Amazon Web Services Debuts IoT Analytics

Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the general availability of AWS IoT Analytics, a fully managed service that collects, pre-processes, enriches, stores and analyzes IoT device data at scale, according to a press release. The software has a built-in SQL query engine to answer specific business questions and more sophisticated analytics, enabling customers to understand the performance of devices, predict device failure, and perform time-series analysis, according to the press release.

IoT Security Startup Minim raises $2.5 Million Series Round

Minim, an IoT security platform, announced a $2.5 million seed round of funding led by Flybridge Capital Partners and Founder Collective. The Manchester, N.H.-based company was established last year by Jeremy Hitchcock, former co-founder and CEO of Dyn, in response to the massive Mirai DDoS attack that took down Dyn, and several major internet services with it, in October 2016, according to a press release announcing the news. The company will use the funding to develop its WiFi management and IoT security platform.

Schneider Electric Debuts EcoStruxure Machine Advisor

Schneider Electric announced its EcoStruxure Machine Advisor, a platform that allows OEMs and operators to track, monitor and fix machines remotely, at Hannover Messe last week, according to a blog post by ARC Advisory Group’s Craig Resnick. EcoStruxure Machine Advisor provides a connected framework for more reliable machine operation, according to the blog, allowing OEMs to better visualize the location of their machines, monitor data in real time and fix problems, and even access information in a mobile application that supports augmented reality technology.

SAP Boosts Digital Twin Portfolio

SAP debuted new digital twin technology at Hannover Messe last week. SAP S/4HANA Cloud for intelligent product design provides shared views of digital twin information for customers to gain live insights on new products and to store, share and review engineering documents with internal and external participants, according to a press release announcing the news. The offering includes packaged integration to existing systems for computer-aided design, ERP and product lifecycle management. SAP is also working to provide a virtual platform for collaboration on products and assets, citing, amongst others, its current SAP Ariba offering.

IBM Files Blockchain Patent

IBM has filed a patent application for technology that enables proof-of-work for smart contracts on a blockchain to ensure IoT devices can execute the action securely, according to coverage in CoinDesk. In a patent application, IBM explains it would “limit the number of nonces, or one-time-use numbers, within a defined range that the IoT-connected devices can employ when updating the conceptual blockchain,” according to the coverage. IBM envisions applying this invention to smart contracts, with use cases such as “peer to peer (P2P) energy networks, logistic networks, crowd-sourced weather networks, and the like,” according to CoinDesk.

And blockchain Lived Happily Ever After

Has IBM software engineer Brett Biery coined the next favorite character in children’s literature with “Blocky?” Biery’s new book, “A Place in the Blockchain,” “is meant to be a fun tribute to the technology,” according to the book’s Amazon advertisement. The picture book details Blocky’s adventures as he struggles to find his place in the blockchain, of course, eventually succeeding.