IoT news of the week for August 6, 2021

John Deere acquires its second robotics startup: Farm equipment maker John Deere has acquired Bear Flag Robotics in a deal valued at $250 million. Bear Flag focuses on autonomous driving for farming equipment, a function that Deere has also been working on for the last two decades. This is John Deere’s second big acquisition in the field of robotics and precision agriculture. It purchased Blue River Technology, a company bringing computer vision to farms, back in 2017. Deere was introduced to Bear Flag through its Startup Collaborator program, which it launched in 2017 to find new tech talent and acquisitions. (John Deere) — Stacey Higginbotham

The Industrial Internet Consortium has you covered when it comes to networking: Connectivity is one of the most challenging aspects of any IoT deployment. Figuring out the tradeoffs between proprietary options, unlicensed options, and cellular connectivity involves a lot of expertise. Additionally, engineers inside the company have to scope out their needs when it comes to latency, bandwidth, cost, and more. But for those facing this obstacle, the IIC has released a 70-page framework that explains how to evaluate networking technologies and offers case studies that will prove helpful. Even I learned something! (IIC) — Stacey Higginbotham

We are taking nosey neighbors to the next level: When police departments partnered up with Ring to promote the security-enhancing effects of installing Ring doorbells, privacy groups were rightly up in arms about the use of private cameras for public law enforcement. I hated the idea that Ring got the police to market their gear for them, and hated that police departments were trying to get camera data from private cameras. Ring has changed its policies, but Flock, a company building license plate reader software, is taking a page from the Ring playbook and getting police departments to promote its system for homeowners associations and other neighborhood groups. We need laws now that govern how private groups like a homeowner’s association can implement surveillance systems and laws about how law enforcement agencies can access the information.  (Bloomberg) — Stacey Higginbotham

Can I trust this? While reading this article about a countertop dishwasher that uses less water and provides an option for people who live alone or in small places, I was struck by the assertion that the product was greener. The article said the dishwasher used very little water (about 3 liters per wash) and also provides detergent packs that can dispense the exact amount of detergent needed for each individual wash, thereby requiring fewer chemicals. But all I saw was a cynical marketing ploy to justify locking a consumer into a razor/razorblade model of making money on replenishment. And this made me sad, because with smarter sensors and integrated products, it is possible to reduce the environmental impact of devices such as dishwashers. I just can’t trust that any company trying to make money today would be actually doing that. And it’s an example of why I’m losing faith in some aspects of the IoT. (Digital Trends) — Stacey Higginbotham

New industrial vulnerabilities discovered in the TCP/IP stack: Security researchers from Forescout Research Labs and JFrog Security Research have disclosed 14 vulnerabilities in software that controls the communications protocols between industrial devices. Researchers called this set of vulnerabilities INFRA:HALT; if left unpatched, they could allow hackers to remotely execute code and extract information. The vulnerabilities were found in software from NicheStack, which is used by industrial controllers, some of which have been in the field for two decades. These sorts of vulnerabilities are a good argument for software bills of materials because it can be challenging for companies that have deployed vulnerable software to know if they have equipment running it. Especially if it’s old software. (ZDnet)  — Stacey Higginbotham

Amazon Halo gives third-party apps your heart rate: Since launching its wearable fitness tracker nearly a year ago, Amazon continues to add features and integrations. The latest is the ability to give away your heart. Well, technically your heart rate. If you have a supported NordicTrack or CLBMR fitness device, Halo can share your ticker’s time with it. Additionally, your heart rate can be beamed from your Halo to iFit and Openfit applications. (Engadget) — Kevin C. Tofel

Help those kids learn about the IoT: Arduino this week announced an updated Explore IoT kit aimed at getting high school students to dip their toes in the IoT waters. The new kit includes an MKR WiFi 1010 board and MKR IoT carrier along with sensors, buttons, and actuators, plus wires to connect things up. Arduino says it updated the kit and instructions based on feedback from teachers over the past year to improve the learning experience. I say you’re never too old to learn, so no matter what your age, you might want to check this out. (Arduino) — Kevin C. Tofel

Changing the viewpoint of how and why devices are connected: This was an interesting article in Forbes that’s worth the read, mainly because it made me think of Amazon’s new connected soap dispenser. In fact, I wish Amazon had read this before launching the product. The gist is that device makers need to start asking “How can we make this device deliver meaningful communication?” instead of “How can we get this device to communicate as much as possible?” Granted, the author is the CTO of a CPaaS, or communications-platform-as-a-service, company. Still, he makes a valid point. Just ask Alexa. (Forbes) — Kevin C. Tofel