IoT news of the week for July 6, 2018

The IoT could create a black market in stolen sensors and SIMs: This story about a Polish environmental charity that had to pay a $2,700 phone bill after a tracker containing a SIM was stolen in the Sudan struck a nerve. The EcoLogic Group had placed a GPS tracker on a stork to track its migration patterns; it then lost track of the bird over the Sudan. Presumably someone found the tracker, removed the SIM card, and placed the SIM in their own phone, making many hours’ worth of phone calls. I hadn’t thought about stolen SIMs before, but I immediately remembered a conversation I had earlier this year with an IoT expert at Bayer who told me that sensors in fields are a bad idea because even if they aren’t destroyed by the elements, people steal them to resell on the black market. So apparently the IoT is going to have to figure out some safeguards for lost SIMs and sensors if we really want to put these out into the world. (BBC)

Deloitte has a new report out on the internet of things: It focuses on five different things helping drive progress for IoT overall. And I’m excited because I have written extensively about all five of them. Go check it out. (Deloitte)

Could IBM’s new deep learning chip bring training to the edge? When we talk about machine learning, we’re actually talking about two different functions. The first is training, which takes a ton of computational power. The second is inference, which is when a trained algorithm uses its intelligence to classify things. The second can be done on lower-power devices such as smart phones and even some connected cameras. But the training still happens in the cloud, on giant machines running a lot of graphics chips. IBM, however, has created a new type of chip that might be able to actually train at the edge, by being able to decide if it wants to use incredibly precise math for training, or less precise math for inference. Thus, it can do it all, which has ramifications for user privacy, faster adaptation to new situations, and more. The article explains how IBM architected this new processor. I am especially intrigued by the new type of memory IBM has decided to use. (IEEE Spectrum)

Everything is tracking you: The potential for connected TVs to track users has been well understood by the tech world and reporters for a long time, but this story in theNew York Times is worth reading for this line alone: “But consumers do not typically expect the so-called idiot box to be a savant.” Not only is the article well-written, it also drives home the disconnect between how consumers see the “smart” objects around them and how advertisers, manufacturers of those devices, and data brokers see connected products. What’s troubling is that in many ways consumers pay for these connected devices and even the services that are monetizing their data. It’s one thing to give Google your browsing or email data in exchange for free search and email, and another to pay for hardware and services that are using you as a second source of revenue. That feels gross. The question is, how do we change our rules and generate a conversation whereby consumers can understand exactly what data services and devices gather and can make educated decisions about whether or not they want to opt in. (NYT)

Good insights about California’s new privacy law: Last week, as the newsletter was going to press (in other words, after I had edited it and set it to schedule), California passed a law (AB 375) to protect consumer privacy. My friend David Meyer has pulled together a good summary of the law, its chances of being sued away, and its imperfections. (Connected Rights)

Oden Technologies gets $10 million: This industrial IoT startup has raised a $10 million Series A funding led by Europe’s Atomico. And Atomico founder and CEO Niklas Zennström, who also co-founded Skype, has joined Oden’s board. Oden has built a device that plugs into existing machinery to link the data that machine produces to a customer’s existing business software. That means a company can link inventory management to factory production schedules and more. It sounds powerful. (TechCrunch)

Europe’s vehicle makers showed off connected cars (and motorcycles): Ericsson, Audi, Ducati and Qualcomm showed off a test of vehicle-to-vehicle communication at a test track, where the Ducati motorcycle communicated with Audi cars on a track. The idea was to show common situations where a car and a motorcycle should be aware of each other. The test used chips from Qualcomm for the vehicle-to-vehicle communication to help prevent crashes between cars and motorcycles during left turns, when pulling into a lane and more. I think this technology is incredibly cool, although its wide adoption does herald the end of awesome chase scenes in movies. (Qualcomm)

Adesto to buy Echelon: This is deep, component-level stuff, but chip maker Adesto has agreed to purchase Echelon, which is well known for its monitoring gear and sensors for the industrial IoT. The goal is to create a combined company that’s going to focus on the industrial and enterprise IoT at the chip and component level. With this deal, Adesto is trying to go beyond commodified semiconductor parts. The purchase of Echelon means it gets a business that can use Adesto chips to create industrial networks — something that’s much less likely to become commoditized. (Adesto)

Maybe I should talk to Advantech: Taiwanese company Advantech is putting a lot of weight into IoT categories with a smart health care effort and an industrial IoT effort. The company, which makes industrial process controls, is working in both areas to build a complete set of software and hardware packages that customers can buy to build connected medical devices and connected factories, respectively. (Digitimes)

How do the workers feel about IIoT? Plant-level workers are more likely to accept industrial IoT when it comes slowly and doesn’t require a massive retraining effort, according to research from Emory University sponsored by a company called Presenso. Nothing in this article surprised me, but it provides some validation for any company that is seeing its operations side of the house move slowly on industrial IoT deployments. (Smart Industry)

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Update: This story was updated July 8 to reflect that Niklas Zennström is joining Oden’s board. Not Atomico’s.