Smart Industry News: IoT products and services

DJI AeroScope: Keeping an eye on drones

Drone owners can now voluntarily identify their flight operations to authorities without sacrificing privacy thanks to IoT technology. AeroScope, a new aerial identification system from Chinese drone manufacturer DJI, allows law enforcement and aviation officials to track airborne drones remotely in response to safety and security concerns. The system broadcasts the drone’s location, speed, heading, and serial number to receivers installed by the authorities at sensitive locations or in response to complaints. DJI says AeroScope addresses the concerns of authorities who have to identify and track illegal drone activity. The company says it will work with other drone manufacturers to create a standardized version of its “electronic license plate for drones”.

Microsoft: IoT simplified

Finding people skilled in building and managing connected solutions can be a major obstacle to successful IoT solutions. No more: Microsoft is now offering a highly scalable IoT software­as­a­service (SaaS) solution, Microsoft IoT Central, which supports best practices and high security. It also provides the reliability, regional availability, and global scale of Microsoft Azure cloud. The goal is to allow companies to build production grade IoT applications in hours without having to manage the back­end infrastructure or to teach employees new skills. Devices can be connected in seconds and users can move from concept to production in a few hours.

IoT Central: Microsoft employs automation to speed up IoT back-end programming

IoT Central leverages advanced privacy standards to ensure clients can remain in control of their data. By reducing the time, investment, and the skill sets required to develop a robust enterprise ­grade IoT solution, Microsoft claims IoT Central will enable clients to reap the business benefits of IoT faster than ever.

Berg Insight: Connected care is booming

IoT analyst firm Berg Insight reports that connected­ care solutions are booming, and the number of users is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 18.7%, reaching 16.5 million within the next four years. Next ­generation tele care systems are also appearing with added features such as video communication and remote visits.

There is a strong need for solutions that enable social­care and health­care services to be delivered more costeffectively without compromising the quality of care.
_{Anders Frick, Senior analyst at Berg}

He believes traditional telecare alarm buttons will be overtaken by next ­generation telecare as the largest segment of the connected care market with a forecasted 8.1 million users in 2022. However, traditional telecare will still boast around 6.2 million users, and tele health will have 4.0 million users by the end of the same period.

Amazon: Alexa enters the office
Amazon’s digital assistant Alexa has been welcomed into many homes (see Robot 2020), but now the voice­ command, virtual assistant is heading into offices across the world. Alexa for Business will be able to book conference rooms where attendees can start meetings and control the equipment in the room through spoken commands. 

Companies can tailor Alexa by building customized “private skills” which can be integrated with IT applications and other office systems. The additional functionality for Alexa was revealed last December at Amazon’s annual AWS Re:Invent conference in Las Vegas.

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