ICYMI: Your Mid-June 'IoT TGIF' News Recap

Today’s digital landscapes would be incomplete without the prevalence of the Internet of Things – no ifs, ands or buts about it. No longer relegated to buzzword status, “IoT” has undeniably matured; it’s transforming how we interact with tech in both personal and professional environments. Networks of interconnected IoT devices and services cover consumer electronics, real-time health monitoring wearables, software-defined vehicles (SDVs), smart city infrastructure implementations, robust sensor networks, industrial robotics…

… I think it’s clear that this list goes on and on.

So, the long-story-short of it (especially before I get too prosy or anecdotal as the weekend comes closer into view):

IoT is a force – right alongside AI, albeit differently – and harnessing it is helping real people in real-world situations unlock greater efficiency and peace of mind powered by smarter solutions.

On this weeks In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) IoT news docket, here’s what we have to share:

• Let’s start with news that comes at you fast – fast and autonomously, to boot. It concerns the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC), which represents the gathering of student-driven teams from around the world to compete in a series of intense challenges aimed at responsibly advancing tech that furthers the commercialization of fully autonomous vehicles and specific deployments of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). Geared (pun absolutely intended) towards universities, IAC competitions showcase what students in STEM are capable of. That’s why this year’s IAC will put the pedal to the metal at the Goodwood Festival of Speed from July 11-14. There, the IAC’s AV-24 autonomous racecar will demonstrate how precision sensor perception, LiDAR, radar, high-res cameras, GPS localization and more can come together into a tech spectacle. (A “spec-tech-le” perhaps? No?) Read our full story here.

• Next, Rockwell Automation. We’ve featured Rockwell in several previous articles; Rockwell supporting Falcon Group via improvements to the ThingWorx IIoT platform, along with its strategic acquisition of Clearpath Robotics for transformative autonomous production logistics solutions, an additional acquisition of Verve Industrial Automation, and its partnership with Microsoft aimed at accelerating industrial automation design and development through the power of generative AI (GenAI). Essentially, Rockwell Automation (News - Alert) is no stranger to smart collaboration, which is exactly why the company is building upon its existing partnership with none other than NVIDIA to build even more robots for a wide variety of IoT use cases. For more coverage, read here.

• Let’s talk more about robotics. Avidbots – renowned for its autonomous robotic cleaning solutions – recently launched Kas. In short, Kas was purpose-built for worry-free cleaning in commercial spaces so teams can focus on handling more customer-focused (and revenue-generating) tasks, rather than to clean messes. Great for commercial spaces (rather than IIoT-specific ones, à la Avidbots’ Neo 2W), Kas can clean up and down often-used aisles and even safely around active customers. Read here for more.

• Additionally robots-wise, Aramark and Pringle Robotics have officially partnered. With Aramark’s track record as a global provider of food and facility management services (coupled with Pringle Robotics’ multi-functional, task-simplifying bot designs), more autonomous floor-scrubbing robots will be deployed in facilities like universities, airports, hotels, convention centers and malls.

• Lastly, a reminder about a fast-approaching (and wouldn’t-want-to-miss-it) event – Viasat, a high-speed communications and IoT connectivity solutions provider, is hosting its ELEVATE global partner event from June 18-19! Event attendees will be able to leverage the best from Viasat and its remarkable global presence, and they’ll be learning all about Viasat’s direct-to-device technology roadmap, its Enterprise and Land Mobile (ELM) product portfolio updates (and market insights therein), and more regarding how the ELEVATE program can support businesses’ long-term IoT growth ambitions. Those interested should learn more and register by clicking this link.

For more news outside the realm of IoT, we encourage visiting our other sites like GenAI News, Future of Work News and Smart City Sentinel.

Again, TGIF readers. Stay hydrated and take good care.