Telefónica R&D Arm Launching Thinking Things for Do-It-Yourselfers
Nov 06, 2014Telefónica I+D, the research and development division of Spanish telecommunications firm Telefónica, is developing a range of sensors and a Web service called Thinking Things, designed as a do-it-yourself approach to machine-to-machine applications for home or office applications.
The first Thinking Things offering, known as the Environmental Pack, consists of a set of modules enabling users to monitor and remotely "control the temperature, humidity and light intensity of a given place, and to program automated tasks," according to a statement from the company. The sensors snap together like Lego bricks and immediately begin transmitting data to the Thinking Things software application. The hardware was built using an Arduino microcontroller, which was developed by the open-source community and is designed to make developing sensors and actuators easy for hobbyists. The devices support 2G Internet connectivity in Europe, the United States and Latin America, and Telefónica offers an application programming interface (API) that allows developers to create their own IoT solutions built on the sensors, either through smartphone applications or websites.
The Environmental Pack, paired with 12 or six months of connectivity, costs €99.95 ($124) and €89.95 ($111), respectively, via the Thinking Things shop, which also sells a development kit for €199.95 ($248). The company is also developing modules with presence and pressure sensors, and reports that additional devices incorporating GPS and RFID technology are currently in development as well.
STMicroelectronics' New MEMS Process Bridges Gap Between Cost, Accuracy
Semiconductor manufacturer STMicroelectronics, which makes Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) sensors for industrial and consumer applications, has announced that it has begun producing sensors using a new hybrid manufacturing process that boosts the accuracy of inertial sensors, such as accelerometers and gyroscopes, without increasing manufacturing costs. MEMS can be produced either through etching into silicon or by growing a layer of natural or artificial crystals (a process called an epitaxy), atop the silicon and then etching into this layer. The latter is the lower-cost option, but because the epitaxially created crystals have a lower mass than silicon, it produces less accurate inertial sensors.
"Think of a MEMS accelerometer as a spring with mass attached to the end," explains Michael Markowitz, STMicroelectronics' director of technical media relations. "The heavier the mass, the more accurately you can measure the change in momentum," which is why silicon's higher mass creates more accuracy in inertial sensors, relative to those manufactured with the epitaxy. STMicroelectronics' new process, known as THELMA60 (60µm Thick Epi-poly Layer for Micro-gyroscopes and Accelerometers) increases the epitaxial layer—to 60 microns (0.002 inch)—which increases sensitivity in the range traditionally occupied by sensors etched from silicon, without adding as much cost.
Markowitz says sensors made with THEMLA60 are still out of the price-point for consumer products, such as wearable fitness trackers. But for industrial IoT applications, such as sensors used in manufacturing systems, or to perform preventative maintenance on highly precise systems, sensors made using THELMA60 might meet the twin needs of high accuracy and competitive price.
Machine-to-Machine Intelligence Joins Industrial Internet Consortium
Machine-to-Machine Intelligence (M2Mi) Corp., whose M2M Intelligence platform enables end users to provision and connect IoT devices, as well as manage data they collect in a cloud-based, secure software-as-a-service architecture, has joined the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC). AT&T, Cisco, General Electric, IBM and Intel launched the IIC in March 2014 as part of an effort to "advance interoperability standards and define common architectures to connect smart devices, machines, people, processes and data," according to a statement from the company.
M2Mi says that as an IIC member, it plans to apply its expertise in cybersecurity—it offers a "lockbox" software module for secure data exchange between edge devices and business-intelligence software—to "help solve pressing security, privacy and IT/OT [information technology/operational technology] challenges that can hamper the growth of the IoT economy."
IoT Companies Saw Record-High Venture Funding Last Quarter
San Francisco-based CrunchBase, which tracks startup funding (and is part of the Crunch tech media company), reports that IoT companies, particularly in the home automation and security space, are reeling in the venture dough. Venture funds began an upward tick in 2010, with the high mark to date hitting $138 million in the second quarter of this year, during 17 rounds of fundraising. That total fell to $99 million last quarter, but the aggregate over the past year, according to CrunchBase's research, is $300 million. CrunchBase analyst Christine Magee notes that accelerator programs are attracting many of the venture dollars.
Also in funding news, Samsung, which this summer spent $200 million to acquire smart home automation platform SmartThings, has invested in software services company Evrythng for an undisclosed sum. Evrythng's platform creates and maintains digital identities for physical objects, via RFID tags or other automatic-identification technologies, in order to track their use or movements throughout the supply chain. Many of Evrythng's clients are in the consumer packaged goods space, and are using its services to manage smart packaging applications—such as unique QR codes that consumers can scan to join various customer-loyalty programs.