IoT news of the week for Feb. 25, 2022

As Russian invades Ukraine cybersecurity is a big concern: As we watched Russia prepare to invade Ukraine this week, my biggest focus was on asking people responsible for cybersecurity their thoughts on the potential for harms to U.S. companies and industrial operations. Everyone I spoke to was preparing and assessing their vulnerabilities. But in many cases they were in a better place than they were even a year or two ago, which is heartening to hear. So far, we just have to wait and see, but for those who want a list of best practices, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has released a statement asking organizations to prepare and providing a good list. (CISA) — Stacey Higginbotham

A good overview of tech ties to Ukraine: If you aren’t staying up late doomscrolling on social media, but would like an overview of the potential tech implications from Russia’s invasion, this article has some helpful bits. (Protocol) — Stacey Higginbotham

It’s time for a new style of chips combining sensors and AI: ST Micro has launched a series of chips it has dubbed intelligent sensor processing units, or ISPUs. These chips combine MEMs-based sensors with digital signal processing capabilities to process information from the sensor directly on the same silicon. Doing so enables a sensor to understand the world around it and then take action. The concept isn’t new, but having a highly integrated chip will make smarter sensors cheaper, faster, and more power efficient. (Embedded) — Stacey Higginbotham

Another week, another news event for a times-series database: Timescale, a company that makes a time-series database, has raised $110 million for its TimescaleDB product. Time-series data is generated by sensors that share a data point such as temperature, vibration, etc. and the time that data point was sensed. Timescale has 500 paying customers and plans to use the funding for R&D and marketing. Last week, another time-series database provider, InfluxData, released new features aimed at the industrial market. (Timescale) — Stacey Higginbotham

Computer, why did you do that? As businesses rely more on algorithms to make decisions, the companies responsible for those algorithms are having to explain the thinking behind them. I’m not super optimistic that this is really possible, and even government regulations seem to be designed to measure the outcomes of algorithms as opposed to getting to the bottom of why a computer made whatever call it made. But a startup called Aporia claims it can help businesses monitor and explain why algorithms make their decisions, and has raised $25 million for its AI observability platform. Even though it can’t make every AI decision explicable, the fact that companies want to understand how those decisions play out in the real world is a very good thing. (TechCrunch) — Stacey Higginbotham

Is Amazon’s Astro home robot worth the price? Amazon has only sold a few hundred of its Astro robot since its launch six months ago. That’s according to a Bloomberg source; Amazon itself hasn’t released any sales figures. But I tend to believe the source, since anyone spending $999 on the introductory price for this novel device would likely be sharing their impressions. And such impressions are few and far between; I’ve only seen a handful of related videos, for example. I would have expected to see dozens by now. Moreover, while Astro looks entertaining and potentially useful, I doubt it’s worth even the introductory price tag. Indeed, one purchaser agrees, saying it should be priced around $700. Don’t forget, after the introductory price expires, Amazon plans to charge $1,499 for Astro. Good luck with that, I say. (Bloomberg) — Kevin C. Tofel

It’s time to protect our data from robots: Speaking of my little robotic friends, we need to start preparing for a future where interacting with a robot is commonplace. Specifically, all of the data privacy and protection frameworks currently in the works need to be extended to robots. People tend to drop their guard a little when near a machine that’s trying to emulate a human, so more data could be gathered in these scenarios. Plus, if you see a robot in a public place, such as an airport or museum, you don’t know what data it can capture. I shared my thoughts on why this matters, and why now is the time for this effort, in an article this week. (StaceyOnIoT) — Kevin C. Tofel

LoRa connectivity comes to the Raspberry Pi Pico: Since I’m still waiting for the Helium hotspot I ordered a year ago, I’m now considering longe range (LoRa), alternatives. A new one hit my radar just this week and it works with the inexpensive Raspberry Pi Pico module. Invector Labs introduced its Challenger LoRa module for people who want more range from the current Challenger Wi-Fi add-on. The maximum range for the product is 15 miles, but I’d expect around a third or half that in urban areas. Even so, for such a tiny microcontroller board, I’m impressed… and interested. (Tom’s Hardware) — Kevin C. Tofel

Your next hotel stay may be a little more comfortable: Have you ever struggled to get just the right room temperature in a hotel room? I have, and even worse, once I get it just right, the configuration settings seem to change the next day. Marriott may have a solution thanks to its new collaboration with Carrier. The hotel chain is partnering with the HVAC company to bring the IoT into guest rooms. The concept here is to save guest preferences for heating and cooling along with smart shutdown functions when the room isn’t occupied. Considering the last hotel I stayed at had thermostats from the 1980’s, I can’t wait. (IoT World Today) — Kevin C. Tofel

Siri has a new, more inclusive voice: Did you get the new iOS 15.4 beta on your iPhone or iPad yet? I did (I’m such a sucker for betas) and one of the new features is an additional voice option for Siri. Apple says the new voice was recorded by a member of the LGBTQ+ community and is “a continuation of Apple’s long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion.” It speaks a little too fast for me so I’ll be sticking with my current choice, which is a female Australian accent. Don’t judge me. Anyway, if you don’t have the beta, you can hear a short sample of the voice before it arrives on your mobile device. (9to5 Google) — Kevin C. Tofel