BROWSING: Sensors

A better balance between standardization and differentiation in IoT (Reader Forum)

From AI-capable endpoint devices to autonomous systems, IoT developers are building a diverse ecosystem of products and services, only set to grow. The number of IoT connected devices worldwide is projected to reach over 15 billion in 2023. MicKinsey estimates its market value will...

EU backs $100m venture capital fund for ‘Industry 5.0’ (Industry 4.0 with-a-conscience)

Zurich-based venture capital group Momenta has launched a $100 million target fund for ‘Industry 5.0’ tech – basically, for startups pushing Industry 4.0 with-a-conscience. The new fund is backed by the European Commission, which told IoT Solutions World Congress (IOTSWC) in Barcelona, where the...

IoT tracking in the supply chain (pt2) – how cellular IoT solved the global edge

Note, this article follows directly from a previous post (January 24) – about why logistics is the hardest industry of all for the IoT market to crack; both are taken from a new editorial report on the state of IoT in the supply chain...

5G-IoT connections to jump 1100% to 116m by 2026 – mostly in healthcare, cities

The number of 5G-based IoT connections, deployed for higher-performance machines, will reach 116 million globally by 2026, reckons market research firm Juniper Research. The forecast represents a big jump on current numbers, with just 17 million IoT sensors so far (early 2023) running on...

Norway opens 3.8-4.2 GHz band for private 5G (SA-NPN only; PNI-NPN not permitted)

Norway has opened up 400 MHz of prime mid-band spectrum, at 3.8-4.2 GHz, for enterprises to deploy local-area private 5G networks. Following pilots last year, the Norwegian Communications Authority (Nkom) is now offering four different-sized tranches of the 3.8-4.2 GHz band on 10-year deals....

“Tech is the problem, and the solution” – Telefónica on the future of work and society

A quick excerpt from a panel session at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, courtesy of José María Álvarez-Pallete, chairman and chief executive at Telefónica, who directly and powerfully addressed the elephant in the elite Alpine conference rooms: that unfettered digital change...

Meeting ESG targets with LoRaWAN (Reader Forum)

The second best thing to making a full-circle pivot to zero emission is to reduce your current footprint – with miles that are not driven, flights that are not taken, and energy that is not consumed. Indeed, while we transition to a completely emission-neutral...

Telefônica, Nokia fast-track Petrobras private LTE rollout to 18 sites in Brazil

Brazilian oil and gas giant Petróleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) is multiplying its private LTE operations across its offshore and onshore facilities, according to a report in Latin American business publication BNamericas. LTE networks have so far been deployed on 11 out of 29 offshore oil...

Semtech closes $1.2bn Sierra Wireless deal to pair LoRa and cellular in 10x IoT market

US firm Semtech has concluded its acquisition of Canada’s Sierra Wireless for $1.2 billion, nearly doubling its annual revenue. The deal, announced in August last year, brings together Semtech’s LoRa/LoRaWAN property, enabling non-cellular low-power wide-area (LPWA) IoT in unlicensed spectrum, with Sierra Wireless’ well-established...

Massive IoT offers massive opportunities during energy trilemma (Reader Forum)

Massive IoT – or massive machine-type communications (mMTC) – is all around us. We live in a vast connected ecosystem of data-gathering applications that draw on comparatively low levels of data at source but which, when aggregated by application vendor or enterprise user, is...

IoT in 2023 – in a groove with energy harvesting, in a rut with printable electronics

The latest edition of ABI Research’s likeable annual tech predictions about what will fly in the year ahead, and what will splutter on the runway and return to the shed, has come up with a couple of interesting counterpoints in the massive IoT saga....

Maersk announces major smart logistics centres in China, Norway, Pakistan

Danish shipping company A.P. Moller - Maersk (Maersk) has announced new smart logistics and warehouse facilities in China, Norway, and Pakistan. Each site puts focus on innovation and environmental sustainability. Maersk has also confirmed the acquisition of Danish project logistics specialist Martin Bencher Group...

Ericsson adds IT-geared Cradlepoint CBRS offer to “broadest” private 5G portfolio

Ericsson has added a new IT-focused private cellular offering from US-based subsidiary Cradlepoint, acquired in late 2020, into its private 5G portfolio. Cradlepoint’s NetCloud Private Networks solution is said to be tailored to the needs of “lean IT-oriented enterprises”, including in the logistics, light...

BT makes an Industry 4.0 sandwich – from a fortified private 5G loaf

As promised and previewed last week, here is a full transcript of the interview with Marc Overton, managing director of BT’s industrial go-to-market business Division X – from a conversation a couple of months back, at the UK operator’s annual Robotics Festival at its...

Industry 4.0 warriors (and worriers) – auto, pharma, logistics top McKinsey robotics poll

A new survey by global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company says robotics and automation systems will account for 25 percent of capital spending by industrial companies over the next five years, mostly for routine manual tasks in the logistics and fulfillment, retail and...

Europe sets binding 2030 targets to boost digital skills, infrastructure, industry

European countries are now required to jointly develop and measure progress on digital skills, digital infrastructure, and digitalisation of both private industry and public services. A new ‘monitoring and cooperation’ mechanism obliges EU member states to collaborate on the development, implementation, and measurement of...

Wide-area (mostly cellular) RTA tracker market to reach 117m connections by 2027

The global market for wide-area RTA trackers, comprising low-power IoT trackers attached to returnable transport assets (RTAs) like multi-usage crates and containers, will reach 117.3 million connections by 2027, according to analyst house ABI Research. The projected rise is spurred mostly by the increasing...

Vertical farmer 80 Acres taps Siemens to automate and scale US production sites

Ohio-based indoor and vertical farming specialist 80 Acres Farms has appointed the US-branch of German industrial tech giant Siemens to supply hardware and software to automate and scale its expanding US operations. Siemens is also providing capital into the project, it said. A statement...

Five forecasts for digitial change in the supply chain in 2023 (Reader Forum)

Digital transformation of supply chains has solidified as a boardroom topic over the past 12 months. While this drive for industrial change can be attributed to international developments, it is also true that many companies now clearly see the benefits of adopting new digital...

Assessing the LTE Cat-1 bis market – and Qualcomm’s late entry into it (Reader Forum)

There is a clear dichotomy in the cellular IoT market – high-throughput and high-power IoT applications powered by advanced 4G (LTE) and 5G at one end, and low-throughput and low-power applications powered by cellular IoT technologies like NB-IoT and LTE-M at the other. And...

Verizon deploys private 5G for Deloitte Industry 4.0 showcase at Wichita State

Verizon has deployed a private 5G network at the 5,500 square-metre ‘smart factory’ at Wichita State University in Kansas, in the US. The showcase facility, dubbed Smart Factory @ Wichita, is on the university’s science research campus. It is sponsored and “convened” by the...

MachineQ strikes deal with TOTO to plumb LoRaWAN into restrooms in the US

Japan-based plumbing manufacturer TOTO is using LoRaWAN to connect and manage restroom facilities in airports, stadiums, hotels, and office buildings in the US. It is working with Comcast-owned MachineQ to connect its portfolio of ECOPOWER flush valves in toilets and urinals, as well as...

“It is still a bit of a zoo” – BT sets up as Industry 4.0 keeper and private 5G leader

Contrary to the popular narrative among new telco upstarts that traditional mobile operators will be left behind in the Industry 4.0 race – on the grounds they are entrenched and parochial, geared for box-shifting and hobbled by local assets – UK-based BT says the...

The vital importance of data for the future of the planet (Reader Forum)

Data is vital for monitoring the environment to improve the way increasingly scarce resources are used. The ability to monitor the systems that manage those resources anywhere on the globe is also vital, but it can be a challenge. Cellular 3G and 4G technologies...