IoT World: 10 Cool Connected Internet Of Things Applications On Display

IoT World Products

Vendors flocked to the show floor during this year's Internet of Things World to show off their newest innovations in the IoT space.

IoT World, which kicked off last week in Santa Clara, Calif., brought together vendors, solution providers, and customers to talk about the latest trends in the IoT market.

On the demo floor, show-goers got a glimpse of some of the newest Internet of Things products on the market this year – from a connected baby monitor that helps parents keep track of their children using connected devices, to a connected vending machine enabling manufacturers to track their vending inventory.

Following are 10 of the coolest Internet of Things applications CRN saw at this year's IoT World.

Owlet Baby Monitor

Avnet showed off the Owlet baby monitor, a connected monitor that the distributor helped to develop from design to prototype to production.

The Smart Sock monitor is on a small sock that goes around the child's foot and tracks health data through a pulse oximeter with Bluetooth technology. This helps parents track their baby's heart rate and oxygen in real-time from their smartphones. According to Owlet, the sock notifies parents if levels are higher or lower than preset levels – a good indicator of overall wellness. The Smart Sock is currently on the market for $300.

Twyst Connected Retail Bags

Twyst created a connected shopping bag that helps customers have an easier shopping experience and skip long lines in grocery shops.

The smart bag's base contains a lightweight Bluetooth device that recognizes when items with radio frequency id tags are placed inside the bag. When the bag leaves the grocery store, it sends a signal to the user's smartphone that triggers a mobile purchase – and the customer then pays digitally and gets a digital receipt. Avnet worked with Twyst to create a proof of concept for the smart shopping bags and helped the company bring its product to market. The product is currently being tested in several stores, although Twyst would not name any of the stores to CRN at this time.

Fortinet Security Fabric

Fortinet showed off its flagship security fabric, which the company extended into the Internet of Things a few months ago. This fabric helps enterprises better protect their IoT devices through strategic network security capabilities – including complete network visibility features, an internal segmentation firewall that allows companies to segment their networks and devices, and protection that ensures compromised IoT devices can be remediated at multiple points in the network to contain threats. This security fabric is currently on the market for IoT devices, said Fortinet.

Buddy Ohm

Partners got a glimpse of Buddy Ohm, a simple solution that helps customers monitor the consumption of essential building resources in smart buildings. The device helps operators and building tenants who may just be starting out with the Internet of Things track data and drive down monthly resource spending. Buddy Ohm contains industry standard sensors that track electricity, gas, water and steam consumption – and then presents the information through a simple visualization tool.

Buddy Ohm has built-in connectivity so that installers don't need to worry about network interruptions, a spokesperson told CRN. The platform costs $1,500 per month, which includes installation, portal management and ongoing updates of the device, according to Buddy.

Viv Connected Vending Machine

Vagabond showed off its connected vending machine mobile platform at IoT World. The Google partner's product allows users to scroll through the products from their smartphone and purchase food through mobile payments – a more convenient vending experience for consumers.

Machine operators can access Vagabond's insight hardware and vending management software. Using Google Maps, Vagabond can help operators develop better knowledge around where consumers are located and when they use the machines most, where their vending machines are located, and what consumers' favorite brands and food preferences are.

Talkin' Things Smart Packaging

Talkin' Things showed off its Near Field Communication-based global smart packaging system at IoT World. This system integrates the NFC tag with product packaging that enables brands to enhance logistics management. At the same time, the tracking system allows customers to check all the information they need about a product through their smartphones, which connect to the smart label on the package.

Talkin' Things also provides custom-made chips for packaging solutions, as well as a data management dashboard and SDK and front-end software for customers. The pricing for Talkin' Things' end to end solution was not disclosed.

Silver Spring Networks Smart Street Light

Silver Spring is working with cities and utility companies to cut energy costs, improve safety and increase citizen engagement through their smart street light solution, which the company showed off at IoT World.

Silver Spring Networks provides an open, standards-based lighting platform that allows customers to monitor their street lights and better manage maintenance and replace burned out lights easily.

The company has integrated its IPv6 networking platform into various outdoor lighting control manufacturers' products (such as Sunrise Technologies) that are currently on the market.

Tinitell Wearables

Tinitell showed off its wearable mobile phones that are designed for children. This durable wearable, which fits around the wrist, can be managed by parents from a Tinitell administration app – so children can easily make and receive phone calls for up to 12 contacts. Tinitell's app, which is available on iOS and Android smartphones, also provides a GPS tracker for parents to locate their children. Tinitell is currently on the market, starting at $149.

HPE And IAV Automotive Engineering Showcase Connected Vehicles

HPE and IAV Automotive Engineering showed off a BMW i3 demo vehicle at IoT World. The two companies have partnered to create a system that integrates data from connected cars and allows users to monitor and manage their vehicles.

HPE has integrated its Universal IoT platform and HPE Edgeline micro gateway into the car – so customers can monitor and manage connected systems within the vehicle. According to HPE, the system can control applications, such as closing a convertible’s roof due to the rain sensor data received from other vehicles on the road, and contains security features that prevent unauthorized access to the system. The BMW i3 is still in concept phase.

Dialog SmartBond

Dialog Semiconductor showcased its SmartBond family, which consist of components that help companies deliver flexible Bluetooth connected products to the market.

On display was Dialog's DA 14585, a Bluetooth low-energy SoC development platform. This system on a chip, which features low power and integrated Bluetooth 5, is targeted for applications that need longer battery lifetimes, like beacons, virtual reality controllers, connected sensors, and connected medical devices.