IoT news of the week for Jan 22, 2021

Sharing is caring: Data sharing is being used to help stop rhino poaching, create a supply chain for sustainable plastics, track the spread of COVID-19, and even determine where to rebuild homes after natural disasters. In my most recent IoT Podcast, I spoke with Ran Korber, CEO of BreezoMeter, about how the company combines data from government sensors, weather stations, and businesses such as Waze to track air pollution at a granular level. This article offers several examples of data sharing and provides a glimpse of the future in which businesses look at data not as the new oil to be extracted, but as a resource that’s better when it’s shared. (BCG) — Stacey Higginbotham

Is this the future of connected psychotherapy? I was fascinated by this interview with the CEO of Meru Health, which is combining a heart rate monitor/oximeter, an app, and virtual therapy to address mental health care. The interview covers validation of the process, device and data security, and the struggle to bring mental health resources to the greater population. It’s a really fascinating, 5-year-old startup applying people and technology to a seemingly intractable problem. (Medgadget) — Stacey Higginbotham

Come together! This research note lays out two trends for 2021. The first is that operational technology and information technology will finally move from convergence to actual fusion. I take this to mean that providers of OT and IT technology will deeply integrate their software and services into a single product offering. Last year I saw several companies build the foundation for this fusion, especially in the security sector, with IT providers like Microsoft purchasing OT providers such as CyberX. The second trend is one I’ve been thinking a lot about in the last few weeks: resilience, specifically in operations. This is a much larger trend and opportunity simply because it can mean everything from being able to quickly adapt a workforce for working from home to ensuring your supply chain can handle disruptions. Broadly speaking, I’m hoping it means companies will reassess their current focus on efficiency and optimizing solely for profits, and acknowledge that supply chains, people, and operations all need a little slack in a world that’s getting more uncertain. (ARC Advisory Group) — Stacey Higginbotham

This company is trying to build underground wireless networks: Technology is a huge component of the mining industry (Caterpillar gave an entire presentation on it at CES this year). But mining is dangerous and often takes place in remote areas, which means the use of technology for safety and autonomous vehicles in the industry is widespread. And communicating underground is tough given the sheer amount of rock blocking wireless signals. Many mines today use Wi-Fi, but it’s not ideal. That’s why I was excited to read about Nokia signing a partnership with a company called Symboticware to build a communications protocol for underground information delivery. (International Mining)

Everactive gets $35M in funding: The final few weeks before I get my Botox shots to prevent chronic migraines are often a haze of news and pain, which is why last week I neglected to notice that Everactive raised $35 million in funding for its battery-free sensors. The round brings Everactive’s total funding to $98 million and was led by Fluke Corp. I’ve long been impressed by Everactive’s strategy of building a chip that can use harvested energy for delivering insights, and am even more impressed that the company is selling it as a solution as opposed to selling silicon. (Everactive) — Stacey Higginbotham

Meet the $4 Raspberry Pi Pico: Typically, when people hear the words “Raspberry Pi,” they think of a small, inexpensive computer. Which makes sense, because that’s what a Pi is. Or at least, what it used to be. A new $4 Raspberry Pi Pico model was introduced this week and it’s not a tiny PC; it’s even smaller. The Pico is actually a microcontroller product powered by a new chip, the RP2040. This silicon is based on the super low-powered ARM M0+ running at 133MHz and paired with 264KB of memory. Note that’s kilobytes! So unlike a regular Pi, the Pico isn’t meant to be used for desktop computing. Instead, it is ideal for industrial IoT applications and DIY projects that don’t require much processing power. Think of it more like an Arduino board rather than a general-purpose compute product. Watch for Pico boards to become available in the second quarter of 2021. (Raspberry Pi) — Kevin C. Tofel

This is why your Nest home might feel slightly colder this winter: Got a Nest Thermostat and live in either the U.S. or Canada? If so, you might have seen an on-device prompt about the next three weeks. That’s because Nest Seasonal Savings is learning your winter habits during that time period. Google introduced Seasonal Savings, which can eke out a little more savings on your winter bill, last summer. Essentially, the Nest algorithm is looking for super small tweaks it can make to reduce your heat with minimal impact to your home, which can save a few cents here and there. And those pennies will hopefully add up. The biggest change you’re likely to see is a reduction of 1 to 2 degrees on your nighttime temperature setting from time to time. And you can always overwrite any change; Nest simply learns that you’d rather not use the algorithmically derived temperature. (9to5 Google) — Kevin C. Tofel

Wyze Watch deliveries delayed: If, like me, you pre-ordered the $20 Wyze Watch with an expectation of receiving it in February then, like me, you’re going to be disappointed. Due to “a weak point in the casing of our initial shipments of Wyze Watch,” the company this week said the first batches of the low-cost smartwatch won’t likely ship until early April. Wyze went on a tear in the second half of last year, debuting new products what seemed like every other week. This new production issue illustrates the dangers of such a fast pace, and I hope IoT and wearable device makers take note: When it comes to hardware, it’s better to underpromise and overdeliver. (Wyze) — Kevin C. Tofel

Alexa can help monitor smart home energy use: Device makers in the Amazon Alexa ecosystem now have developer tools to add energy use monitoring for the smart home. The Alexa Energy Dashboard was announced back in September, but it’s only now that devices can start taking advantage of it. The idea here is a good one. Devices that work with Alexa now have APIs for tracking how much power they use. Customers can view the energy data within the Alexa mobile app to gain insights, while Alexa itself can surface “hunches” when it suspects a light has been left on inadvertently. That’s presumably from the historical energy patterns captured. It’s early days yet, but I’m looking forward to seeing what benefits this might bring to the smart home. (Amazon Device Makers) — Kevin C. Tofel

Avnet launches a secure embedded platform for the IoT: Device security is a big deal for the IoT, but it’s still tough to implement on many of the embedded devices. Avnet has created a new development kit aimed at enterprise and industrial use cases that combines an MCU with a secure element as well as an Arduino shield with more than half a dozen sensors. The HoriZone RA evaluation kit is designed for projects that require security, including secure communications from the device to the cloud. It’s great to see efforts to integrate security in development kits. (Avnet) — Stacey Higginbotham