CIO/CTO Update

Welcome to M2M News Weekly, an online newsletter that consists of the most interesting news and articles related to M2M (machine to machine) and embedded mobile devices.  I aggregate the information, include the original links and add a synopsis of each article.  I also search for the latest market numbers such as market size, growth and trends in and around the M2M market.

Social media has seized on the potential of RFID tags to log visitors to certain amusement parks. Once they pass through the gate or pass by an RFID scanner, their presence will be beamed to Facebook or another social media site announcing they were there and what they were doing. Read Original Content



According to ABI Research the compound annual growth rate of global insurance telematics subscribers will grow by 90 percent from 2010 to 2017. That's an increase from 1.85 million telematics users to a whopping figure of 89 million. Read Original Content

ClickSoftware is an SAP mobility partner and the leading provider of automated workforce management and optimization solutions for every size of service business.  This newsletter is sponsored in part by ClickSoftware - http://www.clicksoftware.com/.

Texas Instruments has released a single-chip passive infrared micro-electro-mechanical system temperature sensor, called the TMP006. The TMP006 could open up new applications for devices that were previously unable to use IR temperature measurement because of size, power, or costs. That means going past industrial applications to include consumer electronics, such as smartphones, tablets, and notebooks. Read Original Content

The U.S. Army has placed its largest order of micro-robots with ReconRobotics, Inc. A contract worth $13.9 million will supply the U.S. Army with 1,100 Recon Scout XT micro-robot kits. The 1.2-pound robot is equipped with a camera that can perform indoor and outdoor surveillance for soldiers in combat. Read Original Content

Soon nearly all electronic devices - light bulbs, cars, TVs, digital cameras, refrigerators, stereos, cranes, beds – will be connected to the Internet, if they aren’t already. According to research firm Ericson, 50 billion devices will be connected by 2020. Read Original Content

We’re at a juncture in the smart grid market where utilities are moving beyond the expected and taking next steps with advanced technologies – from the flywheel systems protecting Austin Energy’s new control center to SAIC’s “Smart Grid as a Service” that supports critical energy management systems in remote Alaskan villages. Check out these seven smart grid projects. Read Original Content

More than a third of UK businesses with a workforce exceeding 500 employees have telematics in place (37 percent), according to a survey conducted by ALD Automotive. Read Original Content

CVPS, Green Mountain Power Corp., and Vermont’s other electric utilities are implementing smart grid programs that will allow consumers to monitor in real-time their energy consumption with the potential to save on their electric bills. It will also allow utilities to more effectively manage their peak loads and better respond to power outages, more precisely pinpointing the location. Read Original Content

The value of pure Smart Grid M&A deals grew from $134 million in 2007 to $10.6 billion in 2011. Both the growth and now scale indicate that the supply side is gearing up to meet the requirements for new technology and the forecast demand for pure Smart Grid products and systems. Value of Smart Grid M&A deals should reach $12 billion by 2016. Read Original Content

The top 20 mobile operators in the M2M communications space will together generate €25 billion in revenues from M2M applications in 2020, but some will account for a much larger percentage of that revenue opportunity than others, according to new figures from Machina Research. Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom and AT&T - in that order – together account for 35 percent of the top 20. Read Original Content

Qualcomm Incorporated has announced its fifth generation Gobi embedded data connectivity reference platform for mobile devices, including thin form factor laptops, tablets and convertibles. Based on Qualcomm's Gobi 4G LTE wireless baseband modems, the MDM9615 and MDM9215, the technology delivers fast LTE connectivity on FDD and TDD networks worldwide. Read Original Content