InternetOfThings
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Take a tour of Samsung's 4K-heavy CES booth
Long before Sling TV was the talk of CES, Samsung was busy boasting about the VCR and, later, the DVD player. Today, its presence at the world's biggest tech show is largely focused on 4K TVs. Curved, bendable, flat -- Samsung's UHD lineup has it all. But there's much more to its sprawling booth. The Korean manufacturer has an equally sprawling product portfolio that includes audio, home automation and mobile devices, among other things. To get an idea of just how much Samsung has to offer, look no further than our photo and video tours below. For more from Samsung and beyond, check out our 2015 CES Field Guide.
BlackBerry climbs out of your pocket and into the internet of things
BlackBerry's been doing its best to engineer a smartphone comeback, but its future doesn't just hinge on stuff that goes in your pockets. Those plucky Canadians have also had their sights on cracking the fabled internet of things, and today it's finally pulled back the curtain on a cloud-friendly system meant to do just that.
CES Unveiled 2015 in less than 60 seconds
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-177611{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-177611, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-177611{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-177611").style.display="none";}catch(e){} While today marks the official start of CES 2015, we've been on the ground for what feels like an eternity. It all started Sunday at CES Unveiled, a small pre-show packed with oddities like smart baby bottles, levitating speakers and family-friendly facial recognition cameras. We may not have found the next big thing at Mandalay Bay this year, but it did make for some decent eye candy. In an attempt to share the love, here's a glimpse of CES Unveiled 2015 in under 60 seconds. For more from Unveiled and beyond, check out our 2015 CES Field Guide.
Samsung unveils next-gen smart home hub and monitoring service
Looks like you didn't have to wait long to see what Samsung would do in the smart home world after acquiring SmartThings -- it just unveiled a new version of the SmartThings Hub that automates your household with fewer hiccups. The new version is faster, and can run apps locally instead of farming them out to other devices. It also has a battery backup and more cellular data options, so your intricate network of lights and security systems won't fall into disarray just because of a momentary power outage.
BeeWi takes on Belkin's WeMo with its new home automation platform
Not surprisingly, the Internet of Things is making a big splash here at CES 2015. As part of that push, BeeWi, a company better known for making various wireless products, is showing off its home automation platform. The BeeWi platform has been available in Europe, Canada and parts of South America for some time now, but the company announced that it's ready to bring it over to the US. In similar fashion to Belkin's WeMo line, BeeWi's home automation offerings include a mobile application and an array of modular sensors and trackers.
Belkin's WeMo home sensors track everything and the kitchen sink
Do you want to know every little nuance of what's going on in your home? You'll want to give Belkin's new WeMo home sensors a look, then. The surprisingly wide range of household trackers includes a door-and-window sensor, a keychain tracker, a motion detector and a water efficiency monitor -- there's even an alarm sensor that listens for sounds from other sensors, like smoke detectors. All of the devices will alert you if something's amiss, whether you're worried about intruders or tend to run the kitchen faucet for too long. And like the rest of Belkin's highly modular WeMo hardware, they'll frequently work in tandem with other gadgets on the platform. They can turn on the lights when you step into a room, or ramp up the air conditioning only when your window is closed. Most of the sensors will arrive in the second half of 2015, with pricing coming later. The water sensor is still in field testing, however, so it won't be ready to analyze your plumbing until the tail end of the year.
Sticky sensors will monitor your body's organs
Health sensors that attach directly to your organs to are potentially very useful, since they can measure miniscule electrical signals and other details that might otherwise fly under the radar. There's just one problem: actually sticking those devices on to something that soft and squishy is tough. However, a team of Japanese researchers may have a solution. They've developed gel-based sensors that monitor electrical activity and strain while adhering to just about anything, including the gooey wet insides of your body. The key is the gel itself, which is made of the polyvinyl alcohol you might find in protective gloves or eye drops; it allows a grid of sensors to make contact without peeling or slipping off.
New Bluetooth devices will connect directly to the internet
For all the talk of an Internet of Things, many Bluetooth devices aren't very internet-savvy; they usually have to rely on WiFi (or another gadget entirely) to hop online. That's going to change very shortly with the advent of Bluetooth's new 4.2 spec. If a sensor, smart light bulb or other low-power device supports the new technology, it can connect directly to the internet (through a router or other access point, at least) without needing a go-between. That's potentially huge for home automation -- you could control all your appliances and light fixture from anywhere in the world without requiring special hubs.
Kids can now program toys that talk to just about anything
There's no shortage of smart toys, but they tend only to talk to each other. What if your kid wants the freedom to use them with just about anything? That's where Dynepic's upcoming DynePod might help. It may look like a simple 25-pixel block of LEDs, but it's really the centerpiece of an "internet of toys" that lets it both respond to simple programming and dish out input of its own, whether it's talking to another DynePod or something else entirely. You can tell it to light up when there's movement, or buzz if another device is nearby; built-in motion sensors let it serve as a controller. Parents can even use it to set alarms, and at least the initial kits will come with a mounting clip and a bracelet. Yes, you can turn this into Junior's first smartwatch. The long-term plan is to have an open platform that has toys of all kinds speaking to each other.
Spark's pint-sized board adds WiFi to any device for $19
Are you crafting your own gadget and want to add wireless networking to it? You'll want to look into Spark's new Photon board, then. The stamp-sized peripheral lets you add WiFi to many devices without requiring a lot of technical know-how; if you can design a gadget in the first place, you can probably get it online. Spark sees it as a relatively easy way for artists, engineers and students to make internet-savvy objects. It's cheap enough that it won't hurt to try. The regular Photon costs $19, and those who want to put it into mass-produced items can get the P0 or P1 at respective prices of $10 and $12 -- all of which are bargains next to the Core's original $39 price.
Let this shape-shifting baton escort you around town
Don't you hate it when you have to constantly check your phone for map navigation, thus not able to fully enjoy the scenery while travelling? Rather than just switching to audio navigation (which can get annoying after a while), NTT Docomo believes tactile feedback is another possible solution, as demonstrated by its Yubi Navi ("Yubi" meaning finger in Japanese) concept at CEATEC. As you can see in the above GIF image, this simple handheld device can gently twist left and right to give turn directions to your thumb. But there's more: When paired with another Yubi Navi, the two users can simulate the feeling of holding hands by squeezing their own devices, as the lower part of the stick can push a bump up against the palm.
Google's Physical Web aims to make the internet of things easier to use
When it comes to smartphones, fragmentation (or as some would say, "diversity") isn't the problem it once was -- but smart objects? Well, that's a whole new issue. Most products breaking ground in the "internet of things" exist in their own walled-off ecosystem, often requiring users to download a separate app for every smart device they encounter. If physical objects are the next evolution of the web, Google says, this isn't realistic: we need an open solution. Introducing the Physical Web, Mountain View's attempt at creating a common web standard for objects. It hopes the standard will give everything from posters to rental cars a easily accessible smart experience without flooding the market with one-time-use apps.
ARM attempts to speed up 'internet of things' adoption with new platform
It's the year 2014, and we've yet to have our flying cars and commuter jet packs. But we do have a glimpse of the future with the advent of the "internet of things." It's essentially the idea of connecting everyday objects -- be it thermostats or kitchen appliances -- to the web, in an effort to make our lives easier. As wonderful as that sounds though, development of new IoT technologies can be slow, due in part to the multiple different protocols in existence today and how tiresome it is to create an ecosystem from scratch. That could soon come to an end, however, thanks to ARM. The chipmaker has just announced a brand new IoT-specific device platform that includes both a free operating system (tailor-made for ARM's Cortex-M processor based devices, of course) plus a server-side software product that ties it all together. Based on the mbed hardware and software ecosystem, the platform basically gives manufacturers the tools and building blocks necessary for IoT devices and services, thus making it that much faster and cheaper for them to bring their ideas to fruition.
Samsung shifts 500 engineers from mobile to other areas
Samsung may be focused on smartphones, but it apparently doesn't want to become a one-trick pony. The Korean tech giant has just moved 500 engineers from its mobile division to a host of other groups, including its home electronics, networking and software sections. The company says it's shuffling people around to both boost its "competitive edge" in the internet of things and "increase synergies" for the Tizen platform it primarily uses on its wearable devices. We've reached out for more details, but it's safe to say that Samsung's software priorities are changing -- it's less concerned about its problematic Tizen phone efforts and more about adding smarts to a wide range of gadgets, whether they're TVs or printers.
Korean carrier upgrades eel farm, makes the Internet of (slimey) Things
By definition, the Internet of Things (IoT) should connect with anything -- even writhing, kinda gross, but often delicious eels. SK Telecom's latest project is aimed at showcasing its IoT skills with a pilot connected eel farm that uses a network of sensors to monitor thousands of eels, mostly autonomously. Sensors dotted across multiple 20-foot-wide tanks check on water temperature, pH and oxygen levels, Data is then collated and analyzed by the Korean carrier's cloud system, and bounced to a simplified smartphone app -- all in pretty much real time. "Why?" is a good question, but there's a good answer too: apparently minute changes in those factors above can be fatal to young eels. Before, this meant regular tank checks by workers every two-to-six hours. Now, it's mostly automated and sudden changes will even ping a warning to eel farmers' smartphones when needed. SK Telecom is planning to roll out the system commercially next year -- who knew eel farming was big business?
Intel's tiny 3G modem will put always-on data in your smartwatch
There are already smartwatches and other wearables with cellular data built-in, but the bulky hardware they need for that wireless access makes them less than elegant. Intel clearly isn't happy with this state of affairs, as it just unveiled an extra-tiny modem that should put truly sleek, always-connected devices on your body -- and seemingly everywhere else. The new XMM 6255 isn't much larger than a penny (0.47 square inches), but delivers a full-fledged 3G data link. It's built to take abuses like power spikes, and it doesn't need a big antenna to get a good connection; it can even get solid performance in a low-signal area like your basement.
Estimote's stickers let you add tiny sensors to just about anything
The problem with the internet of things is that you often have to buy expensive add-ons or replacements to get all those clever sensors; you may not want to buy a bike computer just to track your rides. If Estimote has its way, you won't have to. Its new Sticker beacons let you graft wireless sensors on to nearly any object, giving it location, motion and temperature data that you can check through apps. You can figure out the length of your last bike trip just by slapping a sticker on the frame, or find out when your flowers need watering by using an augmented pot. Estimote even pictures stores using the tags to automatically cue up product info on a nearby screen, so you could find out whether some hot new shoes come in your size just by taking them off the shelf.
Recommended Reading: 'Lucy's' bad science and space movie inaccuracies
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. Lucy's Based on Bad Science, and 6 More Secrets About the Film by Angela Watercutter, Wired A quick Google search will reveal quite a few articles pointing out the inaccuracy of the main premise of Lucy. By ingesting drugs stuffed inside her belly by traffickers, a woman is able to access not just the 10 percent of her brain regular humans can supposedly access, but also the other 90 percent. That whole 10 percent figure is of course a myth, but that didn't stop Luc Besson from using it as the base for his fictional narrative. Besson uses his knack for creating great female leads with some out-of-order storytelling to make the whole thing a bit more believable, and Wired has a quick rundown before this weekend's debut.
The Piper smart hub monitors and manages your home for £119
"Connected home" gadgets are all about giving you greater awareness and control over what's happening in your crib. Most "internet of things" products for the home at targeted to specific uses, such as remote surveillance or heating control. Piper is slightly different, in that it attempts to tie all types home automation and security together into the one control centre. The device initially launched on Indiegogo where it achieved its funding goal three times over. Now, almost a year later, it's ready for a European retail release.
Chicago is getting lamp posts that count people and track pollution
Apparently, Chicago is becoming even more like its Watch Dogs doppelganger than we first thought. Researchers are deploying networked, sensor-equipped lamp posts from this July onward to learn how they could help urban planning and safety. They'll collect environmental data like air quality, noise levels and wind, and they'll also measure foot traffic by counting the number of passing cellphones. If the project takes off, Chicago officials could easily tell if air pollution is on the rise, or if a narrow sidewalk is creating a choke point.
