Berg Insight, the leading IoT market research provider, today released new findings about the market for Electronic Monitoring (EM) of offenders.

The number of simultaneous participants in EM programmes in Europe, North America and Latin America amounted to about 64,000, 518,000 and 130,000 respectively at the end of 2023. The total number of EM programme participants during the full year 2023 reached 200,000 in Europe, 880,000 in North America and 296,000 in Latin America.

Berg Insight estimates that the number of simultaneous participants will grow to 94,000 in Europe, 680,000 in North America and 239,000 in Latin America by the end of 2028. The market value in 2023 reached US$ 226 million in Europe, US$ 1.3 billion in North America and US$ 76 million in Latin America. The total market value in the three regions combined is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 7.2 percent from US$ 1.6 billion in 2023 to US$ 2.3 billion in 2028.

Electronic monitoring (EM) programmes were first introduced in the US in the early 1980s. Today, EM is an established alternative to detention across Europe and North America and in some Latin American countries. The aim of EM programmes is to increase offender accountability, reduce recidivism rates and enhance public safety by providing an additional tool to traditional methods of community supervision. Policy makers, corrections authorities and private sector service providers advocate for extended EM programmes to reduce total correctional system costs and to combat prison overcrowding.

There are two dominant technologies used for electronic monitoring – Radio Frequency (RF) and GPS. RF-based systems are today the most common type of solution in most European countries, although the share of GPS devices is growing in many countries. In the US, Brazil and other countries in Latin America, GPS-based solutions are used in the vast majority of cases. A number of private companies are involved in the provisioning of EM, including developing, supplying and installing equipment, providing monitoring services as well as delivering other supporting services. Leading providers of EM equipment and services include US-based BI Inc. (GEO Group), Allied Universal Electronic Monitoring, Sentinel Offender Services, SCRAM Systems, Securus Technologies, Shadowtrack and Track Group; UK-based Buddi; Israel-based SuperCom; Poland-based Enigma (COMP); Switzerland-based Geosatis; and Brazil-based Spacecom and Synergye.

“The adoption and use of electronic monitoring solutions in the criminal justice sector is increasing as new products and solutions are being introduced that enable additional use cases”, says Martin Backman, Principal Analyst at Berg Insight.

Newly launched wrist-worn GPS devices reduce the stigma associated with ankle bracelets and can be used for low-risk offenders. Devices that combine GPS tracking and alcohol monitoring are also being introduced and are increasingly used as part of EM programmes. The developments in tracking technology and software in the past few years have made it possible to create dynamic inclusion and exclusion zones that protects the victims of domestic violence from the perpetrator. Victim protection solutions are now also part of the EM programmes in many countries and jurisdictions.

Mr. Backman concludes:

“EM programmes are expected to increase in size in the next few years as prison overcrowding and rising incarceration costs continue to impose major challenges for many jurisdictions in Europe and the Americas.”

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IoT Analytics, a leading provider of market insights and strategic business intelligence for the Internet of Things (IoT), AI, Cloud, Edge, and Industry 4.0, today has published its latest research on the global cellular IoT module and chipset market.

The report reveals that shipments of cellular IoT modules and chipsets dropped 16% year-over-year in 2023; however, our research projects the market to climb back to near 2022 levels in 2024. The research article further delves into the evolution of cellular IoT modules and chipsets with the latest technological innovations in smart and AI-enabled cellular IoT modules as key drivers for the project growth.

Key insights:

The latest update to the Global Cellular IoT Module and Chipset Market Tracker and Forecast shows that shipments of cellular IoT modules and chipsets dropped 16% year-over-year in 2023; however, the tracker projects the market to climb back almost fully to 2022 levels in 2024.
The rise of smart and AI-enabled cellular IoT modules, which enable data processing and decision-making near or at the edge, is helping to drive this projected growth.
AI is not the same across the board—the capabilities of AI-enabled cellular IoT modules vary between low, medium, and high based on the speed of AI inference, typically driven by the chipsets used.

Key quotes:

Satyajit Sinha, Principal Analyst at IoT Analytics, remarks “IoT devices are evolving beyond connecting devices and expanding to analyzing the data they produce to make swift, informed choices. As a result, there is a growing need for more computational power and intelligence, especially at the edge closer to the data generated. This trend is also apparent in the cellular IoT field, where integrating AI with cellular IoT modules and chipsets leads to more autonomous decision-making. It also minimizes data transmission over cellular networks, reducing bandwidth and costs. On-device AI models powered by NPUs enhance this capability by enabling smart decision-making at the edge.”

Cellular IoT module market update

Global shipments of cellular IoT modules and chipsets dropped 16% year-over-year in 2023, according to the updated Global Cellular IoT Module and Chipset Market Tracker & Forecast (Q1/2024 Update). Two factors contributed to this decline:

1. Inventory optimization: Initial supply shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and trade tensions around the same time led to manufacturers overordering modules and chipsets in 2021 and 2022, resulting in a surplus of these on the market. To address the surplus in 2023, manufacturers prioritized using existing modules and chipsets, thus delaying new orders.
2. Economic uncertainty: Inflation, rising interest rates, recession fears, and renewed US–China trade tensions have created a cautious investment climate, impacting new orders.

Fortunately, corporate executives appear to be easing their economic concerns, which could lessen the impact of the second factor as supply rebalances with demand. As this balance is achieved, cellular IoT module and chipset shipments are expected to rebound in the near term and are forecasted to grow at a 22% CAGR until 2027, with the slump of 2023 almost fully eradicated by the end of 2024.

Also likely to help rejuvenate this market is the rise of smart and AI-enabled cellular IoT modules—technologies that leverage embedded computational resources to execute advanced data analysis or even AI inference directly on IoT devices. Together, shipments of these advanced modules are forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 76% until 2027.

Smart and AI-enabled cellular IoT modules represent the latest frontiers of cellular IoT connectivity—the latest interactions of cellular IoT technology operating alongside their more basic, yet still quite capable, predecessor modules worldwide. Below, we will look at the evolution of IoT modules and chipsets and delve further into AI-enabled cellular IoT modules, including a look at their various processing capabilities and some applications for these intelligent modules.

Evolution of IoT cellular modules

The evolution of IoT cellular connectivity can be seen as 3 overlapping generations: legacy, smart, and AI-enabled.

“AI-driven productivity is inevitably evolving as an essential to extend the capabilities of IoT devices, significantly [improving] operational efficiency by enriching the IoT device with edge computing.” – Eden Chen, General Manager of MC BU at Fibocom

In the beginning: Legacy cellular IoT modules

Legacy cellular IoT models have been around for nearly two decades, simply providing connectivity for IoT devices to send and receive data from other locations. They include a cellular chipset/baseband to connect to a specified cellular technology, e.g., 2G, 3G, 5G, or NB-IoT.

In 2023, legacy cellular IoT modules comprised 96% of global cellular IoT module shipments. While shipments of these modules are forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 18% until 2027, their share of global cellular IoT module shipments will begin to give way to smart and AI-enabled cellular IoT modules, as discussed below.

Example of a legacy cellular IoT module

An example of a legacy cellular IoT module is the EM9190 5G New Radio (NR) Sub-6 GHz Module from Sierra Wireless, a Canadian wireless communications equipment manufacturer. This module enables devices to connect to 5G networks with 4G and 3G fallback when 5G is unavailable. Sierra Wireless announced the EM91 series of these legacy modules in August 2020, which is fairly recent; however, this reflects that legacy cellular IoT modules are still in demand when edge processing is unnecessary.

*Note: US-based semiconductor and IoT systems provider Semtech acquired Sierra Wireless in January 2023.

A move toward the edge: Smart cellular IoT modules

Smart cellular IoT modules have been on the market for nearly a decade. In addition to providing the connectivity capability found with their legacy counterparts, these smart modules include powerful CPUs and GPUs for on-device data processing. They can also support operating systems like Linux or Android to enable advanced functions and multimedia capabilities.

In 2023, these smart modules comprised 2% of global cellular IoT module shipments; however, the tracker forecasts this number to rise to 10% by 2027, with a CAGR of 79%.

Example of a smart cellular IoT module

An example of a smart cellular IoT module is the CQS290 Smart Cellular IoT Android Module from US-based cellular IoT module manufacturer Cavli Wireless. Cavli announced the unveiling of this module at the India Mobile Congress in October 2023. This LTE Cat 4 module, with Android 12, runs on an ARM Cortex A53 quad-core processor and has a built-in Adreno 702 graphics processing unit (GPU).

Intelligence at the edge: AI-enabled cellular IoT modules

AI-enabled cellular IoT modules are relatively newer than their legacy and smart counterparts, having been on the market for over 5 years. Along with the connectivity capabilities of the other types of cellular IoT modules, AI-enabled versions include NPUs, TPUs, PPUs, or other dedicated parallel-processing chipsets (e.g., GPUs) for AI inference.

While still in its early stages, AI and cellular IoT convergence holds immense potential to revolutionize industries. Integrating AI directly into IoT modules means AI inference can occur at the edge, allowing for rapid and intelligent decision-making at the edge. This reduces data transmission over cellular networks, saves bandwidth and costs, and facilitates immediate, autonomous decision-making for time-sensitive applications. Further, embedding AI chipsets within connectivity modules can save space and streamline the form factor of IoT devices. In all, these modules are evolving from mere data communication enablers to intelligent edge nodes capable of handling certain workloads independently.

In 2023, AI-enabled cellular IoT modules comprised 2% of global cellular IoT module shipments. The tracker forecasts that by 2027, this will grow to 9%, with a CAGR of 73%.

Example of an AI-enabled cellular IoT module

In November 2023, China-based wireless communications modules vendor Fibocom announced the release of its SC228 LTE smart module, which is powered by Qualcomm’s SM6225 (aka Snapdragon 680) SoC. With its 8 processing cores (4 x A73 at 2.4GHz and 4 x A53 at 1.9GHz), the SC228 is designed to handle AI algorithms, such as image processing algorithms. It is geared toward industrial IoT, smart retail, in-vehicle infotainment, and similar applications. The system comes with Android 14 but is upgradable as new software develops. For connectivity, it supports 4G LTE, 3G, WiFi, and Bluetooth.

Capabilities and applications of AI-enabled cellular IoT modules

AI is not the same across all applications. Within AI-enabled cellular IoT modules, there are varying processing capabilities based either on the needs of specific applications or the limitations of the hardware. IoT Analytics generalizes these modules’ capabilities into three categories: low, medium, and high.

1. Low AI capability

Cellular IoT modules with low AI capability conduct AI inference at less than 5 trillion (or tera) operations per second (TOPS), the standard measure of AI performance based on the number of computing operations an AI chip can handle in one second. Common applications of these modules include:

Acoustic event detection
Gesture/Activity recognition
Voice ID/ Keyword spotting

These low AI capability modules comprised 59% of global AI-enabled cellular IoT module shipments in 2023. While the tracker projects the number of shipments of these modules to grow at a CAGR of 30% until 2027, cellular IoT modules with medium and high AI capabilities are expected to grow faster.

Example of a cellular IoT module with low AI capability

Fibocom’s SC138-EAU module features a Qualcomm QCM6125 SoC with an AI engine capable of 1 TOPS.

2. Medium AI capability

Cellular IoT modules with medium AI capability conduct AI inference at 5–10 TOPS. Common applications for these modules include:

Human detection
Vehicle detection
People counting
Face detection

In 2023, these medium AI capability modules comprised 36% of all global AI-enabled cellular IoT module shipments. The tracker projects that the shipment of these modules will grow at a CAGR of 102% until 2027.

Example of a cellular IoT module with medium AI capability

Quectel’s SG-530C-CN module hosts a UNISOC P778 SoC, which contains an NPU and is capable of 8 TOPS.

3. High AI capability

Finally, cellular IoT modules with high AI capability conduct edge AI inference at over 10 TOPS. Common advanced applications for these modules include:

AI-driven predictive maintenance
Enhanced decision-making with advanced analytics
AI-enhanced driver safety solutions
Real-time monitoring for drowsiness and distractions
Comprehensive safety analysis
Intelligent voice assistance

According to the tracker, these high AI capability modules comprised 5% of all global AI-enabled module shipments in 2023. The tracker forecasts the shipments of these modules to grow at a CAGR of 128% until 2027.

Example of a cellular IoT module with medium AI capability

MeiG’s SRM930 module bears a Qualcomm QCM6490 SoC, which includes Qualcomm’s 6th Gen AI Engine capable of reaching an AI performance of 12 TOPS.

Analyst takeaway

IoT is evolving beyond mere connectivity—it now encompasses connecting devices, understanding the data they generate, and making fast, informed decisions based on this data. As such, computing power and intelligence are becoming increasingly essential, particularly closer to where data is generated—at the edge. Thus, it is beneficial to have a dedicated chipset, such as a GPU or NPU, that can be used for AI inference directly on IoT devices, whether embedded in the printed circuit board (PCB) or as a component within the main processor.

Cellular IoT modules are undergoing a similar evolution. Although still in the early stages, integrating AI with cellular IoT promises to transform various industries. However, the core technology is driven by chipset companies like Qualcomm, Sony Altair, and UNISOC. Other chipset companies like MediaTek and ST may enter this market soon. So far, as seen above, vendors are predominately using Qualcomm chipsets equipped with AI engines that utilize the chipsets’ CPU, GPU, or NPU components.

With the rise of AI-enabled cellular IoT modules, two trends are emerging that are worth watching:

AI-enabled 5G modules in automotive: The adoption of AI-enabled cellular modules focused on automotive applications, especially with 5G connectivity, is expected to accelerate. By 2027, AI-enabled 5G modules for automotive applications are projected to constitute 21% of all AI-enabled cellular module shipments.
AI in cellular LPWA modules. So far, most of the modules are focused on standard 5G and 4G technology (with 2G and 3G as fallbacks). However, cellular LPWA modules are already entering the scene. For example, the Sony Altair ALT1350 is a low-power, LTE-M/NB-IoT SoC equipped with AI capabilities for low-power acceleration. This chipset is designed for edge processing and tiny ML model inference, opening doors for AI-enabled modules in the cellular LPWA segment.

Disclosures

Companies mentioned in this article—along with their products—are used as examples to showcase market developments. No company paid or received preferential treatment in this article, and it is at the discretion of the analyst to select which examples are used. IoT Analytics makes efforts to vary the companies and products mentioned to help shine attention to the numerous IoT and related technology market players.

It is worth noting that IoT Analytics may have commercial relationships with some companies mentioned in its articles, as some companies license IoT Analytics market research. However, for confidentiality, IoT Analytics cannot disclose individual relationships.

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Continuous innovation of the robust and high-capacity LoRaWAN open standard has led to the most LPWAN deployments globally across terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks (NTNs).

The LoRa Alliance®, today launched its formal roadmap, which highlights LoRaWAN’s evolution from building and interconnecting networks through its focus on making the technology faster and easier to deploy, work that has successfully made LoRaWAN the leading LPWAN with the most deployments supporting IoT’s active scaling across numerous end markets.

The roadmap also showcases the planned development of the LoRaWAN open standard for IoT communications.

“LoRaWAN is a purpose-built networking technology to support massive IoT,” said Donna Moore, CEO and chairwoman of the LoRa Alliance. “The members of the LoRa Alliance have been diligent in their work to lay the foundation strategically evolving LoRaWAN to achieve the significant scaling that is taking place in IoT. Not only is our technology best of breed and proven across multiple multimillion-sensor deployments, but it is also backed by the largest ecosystem with the greatest number and diversity of certified devices. Further, it offers the widest variety of deployment options across terrestrial networks and satellite NTNs, including hybrid networking approaches. As such, it is the only LPWAN that can address the requirements of any organization looking to deploy large-scale, low-power IoT solutions today.”

The roadmap outlines the planned enhancements of several critical features already incorporated in the LoRaWAN standard:

Expanding Addressable Markets

Enhances connectivity for NTN LoRaWAN through, for example, further optimization of the long range–frequency hopping spread spectrum (LR-FHSS), which enables LoRaWAN to far surpass the projected network-capacity requirements of massive IoT.
Make relay enhancements that increase LoRaWAN signals’ reach in noisy or physically challenging environments to allow sensors to be deployed anywhere.
Add fast and low-power network discovery, which offers new deployment options where coverage is not permanent, like mobile gateways, allowing walk-by or drive-by applications and adding significant value for key markets like utilities, where LoRaWAN dominates in terms of deployment volumes.

Hyperscalability

Simplify deployments with easier device profile management and device migration.
Carry GS1-compliant identifiers, such as RFIDs, barcodes, electronic product codes (EPC) over LoRaWAN, to enable devices connected via LoRaWAN to be used for product/asset identification.
Facilitate LoRaWAN end-device onboarding by LoRaWAN networks with automated device profile downloads, which automatically request the device profiles from online repositories using a standard API, building on prior work of LoRa Alliance QR code.

Core Network Management

Strengthen device interoperability by standardizing the application server and gateway interfaces.

Certification

Drive customer confidence through the addition of firmware updates over the air and relay to LoRaWAN certification testing, allowing end-device manufacturers to validate the performance of these features.
Give end users confidence in cross-vendor device interoperability by adding advanced interoperability testing into the LoRaWAN certification test suite. This testing will validate that devices from different manufacturers can effectively exchange and make use of each other’s information.

Physical/Link Layer Development

Introduce crypto-agility to LoRaWAN, so the variety of current and future crypto-suites can be used as add-ons with the LoRaWAN Link Layer without having to evolve the latter.

As IoT moves from millions to billions of connections, as is forecast in the next few years, network scalability is a key consideration that is addressed in the current standard and slated for future enhancements. Smart metering is one key market where LoRaWAN has established a market-leading position with the current specification delivering abundant network capacity to address market requirements. Recognizing the growth in IoT connections that will be enabled by satellite and other NTNs, the Alliance developed LR-FHSS for massive, global LoRaWAN connectivity. As part of its planned roadmap, the LoRa Alliance will continue to enhance and expand the standard based on market needs and new use cases.

One example that illustrates LoRaWAN’s existing high-capacity capability is the ZENNER network, with nearly 7.5 million sensors running on more than 100,000 gateways in 15 countries to support energy providers, the housing industry, cities and municipalities, municipal utilities and industrial operations. As this example shows, the LoRaWAN standard easily addresses today’s IoT capacity requirements.

“ZENNER has moved this proven technology to its larger-scale deployments with water, gas and electric municipalities. In the United States, ZENNER has already installed systems in seven communities this year alone. LoRaWAN technology makes an open standard system easy to install and at a lower cost for our customers. In addition, utilities can offer a mass number of other services to their customer base due to this open standard, which will enrich their customers as well as themselves. ZENNER is currently testing LoRaWAN satellite communication and how that fits into our IoT direction. To date it has shown great promise and at a reasonable cost for our customers. We are seeing an immense amount of interest in LoRaWAN that will feed the growth of our company on a global basis. The LoRa Alliance is the organization that has laid out the plan that got us here and has structured plans that take us into the future. ZENNER is a proud sponsor of the Alliance and values its other members. As a company we cannot ask for a better organization to help us in developing our IoT strategy.”
–– Rich Sanders, president, ZENNER USA, and treasurer, LoRa Alliance Board of Directors

“From its inception, the technical and performance advantages of LoRaWAN have been embraced by customers needing a comprehensive solution for deploying and managing large-scale sensor-based applications. The ongoing innovation represented in the development roadmap presented by the LoRa Alliance today continues to firmly establish the technology as a standout choice for a growing number of use cases, including those requiring enhanced or expanded connectivity delivered by relays, mobile gateways and non-terrestrial networks. For Netmore and our global customers, these advantages translate to leadership positions in service optimization, cost savings, regulatory compliance and resource conservation. This is most evident in the utility and energy sectors, where metering and infrastructure monitoring solutions are rapidly scaling, network deployment times and costs are being reduced, and compliance and ROI are being achieved faster—all while contributing positively to the planet. Netmore is a strong supporter of the LoRa Alliance and the LoRaWAN ecosystem. With LoRaWAN, Netmore is not just leading, we’re defining the market. And with our unwavering focus on sustainability and environmental stewardship, we’re not just a network operator, but a proud catalyst for a greener, more sustainable world.”
–– Ove Anebygd, CEO, Netmore Group AB, and LoRa Alliance Board Member

“It is tremendously validating to look at the future of the LoRaWAN standard and know that we are building from an exceptionally broad and solid foundation,” continued Moore.

“Time after time, our members share their real-world deployments that are successfully using LoRaWAN at scale to improve the well-being of people and the planet while running profitable enterprises. This truly exemplifies the strength, breadth and depth of the LoRaWAN standard today and the unlimited potential of LoRaWAN as we continue to evolve and enhance its features.”

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Berg Insight, the leading IoT market research provider, today released a new market study covering the video telematics market.

The integration of cameras to enable various video-based solutions in commercial vehicle environments is a massive trend in the fleet telematics sector. Berg Insight’s definition of video telematics includes a broad range of camera-based solutions deployed in commercial vehicle fleets either as standalone applications or as an added feature set to conventional fleet telematics. The frontrunning North American video telematics market is more than three times the size of the European, which is so far largely dominated by activities in the UK.

Berg Insight estimates that the installed base of active video telematics systems in North America reached almost 4.9 million units in 2023. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.0 percent, the active installed base is forecasted to reach 11.7 million units in North America by 2028. In Europe, the installed base of active video telematics systems is estimated to almost 1.4 million units in 2023. The active installed base in the region is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 18.0 percent to reach 3.1 million video telematics systems in Europe by 2028.

The video telematics market is served by a number of different types of players, ranging from specialists focused specifically on video telematics solutions, to general fleet telematics players which have introduced video offerings, and hardware-focused suppliers offering mobile digital video recorders (DVRs) and vehicle cameras used for video telematics. Berg Insight ranks Streamax, Lytx and Samsara as the leading video telematics players in their respective categories.

“Streamax is the leading hardware provider, having over 2.9 million mobile DVRs installed in vehicles globally to date, and the company also offers software dashboards which are widely used together with its devices”, said Rickard Andersson, Principal Analyst, Berg Insight. He adds that Lytx has the largest number of video telematics subscribers, having surpassed one million vehicles under subscription.

“Samsara stands out among the general fleet telematics players with a significant number of camera units deployed across its subscriber base”, continued Mr. Andersson. Additional sizeable players include the fleet management player Motive, the channel-focused brand Sensata INSIGHTS (including the acquired video telematics company SmartWitness) and the hardware-focused video telematics company Howen, all having estimated installed bases of several hundred thousand units.

“The remaining top-10 players are Netradyne, Nauto and VisionTrack, which all have a primary focus on camera-based solutions specifically, as well as the fleet management provider Solera Fleet Solutions”, said Mr. Andersson.

Solera acquired the commercial vehicle telematics pioneer Omnitracs including the video safety specialist SmartDrive. Other noteworthy players competing in the video telematics space include video-focused solution providers such as LightMetrics, SafetyDirect (Rand McNally), Idrive, SureCam, Waylens, Seeing Machines and CameraMatics; fleet telematics players including Trimble, Radius Telematics, MiX by Powerfleet, Matrix iQ, Forward Thinking Systems, Azuga, ISAAC Instruments, Microlise, Trakm8, AddSecure Smart Transport and EROAD; as well as the hardware-focused supplier Pittasoft (BlackVue).

“These players have all reached estimated installed bases in the tens of thousands”, concluded Mr. Andersson.

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The deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT) in healthcare is transforming patient care and hospital management. However, this transformation comes with its share of challenges.

This article delves into the critical obstacles that healthcare organizations face in the adoption of IoT and offers strategic insights into overcoming these issues.

Understanding the Scope of IoT in Healthcare

IoT technology in healthcare encompasses a wide array of applications — from remote monitoring and wearable devices to smart hospital systems that optimize everything from inventory management to patient flow. The potential benefits are enormous, including enhanced patient outcomes, optimized therapy regimes, reduced costs, and more efficient use of resources. However, the integration of these technologies into the complex ecosystem of healthcare poses significant challenges.

Key Deployment Challenges

Interoperability and Compatibility

At the heart of the IoT deployment challenges in healthcare is the issue of interoperability. But what is interoperability in healthcare? It refers to the ability of different IoT devices and systems to connect and communicate effectively with each other and with existing healthcare information systems. This is crucial for ensuring seamless data flow and integrated patient care.

Interoperability involves not only hardware compatibility but also the standardization of data formats and protocols. Without this, data silos occur, leading to inefficiencies and increased chances of error. The concept of healthcare interoperability is vital for creating a cohesive healthcare environment where technology can truly enhance care delivery and operational management.

Data Security and Privacy

Another significant concern is ensuring the privacy and security of sensitive health data transmitted and stored by IoT devices. The healthcare sector is highly regulated regarding patient information security, governed by laws such as HIPAA in the United States. IoT deployments must adhere to these regulations while safeguarding against evolving cybersecurity threats, which requires robust encryption methods, secure data storage solutions, and continuous monitoring of data access and usage.

Scalability and Management

Healthcare facilities must be able to scale IoT solutions as needed while managing an increasing number of devices and data points. This requires substantial IT infrastructure and support to handle large volumes of high-velocity data. Additionally, the management of numerous IoT devices, ensuring they are all updated and maintained, adds another layer of complexity to operations.

Cost and ROI Concerns

The initial and ongoing costs of IoT implementation can be prohibitive for many healthcare organizations. There’s a need for a clear understanding of the return on investment (ROI) that IoT projects bring, as they often require substantial upfront investment in technology and training. Organizations must not only consider the direct costs but also evaluate the potential long-term savings and efficiency gains.

Strategies for Overcoming IoT Deployment Challenges

 Develop and Adhere to Interoperability Standards

To address interoperability issues, healthcare organizations should prioritize IoT solutions that comply with established standards and protocols such as HL7, FHIR, or those set by the Continua Health Alliance. Participating in or forming alliances can also promote standardization across the industry.

Implement Robust Cybersecurity Measures

Adopting advanced cybersecurity measures is non-negotiable. This includes using end-to-end encryption, securing IoT devices from unauthorized access, and regularly updating software to protect against threats. Regular training and awareness programs for staff on the importance of data security are also essential.

Leverage Cloud Solutions for Scalability

Cloud computing can offer the scalability required for IoT in healthcare, facilitating the efficient management of data and devices. Cloud solutions can also help in reducing the cost of data storage and management, providing better analytics capabilities, and improving the overall agility of healthcare operations.

Conduct Comprehensive ROI Analysis

Before embarking on IoT projects, conduct a thorough ROI analysis to understand the economic impact. This analysis should consider both the direct and indirect benefits, such as improved patient outcomes, enhanced resource utilization, and potential increases in patient throughput.

Engage in Pilot Projects Before Full Deployment

Before a full-scale rollout, healthcare organizations should consider conducting pilot projects. These smaller, controlled implementations can help identify potential issues in system compatibility, workflow integration, and user acceptance. Pilot projects serve as an invaluable learning tool, providing insights that can be used to refine the full deployment strategy. They also help build a case for wider adoption across the organization by demonstrating practical benefits and allowing for adjustments before significant resources are committed.

Conclusion

The integration of IoT in healthcare is no small feat but addressing these challenges head-on with strategic planning and robust solutions can pave the way for a more connected and efficient healthcare system. As the industry continues to evolve, those who successfully manage the complexities of IoT deployment will be well-positioned to lead in the tech-driven healthcare landscape.

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According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of waste collection points fitted with smart waste sensor technology reached 1.25 million worldwide in 2023 (excluding China).

Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.8 percent, the number will increase to 3.50 million by 2028. These wirelessly connected fill-level sensors can be either pre-integrated into waste bins and containers, for example as a smart bin offering, or retrofitted on existing collection points. Europe accounts for around 45 percent of the installed base with markets such as the Benelux, France, the UK, Spain and the Nordics in the lead. The installed base in the North American market meanwhile reached 470,000 units in 2023. The Rest of World market excluding China will at the same time have the highest growth rate of 26.8 percent and surpass 700,000 installed sensors in 2028.

After acquiring Compology in late 2022, the US-based provider of managed waste and recycling services RoadRunner now holds the world’s largest installed base smart waste sensors and a market share of 16 percent of the total installed base (excluding China). Waste Harmonics (Keter) ranked second and is one example of that waste brokers and managed service providers in North America to a growing extent utilise proprietary smart waste sensors as part of their offerings. The US-based smart bin provider Bigbelly ranked as the third largest player. Meanwhile, the Norwegian smart waste sensor and software specialist REEN was the leading vendor in Europe and the world’s fourth largest in terms of installed base. The top 10 smart waste sensor technology vendors also included Sensoneo from Slovakia; SmartEnds from Belgium; Waste Vision from the Netherlands; BH Technologies from France; Enevo from the US; and Nordsense from Denmark. Together, the top ten vendors accounted for more than 53 percent of the global installed base of waste collection points featuring smart waste sensor technology. The companies in the market oftentimes focus on specific customer segments and geographies, and therefore face varying degrees of competition from each other.

While municipal smart waste management have been growing robustly in the last few years, private companies are also becoming an increasingly important customer segment for vendors offering smart waste management solutions and the segment is poised for significant growth. “We are still in the early stages of waste generators increasing their focus on sustainability and going forward it will be instrumental for organisations to measure, manage and track generated waste and emissions”, said William Ankreus, IoT Analyst at Berg Insight. Cellular communications remain the most popular connectivity technology choice, accounting for over 80 percent of the connected waste collection points in 2023.

Mr. Ankreus concluded:

“Cellular LPWA technologies (NB-IoT and LTE-M) have improved the overall business case for smart waste sensors and represented a large share of shipments in the last couple of years.”

Due to the sunsetting of 2G and 3G networks in several regions, replacements of existing sensors are also expected to affect the shipment volumes to an increasing extent in the coming years.

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Berg Insight today released new findings about the smart parking market. Excluding China, the global installed base of wirelessly connected in-ground and surface-mounted parking sensors reached an estimated 1.3 million devices worldwide at the end of 2023.

Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.8 percent, the number of installed sensors is expected to reach 3.2 million in 2028. Europe and North America together accounted for more than half of the installed base, while the rest of the world markets (excluding China) accounted for about 31 percent. Prominent smart parking sensor markets outside of Europe and North America include Australia, New Zealand and the Middle East. While cities and municipalities are increasingly adopting smart parking technology, the private segment today accounts for the majority of the installed devices.

Following the recent exits of several leading vendors such as Streetline, SmartGrains, Nedap and Onesitu from the market, New Zealand-based Frogparking has emerged as the world’s leading smart parking sensor provider. The company had a global market share (excluding China) of 12.2 percent in Q4-2023. The top three also included US-based CivicSmart and Spanish Urbiotica, which both have a significant international presence. Other major vendors include Australia-based Smart Parking, the European companies Fleximodo (GOSPACE LABS), Smart City System, IoT Solutions Malta and ParkHelp Technologies, as well as the North American vendors PNI and Nwave Technologies. The top ten vendors together accounted for around 46 percent of the global installed base of smart parking sensors outside of China at the end of 2023. Only a handful of companies have yet managed to establish an international presence spanning two or more regions of the world.

The Covid-19 pandemic caused disruption to the industry but as city and local government budgets are gradually stabilising, the interest in smart city solutions such as smart parking sensors has returned. The pandemic moreover brought a change in the parking landscape as remote work has become more commonplace.

“For the private and company parking segments in particular, this has paved the way for new opportunities in the utilisation of parking sensors as they allow parking owners to efficiently manage demand and supply to provide just enough parking when and where needed”, said Felix Linderum, IoT analyst, Berg Insight.

In North America, the smart parking sensor market has historically struggled to overcome scepticism caused by a number of technology failures in the early days of the industry. So far, growth in the region has mainly been driven by the private segment but cities are now becoming increasingly interested in the technology.

“Cities require more consistent and accurate data to improve their parking management operations and most sensors today offer high performance”, continued Mr. Linderum.

As more and more cities embark on larger-scale rollouts after having completed lengthy pilot projects, the share of on-street deployments will also increase as cities are the primary owners of such parking assets. While off-street parking deployments, which are characterized by high parking space densities, have been favourable to the use of RF networks, on-street deployments place higher demands on network coverage and long-range communications capabilities. While RF networks will continue to see growth in the off-street parking segment, LPWA technologies are expected to dominate on-street deployments.

Mr. Linderum, concluded:

“The share of parking sensors communicating through LPWA technologies such as LoRaWAN and NB-IoT has grown significantly in recent years and it is expected that their market share in the off-street segment will eventually increase as well.”

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Fibocom, in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies Inc., is proud to announce the launch of their cutting-edge Linux-based edge AI solutions which integrates a series of Qualcomm Technologies-powered Fibocom smart modules.

This new series of solutions utilize a wide array of Fibocom’s smart modules SC171, SC171L, SC138, and SC126 series that are developed based on the Qualcomm® QCM6490/QCS6490, Qualcomm® QCM5430/QCS5430, Qualcomm® QCM6125, and Qualcomm® QCM2290 processors from Qualcomm Technologies with integrated Linux system, will unleash the peak performance of Linux-based industrial applications with robust connectivity and scalable operating system compatibility, and also accelerate the integration of advanced 5G, edge AI across emerging industries like robotics. With the expansion of digitalized industries, Fibocom will intensify the Linux-focused embedded computing intelligence, and leverage expertise in edge AI inclusion to help industry customers realize responsive decision-making, real-time communication and ultra-reliable system interoperability in industrial automation, smart manufacturing, smart retailing through the partnership.

At the “heart” of Industry 4.0, interoperability is crucial for operators to get insights into the equipment’s performance in the field. This groundbreaking series solutions is poised to advance the industrial applications that demand wireless connection, high-integration expertise with design-in Linux operating system for easy integration, and long-term product lifecycle optimization. By adopting Linux-supported Fibocom’s smart modules, Linux engineers around the world have the ability to develop industrial devices such as industrial PCs (IPCs), edge AI workstations, smart POS terminals, and industrial routers with higher efficiency as well as potent multimedia processing capabilities.

Harnessing the interoperability of the Linux operating system, industry-focused customers catered to the benefits below:

Utilizing the stability and reliability of the Linux system, the Linux-based edge AI solutions integrated with Qualcomm Technologies-powered smart modules ease the concerns of diverse system integration to industrial control systems and enable the 24/7 data transmission and management of industrial equipment with minimum risk of malfunction and downtime.
The Linux-based Edge AI Solutions are highly flexible and customizable compatible with industrial standards, and can be widely deployed in industrial PCs (IPCs), industrial cameras, edge AI workstations, smart POS terminals, and robotics.
Inherently beneficial from the robust feature and open-source nature of the Linux operating system, the solutions allow equipment manufacturers to safeguard product development and management with long-term upgradable support through the entire lifecycle.

Fibocom Unveils Intelligent Lawn Mower Robotic Solution with Linux-based Smart Module SC171 Integrated

The lawn mower robotic solution is a highly integrated solution equipped with Fibocom smart module SC171 and edge AI algorithm, empowering lawn mowers with unparalleled capabilities in environmental perception, precise positioning, map construction, path planning, autonomous obstacle avoidance, and seamless wireless connectivity. The revolutionary lawn mower robotic solution enables the autonomous navigation of the lawn mower without using boundary cables, significantly transforming the lawn mower industry. The core of this robotic solution lies in the AI-based lawn recognition algorithm, equipped with outdoor cameras, to achieve accurate detection and efficient planning of the lawn boundaries. It is worth mentioning that the solution also includes responsive obstacle avoidance and automatic recharging, in addition to the mapping function and an “edge-cutting mode” to facilitate precise mowing even at the sidelines. By deploying the solution, it will enhance the operational efficiency of the lawnmowers and reduce the time-to-market of lawn mower’s massive deployment in the global marketplace.

“We are proud to collaborate with Fibocom to help them develop these Linux-based edge AI solutions for industrial applications,” said Dev Singh, Vice President of Business Development and Head of building, enterprise & industrial automation at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “By utilizing Fibocom’s smart modules and Qualcomm Technologies’ powerful processors, Fibocom are enabling the integration of advanced edge AI technologies, empowering industries with responsive decision-making and real-time communication capabilities.”

“We have a clear vision for the edge AI-enabled future, and with the collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, we will continue building the Linux-based edge AI-driven core solution for industrial-focused markets,” said Ralph Zhao, VP of MC BU at Fibocom.

“The first landed implementation in the robotic industry has infused confidence into the utilization of both Fibocom and Qualcomm Technologies’ strength to empower an intelligent, future-promising digitalized world.­­”

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