IoT news of the week for July 23, 2021

Newest Apple Watch sensor will measure blood alcohol? I was excited by reports that a future Apple Watch may be able to measure blood sugar. And I still am. But there’s another recent sensor development that could help save lives — one that measures blood alcohol levels. It’s made by Rockley, which just so happens to name Apple as its biggest client. The feature is one of many that could find its way into Apple Watches as Rockley calls its approach a “clinic-on-the-wrist.” (9to5 Mac)

“Alexa, have Wyze sue its robotic vacuum competitors.” It must be lawsuit season, because every time I turn around, I read about another one. This particular one is especially interesting, though, because Wyze is the plaintiff. The company has filed suit against the robotic vacuum competitors Roborock and Xiaomi to invalidate their patents for “an autonomous cleaning device.” But where it gets really strange is that neither Roborock nor Xiaomi filed a legal patent infringement case against Wyze. Instead, the two companies complained directly to Amazon, and Amazon, in turn, notified Wyze that it has to work things out with the patent holders or have its robotic vacuum pulled from Amazon’s storefront! Why doesn’t anyone ever pick up the phone to work things out anymore? (GeekWire)

Amazon’s HQ2 will be part of a new AT&T-powered smart city: You might know National Landing as the place that will house part of Amazon’s HQ2. But it will also be a new smart city. The news was announced this week for the area comprised of the Crystal City, Pentagon City, and Potomac Yard neighborhoods near Washington, D.C. Both millimeter-wave and sub-6GHz 5G will blanket the area through building side-mounts, street furniture, and underground network infrastructure. I’m keen to see what IoT solutions are developed here, particularly because Amazon’s own Sidewalk network can be used for many of the same things. (AT&T)

Johnson Controls outs a smarter smart panel: Speaking of smart cities, there’s also news on the smart buildings front, as Johnson Controls has an updated smart panel for those very buildings. The new Qolsys IQ Panel 4 will be available through dealers later this summer for a wide range of residential and commercial buildings. The updated 7-inch HD touch panel supports connections over LTE, Wi-Fi, Z-Wave, Bluetooth, PowerG, and legacy security wireless networks. (Johnson Controls)

Savant Systems snags an electrical automation company: Savant Systems, which GE Lighting became a part of, this week acquired Racepoint Energy. Racepoint creates onsite energy generation, energy storage, and dynamic load management products. Essentially, the idea is to give property owners more control over their energy demand and usage. However, it won’t be known as Racepoint any longer. Its new name is Savant Power. (Savant Systems)

You can build a low-cost fence monitoring system: I’ve lost count of the number of questions we get about wireless fence or gate monitors. So this story is for all of the people who ever have (or ever will) ask us. Using low-cost parts from Adafruit and some Circuit Python code, along with a small solar panel, here’s your solution! Maybe best of all, this homegrown monitor includes HomeBridge support for HomeKit, complete with open/close notifications on your Apple Watch. (Moving Electrons)

Get ready for smart furniture: I love all those college research projects focused on IoT. The latest one to catch our eye is out of Carnegie Mellon University’s Laboratory for Emerging Wireless Technologies (WiTech); it uses NFC technology for fabric-based sensors. You can get a good idea of the actual benefits in a short demo video, but here’s the gist: Using NFC radios embedded in fabrics and combining the sensor data with algorithms, your furniture can become a smart home controller. Swipe up or down on your chair, for example, and control your television volume. Tap the right spot on your sofa and your lights will turn on. I don’t know if this will become mainstream, but I want it! (WiTech Lab)

IoT is a bright spot in Intel’s earnings: Intel released its quarterly financials this week and most of the numbers were flat. Intel’s Client Computing Group, which is where PC chips are accounted for, saw a 6% annual increase in revenues. Overall, the company’s earnings grew just 2% from a year ago. While much of Intel’s revenue comes from the traditional chip market, I noticed two bright spots in the news. Intel IOTG, or the Internet of Things Group, experienced a 47% jump in yearly revenue, nearly cracking the billion-dollar mark at $967 million. This organization focuses on low-power, embedded chips, which is essential for our IoT world. Meanwhile, Intel’s Mobileye division, which is also part of its IoT efforts, saw is sales rise 124%. (Intel)