SAP and Jasper Team Up for Internet of Things (IoT) Services Initiative

3 March 2015 – SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) and Jasper today announced they are collaborating to help enterprises simplify the process of deploying and managing Internet of Things (IoT) services on a global scale. Together, SAP and Jasper will team to offer integration of their solutions designed to help simplify and dramatically shorten the time to launch, manage and monetize IoT services. The announcement was made at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona.

The Jasper Control Center platform, which automates the lifecycle of IoT services, is planned to integrate with the SAP HANA® platform, creating business value for customers and partners by analyzing service subscription and usage data. Enterprises are also expected to benefit from the SAP Fiori® user experience (UX), which offers a simple, personalized and responsive UX for SAP® software.

“Jasper has helped over 1,600 enterprises across more than 20 industries around the world transform from product businesses to service businesses,” said Jahangir Mohammed, founder and CEO, Jasper. “We believe having the Jasper platform integrated with SAP HANA will increase business value by providing actionable insights into Big Data and shortening the time to market for IoT services. We are delighted to collaborate with SAP to work to bring these new capabilities to enterprise customers globally.”

“SAP helps simplify the Internet of Things for business to better drive innovation,” said Michael Lynch, global IoT co-lead, SAP. “The collaboration with Jasper is planned to allow us to remove friction from the existing complexity of deploying IoT solutions. With SAP solutions for the IoT, we help our customers introduce new service-based business models that can help drive a competitive advantage.”

SAP and Jasper have completed a successful proof-of-concept test with a pilot customer and are collaborating on go-to-market strategies.
For more information, please visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews.

About Jasper
Jasper is a global Internet of Things (IoT) platform leader. Jasper has designed its industry-leading software-as-a-service (SaaS) IoT platform to enable companies of all sizes to rapidly and cost-effectively launch, manage and monetize IoT services on a global scale. When companies do this, they become much more than product businesses. They become service businesses, capable of automatically managing their customers’ entire IoT service lifecycle, delivering increased customer value and unlocking new sources of revenue. More than 1,600 companies in over 20 vertical markets, including many of the world’s top brands, choose Jasper to fast-track their IoT services. Jasper currently partners with 24 mobile operator groups, representing more than 100 mobile operator networks worldwide.

Founded in 2004, Jasper is based in Santa Clara, California. For more information, visit www.jasper.com or follow us on Twitter @Jasper_IoT. To learn more about enterprises building IoT services that demonstrate what's possible when the digital and physical worlds converge, check out their stories at www.TitansofIoT.com.

About SAP
As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 282,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably.

Source: Jasper

ORBCOMM and Komatsu Renew Services Agreement

26 February 2015 – ORBCOMM Inc., a global provider of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) solutions, today announced that it has signed a multi-year services agreement with Komatsu to continue providing wireless data services for their heavy equipment telematics applications. The renewed agreement will build upon Komatsu’s long-time success with its KOMTRAX and VHMS on-board machine monitoring and communications systems, which utilize ORBCOMM’s global satellite network.

ORBCOMM enables Komatsu, the world’s second largest manufacturer and supplier of earthmoving equipment, to track and monitor the location, critical operating metrics, productivity, and performance of its heavy equipment assets around the globe. As part of the agreement, Komatsu will continue to deploy telematics systems on their equipment and leverage ORBCOMM’s satellite network services.

“We are extremely pleased to continue our 14-year relationship with Komatsu, which is one of our most important heavy equipment OEM customers, and provide significant operating efficiencies through greater visibility and control of their global equipment fleet,” said Marc Eisenberg, ORBCOMM’s Chief Executive Officer. “ORBCOMM has clearly established our leadership position in heavy equipment telematics, and we look forward to offering our customers significant benefits, such as improved network performance and coverage, through our new OG2 satellite constellation, which we expect to complete launching this summer.”

About ORBCOMM Inc.
ORBCOMM is a global provider of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) solutions. Its customers include Caterpillar Inc., Doosan Infracore America, Hitachi Construction Machinery, Hyundai Heavy Industries, I.D. Systems, Inc., Komatsu Ltd., Cartrack (Pty.) Ltd., and Volvo Construction Equipment, among other industry leaders.

By means of a global network of low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites and accompanying ground infrastructure as well as our Tier One cellular partners, ORBCOMM’s low-cost and reliable two-way data communication services track, monitor and control mobile and fixed assets in our core markets: commercial transportation; heavy equipment; industrial fixed assets; marine; and homeland security.

ORBCOMM is also a leading provider of tracking, monitoring and control services for the transportation market. Under its ReeferTrak®, GenTrakTM, GlobalTrak®, and CargoWatch® brands, the company provides customers with the ability to proactively monitor, manage and remotely control their cold chain and dry transport assets. Additionally, ORBCOMM provides Automatic Identification System (AIS) data services for vessel tracking and to improve maritime safety to government and commercial customers worldwide. ORBCOMM is headquartered in Rochelle Park, New Jersey. For more information, visit www.orbcomm.com.

ICURO Selects ThingWorx IoT Application Platform to Deliver Personalized Health Care

10 February 2015 – ThingWorx, a PTC® (Nasdaq: PTC) business and leading Internet of Things (IoT) platform provider, announced today that ICURO, a consumer-centric care outcomes research and digital health management organization, has selected the ThingWorx® IoT Platform to power its intelligent care models by delivering personalized, actionable health information to consumers in order to promote sustainable healthy habits.

According to a McKinsey & Company report “The big data revolution in healthcare: Accelerating value and innovation,” the era of open information in healthcare has begun. This means that industry payors and providers are beginning to analyze data in order to obtain insights that could identify patterns which could improve treatments and deliver personalized health care information for better lifestyle choices.

ICURO is using the ThingWorx IoT Platform to launch its digital hub for consumer-centric care. It enables ICURO to connect all stakeholders in the new consumer-centric ecosystem consisting of providers, payors, employers, pharmaceuticals, and medical device companies with an integrated care delivery platform. The real time data collection and intelligent analysis of data allow consumers and providers to focus on health outcomes and enable personalized care management pathways.

“ICURO is a good example of how IoT technology can improve communication between health care organizations and consumers to enable better health management and more effective treatments,” said Russ Fadel, president, ThingWorx. “The ThingWorx platform will enable ICURO to simplify and speed its development, reducing the time it takes ICURO to deploy secured healthcare solutions to market.”

Using ThingWorx, ICURO is able to offer consumer and provider-centric dashboards that deliver personalized data that is more meaningful and actionable to the consumer.

“ICURO’s mission is to improve health care access at much lower costs while providing the quality of care and convenience that consumers have come to expect in every other aspect of their digital lives,” said Bipin Thomas, president, ICURO. “Using the ThingWorx platform we are able to securely and efficiently collect and interpret data from multiple medical devices such as blood pressure monitors, glucometers and cardiac measurement devices that can offer real time care interventions and personalized healthcare management.”

About Icuro
ICURO is a consumer-centric care outcomes research and digital health management organization led by a group of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, researchers, and data scientists. This uniquely positioned team known as Health Transformers™ are specialized in deploying research-based strategies for the emerging consumer-centric healthcare environment. The ICURO Consumer Care Studio™ merges science and consumer-friendly technology to redesign individualized care across the full lifecycle of the consumer and integrate it with healthcare delivery systems. For more information, please visit www.icuro.com.

About ThingWorx, a PTC Business
ThingWorx™, a PTC (Nasdaq: PTC) business, provides the first platform designed to efficiently build and run the applications of today’s connected world.  ThingWorx, the centerpiece of PTC’s Internet of Things (IoT) technology portfolio,  combines capabilities from PTC Axeda® solutions to deliver the world’s first complete IoT Platform, which includes connectivity, device cloud, business logic, big data, analytics and remote service applications. The combination delivers a comprehensive IoT technology stack that enables companies to securely connect assets, quickly create applications, and innovate new ways to capture value. Companies already leveraging this technology to capitalize on the potential of the IoT represent a wide range of markets, including manufacturing, energy, agriculture, transportation, and government. For more information, please visit our websites at www.thingworx.com, www.axeda.com, and www.PTC.com or follow us on Twitter at @ThingWorx, @Axeda, and @PTC.

Source: ThingWorx

B&B Rebrands + Announces Connected Intelligence Global Partner Ecosystem

20 January 2015 – B+B SmartWorx, formerly B&B Electronics today announced an acceleration for the Internet of Things (IoT) landscape with its Connected Intelligence Global Partner Ecosystem.   As a manufacturer of network connectivity technologies which serve as the heart or technical glue of IoT end solutions, B+B SmartWorx is launching the ecosystem to enable complementary partner companies to make intelligent connections with each other, combine expertise, and build effective IoT applications for end customers in the demanding, non-consumer IoT space.

Initial Connected Intelligence Ecosystem Partners include IoT technology providers such as Cumulocity, Davra Networks, ILS Technology, ParStream, PLAT.ONE, SeeControl, Skkynet, and ThingWorx, along with MVNO partners such as KORE and Mobius Networks, and a variety of international carriers.

Mike Fahrion, director of IoT and edge intelligence product development at B+B SmartWorx explained that B+B created the ecosystem to combine complementary partners under a virtual roof to facilitate IoT applications. “Finding the right partners to fit a specific application’s requirements enables our customers to achieve better results than a ‘one size fits all’ approach.”

From assets to analytics starting at the network edge, the ecosystem aims to create intelligent networks that can collect, manage and analyze the data generated by billions of sensors, transforming that data into actionable intelligence that lets companies make predictions and prescribe actions to cut costs, increase productivity or increase revenue.

B+B SmartWorx provides the network connectivity “technical glue” – the hardware and connectivity stack – of the ecosystem. B+B’s IoT Edge Processing Architecture – a combination of its Wzzard wireless intelligent sensing and edge connectivity platform and its cellular edge gateway devices – aggregates data from existing equipment, translates disparate machine protocols into a language IT can understand, transforms that data into useful information and delivers it to applications ready for analysis.

B+B’s CEO, Jerry O’Gorman, added, “We've aligned with companies who are credited with some of the most innovative technologies and solutions in their industries. Together, our focus is on extending the capabilities of our combined technologies to provide broad solutions for customers in areas of strategic importance to the global market.”

Generating Business Insight via Connected Intelligence in the Partner Ecosystem

“We are excited that ThingWorx® technology will be a core aspect of the B+B SmartWorx Connected Intelligence Ecosystem,” said Chris Kuntz, vice president, ecosystem programs, ThingWorx.  “The age of the IoT is upon us and working with forward thinking companies such as B+B SmartWorx enables us to deploy our leading technology so that customers can profit from complete, end-to-end solutions.”

“I applaud B+B SmartWorx bold entry into the IoT Marketplace as a deviceWISE Ready partner.   Our two companies share a common strategy of providing robust solutions with Intelligence at the Edge as well as a proven track record with enterprise customers within the industrial market,” said Fred Yentz, CEO ILS Technology, a Telit Company.  “Our strategic and technical alignment and our global reach will provide customers an enterprise ready, fast time to value IoT experience.”

“The IoT has a huge opportunity to connect non-consumer devices to the cloud to collect and share data making factories, automobiles, buildings and cities more intelligent,” said Stefan Vaillant, CTO of Cumulocity. “B+B SmartWorx complements our portfolio of software system solutions for IoT.”

"IoT is the hottest topic in IT circles as customers look to connect assets they've never connected before and make real time decisions based on data collected from the coalface of their business,” said Paul Glynn, CEO of Davra Networks. “Using B+B SmartWorx Wzzard Sensing Platform gives our customers easy access to information and data that they've never had access to before."

“This ecosystem has the potential to bring industrial process control to a whole new level,” said Paul Thomas, President of Skkynet. “Combining the B+B SmartWorx platform with Skkynet's Secure Cloud Service means remote devices in any location can now connect directly and securely to the cloud, enabling real-time monitoring, control, networking, and big data collection at a far lower TCO than previously thought possible.”

For more about partners: http://bb-smartworx.com/our-partners/

Source: B+B SmartWorx

Elisa Launches New IoT Service With ThingWorx Rapid Application Development Platform

19 January 2015 – ThingWorx, a PTC® (Nasdaq: PTC) business and leading Internet of Things (IoT) platform provider, announced today that Elisa, Finnish market leader in mobile and fixed broadband subscriptions, will deploy ThingWorx's platform technology to enable a new Elisa IoT service in Finland and Estonia.

Elisa is a telecommunications, ICT and online service company serving 2.3 million customers, providing environmentally sustainable services for communication and entertainment, and tools for improving operating methods and productivity of organizations. In Finland Elisa is the market leader in mobile subscriptions and fixed broadband subscriptions.

By partnering with ThingWorx, Elisa can now enable its customers to seamlessly connect and interface with their remote devices, people, business systems and things offering the most comprehensive set of IoT services available today. The new Elisa service spans from device management to data analytics to product development, all securely backed up in Elisa-owned data centres.

“Elisa prides itself on being a forward thinking company,” said Timo Katajisto, executive vice president, Corporate Customers, Elisa.  “The ThingWorx platform technology will enable complete, innovative, end-to-end solutions for Elisa customers in addition to providing an easy entry point for companies that want to realize the full value of adding connectivity to their product and service offerings.”

ThingWorx offers an innovative platform for rapidly developing and deploying applications to realize the opportunity and value presented by the Internet of Things economy. The ThingWorx simplified and unified approach to IoT applications enables companies to iteratively innovate business processes significantly faster than conventional methods and tools, thus accelerating time to value, reducing cost and risk, and transforming how products, people, and systems connect and interact.

“We are excited that ThingWorx technology will be a core aspect of the Elisa IoT Service,” said Thomas Svensson, senior vice-president and general manager EMEA, ThingWorx.  “The age of the Internet of Things is upon us and working with forward thinking companies, such as Elisa, enables us to deploy our leading technology so that customers can profit from complete, end-to-end solutions.”

About ThingWorx, a PTC Business
ThingWorx™, a PTC (Nasdaq: PTC) business, provides the first platform designed to efficiently build and run the applications of today’s connected world.  ThingWorx, the centerpiece of PTC’s Internet of Things (IoT) technology portfolio, combines capabilities from Axeda to deliver the world’s first complete IoT Platform, which includes connectivity, device cloud, business logic, big data, analytics and remote service applications. The combination delivers a comprehensive IoT technology stack that enables companies to securely connect assets, quickly create applications, and innovate new ways to capture value. Companies already leveraging this technology to capitalize on the potential of the IoT represent a wide range of markets, including manufacturing, energy, agriculture, transportation, and government. For more information, please visit www.thingworx.com, www.axeda.com, and www.PTC.com.

About Elisa
Elisa is a telecommunications, ICT and online service company serving 2.3 million consumer, corporate and public administration organisation customers. Elisa provides environmentally sustainable services for communication and entertainment, and tools for improving operating methods and productivity of organisations. In Finland Elisa is the market leader in mobile subscriptions and fixed broadband subscriptions. Cooperation with Vodafone and Telenor enables international use of services. Elisa is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Large Cap with over 200 000 shareholders. Elisa’s revenue in 2013 was 1.55 billion euros and it employed 4,200 people. For more information, please visit www.elisa.com.

Source: ThingWorx

Montblanc Enhances Traditional Watch Functionality with e-Strap Wearable

By Abraham Joseph - Ed

3 January 2015 Montblanc announced the TimeWalker Urban Speed e-Strap, an interchangeable strap, with an integrated digital device that offers an activity tracker, smart notifications, remote control and Find-Me functions. The device connects, via Bluetooth Low Energy to selected Android and iOS smartphones.

The e-Strap device is encapsulated in a stainless steel case and has an inbuilt touch screen display that is readable in daylight. Depending on usage, the device can last up to five days before it needs to be recharged. Charging is via a standard micro-USB cable.

The e-Strap device offers a range of functionality, including:

• Smart notifications provide vibration notification (and enable preview) of e-mails, text messages, incoming calls, social media status updates and appointment reminders
• Activity tracker monitors the wearer´s physical activity over time, keeps track of personal daily goals and prompts the wearer to stay active. The accompanying smartphone application tracks progress weekly and monthly
• Remote control enables the device to control smartphone functions such as taking pictures and playing, pausing, and skipping music
• Find-Me allows the user to search for the watch or phone within a range of 30 meters, either by tapping on the e-Strap to find the smartphone or by using the smartphone application to find the watch.

The e-Strap is compatible with Samsung Galaxy S4, S5, Note 3, Note 4, selected Android Devices running Android 4.3 and upwards as well as Apple iPhone 4S, 5, 5C, 5S, 6 and 6 plus.

The e-strap is expected to retail at 350 euros when it becomes available in June.

Source: Montblanc

Intel Invests $24.8m in Vuzix to Accellerate Consumer Wearables

By Abraham Joseph - Ed.

2 January 2014 - Vuzix Corporation announced today that Intel Corporation has made a $24.8 million investment in the Company.

Vuzix is a leading supplier of Video Eyewear and Smart Glasses products in the consumer, commercial and entertainment markets. The Company's products include personal display and wearable computing devices that offer users a portable high quality viewing experience, provide solutions for mobility, wearable displays and virtual and augmented reality.

           
Vuzix's wearable display technology is focused on next generation optics and displays that have the potential to fit in fashion-based wearable glasses. Intel's investment will be used for general working capital to accelerate the introduction of Vuzix next generation fashion-based wearable display products into the consumer market.

Vuzix holds 39 patents, 10 additional patents pending and numerous IP licenses in the Video Eyewear field. The Company has won Consumer Electronics Show (or CES) awards for innovation for the years 2005 to 2014 and several wireless technology innovation awards.

Founded in 1997, Vuzix is a public company, with offices in Rochester, NY, Oxford, UK and Tokyo, Japan.

Source: PR Newswire and Vuzix

Enmetric Systems and DECO Lighting Partner for Enterprise IoT-Enabled LED Lighting

By Abraham Joseph - Ed.

4 December 2014 - Enmetric Systems a leading enterprise Internet of Things (IoT) company, announced today that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Deco Lighting to provide comprehensive control of the latter’s led systems in commercial environments.

Enmetric provides innovative Internet of Things (IoT) solutions for commercial environments. Its IoT platform enables large enterprise customers to monitor, control and manage individual plug load devices, including workstation electronics (printers, computers, monitors, task lamps, phone chargers, etc.), shared enterprise electronics (printers, copiers, etc.), and kitchen devices (vending machines, coffee makers, water coolers, etc.). The company's core application, Enterprise Plug Load Management, is built on a cloud-based data analytics platform and saves customers 10% to 20% in total annual energy costs.

By leveraging Enmetric's Enterprise IoT platform, Deco will enable its commercial LED luminaires to communicate real-time data wirelessly to the cloud at a performance level that has not been possible with previous control technologies. Deco will be able to not only control simple ON/OFF functionality, but also control intensity and color by location as well as communicate real-time data such as ballast temperature, fixture temperature, power consumption, Carbon Monoxide levels, Carbon Dioxide levels, room temperature, and much more.

According to the Plug-Load Control and Behavioral Change Research Report completed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory for the U.S. General Services Administration in June of 2012, plug loads account for 25% to over 50% of total electricity consumed within office buildings.

"We are excited to incorporate Enmetric's Enterprise IoT platform into our most popular LED products to create some of the most innovative intelligent lighting solutions on the market today” said Ben Pouladian, President and Co-Founder at Deco Lighting. “As a leading innovator in the lighting industry, Deco is committed to advancing lighting solutions that save energy and contribute to a cleaner environment. We see Enmetric as a company that is leading the Enterprise Internet of Things category, making the concept of real-time Big Data a reality, and thus a partnership makes good sense,"

"We are very excited about working with Deco on the development of these IoT-enabled LED luminaires,” said Walter Shimoon, Vice President at Enmetric Systems. “There is so much more that can be done with the data gathered from each fixture than just simply turning a light on or off. We have deep experience in how advanced controls and analytics of real-time data can provide smart buildings with real advantages in the effort to become truly energy efficient, and look forward to applying this knowledge and capability to advanced lighting systems for the first time,"

Enmetric is focused on delivering its enterprise Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to customers in several key market verticals, including: Information Technology, Healthcare & Big Pharmaceutical, Construction Development, Building Management, and the Government-Public sector. For more information, please visit http://www.enmetric.com.

Deco Lighting is a lighting manufacturer that specializes in designing lighting that takes advantage of the latest energy-saving technology. Deco Lighting's products include LED, Plasma, Solar, commercial fluorescent, emergency fixtures, custom fixtures, and more. For more information, please visit http://getdeco.com.

Source: PR Newswire, Enmetric and Deco Lighting.

Broadcom Creates Network of More Than 40 Channel Partners to Serve Accelerating IoT and Ethernet Markets

10 Nov.  2014. Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today announced the addition of more than 40 channel partners, optimized to serve the expanding Internet of Things (IoT) and high volume Ethernet IC markets. The company's new scalable sales model provides the structure and broad ecosystem needed to meet increasing demand from thousands of developers seeking access to its growing portfolio of mass market products.

Broadcom has added a wide variety of new channel partners including module manufacturers, value-added resellers, independent design houses, original device manufacturers (ODMs) and an e-commerce distribution channel. The global network is aimed at providing greater access to its WICED Smart and WICED Wi-Fi platforms and leading-edge RoboSwitch™, StrataConnect™ and NetXtreme™ Ethernet solutions.

"As the IoT market continues to evolve, we're seeing increased demand from thousands of emerging developers wanting to get their hands on our low-cost, highly integrated development platforms, modules and resource materials," said Vincent Brocato, Broadcom Senior Director, Global Channel. "By making our technology easy to use and widely available through our expanded global channel, companies both large and small now have immediate access to the technology and tools required to bring their innovative ideas to life."

In addition to its broad portfolio of turnkey hardware and software platforms, Broadcom has invested in lowering the barrier to engagement through the introduction of a comprehensive online support portal and vast library of collateral including data sheets, application notes, video tutorials, programming and product selector guides. Moderated by Broadcom experts, each of the focused online communities is structured to provide developers with a collaborative environment to share ideas, solve challenges and advance product development.
"The IoT offers a unique advantage that will spawn an entire new generation of innovators," said Aapo Markkanen, ABI Research, Principal Analyst. "Providing developers with immediate access to standardized, ultra-low-power wireless development platforms and online support communities will be instrumental in the proliferation of the rapidly expanding IoT market."

"Our relationship with Broadcom provides Mouser with a clear advantage in the rapidly evolving IoT and Ethernet markets," said Jeff Newell, Mouser Senior Vice President of Products. "Our e-commerce distribution channel will provide leading developers from around the world with simplified development platforms and modules, resulting in faster time-to-market for a broad range of IoT and Ethernet-based innovations."

"In the rapidly growing IoT space, customers will require Broadcom's market leading technology to quickly bring solutions to market, and LSR's wireless design services and certified RF modules accelerate that integration," said Dave Burleton, VP of Marketing at LSR.  "LSR has utilized Broadcom's innovative technology to build powerful new Wi-Fi modules and the TiWiConnect cloud platform, all designed to offer the most integrated and simple IoT development solutions on the market."
"Broadcom is paving the way for innovation in the fast growing IoT market and we're thrilled to be a part of it," said David Friedman Founder and CEO, Ayla Networks. "As a pioneer in the IoT movement,  Ayla is ideally suited to partner with Broadcom in their efforts to reach  the thousands of potential developers from around the world. Together, our combined expertise provides the tools these aspiring developers need to get to market quickly and cost effectively."

About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a FORTUNE 500® company, is a global leader and innovator in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom® products seamlessly deliver voice, video, data and multimedia connectivity in the home, office and mobile environments.  With the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip solutions, Broadcom is changing the world by Connecting everything®.  For more information, go to www.broad com.com.

MediaTek Launches Labs Developer Program for Wearables and IoT

22 Sept. 2014 - MediaTek today launched MediaTek Labs, a global initiative that allows developers of any background or skill level to create wearable and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The new program provides developers, makers and service providers with software development kits (SDKs), hardware development kits (HDKs), and technical documentation, as well as technical and business support.

"With the launch of MediaTek Labs we're opening up a new world of possibilities for everyone - from hobbyists and students through to professional developers and designers - to unleash their creativity and innovation," says Marc Naddell, vice president of MediaTek Labs. "We believe that the innovation enabled by MediaTek Labs will drive the next wave of consumer gadgets and apps that will connect billions of things and people around the world."

The Labs developer program also features the LinkIt™ Development Platform, which is based on the MediaTek Aster (MT2502) chipset. The LinkIt development Platform is the one of the best connected platforms, offering excellent integration for the package size and doing away with the need for additional connectivity hardware. LinkIt makes creating prototype wearable and IoT devices easy and cost effective by leveraging MediaTek's proven reference design development model.

The LinkIt platform consists of the following components:
•    System-on-Chip (SoC) - MediaTek Aster (MT2502), the world's smallest commercial SoC for Wearables, and companion Wi-Fi (MT5931) and GPS (MT3332) chipsets offering powerful, battery efficient technology.
•    LinkIt OS - an advanced yet compact operating system that enables control software and takes full advantage of the features of the Aster SoC, companion chipsets, and a wide range of sensors and peripheral hardware.
•    Hardware Development Kit (HDK) - Launching first with LinkIt ONE, a co-design project with Seeed Studio, the HDK will make it easy to add sensors, peripherals, and Arduino Shields to LinkIt ONE and create fully featured device prototypes.
•    Software Development Kit (SDK) - Makers can easily migrate existing Arduino code to LinkIt ONE using the APIs provided. In addition, they get a range of APIs to make use of the LinkIt communication features: GSM, GPRS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi.

To ensure developers can make the most of the LinkIt offering, the MediaTek Labs website includes a range of additional services, including:

•    Comprehensive business and technology overviews
•    A Solutions Catalog where developers can share information on their devices, applications, and services and become accessible for matchmaking to MediaTek's customers and partners
•    Support services, including comprehensive FAQ, discussion forums that are monitored by MediaTek technical experts, and - for developers with solutions under development in the Solutions Catalog - free technical support.

"While makers still use their traditional industrial components for new connected IoT devices, with the LinkIt ONE hardware kit as part of MediaTek LinkIt Developer Platform, we're excited to help Makers bring prototypes to market faster and more easily," says Eric Pan, founder and chief executive officer of Seeed Studio.

Makers, designers and developers can sign up to MediaTek Labs today and download the full range of tools and documentation at http://labs.mediatek.com.

About MediaTek Inc.
MediaTek is a pioneering fabless semiconductor company, and a market leader in cutting-edge systems on a chip for wireless communications and connectivity, HDTV, DVD and Blu-ray. MediaTek created the world's first octa-core smartphone platform with LTE and our CorePilot™ technology releasing the full power of multi-core mobile processors. Through MediaTek Labs™, the company is creating a worldwide ecosystem in support of device creation, application development and services based around MediaTek offerings. With an emphasis on enabling technology for the masses and not the chosen, everyone can be an Everyday Genius. MediaTek [TSE: 2454] is headquartered in Taiwan and has offices worldwide.

Source: PRNewsrire