In conjunction with its 2016 interim result sprue announced that they have acquired IoT software provider Intamac for up to £2.8 million.  Sprue whose principal products are smoke alarms, CO alarms and accessories acquired Intamac as part of its new connected homes strategy, said its chairman Graham Whitworth.  Sprue acquired the source code and development rights to the software developed by Intamac to enable its customers to connect and monitor Sprue’s whole range of wireless products over the internet.

The cloud-connected smart home is expected to create a $28 billion US  market by the year 2020; this is according to research firm ON World.  With money like this on offer, I am sure it will draw a lot of attention anyone with the money to invest. One UK mobile operator, O2 has decided they want in and has decided to offer the service to UK households.

Core Brands has announced the release of Auriel 2.0 with added features such as streaming audio, climate and lighting control, plus remote access.  Now custom installers installing the Niles Auriel MRC-6430 Multi-room audio system can offer smart home control as well.  The Auriel 2.0 multi-room audio platform is built on the ELAN Control Platform.  The new software update enables any existing Auriel system to easily upgrade to the additional control features.

Users with PCs using Intel's 7th Gen Core processors will be able to experience 4K picture quality from Sony ULTRA.  Sony announced that they will debut SPHE's movie streaming service on computers powered by 7th Gen Intel Core processors beginning Q1 in 2017.  Intel said the new service will take advantage of the processor's new hardware security technologies and offers far richer entertainment experiences and incredible performance and responsiveness.  In addition to the new movie service users can expect longer battery life.

The use of the internet is growing at an exponential rate, according to Cisco's latest Visual Networking Index.  They are predicting global IP traffic to triple over the next five years at an approximate rate of 22 percent per year.  They are expecting this growth to come from; an increase in internet users, more devices and the type of traffic being consumed.  As a result of this growth, the Internet of Things (IoT) sector can expect global revenue of more than $682 billion over the next ten years.

This week will see the launch of Bluetooth 5, an improved version that will offer more connected services for those who love to be connected.  The Bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group) is schedule to make the announcement this week in London, according to the Bluetooth SIG Executive Director, Mark Powell. The new standard promises new features that will allow a more connected lifstyle, in and outside the home.

For most people Intel is associated with the slogan, “Intel Inside” which is used as a common badge for a standard desktop or laptop PC.  But Intel’s technology is used in many other things such as those for IoT solutions.  The latter part of 2015 saw a lot of announcements from Intel giving glimpses of the vision they have for IoT in the home and industries.

In 2005 Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) announced that it was conducting smart grid solutions testing with the intention to roll out the solution across the island. At the time JPS reported some of their loses were down to electricity theft, which resulted in a losses of US$18.4 million. To reduces it losses because theft and increase revenue JPS also planning on spending up to US$40 million over the next 5 years. This week JPS said they were going live with Silver Spring’s smart grid open standards-based platform and SilverLink Software-as-a-Service.

Toyota has setup a new connected solution company in partnership with Microsoft.  The new collaborative partnership will offer data analytics and connected car services.  Located in Plano, Texas, the data science centre will offer integrated connected car services to Toyota drivers and using cutting-edge data analytics to provide feedback into product development for Toyota at large.

Nokia Technologies, an offspring of Nokia, has has made its first step into the connected health market with Samsung, Apple and Microsoft by acquiring Withings of France.  Withings offers a family of award-winning digital health products and services to help people lead healthier lives. Its connected health product range includes regulated and unregulated products such as activity trackers, weighing scales, thermometers, blood pressure monitors, home and baby monitors.