Industry News Smart Cities

Development of a smart city concept at Munich Airport

Mon, Nov 05, 2018

Munich Airport and the renowned Senseable City Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have reached an agreement to work together in the development of the LabCampus Innovation Center at Munich Airport.

Plans to launch the LabCampus future project–an innovation lab on the airport campus that will promote cooperation between companies and across industry boundaries–were announced by Munich Airport in March of this year. Starting on November 1, the renowned Senseable City Lab, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), will be on board to provide conceptual support for the establishment and development of the new innovation campus. Under an initial three-year cooperation agreement, the MIT Senseable City Lab, based in Cambridge, MA, will act as a research partner, supporting the team in Munich as it turns the campus into an innovative smart city. The goal is to build an ideal urban environment offering optimal conditions for people and companies to work together efficiently, creatively and–above all–under one roof. This will provide a setting to design and develop products and services for the world of the future and to test them onsite. To make this a reality, LabCampus GmbH will work with MIT to establish a future-ready infrastructure right from the start, focusing on state-of-the-art technologies in the areas of energy, mobility and urban planning as well as the connectivity between them for optimal sustainability and livability for the users.

“This cooperation is a major milestone for our innovation site,” says Dr. Marc Wagener, Managing Director of LabCampus GmbH. “We will be working with MIT researchers to study and evaluate the most important trends and digital technologies that can benefit us in the development and successful implementation of a smart city concept.” Prof. Carlo Ratti, Director of the MIT Senseable City Lab is also delighted: “This is an excellent opportunity for us to be involved in creating a smart city from the earliest stages. It gives us a chance to look ahead and weave everything, including future needs, into the infrastructure from the very beginning.”

MIT Senseable City Lab is the first global player outside of Europe to sign a cooperation agreement with LabCampus GmbH. Research institutions that have signed on as innovation partners include FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg and the Hasso Plattner Institute as well as the Fraunhofer Institute, which is also exploring the possibility of renting space at LabCampus. LabCampus is engaged in detailed talks with other international groups, too. For more information: www.labcampus.de

Caption: Dr. Marc Wagener (left), Managing Director of LabCampus GmbH and Professor Carlo Ratti, Director of MIT Senseable City Lab, signing a cooperation agreement on November 1, 2018 (Copyright: Munich Airport)

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Smart Lighting System Sales to Reach $4.4 Billion by 2025 

Thu, Aug 16, 2018

Smart lighting controls accounted for 63% of smart lighting sales in 2017. Smart lighting controls include lighting-specific control devices separate from any light source or fixture, such as centralised lighting system control boxes, lighting-specific smart home hubs and bridges, smart light switches and dimmers.

Smart lighting controls are critical for energy savings in nonresidential applications, using large networks of sensors and advanced analytics to reduce energy consumption. Some of the conveniences of consumer smart lighting (e.g., voice control, away-from-home remote control) often require a bridge or hub. Building control suppliers have readily expanded their product offerings to incorporate smart lighting capabilities into broader building automation and Internet of Things (IoT) systems. These and other trends are presented in Smart Lighting in the US, a new study from The Freedonia Group, a Cleveland-based industry research firm.

US demand for smart lighting (lighting sources, fixtures and controls) is forecast to increase to $945 million by year-end 2018. By 2025, demand is expected to reach $4.4 billion, driven by:

  • rapid growth in the broader smart tech and IoT markets, including smart home devices, nonresidential building automation, and smart city infrastructure
  • consumer interest in the convenience of smart lighting capabilities, such as wireless, away-from-home, and voice control
  • energy saving initiatives, especially in nonresidential applications

Smart Lighting in the US (published 7/2018, 163 pages) is available for $2900 from The Freedonia Group. For further details or to arrange an interview with the analyst, please contact Corinne Gangloff by phone 440.684.9600 or email crg@freedoniagroup.com.

Related studies include:

#3659 Smart and Connected Thermostats in the US (July 2018)

#3639 Smart Home Security in the US (April 2018)

About The Freedonia Group, a division of MarketResearch.com – The Freedonia Group is a leading international industrial research company publishing more than 100 studies annually. Since 1985, we have provided research to customers ranging in size from global conglomerates to one-person consulting firms. More than 90% of the industrial companies in the Fortune 500 use Freedonia Group research to help with their strategic planning. Additional Construction & Building Products studies can be purchased at https://www.freedoniagroup.com, www.marketresearch

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Skyworks to Acquire Smart Interface Innovator Avnera Corporation

Wed, Aug 08, 2018

Skyworks Solutions, Inc, has announced it signed a definitive agreement to purchase Avnera Corporation, a leading developer of Analog System on Chips (ASoCs). Acquisition of Avnera, a private fabless semiconductor supplier, augments Skyworks’ leadership in wireless connectivity by adding ultra-low power analog circuits to enable smart interfaces via acoustic signal processing, sensors and integrated software. Upon consummation of the transaction, Skyworks will expand its addressable market by over $5 billion. Target applications include AI speakers/microphones, virtual assistants, intelligent gaming controllers and vehicle in-dash systems as well as wired/wireless headsets.

“Voice is increasingly becoming the primary interface for artificial intelligence and Internet of Things applications. Skyworks’ acquisition of Avnera will enable us to capitalize on the rapid proliferation of audio functionality and its convergence with our advanced connectivity solutions,” said Liam K. Griffin, president and chief executive officer of Skyworks. “With Skyworks’ global sales channels, strong customer relationships and operational scale, we plan to leverage Avnera’s innovative product portfolio and systems expertise to increase our footprint in automotive, industrial, home automation, enterprise and high-end consumer markets. In short, this transaction perfectly complements Skyworks’ product roadmap and will be highly synergistic across a broader customer set.”

“We are extremely excited to be joining forces with Skyworks to offer customers complete system solutions for next generation smart interface applications,” said Manpreet Khaira, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Avnera. “Both companies share a vision of enabling ubiquitous, always-on communications through highly customized designs. Together, we can develop, deliver and rapidly scale audio products with unprecedented integration and performance for the increasingly connected wireless world.”

At the heart of Avnera’s system solutions are market-specific ASoCs that combine breakthrough audio/voice analog circuits, highly efficient power management and custom hardware accelerators for smart acoustic signal processing/AI features. Avnera’s ASoCs achieve the highest level of integration in the industry and set a new performance watermark from a power consumption and footprint standpoint ─ all underpinned by more than 100 issued and pending patents. Key Avnera customers include Harman, JBL, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Polk, Samsung, Sennheiser, Sony, Vizio and Yamaha.

Skyworks will pay $405 million in cash to Avnera equity holders at closing with up to an additional $20 million if certain performance targets are exceeded over a 12-month post-closing period. The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both Skyworks and Avnera and is anticipated to close by September 2018, subject to customary closing conditions. Excluding any non-recurring acquisition-related charges and amortization of intangibles, Skyworks expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to diluted earnings per share.

www.skyworksinc.com.

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AAEON Partners Everlight to Create Taipei’s Smart Street Light System

Thu, Aug 02, 2018

AAEON has joined with Everlight Electronics to participate at Taipei City Government’s “Innovative Works Smart Taipei Taipei LED Street Light Results Presentation.” The presentation showcased the latest smart street light solutions and highlighted the work being done to turn the city into a global leader for cost-effective energy efficiency.

The city government is currently engaged in the “Taipei LED Lighting Installation Appointment Project,” a two-year scheme which is scheduled to be completed during the current quarter. As part of the project, the city’s streetlights are being replaced with new LED systems that use 20% less electricity than previous installations.

At the same time, the world’s first interactive smart light poles are being installed throughout the city. The AAEON-developed technology uses existing power lines and wireless data transmission architectures such as NB-IoT, LoRa, and Zigbee to provide an integrated, diversified framework that can serve as the foundation of future smart city systems.

“AAEON is committed to the development of smart street lamps,” said AAEON New Business Development Division senior consultant Steve Hsu. “By combining smart street lamps with smart light poles, we have been able to make smart city solutions more complete.”

“Our remote control platform combines AI edge and cloud computing to improve the transmission and analysis of data from the entire system. As a result, in addition to improving street lamps’ energy efficiency, we can quickly provide accurate and insightful data reference materials for energy use and environmental impact,” Hsu added.

By using the remote platform to monitor street lighting equipment, the city will be able to cut maintenance costs. Additionally, AAEON’s smart lampposts can be used to monitor air quality and traffic levels, support interactive multimedia interfaces, and also provide additional functions including Internet hotspots, equipment charging stations, and even interactive video games.

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