IoT Embedded Blog Review – Week of June 15, 2015

Mining the IoT, Squirco, Head of the Pack, Cisco Intercloud, IoT Maoist-style, French IoT Centre, Vodafone Cuts Emissions, GrowBox App Bears Fruit, IoT in Travel
By Sally Bixby, Web Editor
Mining the value of the IoT comes out of Lisa Mann on the O’Reilly Radar that drips with details, including Jon Bruner and Dr. Michael Chui’s recent discussion on Chui’s latest research on the Internet of Things (embedded in the post). Bruner comments, “You can approach hardware now if you have nothing but a software background. It’s all programmable. It’s all software defined. It’s all digital. Then, I think, in turn ….” – read on.
Atmel’s Bits&Pieces staff blog on ‘Squirco is a smart home system and sensor network’, maker develops systems with self-learning capabilities using sensors hidden in light switches in every room (inconspicuous and everywhere meaning the data set will be complete). The Maker has his sights on curating a complete set of data that would be provided to an A.I. unit and used to learn in-home behaviors.
Barron’s article ‘Seven Best Plays for the Internet of Things’ talks on which -of the big guys- are positioned to gain with IoT Apps, coverage and insights coming from Harlan Sur, Bill Peterson, Grace Chuang. They write “while the market size of IoT is debatable with estimates varying widely, we believe companies that can address the cost/power requirements …” click link for more on all this.
Cisco New Intercloud Services Focus on Next Generation Internet of Things Market, via CloudTimes Saroj Kar this week. Cisco’s strategy is to invest in solutions of hybrid data centers, including Intercloud and fog computing, an optimized IoT infrastructure.  Heads up and put low beams on for this cool factor.

Charlotte Lee on techworld shares ‘Internet of Things could lead to ‘Maoist style state’, warns BCS president’ Jos Creese. “Could we be moving to a Maoist style state, but where instead of your neighbours reporting on you, it would be your devices? Something in that is taking away our freedom to think and act,” he added. How far do we go?
Reuters posts ‘French president Hollande opens industry centre for ‘Internet of things’ – looking to create a new Silicon Valley in the Loire Valley. Called the City of Connected Objects (COC), the new hub in Angers is funded by larger French companies including Orange and Bouygues and is part of the government’s 200 million-euro “La French Tech” initiative. Vive la France! 

edie.net reports ‘Vodafone slashes emissions impact with Internet of Things’ helping save customers more than 3.5m tonnes of CO2e thanks to its ability to connect devices and share info via the IoT (driven by smart meters, cloud-based services, call conferencing and smart logistics). Much more to this post than meets the eye – read why. 

A little more cool factor in case you have a green thumb (well, make that green fingers) reading ‘GrowBox IoTs Your Plans From Seed to Fruit in One App Flat’ post from Nick Normal on MAKE. Powered by the Intel Edison, custom PCBs, and a smartphone app, check out the self-contained “in-home plant growing system” allows you to monitor and control the environment your plants grow within, all via the IoT.
Post on Travolution: Internet of Things yet to embrace individuals in travel. “The systems that we have progressed so far have not involved personal data – we have trained cameras on the top of people’s heads to record passenger numbers. We do not hold any personal data”.
Enjoy all, and make it a safe and sane IoT week!