Hasta La Gadget!

As more reports of ARM-based Windows and Apple devices continue to fill the airwaves — the latest being reports of a Surface 2 and Nokia’s first Windows tablet, along with upcoming iPhone handsets — the Cambridge, UK-based semiconductor technology powerhouse is pressing ahead with its bigger ambition be at the heart of all connected devices: today the company announced that it is acquiring Sensinode Oy, a Finland-based startup that develops internet-of-things software.

This is a bolt-on purchase: ARM says that for now it will continue to sell Sensinode’s NanoStack and NanoService products to existing and new customers, alongside its ARM Cortex® family of processors and collaborative mbed project.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

ARM’s move to develop for more than smartphones and tablets — the two areas where you are most likely to hear its name these days, specifically in connection with companies like Apple, which designs its own ARM-based chips for its devices — is not a new one.

When its longtime CEO Warren East stepped down last year to be replaced by insider and former engineer Simon Segars, ARM emphasized how it was taking a long-term view of how the company would grow. The implication at the time was that it would be beyond the devices we typically refer to as “mobile” today, to cover cars, ovens and other appliances, factory robots, and really anything that you might need or want to be connected up in your work or leisure life — as the illustration here, taken from Sensinode’s site, shows.

The list indeed is long: “IoT technology can be used in wireless sensors, smart connected appliances, home health applications, and wearable electronics. The technology is also applicable to M2M applications using cellular connections and the new OMA Lightweight M2M standard for device management,” ARM notes.

“We take a very long-term view about our business, and we believe that now is the right time to bring in new leadership, to execute on the next phase of growth and to plan even further into the future,” East said at the time of his resignation.

In that regard, today’s acquisition news is evidence of how this is playing out. ARM projects (via analysts IMS Research) that there will be 30 billion connected devices by 2020. Compare that to the 8.7 billion ARM-based devices that were shipped last year, and combine that with ARM’s existing repution, and you can see why ARM sees this as a clear opportunity for the taking.

“ARM is dedicated to enabling a standards-based Internet of Things where billions of devices of all types and capabilities are connected through interoperable Internet Protocols and Web Services,” said John Cornish, executive vice president and general manager, System Design Division, ARM, in a statement.

You can also see how it’s important for ARM to continue pushing in this development against competitors like Intel, which is also hungrily eyeing up the IoT space.

ARM describes Sensinode as one of the “pioneers in software for low cost low power internet connected devices and a key contributor to open standards for IoT.” Those standards include creating the 6LoWPAN and CoAP standards for low cost low power devices; and contributing to IETF, ZigBee IP, ETSI and OMA standardization efforts.

This is a win for Sensinode because it gives the startup a much bigger platform and audience of developers who might build chips and devices on its technology. “By making Sensinode expertise and technology accessible to the ARM Partnership and through the ARM mbed project we will enable rapid deployment of thousands of new and innovative IoT applications,” notes Cornish.

This looks like it’s only ARM’s second acquisition ever. The first was just as strategic: it was in 2011 of Prolific, which developed nanotechnology software tools.

We’re one step closer to a true internet of things with the development of new technology that lets devices communicate with each other using existing TV and Wi-Fi signals. The most impressive part? They don’t require batteries.

Read more…

Paris-based Internet of Things startup Netatmo, which makes personal weather station and air quality sensor devices (as seen in the video above) for use with Android and iOS apps, has just closed a €4.5 million ($5.8 million) funding round. It plans to use the funding to launch new connected devices in the second half of this year, including additional indoor air modules (to be announced this month), and also rain and wind meters.

Investors in the round — Netatmo’s first external funding — include Iris Capital, FSN PME, which is the French National Fund for Digital Society, along with Pascal Cagni, Non Executive Director of Vivendi SA and Kingfisher PLC and former Vice-President & General Manager of Apple Europe, Middle East, India and Africa.

Netatmo launched its consumer focused weather station monitoring device last fall. The device allows users to track outdoor weather conditions and environmental conditions indoors — such as air quality and CO2 level — and monitor and chart that data via the corresponding apps.

Although Netatmo is not breaking out device sales data yet, it says its weather stations are currently monitoring the environment in more than 105 countries. ”After a few months on the market, demand continues to grow, and we are experiencing significant increases in sales,” Netatmo CEO Fred Potter noted in a statement. ”Our new financial partners will allow us to pursue further innovations, develop new devices and expand our distribution channels and territories,”

Netatmo said it plans to focus on development and operations throughout Europe, Asia and the U.S., with the goal to expand its headcount as it ramps up the business this year.

Commenting on the funding in a statement, Pascal Cagni added: ”The Internet of Things is the next step in the rise of an even more connected digital world… Thanks to Netatmo’s talented teams and ability to integrate advanced software with state-of-the-art hardware, this company is built to play a leading role in that revolution.”

How big is the connected devices universe? Analyst ABI Research reckons the Internet of Things contains some 10 billion+ wireless connected devices today. But it’s predicting this figure will triple in size to more than 30 billion devices in an Internet of Everything by 2020, as more and more objects are plugged into the network. The figures come from new ABI research published today.

The firm says the standardisation push behind ultra-low power wireless technologies is “one of the main enablers” of this Internet of Everything — which already contains such curios as the Hapifork and keyless entry systems that let you open your front door from an app. ABI analyst Peter Cooney notes that while 10 billion devices might sound like a lot, there are still many years before the IoE “reaches its full potential” — whatever that means.

“The next 5 years will be pivotal in its growth and establishment as a tangible concept to the consumer,” says Cooney in a statement.

ABI says a range of wireless technologies — including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ZigBee, Cellular and RFID, plus many others — are all important to driving growth in smart connected devices, but says the “long-term expansion of the market” depends on wireless technology “becoming invisible so that the consumer will be oblivious to which technology is used and only know that it works.”

And while “hub devices” — namely smartphones, tablets and laptops — are the enablers of the IoE ecosystem (such as the iPad being used as the hub for a smart connected kitchen scales, for instance), ABI sees future growth in this network being driven by “node or sensor type devices,” as device-makers start to think about connecting more of the things more of the time, not just things that are in close proximity to people some of the time.

ABI predicts that by 2020 nodes/sensors will account for the majority (60 percent) of the total installed base of IoE devices. Personal connected mobile devices will still be “an essential building block,” however.

[Image by FutUndBeidl via Flickr]

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.

It’s been said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Improving on a good idea, however, is truly the ultimate homage, according to the makers of the new Pinoccio microcontroller. Inspired by the Arduino, the brain trust behind the Pinoccio decided to take the stuff they liked about the popular platform — ease of programming and low cost — and add some features to make it even better. These include a rechargeable battery, a temperature sensor and a built-in radio that allows one Pinoccio with a WiFi shield to communicate wirelessly with other Pinoccios. The microcontroller also delivers performance that stacks up well with an Arduino Mega but at a smaller size — the Pinoccio only measures a couple of inches long and an inch wide. The project is currently trying to raise $60,000 at Indiegogo, with supporters netting the standard Pinoccio by pledging $49 and a microcontroller with a WiFi shield for $99. For more details, feel free to check out the video after the break or peruse the project’s Indiegogo page by clicking at the source link.

Previous project update: The Lomography Smartphone Film Scanner was apparently ready for its closeup. The Kickstarter project more than tripled its $50,000 goal with two more weeks to go.

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Source: Indiegogo