The 10 Coolest IoT Devices And Products Of 2021

CRN looks at some of the coolest IoT devices and products that were released or introduced this year, with solutions ranging from asset tracking to sensor connectivity.

From Asset Tracking To Sensor Connectivity

New IoT devices and products introduced this year include a platform for efficiently managing fleets of robots, a portable security device for keeping tabs on cherished belongings and an antenna that connects IoT devices to nanosatellites.

These are examples of IoT devices and products that are introducing new innovations while also providing practical solutions for both consumers and businesses, and they are among the coolest that CRN found out of all the IoT solutions released this year.

[Related: The 10 Hottest IoT Startups Of 2021]

Beyond solutions for IoT device management, IoT security and IoT connectivity, other IoT solutions of note from 2021 include a new asset tracking platform, a connected safety solution, an embedded chip that comes with a prepaid cellular plan, an edge AI platform, an industrial 5G gateway, a sensor connectivity platform and a temperature sensor platform for vaccines.

What follows are the 10 coolest IoT devices and products of 2021.

For more of the biggest startups, products and news stories of 2021, click here.

AirFinder OnSite

AirFinder Onsite is an IoT asset tracking platform that uses Bluetooth Low Energy to provide sub-meter accuracy for location tracking in campus-based environments. The platform’s creator, Link Labs, said it’s the first enterprise real-time location system to provide such precision. Link Labs uses a proprietary technology called eXtreme Low Energy to extend the battery life of AirFinder’s location tags by one to two years compared to proximity-based location systems. The system can provide up to 90 percent savings in infrastructure costs compared to alternatives thanks to the phase-ranging process enabled by the tag’s computer chip, the nRF52833 from Nordic Semiconductor.

AWS IoT RoboRunner

Amazon Web Services wants to make it easier and more efficient to manage fleets of robots with AWS IoT RoboRunner. The new service allows companies to build and deploy applications that optimize the way robots and industrial software systems work together. Instead of having to manage multiple interfaces, AWS IoT RoboRunner reduces all interactions to a single view, and it also standardizes data of various types, including facility, location and robotic task data. The service supports use cases such as task orchestration, space management and robot collaboration.

HazardIQ

HazardIQ is a connected safety solution from Intelex Technologies that collects and analyzes data from a broad range of sensors, wearables and other kinds of devices to increase worker safety in industries ranging from oil and gas to construction and manufacturing. The solution automates the collection of hazardous gas data from field environment monitoring equipment so that incidents can be detected and alerts can be sent faster. The solution also makes it easy to perform a root cause analysis and risk assessment to figure out why incidents happen.

Mimic Go

Mimic Go is a portable security device that can be affixed to surfaces or standalone items and sound an alarm when it detects any movement. This means the Mimic Go can be used to monitor fixed locations, like a table or couch, or individual items, like a laptop or purse. The device does not use cameras, microphones or GPS; instead, it relies on an accelerometer, magnetometer, temperature sensor and motion sensor to detect changes in surroundings. It can be configured via smartphone app to send alerts and sound alarms when changes are noticed by these sensors. One Mimic Go costs $89.

Myriota Mouse

The Myriota Mouse is a plug-and-play external antenna that connects IoT devices to Myriota’s network of low Earth orbit nanosatellites. The Myriota Mouse is meant for devices in a variety of industries — including agriculture, transportation and utilities — where traditional connectivity is not reliable or non-existence. Myriota said the module offers high performance on its network, and it’s built to withstand a wide range of weather conditions.

Notecard

The Notecard from startup Blues Wireless is an embedded system-on-module that makes it easy and cost-effective to bring prepaid cellular connectivity to new and existing IoT devices. Priced at $80, the Notecard comes with 500MB and 10 years of cellular connectivity, which includes LTE-M, NB-IoT and Cat-1 networks. “This allows a developer to experiment and build without fear and use the same solution architecture in millions of devices,” according to AT&T, whose networks are used by the Notecard. The Notecard can work with any nearly every microcontroller on the market, and it can be plugged in using on onboard M.2 Key E connector or through a companion board.

Swift Sensors Vaccine Package

The Swift Sensors Vaccine Package is a bundle of temperature sensors, gateways and software that gives medical facilities and pharmacies the ability “to remotely monitor COVID-19 vaccine storage temperatures, automate data logging, and respond quickly in case of an equipment problem or power failure,” according to the vendor. The solution comes with two wireless temperature sensor options, one for measuring sub-zero temperatures for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and a more standard one for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. The temperature sensors automatically relay temperature data through a wireless gateway to Swift Sensors’ cloud software, which pharmacy and clinic managers can use from a computer or mobile device. The software can send alerts if the temperature exceeds a certain threshold.

ThinkEdge SE70 Edge AI Platform

The ThinkEdge SE70 is a new edge AI platform from Lenovo that is built for computer vision applications in variety of verticals, from health care to manufacturing. It’s a small form factor device that provides high performance compute for AI applications in a power efficient manner thanks to the Nvidia Jetson Xavier NX chip inside. The rugged design means the device can handle conditions in a range of environments, including places where temperatures are as low as -20 degrees Celsius and as high as 60 degrees Celsius. The ThinkEdge SE70 comes with Amazon Web Services’ Panorama device software development kit pre-installed, making it easier for enterprises to turn IP cameras into smart cameras that can run computer vision applications at the edge.

Thread X3

Thread X3 is a broadband industrial IoT sensor connectivity device from sensemetrics Inc. that makes it easy to connect a wide range of sensors, collect data from them and manage them from the cloud. Thread X3 can support a high density of sensors, enabled by attaching multiplexed devices that can handle up to 128 sensors per device, and sensemetrics’ Sensor Integration Builder can simplify the process of automating the sensors. The device’s network communication options include Ethernet, cellular and low-power wide-area networking, and it comes with intelligent communication uplink prioritization and automatic failover to strengthen connectivity.

Wavemaker PRO 5G Industrial Gateway S2000e

The Wavemaker PRO 5G Industrial Gateway S2000e is a high-performance 5G gateway that provides “best-in-class throughput and reliability” for industrial IoT and enterprise networks. Manufacturer Inseego said the S2000e is the “only commercially available” industrial gateway that has both 4x4 MIMO LTE and 5G connectivity, which allows it to provider faster throughput and better coverage, even when 5G isn’t available. The gateway also has a higher thermal threshold than other gateways, which allows it to provide multi-gigabit 5G data rates without having to fall back to LTE due to internal temperatures. Other features include cloud-based remote device management and advanced security capabilities.