Immer Mittwochs erscheint auf neunetz.com eine kommentierte Übersicht zu den wichtigsten Entwicklungen und besten Analysen aus der Welt der vernetzten Geräte, dem 'Internet der Dinge'. Vernetzte Welt kann separat per Email und per RSS-Feed abonniert werden.
Top: Sony kauft Chiphersteller Altair
Laut Nachrichtenagentur Reuters wird Sony das israelische Unternehmen Altair Semiconductor zu einem Preis von 212 Millionen US-Dollar kaufen. Altair ist Spezialist für die Chip-Ausstattung von Alarm-Systemen, elektronischen Verbrauchszählern und Autos, die sich dann auch mit mobilen Netzwerken verbinden.
Sony’s purchase of Altair will help it compete against other companies that are also working on cellular standards for the Internet of Things. These include Intel, Ericsson, and Nokia, which are collaborating on technology called Narrow Band-LTE (NB-LTE), which in turn competes with Narrow-Band Cellular IoT (NB-CIoT) from Huawei and Vodafone.
In a statement, Sony said it will continue to expand Altair’s business and also combine Sony technology, including its Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and image sensors, with Altair’s modem chips to “develop a new breed of cellular-connected, sensing component devices.”
The acquisition is expected to close early next month and Sony says it will not have a material impact on the company’s financial results for 2016.
Top: Smart Home & (fehlende) Sicherheit
Shodan, eine Suchmaschine, die die fehlende Sicherheit bei Webcams ausnutzt, existiert seit 2009 und sorgte erneut für Aufsehen. Quartz:
Shodan claims to be the world’s first search engine for internet-connected devices. It allows users to see which of their devices are connected to the Internet, see where it’s located, and who is using it. (...)
Shodan now has a dedicated section that allows users to browse through unsecured webcams to gain a shocking amount of access into people’s private lives. It doesn’t require much technical know-how; users just need to create an account to get limited access into people’s webcams. (Those willing to pay can get unlimited access.)
A quick search revealed a range of screenshots, from a woman cleaning a living room to a group of people drinking in a bar in Hungary. The screenshots include information about the IP of the device—allowing you to locate the device—and the time the screenshot was taken.
Tentler told Ars that webcam manufacturers are in a race to bottom. Consumers do not perceive value in security and privacy. As a rule, many have not shown a willingness to pay for such things. As a result, webcam manufacturers slash costs to maximize their profit, often on narrow margins. Many webcams now sell for as little as £15 or $20.
"The consumers are saying 'we're not supposed to know anything about this stuff [cybersecurity]," he said. "The vendors don't want to lift a finger to help users because it costs them money."
Der langsame Ansatz von Apple bei HomeKit, der sehr viel Wert auf die Sicherheit der vernetzten Heimgeräte liegt, könnte sich langfristig als sehr lukrativ herausstellen. Aktuell ist der Markt ein Chaos, was die Sicherheit angeht. (Und verlorenes Vertrauen ist nur schwer wiederzugewinnen.)
Analysen & Berichte
Vernetzte Geräte in Entwicklungsländern
Das Internet der Dinge verspricht nicht nur, den Alltag der Industrieländer zu verändern, sondern auch eine neue Generation der Landwirtschafts- und Gesundheitstechnologien für bessere Lebensstandards in den ärmsten Ländern hervorzubringen. EurActiv-Kooperationspartner La Tribune berichtet. (...)
Zu den Erfolgsbeispielen der Nutzung vernetzter Gegenstände in Entwicklungsprojekten zählt ein Programm, bei dem man Wasserpumpen mit Sensoren ausstattete. Diese warnten frühzeitig, wenn man die Pumpen, die vor allem in ländlichen Gegenden überlebenswichtig sind, reparieren oder ersetzen sollte.
Im Gesundheitsbereich startete die amerikanische Entwicklungsagentur USAID ein Programm gegen die Ebola-Ausbreitung. Sensoren sammelten dabei Daten zu Patienten in Risikogebieten (Körpertemperatur, Herz- und Atmungsfrequenz usw.). Datenprozessoren waren somit in der Lage vorauszusagen, wann und wo ein Ausbruch stattfinden könnte, und entsprechend die Rettungsdienste zu warnen.
White Label IoT von etablierten Marken
Gute Beobachtung von Om Malik:
This CES revealed that the attack of the white labeled devices wasn’t limited to personal computers and Android phones: everything from home devices to wearables will be coming to market, perhaps under the brand names of old guard non-technology companies that are threatened by the rise of connectedness. Of course, buggy software and security challenges are only going to degrade those brands. In short, 2016, like 2015 will be a year of incremental gains.
Hardwarehersteller müssen bessere Apps schreiben (oder sich öffnen für Drittanbieter-Apps)
ReadWrite über Apps von Geräteherstellern, die, wenig überraschend, oft zu wünschen übrig lassen:
One big reason for dissatisfaction is that consumers don't have a choice in most cases: In order to use the device, they're forced to download the manufacturer's app. This is a big argument in support of smart-home hub developers like Wink. Wink CTO Nathan Smith recently told ReadWrite that Wink is deemphasizing its physical touchscreen hub in favor of its apps that can handle many major smart-home brands, and its recently announced support for Amazon Echo. (...)
This study is a wake-up call to companies in the smart-home space: You can't think of yourself as just a hardware company anymore. You're an app developer, too.
And if you discover you're not a very good app developer? Then you'd be best off opening up an API and letting others build better apps for you.
Dass Software nicht zu den Kernkompetenzen von Geräteherstellern zählt, wird ein weiterer Grund für den Erfolg von HomeKit, Echo und co. sein. (Stichwort: Interfaceerleichterung)
"Pitney Bowes Signs, Seals, and Delivers on Smart Postage Machines"
Pitney Bowes, the company that makes the giant and not-so-giant postage machines for businesses, is connecting its postage meters to the Internet using technology from a startup called Electric Imp. (...)
Pilc sees more services being added in the future. “One of our strategic objectives is an increasingly digital relationship with our clients,” he says. Over time, the goal is to build services that customers might pay extra for on top of the digital platform of basic services. However, Pitney doesn’t want higher costs keeping customers from using connected postage meters
"Seebo Raises $8.5M To Help Bring Your IoT Product To Life"
Seebo, the Tel Aviv, Israel-founded startup that offers an Internet of Things (IoT) end-to-end platform to help companies launch smart products faster, has closed $8.5 million in Series A funding. The round, which was led by Carmel Ventures with participation from existing investors, including TPY Capital, brings the total raised by the company to $14 million.
“Most product companies, outside the big ones, don’t want/can’t afford the headache, expense and commitment of building IoT capabilities from scratch,” a spokesperson for Seebo tells me. “Seebo’s platform is aimed at helping these companies build and support connected products. You can almost think of it as outsourced IoT development.”
That “outsourced IoT development” refers to the fact that Seebo offers an end-to-end solution with software that supports the design and prototyping of IoT devices (pre-production), manufacturing, and keeping those devices connected/up and running once they are launched.
Es ist zu erwarten, dass es in naher Zukunft sehr viele Dienstleister dieser Art geben wird.
LTE-M als Alternative zu Sigfox und co.
Forbes über Alternativen zu Sigfox und co.:
LTE-M is one option and is designed to work with existing equipment installed in LTE networks. In other words, a cellular carrier like AT&T T -0.37% only has to upload new baseband software onto its base stations to turn on LTE-M, and it won’t have to spend any money on new antennas. LTE-M has a little higher data rate than the other options, NarrowBand IoT (NB-IoT), but LTE-M is able to transmit fairly large chunks of data, making it applicable to more of the projected IoT applications.
Meldungen
- BMW steuert via IFTTT das Smart Home
- Samsung will einen Großteil seiner Android-Apps auf iPhone & Co. bringen
- Monitoring and control co mPrest raises $20m
- Heimautomation: Einfaches Polymer macht Fenster variabel transparent
- building IoT: Programm der Entwicklerkonferenz zum Internet der Dinge steht fest