Smart home IoT standard Matter officially launches

Matter has officially launched with the arrival of the 1.0 release of the smart home IoT standard.

The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) is responsible for creating, evolving, and managing the Matter standard. Today, the CSA and its members released the Matter 1.0 standard and certification program.

“What started as a mission to unravel the complexities of connectivity has resulted in Matter, a single, global IP-based protocol that will fundamentally change the...

5 October 2022 | Connectivity

Matter gets closer to becoming the ubiquitous smart home standard

Matter is getting closer to becoming the ubiquitous standard for the smart home with two big updates from Apple and Google.

From Apple, we saw the release of the iOS and iPadOS 16.1 developer betas bring a new option for “Matter Accessories” in the Settings for each operating system:

Apple first announced that iOS 16 would support Matter back at WWDC, but now we’re beginning to see the first signs of real-world integration.

Selecting the new option...

15 September 2022 | Connectivity

Feit Electric swoops in to save LIFX

Feit Electric has swooped in to quite literally keep the lights on at LIFX.

Buddy Technologies, the parent company of smart lighting firm LIFX, went into administration earlier this year.

Good samaritans quickly got to work writing guides for LIFX customers on how to locally control their lights if the firm’s servers are switched off. Fortunately, it doesn’t look like they’ll be needed.

Global lighting firm Feit Electric has acquired the LIFX brand and...

9 August 2022 | Consumer IoT & Wearables

Amazon is acquiring iRobot for $1.7B

Amazon has announced that it’s acquiring iRobot for approximately $1.7 billion.

iRobot is most well known for its robot vacuums but has also been expanding into other product categories, including air purifiers and handheld vacuums.

Dave Limp, SVP of Amazon Devices, said:

“We know that saving time matters, and chores take precious time that can be better spent doing something that customers love.

Over many years, the iRobot team has proven its ability...

5 August 2022 | Consumer IoT & Wearables

Smart locks installed by over 12M US households

The rapid proliferation of smart locks in the US means they've now been installed by over 12 million households.

Parks Associates released a whitepaper today highlighting the adoption of smart locks in the US alongside the reasons why they’re so desirable.

“The majority of residential door locks installed in the US are mechanical, but an increasing number of exterior locks are being replaced with smart door locks,” said Jennifer Kent, Vice President, Research,...

9 June 2022 | Consumer IoT & Wearables

IKEA announces Matter-ready smart home hub

IKEA is ramping up its smart home ambitions with the launch of a Matter-ready hub.

Many IoT standards have come and gone over the years. Most of these standards have promised interoperability to break down barriers but consumers have still ended up being left with numerous hubs to support their various products.

Matter promises to change that. The royalty-free standard was launched and introduced by Amazon, Apple, Google, Comcast, and the Zigbee Alliance. With that kind...

25 May 2022 | Connectivity

Cisco and Verizon demo millisecond C-V2X connectivity using MEC

Cisco and Verizon have partnered up to demonstrate millisecond C-V2X (cellular vehicle-to-everything) connectivity.

The partners used a proof-of-concept demo in Las Vegas to show how cellular and MEC (mobile edge compute) technology can be combined to unlock innovative new solutions for connected vehicles.

“This test is a huge milestone in proving that the future of connectivity for IoT applications can be powered by cellular,” said Krishna Iyer, Director of Systems...

31 March 2022 | 4G

Vodafone aims to improve European road safety with new platform

Vodafone is launching a platform that uses data from connected vehicles and devices to improve the safety of European roads.

The new ‘Safer Transport for Europe Platform’ (STEP) is free and compatible with all in-vehicle navigation systems and third-party map apps.

By facilitating faster and more efficient information-sharing between road users, transport authorities, and each other, Vodafone believes it can greatly improve road safety.

Joakim Reiter, Chief...

30 March 2022 | Applications

Marine-focused connected testbed launches in Plymouth

A testbed called Smart Sound Connect has been launched in Plymouth for companies to conduct marine research up to 20 miles offshore.

The testbed is a world-first and uses a private 4G/5G network by Vodafone and Nokia for connectivity across the coastal proving grounds.

Nick Gliddon, Business Director at Vodafone UK, said:

“Smart Sound Connect is using cutting edge innovation to accelerate developments in marine technology through 5G.

The 5G mobile...

23 March 2022 | 4G

Vodafone launches ‘Economy of Things’ platform

Vodafone has launched a global “Economy of Things” platform that enables connected devices to trade with each other.

The new platform, launched today, is called Digital Asset Broker (DAB) and enables businesses across industry sectors to transform physical goods into tradable digital assets.

Connected devices are often limited in their automation due to awaiting manual payment for the service(s) they provide. In the future, connected devices will be able to make...

28 February 2022 | Applications