times in the last six months.

Market Research
The Business Performance Innovation Network reports that a worldwide survey of about 350 executives and interviews with innovation leaders at large enterprises shows that many companies realize the importance of Industrial Internet of Things technology in their future, yet few are prepared to implement IIoT. Only 1.5% of respondents said they are clearly pressing ahead with IIoT implementation, while 57% said they are beginning implementation, have pilot projects in progress, or in the planning stages to employ IIoT tech. BPI Network’s report, “The Impact of Connectedness on Competiveness,” is now available as a free summary. The full report is priced at $299.

Research and Markets has a report from Grand View Research, “Internet of Things (IoT) in Warehouse Management Market Analysis By Solution (Warehouse Automation, Workforce Management, Inventory Management, EDI, Tracking), By Device (Sensing Devices, Gateways), By Service, And Segment Forecasts, 2014 – 2025.” It forecasts the worldwide IoT in warehouse management market will increase to $19.06 billion by 2025.

Meysam Moradpour, director of digital ventures at Pizza Hut, has a 10-page report available on e-commerce, near-field communication, digital payments, and the Internet of Things entitled “Things buying things – How the Internet of Things is becoming the Internet of Commerce.” A free download can be obtained here.