Google Assistant’s expansion into the car and devices with dedicated screens will soon allow consumers to interact with the AI in more ways than ever.
While the Google Assistant was technically available in Android Auto prior to today’s announcement, it was limited to its older ‘Google Now’ form. The full rollout will feature more powerful features such as home control and deeper access to third-party services.
Highways England has set out its plans on how V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure) technology in connected vehicles will be used to improve the nation’s road network.
Connected cars offer a huge opportunity to optimise Britain’s congested roads to improve safety and reduce journey times. Roadside infrastructure can report...
The UK has placed top of an index ranking the readiness of international governments for artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence requires government support to reach its potential. Oxford Insights conducted the research to determine which governments are more prepared to nurture AI’s potential.
“The UK is first in our rankings, reflecting its world-leading centres for AI research and...
BlackBerry has announced the extension of its strategic partnership with Qualcomm to deliver ‘cutting-edge’ platforms for connected cars.
Patrick Little, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Automotive at Qualcomm, comments: "As innovation in the automotive industry accelerates it becomes necessary for industry leaders to work together to deliver leading-edge technology platforms that help...
BlackBerry is aiming to address connected car security concerns with a framework intended to harden them against cyber attacks.
Connected cars herald an era where you no longer just have to protect them from being physically broken into, but also hacked into. Compromised vehicles could pose a threat to safety through remote control, or be used to access sensitive data such as location.
I’ve covered hacks of connected cars on...
Chris Bishop, Lab Director at Microsoft Research in Cambridge, has voiced his excitement and concern about the AI industry in the UK.
The UK has a long heritage in artificial intelligence and that history is helping establish it as a leader. A new AI startup is founded every week and Silicon Valley giants like Google are paying out large amounts of cash for the likes of DeepMind (acquired for £400m).
Microsoft...
Apple and Stanford have teamed up to launch a dedicated app called Heart Study which aims to research and detect potential issues.
The study was first announced back in September but is being rolled out to interested participants today. Using the Apple Watch for heart rate data, all irregularities will be noted and users will be notified of potential issues.
Using this data, the researchers can improve their detection of...
Chinese security firm Qihoo 360 Netlab have discovered a new variant of the Mirai botnet which caused havoc last year.
The original Mirai botnet was so destructive that it made national headlines last year in many countries around the world. Internet users found many of their favourite services were inaccessible after hackers used the botnet to DDoS companies such as Dyn, a company that controls much of the internet’s DNS infrastructure.
Deutsche Telekom has co-founded a new development lab with research organisation Fraunhofer which it says will have a ‘special focus’ on NB-IoT technology.
The first ‘Open IoT Lab’ intends to make advancements in the manufacturing, logistics and aviation sectors. Other firms are welcome to collaborate with the founding companies to develop application-specific IoT prototypes.
Pycom, a UK-based IoT module manufacturer, will launch its FiPy device worldwide at the end of November and will be presenting a seminar and hackathon in New Zealand.
FiPy claims to be the first to support five different radio communications technologies: WiFi, Bluetooth, LoRa, Sigfox and dual LTE-M (CAT M1 and NB-IoT) and to “contain all the core capability for developing the sensing devices needed by IoT...
A serious vulnerability affecting billions of IoT devices also put Amazon Echo and Google Home users at risk.
The vulnerability, known as BlueBorne, was discovered by IoT security company Armis and found to put more than five billion devices at risk of attack. Researchers have now confirmed the attack surface included as many as 20 million Amazon Echo and Google Home devices.
If compromised by...
Every now and then, a product comes along which shakes up and revolutionises an established category. In our review of the original Ring Video Doorbell, we alluded to it being such a product. We’ve finally got our hands on its successor, and while it’s not as revolutionary as the original, it takes some major steps forward.
If you looked at the spec sheet alone, it would appear little has changed with the second generation...
Cyanogen, once famous for Android ROMs, has switched gear and will now focus on the next big thing — self-driving cars.
If you’re tech-savvy (and you’re a reader of ours, so you obviously are…) then you’ve likely heard of Cyanogen. The company started its journey building custom Android ROMs for the many tinkerers on the Android platform.
A year ago, Cyanogen changed its name to Cyngn and discontinued building Android ROMs to focus on a “modular” OS which is easier...
Panasonic has launched an automotive intrusion detection and prevention system designed to defend connected cars.
Cyber attacks on vehicles could result in death or injury. Most of these vehicles will be connected over mobile networks and, as our sister publication Telecoms wrote earlier today, these are inherently vulnerable. With this in mind, a system which is able to detect attacks is...
ProRail, a government-owned maintenance company, will be installing 2,000 IoT sensors to monitor rail network assets.
The sensors are from Strukton Rail company Dual Inventive and will be rolled out in the coming months in the Netherlands. 1,500 sensors will be installed on points with point heating; while 500 sensors will be used for other rail systems — including barriers and catenaries.
Each of the sensors will monitor the infrastructure for issues such as temperature changes in the rails. A low...
Perhaps it was only a matter of time, but rumours indicate Google is preparing to launch a competitor to the Amazon Echo Show.
TechCrunch reports hearing from multiple sources that Google is building a smart home device with a screen. Like with the Echo Show, this would allow the device to display useful information visually such as the weather forecast.
Amazon has left itself somewhat vulnerable in this space with the Echo Show often seen as having the right idea, but with a lackluster execution.
The...
Vodafone has released its fifth annual IoT Barometer Report providing further insights about the current state of the industry.
The most notable statistic is that the number of companies with more than 50,000 connected devices has doubled in the past 12 months.
Businesses in the Americas are leading the pack with 19 percent of companies having more than 10,000 devices — compared to 12 percent in Europe, and just 7 percent in the Asia-Pacific region.
According to Vodafone, the biggest adopters of...
A new study from Juniper Research has found that drivers for ride-sharing platforms such as Uber and Lyft will double over the next five years.
Ride-sharing is surging in popularity, and there’s little surprise as to why. Whether an individual decides to ride share for economic or environmental reasons; it’s often both cheaper and greener. That, and it also reduces the stress of sitting in the gridlock traffic of major cities and the despair of then attempting to find a parking...
IoT News spoke with Alex Bunardzic, senior software developer at Staples, about the future of chatbots and the pursuit of their loyalty.
“People spend a lot of their online time chatting either through SMS, Messenger, or other channels,” says Bunardzic. “Previously, it was the trend that people were spending more time on social media and that’s where businesses were flocking to – you go where the market is. Now, businesses are realising the market is in the...
The UK government has published a draft of its Data Protection Bill which brings the EU’s controversial GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) into UK law but provides leniency in some important areas.
In an editorial last month, IoT News highlighted the danger of GDPR regulations holding back startups which rely on data collection. We spoke to Peter...
