Applied AI Weekly News

Justin Grammens

Welcome IoT Weekly News Readers!

As I'm gearing up to teaching on the Internet of Things / Connect Products at the University of Saint Thomas, I'm starting to look at a number of the upcoming trends in the space to educate my students on. I have seen a few interesting topics come to the forefront and articles that I decided to cover in this issue:

Implantables
Shortage of skilled developers
Hyperledger ( i.e. Blockchain )

While not being called out specifically in any one area, I believe that in 2018 we'll see more and more interest being applied to these topics.

Finally, I'm also very happy to announce that a project called Vitals, which my team helped to develop and is using beacon technology, was launched this past week to much interest and press. You can find more details and coverage in a release we posted.

I hope you enjoy this issue and remember to follow IoT Weekly on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook

News

A Wisconsin Company Will Let Employees Use Microchip Implants to Buy Snacks and Open Doors

A Wisconsin company called Three Square Market is going to offer employees implantable chips to open doors, buy snacks, log in to computers, and use office equipment like copy machines. Participating employees will have the chips, which use near field communication (NFC) technology, implanted between their thumb and forefinger. It’s an extension of the long-running implantable RFID chip business, based on a partnership with Swedish company Biohax International.

Solar Powered Watercraft Cleaning Station Debuted in Minnesota

CD3 stations feature innovative technology and are connected to the Internet of Things (IoT) via sensors on each tool and use a cellular gateway to collect use patterns and functionality. The software and real-time data can then be used to monitor and quantify usage and cost savings.

5 Essentials for Building the Perfect Internet of Things Beast

Identifying and building the best-suited Internet of Things (IoT) platform is probably the most important endeavors an technology leader can undertake this year, but one can be forgiven for being perplexed by all the noise, crowds and confusion that reign in this space. The challenge is that "the IoT platform market is immature and there are over 150 options to choose from," Eric Lamarre and Brett May, both with McKinsey and Company, caution in a recent post

Internet of Things Can Protect the Environment? Get Ready to Be Amazed

Internet of Things (IoT) has a large role to play in the future of smart cities. IoT can be used in practically all scenarios for public services by governments to make cities environment friendly.

Sponsor

Lab 651

Lab 651 is focused on creating connected products that have a positive impact on the world in which we live. Learn how Lab 651 helped the St. Paul Police and the Autism Society of Minnesota launch an app to help the vulnerable.

Security

Preparing for the Future by Securing the Internet of Things

The Black Hat USA 2017 cybersecurity conference took place in Las Vegas this week, and over at Dark Reading, Kelly Sheridan has written a great synopsis of its evolution since its creation in 1997. The Black Hat conference started as a gathering of researchers, academics, analysts, cryptographers, and Chief Information Officers that brought the cyber community together for an open discussion of the year’s cyber trends and most current threats.

Hyperledger Blockchains Bring Maturity and Chaos

Hyperledger, the open source blockchain project, has released version 1.0 of its fabric framework. Rather than adding a bevy of new features, 1.0 focuses on better user interfaces and documentation, security, and a little ‘chaos testing.’

Business

How Harley-Davidson Used Artificial Intelligence to Increase New York Sales Leads by 2,930%

It was winter in New York City and Asaf Jacobi’s Harley-Davidson dealership was selling one or two motorcycles a week. It wasn’t enough.

Jacobi went for a long walk in Riverside Park and happened to bump into Or Shani, CEO of an AI firm, Adgorithms. After discussing Jacobi’s sales woes, Shani, suggested he try out Albert, Adgorithm’s AI-driven marketing platform. It works across digital channels, like Facebook and Google, to measure, and then autonomously optimize, the outcomes of marketing campaigns. Jacobi decided he’d give Albert a one-weekend audition.

LG to Make Appliances Compatible with Amazon's Echo Connected Speaker

LG Electronics will make its appliances work with Amazon Echo smart speakers as part of an ongoing process to expand into the artificial intelligence business arena. The global electronics manufacturer on Sunday said it planned to showcase its appliances working with Amazon’s Alexa voice-controlled intelligent speaker at the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) in Berlin that kicks off next week.

Big Data

Businesses Are Struggling To Hire IoT Talent

Businesses are struggling to recruit skilled Internet of Things (IoT) developers, which could be slowing the deployment of enterprise IoT solutions. In a report from Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu OS, 68 percent of IoT professions say they struggle to recruit employees with the right IoT experience. Data analytics and big data skills are the most sought after, but 35 percent of professionals struggle to find an employee with that skill set.

'Smart' Campuses Invest in the Internet of Things

At Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, sensors connected to the WiFi and cellular network collect temperature, humidity and noise data for use by facilities staff. As part of a longstanding cheering contest, the noise data analysis identifies the section of the stadium that is making the most noise and puts the results on a big screen.

Industrial

Why The IIoT Revolution Will Happen At The Edge. Not In The Cloud.

Have you ever wondered how the on going IIoT revolution will play out? You are not alone. I've also given it a fair share of thought and in this article I want to argue why I believe the cloud's days as the focal point of this revolution are numbered and how decentralised edge computing is best positioned to takeover.

Survey

Survey: Enterprise IoT Faces Skills Shortage, Security Challenges

A survey of technology decision-makers at mid- to large-scale enterprises found that IoT adoption is coming to the vast majority of businesses within the next two years, but many of those businesses aren’t yet ready to cope with the change.

Survey: Soft Skills and Data Analytics Skills Lacking in IoT Workforce

Soft skills like communication and collaboration may just be the key for solving some of the challenges facing the field of Internet of Things (IoT). According to Northeastern University-Silicon Valley’s survey released this week, which polled more than 500 members of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), enterprises are going to need skilled employees if they want to take on IoT ventures.