Devices
Amazon | September 25, 2023
Amazon launched Echo Hub, a smart home control panel with support for over 140,000 IoT devices
It detects when a person is around and accordingly shifts its display
With an eight-inch display, it features voice control through Alexa
Amazon is set to provide a solution to simplify and streamline the management of multiple IoT devices
Amazon has introduced the Echo Hub, a sleek, smart home control panel featuring an eight-inch display and compatibility with over 140,000 IoT devices. Priced at $180, this hub offers voice control via Alexa and utilizes infrared technology. Notably, it automatically adjusts its display when someone approaches, simplifying smart home management.
This product is designed for use in smart homes, allowing users to centralize control of their IoT devices. The Echo Hub can be mounted on a wall or placed on a flat surface using an optional stand. It incorporates Alexa for voice control and supports infrared technology for added convenience. The device is also compatible with Sidewalk, Bluetooth, Thread, Zigbee and Matter, making it versatile for various smart devices.
Equipped with Infrared technology, it is a rare brand product with a slim design. Together with Amazon's third-party support, this factor makes the newly launched Echo Hub an ideal control panel for smart homes. The growing popularity of smart home management solutions has intensified competition within the market. Amazon, for instance, is set to introduce its Echo Hub later this year, which includes a Power over Ethernet (PoE) adapter. However, this expanding landscape also ushers in increased options for consumers. Recently, Home Assistant unveiled its budget-friendly Home Assistant Green, a plug-and-play smart home management device priced at $99.
As tech giants like Amazon enter the fray, consumers soon find themselves spoiled for choice. Nevertheless, this abundance of options may also pose a challenge as consumers navigate various products to address a common concern. While it is positive that smart home manufacturers are acknowledging the issue, developers must remain cautious about oversaturation. It is crucial to remember that consumers are discerning enough to recognize redundancy and may choose to retain their funds rather than make unnecessary purchases.
As the smart home market continues to grow, Amazon aims to provide a solution to streamline the management of multiple IoT devices. Amazon has introduced the Echo Hub as part of its smart home product lineup. It offers convenience and compatibility with various smart home products. Users interested in centralizing the control of their smart devices may find this product appealing.
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Industrial IoT
Business Wire | September 27, 2023
Energous Corporation (NASDAQ: WATT), an industry leader in RF-based wireless power network solutions, has partnered with InPlay Inc., a fabless semiconductor company dedicated to engineering advanced low-power wireless communication technologies for the Industrial IoT market, to demonstrate a battery-free temperature and humidity IoT sensor solution. This innovation harnesses the strengths of Energous' PowerBridge technology and InPlay's cutting-edge Bluetooth low-energy beacon system. This solution has the potential to expand into multiple markets within the Industrial IoT ecosystem that Energous is currently focusing on. This collaborative endeavor aims to offer these industries a reliable, cost-effective, and energy-efficient sensor solution.
As IoT expands, particularly within industrial applications, the need to retrofit costly sensor solutions becomes evident. By eliminating cables, removing disposable batteries, and cutting down maintenance costs, we can significantly reduce overall expenses and help deploy sensors at a much larger scale, stated Cesar Johnston, CEO of Energous. Our PowerBridge technology delivers consistent power to multiple devices simultaneously, offering greater design flexibility, waterproofing capabilities, and alleviating power-related challenges.
“Energous PowerBridge technology enables wireless power transmission with minimal size and maximum power and cost efficiency,” said Jason Wu, CEO of InPlay. “Our InPlay NanoBeacon SoC solution benefits wireless sensors customers by providing ultra-low-cost, low-power and a programming free design where manufacturers are able to cut down on development costs and achieve a shorter time to market.”
Energous and InPlay will be at the Wireless IoT Tomorrow in Wiesbaden (near Frankfurt airport), Germany from October 18-19, 2023. To schedule a demo at the event, please visit https://energous.com/schedule-a-demo/ or stop by the Energous booth #1 or the InPlay booth #6.
About Energous Corporation
Energous Corporation (NASDAQ: WATT) has been pioneering wireless charging over distance technology since 2012. Today, as the global leader in wireless charging over distance, its networks are safely and seamlessly powering its customers’ RF-based systems in a variety of industries, including retail, industrial, healthcare and more. Its total network solution is designed to support a variety of applications, including inventory and asset tracking, smart manufacturing, electronic shelf labels, IoT sensors, digital supply chain management, inventory management, loss prevention, patient/people tracking and sustainability initiatives. The number of industries and applications it serves is rapidly growing as it works to support the next generation of the IoT ecosystem.
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Software and Tools
Business Wire | October 04, 2023
InnoPhase IoT, a fabless semiconductor company specializing in ultra-low power Wi-Fi IoT solutions and an ST Authorized Partner since 2020, announces an evaluation platform that combines STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) STM32U5 MCU evaluation board with InnoPhase IoT’s Talaria TWO™ Wi-Fi/BLE evaluation board. The board seamlessly integrates ultra-low power Wi-Fi/BLE with STM32 microcontrollers to enable the industry’s lowest-power cloud-connected battery-powered IoT devices. Target applications for the combination include wearables, industrial IoT, medical, commercial, and smart-home automation.
The STM32U5 MCU is based on an Arm® Cortex®-M33 core and is a new generation of 32-bit microcontroller targeting the most demanding power/performance requirements. The MCU integrates the Cortex-M33 core with up to 4MB of flash memory and 2.5MB of SRAM to enable the highest performance amongst 32-bit MCUs, while cutting power by up to 90% and extending battery life using a range of innovative power-management features.
The InnoPhase IoT Talaria TWO Wi-Fi/BLE5 multiprotocol wireless platform enables the development of ultra-low power cloud-connectivity applications without compromising performance. The industry’s lowest Tx current of 81ma at MCS7 and DTIM-10 current at 57uA extends battery life to 10-plus years for IoT devices. Talaria TWO features Wi-Fi provisioning using BLE, secured over-the-air updates, and seamless cloud connectivity to AWS and Microsoft Azure, providing ease of development and deployment for IoT solutions. The InnoPhase IoT platform’s high integration, small size, and multiple antenna options allow customers to meet new use case requirements.
The seamless integration of STM32U5 and Talaria TWO evaluation boards allows designers to build ultra-low power sensor-to-cloud connected IoT solutions. Software integration is provided via ST’s I-CUBE-T2 software expansion for STM32Cube. The host application on STM32U5 uses the InnoPhase IoT Host APIs (HAPI) and communicates with the application running on the InnoPhase IoT Talaria TWO device. The kit supports AWS IoT services.
According to Bertrand Denis, STM32 Product Manager at STMicroelectronics, “InnoPhase IoT Talaria TWO’s low-power Wi-Fi connectivity to STM32U5 offers long battery life for ultra-low-power smart applications, including wearables, personal medical devices, home automation and industrial IoT. Our collaborating with InnoPhase IoT will help customers meet low-power, long battery-life requirements without sacrificing performance while implementing Wi-Fi cloud connectivity.”
Untethered, long battery life devices with direct cloud connectivity are unleashing the potential of IoT in multiple markets, said InnoPhase IoT President and COO Wiren Perera. The combination of ST’s lowest-power MCU, the STM32U5, with our industry’s lowest-power Wi-Fi/BLE solution delivers a platform enabling rapid time-to-development and deployment utilizing ubiquitous Wi-Fi connectivity for our customers.
The STM32U5 MCUs and Talaria TWO Wi-Fi/BLE SoC/Modules are currently in production. The STM32U5 NUCLEO-U575Z1-Q evaluation board is available now to order at https://www.st.com/en/evaluation-tools/nucleo-u575zi-q.html#sample-buy and InnoPhase IoT’s Talaria TWO EVB-A (INP3014/INP3015) evaluation kits are available now to order at https://innophaseiot.com/purchase/. Talaria TWO Wi-Fi/BLE modules are certified with the Wi-Fi Alliance and Bluetooth SIG and have global regulatory certification.
InnoPhase IoT successfully demonstrated the STM32U5 plus Talaria TWO sensor to AWS connectivity at Sensors Converge 2023 conference in Santa Clara, California. To schedule a briefing meeting or demo, please contact sales@innophaseiot.com.
About InnoPhase IoT
InnoPhase IoT Inc., headquartered in San Jose, CA, is a fabless wireless semiconductor platform company dedicated to enable the promise of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions. Its flagship product, the Talaria TWO™ multiprotocol chipset and modules deliver the world’s lowest power Wi-Fi radio to the rapidly growing untethered battery-operated IoT device market. InnoPhase IoT enables end-to-end market-ready extreme low power wireless IoT solutions with extended battery life, a low total cost of ownership (TCO), high-performance wireless use cases and rapid time to market. For more information, contact info@innophaseiot.com or visit the InnoPhase IoT.com website.
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