IoT news of the week for Oct. 30, 2020

The first Project CHIP evaluation kit is here? Project Connected Home over IP isn’t officially legit yet, but I’m expecting progress before the end of this year, and there’s a Github repository that’s getting new contributions every few days. So it stands to reason that enterprising silicon vendors trying to meet the needs of eager developers have tried to provide hardware that could support CHIP. Infineon has gone first, launching what it calls its “connected home security evaluation kit with OPTIGA Trust M for Raspberry Pi.” That’s a lot of words, but it’s basically using Infineon’s OPTIGA Trust M security on a Raspberry Pi, with the goal of preparing a prototype kit that can handle the demands of CHIP using Zigbee radios. (Infineon) — Stacey Higginbotham

Silicon Labs offers four new wireless modules for IoT: This week’s news is full of silicon updates, such as the launch of four new wireless modules from Silicon Labs. These modules are pre-certified to help product companies avoid testing and certification journeys of their own, and instead save time for product development. The modules include an energy-harvesting Zigbee chip for lighting applications and a whopper of a module with embedded security that can support OpenThread, Bluetooth, and Zigbee, and is likely Silicon Labs’ version of a chip designed for Project CHIP projects. (Silicon Labs) — Stacey Higginbotham

FogHorn hires AT&T’s former head of connected cars as COO: Industrial software startup FogHorn Systems has hired Chris Penrose, who was the former head of AT&T’s connected car efforts, as its chief operating officer. Penrose helped AT&T get its modems inside many of the world’s top carmakers, giving Ma Bell a huge advantage in IoT sales by virtue of connecting so many of the nation’s cars. Prior to his focus on cars, he was head of AT&T’s IoT efforts. As a 30-year veteran of AT&T, I’m sure he’ll help bring process and organization to FogHorn’s startup culture. Plus, anyone who has spent three decades at a phone company can certainly speak the language of the big industrials that FogHorn is trying to sell to. (FogHorn)  — Stacey Higginbotham

Maxim offers a new module for wearables with AI included: Software engineers outmeasure chip designers at most semiconductor companies, but maybe data scientists will join the ranks in the years to come. Maxim this week launched a new health module designed for wearables that has both sensors and associated algorithms to enable the sensor to perform useful functions out of the box. The new platform monitors blood oxygen saturation, heart rate, body temperature, and motion. The module also includes algorithms that provide heart rate, heart-rate variability, respiration rate, oxygen saturation, body temperature, sleep quality, and stress level information at what Maxim says are “clinical-grade levels.” The algorithms cut the time and experience needed to turn the module into a wearable device, which means we should soon see more wearables on the market at cheaper price points. It also means that higher-end devices will have to continue pushing the envelope (or the data scientists) to differentiate their products with fancier stats or better services. (Maxim) — Stacey Higginbotham

Voice in an elevator: Wow. A full 56% of people want to use voice to open a door at a place of business and 55% want to use voice to tell their elevators what floor to go to, according to a survey on voice interactions out from Adobe. The results make sense in light of COVID, but I think if people thought these questions through they’d have some misgivings. First up, most people hate waiting for revolving doors to open, which is about the latency I think it would take for someone to say the words to open a door and have it comply. Automatic doors triggered by sensors probably make more sense. Voice could work in the elevator, although I’m not sure how many people ever want to speak in an elevator. Based on the survey, 62% of those asked feel uncomfortable using voice in a public space. All in, the study has some fun findings for those who want a glimpse of where voice might be heading. (Adobe) — Stacey Higginbotham

Amazon brings smart shelving to retailers: In the continuing quest to make retail more efficient — for itself and others — Amazon has launched smart shelves that sense weight and have Wi-Fi-enabled auto-replenishment. The shelves come in three sizes and cost $19.99 each. Businesses could use them to stock their office supplies while homeowners could use them to stock their toilet paper or canned goods. When the scale senses inventory is low, it will automatically buy the product that’s supposed to be on the shelves from Amazon. If this is the smart pantry of the future, it had better be really organized. (Amazon) — Stacey Higginbotham

A smarter grid is coming: LF Energy, a Linux Foundation project, has launched a new project tied to modernizing the electric grid. The project was created in partnership with the OpenADR Alliance and Elaad NL, which is a lab and test site for smart EV charging infrastructure in the Netherlands. Dubbed openLEADR, the project’s goal is to provide an open standard for exchanging demand response information among utilities and energy management and control systems. The tech will allow utilities to better shift energy demand around in response to available supplies while OpenADR offers a framework for setting real-time prices. The result should be a smarter grid that can adjust as needed. (LF Energy) — Stacey Higginbotham

Arable raises $20M: Arable, a precision agriculture startup that makes a sensor to measure various aspects of a field, has raised $20 million in venture capital to expand its sales operations to other countries, including Brazil and Chile. I have written about Arable a few times, most recently in April, when it launched its new hardware. (The Spoon) — Stacey Higginbotham

COVID-19 apps are spreading like a virus: Whenever I see someone take gobs of disparate data and put it into a form that’s useful and understandable, I fly to it like a moth to a flame. And that’s what I did when I saw Jonathan Albright’s graphics showing details of the 493 COVID-19 track-and-trace apps from around the world. Why? Because he breaks them down by their app permissions, backend SDK platforms, and radio technology usage, illustrating that while these apps are generally a good use of IoT, they do not all follow the same approach. If, like me, you’re using one of these apps, you’ll want to see this presentation. (Medium) — Kevin C. Tofel 

Google commits to continued Nest Secure support: Earlier this month, Google pulled the plug on Nest Secure, leaving some device owners wondering about their home security system. Although Google won’t be selling the product any longer, it emailed customers this week, explaining that it would continue to support them with software and security updates. Even better is that the company will restock Nest Detect sensors for those who want to purchase them. I wouldn’t wait once they’re available, though. (9to5 Google) — Kevin C. Tofel 

The new WyzeCam V3 pulls double-duty, inside and out: I took the newest $19.99 camera from Wyze for a spin this past week. While I’m generally impressed, the software isn’t yet final so you may want to wait a few weeks before ordering. This camera can be used indoors or outdoors, but there’s no battery inside; you’ll have to provide the power outside. I’m amazed by the new “starlight” sensor that shows full-color video at night. Also improved is the two-way conversation feature; it’s more like a phone call than a “tap to talk” solution. (StaceyOnIoT) — Kevin C. Tofel