ICYMI: Six IoT Stories You Should Know About

Howdy and TGIF, readers!

Your time is immensely valuable, and we thank you for spending some of it over here on IoT Evolution.

With that said, let’s jump right into six IoT industry updates you may’ve missed:

• First up, Dryad Networks. Back in May (observed as Wildfire Awareness Month), we talked about Dryad’s Ultra Early Wildfire Detection technologies (i.e. its large-scale IoT network of sensors that can detect wildfires and provide valuable forest analytics), and we reviewed insights from my interview with Dryad Networks co-founder and CEO, Carsten Brinkschulte. (Read it in full here.)
  
  
  “Basically what we have,” as Brinkschulte had explained, “are 'electronic noses.' We have devices with gas sensors that provide a fingerprint, if you will, of a gas’s composition. We then expose this to our machine learning algorithm, which is trained to distinguish between the different types of smells in our laboratory.”
  
  This leads us to the news: On Wednesday, Dryad Networks announced the general availability of its third-generation Silvanet border and mesh gateways, which include more new features for truly proactive and optimal wildfire detection and forest management capabilities. “The introduction of direct-to-satellite connectivity and extended LoRa range in our new gateways marks a pivotal advancement in wildfire detection technology,” stated Pedro Silva, Chief Technology Officer at Dryad. “These new Silvanet features ensure that even the most troublesome, difficult-to-access areas receive real-time monitoring, without reliance on terrestrial networks.” In short, Dryad can reliably track smoldering (ideally, of course, before open fires spread), leading to forestscapes preserved and even lives saved.

• Digitalization continues to be a significant part of large-scale sustainability efforts, hence why dedicated IoT operator Netmore Group was selected by British water supply and treatment utility company Yorkshire Water to exchange existing meters in the region with 1.3 million smart water meters. And though this is subject to final legal determinations (due in December of this year), there is great ambition here that can lead to great environmental impacts.
  
  Netmore Group will lead a group of suppliers to deliver, install, commission and maintenance this Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), impacting hundreds of thousands of businesses and households. Connected by Netmore’s “densified” LoRaWAN network (enabling Data-as-a-Service, or DaaS, capabilities), Yorkshire utilities specialists will be better-equipped when it comes to proactively detecting leaks (i.e. up 50% by 2050), reduce consumption per customer (i.e. representing a Per Capita Consumption, or PCC, goal of 110 liters per day), and reduce overall operational costs. The full Smart City Sentinel scoop on this is here.

• According to data from Reliable Robotics, “more than 70% of fatal general aviation accidents in the U.S. can be prevented with advanced automation systems.” Reliable’s FAA certifiable systems (i.e. that enable safe and continuous autopilot engagement through all phases of flight; auto-taxi, auto-takeoff, and auto-landing) leverage advanced automation and are specially designed to reduce the occurrence of common fatal aviation accidents.
  
  In this vein of expanding “automation for the greater good,” Reliable — in conjunction with the Department of the Air Force — demonstrated key aircraft automation capabilities as part of a series of exercises, transporting cargo between military bases and airports some hundreds of miles apart. This mission was “representative of the Indo-Pacific region,” which demands critical, agile readiness in terms of multi-domain operations.

• There are two IoT module-related pieces of news in this ICYMI; here’s the first. Ezurio (formerly Laird Connectivity; we wrote about their “Same Experts, New Name” rebranding here) offers a great lineup of wireless connectivity and processing solutions. As its CEO Bill Steinike put it, “it’s simply in our DNA.” And so, Ezurio revealed its upcoming Sona TI351, the latest addition to its portfolio of Sona modules. (Also, the “TI” in TI351? That’s Texas Instruments, of course.) Based on the Texas Instruments SimpleLink CC3351 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE companion IC, Ezurio’s Sona TI351 was designed to meet myriad challenges faced by Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) professionals. Ezurio’s collab with Texas Instruments underscores their commitment “to delivering premium connectivity solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers,” stated Andy Ross, Senior Product Manager at Ezurio. Our full Ezurio-Texas Instruments story can be found here over on our Industrial IoT News hub.

• We cover threat detection and response (TDR) when discussing managed service providers over on MSP Today, but it’s also worth covering EDR/NDR (endpoint/network detection and response, respectively). Full-time monitoring of an organization’s connected endpoints — the very lifeblood of IoT — and the overall flow of its network traffic is important. That’s why Nozomi Networks launched its Nozomi TI Expansion Pack, powered by Mandiant Threat Intelligence. In a nutshell, this supports orgs’ CISOs in streamlining how their teams anticipate, diagnose and respond to cyber threats; with enriched insights, they can better “minimize risks and maximize operational resilience, enabling them to quickly assess and respond to malicious threats across their IT, OT and IoT systems,” explained Edgard Capdevielle, Nozomi Networks’ CEO.

• Lastly, let’s wrap this up with Telit Cinterion. Last month, Telit — already a renowned provider of end-to-end, ready-for-market solutions for hyperconnectivity-focused IoT ecosystems; read a previous story we wrote about the company here — revealed that its ME310M1-W1 module a.) had received certified approval for use on AT&T’s LTE-M network, and b.) is available now for other IoT specialists and their own customers. This cellular LPWA module (based on Sony’s Altair ALT1350 chipset, announced earlier this year) is ideal for smart utility meters, real-time asset tracking, sensors for IIoT settings, applications involving precision agriculture, etc. Read more about its flexible eSIM, low power consumption, its pin-to-pin compatibility with other Telit modules, and more here.

Mission accomplished for today’s ICYMI, readers.