As more devices, companies and systems join the Internet of Things, the buzz around machine to machine (M2M) technology continues to grow. This week, the World Wide Web turned 25, and we reflected on where it’s been, where it is and where it’s going. Here are the top M2M stories this week.
The biggest story this week not just in M2M but globally is the news of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 disappearing without a trace. Theories have come and gone over the past few days, but there is still no evidence of where the plane has gone. Satellite imagery has tried to help relieve the situation, only to find false hints of plane debris. Will the mysterious disappearance of the plane trigger the next generation of M2M technology in airplanes?
This week, M2M Evolution caught up with Essence, a provider of smart living, smart security and smart care solutions designed to use the IoT to make people’s lives easier and better. Essence takes a complete end-to-end approach to the IoT to offer integrated experiences. It’s focusing on security, home management and connected care because it’s what people are willing to experience today. It offers a closed ecosystem so devices and hubs can talk using Essence’s proprietary protocol so they’re not reliant on external factors like network connection and power.
Canary recently came off a round of funding that garnered quite a bit for the company on the strength of a simple prospect and a little M2M magic. With Canary, users can take advantage of M2M communications in order to do some of the heavy lifting involved with monitoring. The Canary system can connect to a camera, as well as a set of sensors, to help users see what's going on in a house when said users are away from the house, doing the various things that still need to be done outside the house in order to be done properly.
The company raised $2 million on a successful Indiegogo run, followed that up with a $1.2 million seed round, and now, completed an impressive $10 million from an investment group made up of Khosla Ventures, Bobby Yazdani (previously seen investing in things like Dropbox and Google), and several of the original seed investors.
Samsung has, like many companies involved in the mobile market, decided to embrace M2M and the Internet of Things by expanding its 28nm technology offerings with RF capabilities. With this, the company is allowing chip designers the ability to integrate advanced RF functionality into their designs, making connected home appliances, auto infotainment systems and other connectivity applications possible.
CalAmp, a maker of wireless products, added Bluetooth support to its line of Mobile Resource Management (MRM) and M2M devices. The updated products will target the fleet tracking and remote asset tracking, monitoring, and control markets. CalAmp suggested that managing its devices with its MDT-7 mobile data terminal, a modified Android tablet, would be even easier.
Visit M2M Evolution for more stories you may have missed this week, and check back frequently for industry news, resources trends and updates. Have a great weekend.
