Share your thoughts in the comments below! Here’s my list of the exciting IoT news from last month:
Matter connectivity standard is delayed
The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) recently announced a release in the delay of specification of Matter, the royalty-free connectivity standard suited for smart home devices. Formerly Project Connected Home over IP, or Project CHIP, Matter is an IPv6-based connectivity standard defining the application layer deployed on devices with Wi-Fi support, Thread, and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).
Citing additional tests and the Alliance’s Specification Validation Event to date, Matter’s SDK will be feature complete this spring, with Version 0.9 of the specification available to all Alliance members towards mid-year.
Vodafone rolls out its “Economy of Things”
Vodafone recently unveiled the Digital Asset Broker (DAB) platform, enabling a safe exchange of information between devices and cars. By assigning each electric vehicle with a digital identity passport associated with the authorised driver, DAB establishes a secure connection to confirm the vehicle’s identity when plugged into the charging point.
The new platform will work out-of-the-box with “things” on Vodafone’s IoT network, as well as integrate with third-party devices. Also, DAB will leverage blockchain technology to ensure the security of connected devices and payments.
Linux releases Linux 5.17
Linus Torvalds released Linux 5.17 just a few days ago. Qualcomm added support for the Snapdragon X65 platform, featuring an ARM Cortex A7 CPU running a minimal Linux. The Snapdragon X65 profiles up to 10 Gbps peak download speeds with support for Sub-6GHz 5G*.*
Among its most notable features, the extended mmWave capabilities and improved power efficiency make it a good fit for industrial automation.
It is noteworthy to see an ongoing tightening of Linux and RISC-V, empowering a new era of processor innovation with its free and open Instruction Set Architecture, with the 5.17 kernel release not disappointing in that regard. The 5.17 release saw considerable updates for the StarFive JH7100, a low-cost RISC-V SoC, with the PR pushing for mainline support explicitly stating it “[…] promises to be the first usable low-cost platform for RISC-V.” Designed for AI/ML workloads, the StarFive JH7100 is featured in the VisionFive V1 SBC, touted as the world’s first-gen of affordable RISC-V boards running Linux.
Volkswagen ships software generation 3.0
Automobile manufacturer Volkswagen released Software 3.0., the latest update to the all-electric ID.3. Among the key features introduced with 3.0 are assisted lane changing, increased charging performance and optimised voice control.
Touted as “the blueprint for Volkswagen’s future“, the ID.3 was first launched in 2020. Volkswagen then shipped over-the-air (OTA) updates last year, in the ID. software update 2.3.
Intel invests in semiconductor manufacturing and R&D in the EU
Just a few weeks after announcing a new $1 billion fund to aid “companies building disruptive technologies”, Intel confirmed its presence at the cutting-edge of innovation by revealing ambitious plans for semiconductor manufacturing and R&D across Europe.
Mid-march’s announcement comprises an initial €17 billion to build a semiconductor fab mega-site in Magdeburg, Germany, a design hub in France, as well as manufacturing and foundry services in Ireland, Italy, Poland and Spain.
Addressing the global needs for a balanced supply chain, Intel plans on bringing its most advanced technologies to the old continent, helping spur growth in the next-gen EU chip ecosystem.