LG Uplus, a subsidiary of LG announced that Korea based Ushin General Construction has selected LG Uplus’s IoT @home platform for the Class Apartments in Geumwang Wooshin, South Korea. The LG Uplus apps will be integrated in different services within the home, allowing residents to use connected home appliances such as heating and cooling, lighting and gas control, unmanned delivery services, energy usage checks and parking controls.
Microsoft has one, Intel has one, and now Samsung has built theirs. These companies are all building their own show home demonstrating the possibilities of IoT within the connected home. However, Samsung is going a bit further. Through its construction division Samsung C&T, they want to start building these connected homes for customers. In its home country of South Korea, Munjeong-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul; Samsung C&T has set up the “Raemian IoT HomeLab” to demonstrate the latest in IoT solution within the home.
PulteGroup and Georgia Power are collaborating with a number of technology partners to create Atlanta's first "Smart Neighborhood". Located in Atlanta's Upper West Side at the intersection of Marietta Boulevard and Bolton Drive the housing development will feature the latest connected home technologies.
As one of the big names in car manufacturing Toyota has pledged to boost the autonomous vehicle industry. In partnership with TMC, Aisin Seiki, Denso Corporation they will invest of up to 2.8 billion (USD) to develop self-driving vehicle technology. The partnership has formed the Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development (TRI-AD). While they're still working out the finer details their joint venture, one clear objective is to develop "fully-integrated, production-quality software for automated driving."
The Japanese smart home market is likely to almost fivefold by the year 2024 from its current level. According to a new report The Japanese smart home market is expected to be US$ 5 Billion by 2024. There is a growing demand in the Japanese market for safe and secure living environment, especially concerning safety functionalities and discrete monitoring for elderly people; also, since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, Japan has been focused on building energy efficient smart homes and supportive devices.
LG is offering consumers more ways to control your home and enjoy the benefits of a connected home experience across a range of their home appliances. LG Electronics USA announced that 87 of their Wi-Fi connected home appliances, such as their washing machines and dryers, dishwashers, vacuums, refrigerators, ovens, air purifiers are now compatible with Google Assistant on Google Home and supported Android and iOS smartphones.
Qualcomm, AT&T, Ford, and Nokia have announced plans to start connected car trials with Qualcomm's Cellular-V2X (C-V2X) technology. According to Qualcomm, the trial is the first for the U.S. and will help to accelerate the development of connected cars. The trial is to demonstrate the potential of C-V2X technologies, including support for improved automotive safety, automated driving, and traffic efficiency.
Centrica has partnered wtih Eni gas e luce of Italy. The five-year partnership arrangement will help Centrica to move its Hive smart home devices into the European market. Centrica also acquired Belgian power management firm REstore in deal worth €70 million (£62 million) in cash. Headquartered in Antwerp, REstore manages 1.7GW of peak load from a portfolio of industrial and commercial customers across Belgium, the UK, France and Germany.
The acquisition of Alertme by British Gas is now bearing fruit for the energy company. According to Centrica, British Gas’s parent company, connected home services revenue is up 30% to the end of April 2017, with over 600,000 connected hubs installed and over 900,000 connected products sold to date.
ecobee maker of the ecobee smart thermostat, announced the launch of ecobee3 lite. The new device like the company’s flagship ecobee3; ecobee3 lite features a beautiful and easy-to-use touchscreen for a fraction of the price. Ecobee3 lite will integrate with Amazon Echo, Apple HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings and IFTTT. The ecobee3 lite comes with a new mobile application for Apple and Android devices.