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IIoT start-up proclaims “internet moment” after bagging $11.3m Series A funding

The digital transformation of manufacturing is about to break big, reckons US industrial IoT and AI startup MachineMetrics, after raising $11.3 million in Series A funding for its factory analytics solution. “Now is the internet moment for manufacturing,” stated William Bither, the company’s chief executive...

“I thought we’d get sucked up; we haven’t been” – Mentor Graphics on life with Siemens (pt2)

Note, this is the second part of an interview with Mentor Graphics; for the first instalment go here. For Siemens, Mentor Graphics' software capabilities with chip and board design, particularly the latter, was attractive, as the German company sought to build its digital-twinning offer as...

“We’ve broken all-time records” – Mentor Graphics on life with Siemens (pt1)

In a tucked-away corner of a hangar-like exhibition space in Munich, US electronic design automation (EDA) company Mentor Graphics is reflecting on its recent status, as a small but notable function within German mega-corp Siemens. “It probably sounds like a plug but I’ve got to...

Nordic Semi says NB-IoT/LTE-M module will “kick-start new wave” of cellular IoT apps

Nordic Semiconductor’s new cellular IoT module, billed as the world’s smallest and lowest power, according to its maker, could “kick-start a new wave” of cellular IoT applications, including in tracking, metering, industrial intelligence, and smart cities. The Trondheim-based firm said its nRF9160 ‘system-in-package’ (SiP) is...

Semtech spurs LoRa community with next-gen silicon, stares down cellular IoT carriers

With brand new silicon, a vibrant support network, and a profile burnished in the early IoT rush, LoRa specialist Semtech is looking to spread its wings and rise above the challenge from cellular IoT carriers. Outside of the IoT space, the US semiconductor outfit has...

What is Society 5.0? Japan’s model for a digitally-inspired ‘imagination society’

“The kaleidoscope has been shaken, the pieces are in flux.” It is a phrase written for a different time, and another sphere – a generation ago, which seems like a lifetime, to mark a political transformation, which now seems so slight Because the future is...

Europe reveals four-step AI plan, €20 billion AI funding target, €66m robotics fund

The European Commission (EC) has stepped up its strategy to foster AI in the region, with a four-step plan and a target of €20 billion of private and public investments by the end of 2020, and €20 billion per year afterwards. The EC will contribute...

Siemens contracted to knock out data silos at leading Chinese steel manufacturer

Siemens will overhaul the production system and eliminate data silos at Mintal Group, the largest maker of carbon ferrochrome in China, and one of its biggest steel producers. High carbon ferrochrome is the base material of stainless steel. The deal with Siemens covers the build...

The IoT interview (pt3): “We do what we can, and partner on the rest,” says AT&T

Note, this is the third part of a wide-ranging interview with AT&T President of IoT Solutions Chris Penrose; for the first instalment go here. AT&T has used the line before: it is a ‘master systems integrator’, it says. There is a job to create order...

Siemens wins digital transformation deal with Chinese coal mining company

German industrial giant Siemens has been contracted to increase productivity and reduce downtime at a coal mine in China by connecting, analysing and optimising the performance of four mine hoist systems. Siemens has won the deal from the YanZhou Coal Mine Company. It will collect...

The IoT interview (pt2): “We’re a one-stop IoT shop – for every enterprise,” says AT&T

Note, this is the second part of a wide-ranging interview with AT&T President of IoT Solutions Chris Penrose; for the first instalment go here. In all, AT&T has connected 48 million devices around the world. It counts 2,000 different “types of deployment” down the years....

The IoT interview (pt1): “We have to focus on what scales and repeats,” says AT&T

The greatest challenge for Chris Penrose, president of IoT solutions at AT&T, is just to order and manage the multiplying opportunities afforded by the advancement of machine connectivity and intelligence. For Penrose, the key is that business is repeatable, and his resources within the business...

IIC shows how to optimise assets in smart buildings, machines in smart factories

The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) has announced results from a pair of testbeds investigating, alternatively, artificial intelligence (AI) for smart buildings management and ways to connect up old factories to new smart manufacturing tools. In the first case, Dell EMC and Toshiba have developed an...

Ericsson ‘fingerprints’ radio network to enhance NB-IoT, LTE-M positioning

Swedish vendor Ericsson is looking at ways to employ artificial intelligence to enable advanced “fingerprinting” of mobile radio networks to enhance the positioning resolution of LTE-M and NB-IoT devices. The initiative will have implications for both the consumer and enterprise space, it said. However, the...

OSIsoft brings PI System to AWS with ‘quick start’ and ‘integration’ tools

OSIsoft's PI System is now available on Amazon Web Services (AWS). The company has launched a suite of products to enable industrial players to more easily run and manage its data management platform, which unites data from operational and information environments, on AWS. These...

Six steps to build a custom IoT chip – as directed by Arm (Pt 2)

The sense to design and build a custom system-on-chip (SoC) is plain, we understand from an earlier companion piece. As we also understand, from the first part of this post, the process of IoT chip design is logical, much like constructing a printed circuit...

Industrial IoT product round-up, featuring u-blox, Analog Devices, Altair, Eurotech

In a flurry of activity, the makers of modules, chips and embedded systems have announced a number of product and service initiatives to extend, simplify and secure industrial IoT systems; u-blox, Analog Devices, Altair Semiconductor, and Eurotech appear. IoT maker u-blox unveils multi-band NB-IoT module,...

Siemens bolsters digital factory proposition with new AI and edge tools

Siemens has bundled a number of edge devices running artificial intelligence (AI) applications into its digital enterprise portfolio, and bolstered its partner activity and support around its MindSphere platform alongside. Siemens has booked out an entire hall at the SPS IPC Drives 2018 event in...

Cellular IoT to hit 4.1bn connections by 2024, slower CAGR of 27% – latest Ericsson stats

The number of cellular IoT connections, comprising NB-IoT and LTE-M technologies, will reach 4.1 billion in 2024. As reference, the new forecast reckons the number of cellular IoT connections, mostly of machines, will outrun the total number of 5G connections, mostly of people, by a...

Six steps to build a custom IoT chip – as directed by Arm (Pt 1)

The wisdom of bespoke chip design for IoT products is plain, and already discussed in some detail. UK based Arm says a custom chip will produce a higher-grade product, with optimised performance, and save money in the end. Fine. But how should developers, with little...

LoRaWAN roundup: Senet in the Gulf, Actility and Microchip, Semtech’s Indian IIoT boost

Amid a recent flurry of announcements around LoRa technology and the LoRaWAN protocol, US IoT company finds itself helping out with smart city solutions in the Persian Gulf, microcontroller maker Microchip has integrated with Actility's ThingPark network to accelerate IoT deployments, and Semtech, itself,...

Five reasons to build a custom IoT chip – as directed by Arm

In a serious-minded classroom setting at Electronica 2018 earlier this month, up in the gods at Munich Messe, UK-based chip design company Arm presented to a handful of enthusiasts about the virtues of custom (system-on) chips for industrial IoT products. Enterprise IoT Insights was among...

STMicro shows industrial AI on 32-bit micro-controllers, intros IoT developer kit

As part of its industrial showcase at Electronica 2018 in Munich, in Germany, last week, semiconductor manufacturer STMicroelectronics brought artificial intelligence (AI) right to the factory floor. The Swiss-French firm showed low-power 32-bit micro-controllers running AI-enhanced technologies for condition monitoring and predictive maintenance. The point...

Telia and Nokia to build industrial 5G ecosystem in northern Finland

Scandinavian operator Telia is to follow its early deployment of 5G in Helsinki, in Finland, by connecting the city of Oulu, in the north of the country, to 5G technologies to serve smart city and industrial applications. Finnish vendor Nokia is handling the network...