In news from the southern hemisphere, Gilat Satellite Networks announced that Telstra, a leading global telecommunications and technology service provider, has chosen Gilat’s backhaul solution to expand 4G mobile service in remote locations throughout Australia. In Brazil, Gilat has entered a partnership with Hispasat to commercialize the latter’s Ka band satellite capacity, an endeavor that has an estimated potential revenue of tens of millions of dollars over the coming few years. In other updates concerning Brazil, Coriant’s 200G optical transmission technology has been deployed by Copel Telecom to scale its fiber optic backbone network in the country’s state of Parana.

IoT News

Developments in IoT this month included progress toward self-driving cars and advancements in artificial intelligence (AI). Ericsson and Audi have embarked together on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore 5G’s potential as a future-proof communication technology to meet the demands of automotive production. Experts from both companies will run field tests in a technical center of the Audi Production Lab in Gaimersheim, Germany. Ericsson has also been selected by KPN—a leading telecom and ICT provider in the Netherlands—to explore 5G’s use for self-driving cars and applications to increase traffic safety at the Automotive Campus in Helmond, Netherlands. Adesto Technologies announced this month that it will present new research on Resistive RAM (RRAM) technology’s potential for use with high-reliability applications in automotive and IoT. The presentation will take place at the ESSCIRC-ESSDERC 48th European Solid-State Device Research Conference, held in Germany in early September. And, international automotive technology provider ERM Advanced Telematics launched StarLink Tracker, a versatile telematics product integrating advanced vehicle tracking, driver behavior monitoring, theft prevention, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 4G cellular capabilities—all in a single device.

Telit, a global enabler of IoT, will power a new range of routers for first responder communications from Centrix IP. These powerful, durable, portable devices will operate in cellular band 14, the frequency licensed to the First Responder Network Authority to create a coast-to-coast U.S. wireless broadband network for the public safety sector.

In AI news, research from Ovum offered a view of the current landscape of AI assistants. Ovum reports that while Amazon’s Alexa is the current market leader, Google Assistant is catching up fast, posing a threat to Alexa’s supremacy. Siri, Cortana, and Bixby offer specific advantages for particular use cases but lag behind Alexa and Google Assistant—with diminishing chances to get ahead, considering the fast-growing functionality and interoperability concerns in the smart home sphere. In domestic AI innovation news, Accelirate has launched a new automation accelerator program. RPA90X is designed to fast-track companies’ automation initiatives by identifying processes to show immediate return of man-hours back into the business. It was developed when the company observed difficulties in progress for automation in Fortune 1000 businesses. Across the Atlantic, Telenor, NTNU, and SINTEF have joined forces to establish a new Norwegian AI Lab to promote progress.

Advances in strategic partnerships made news this month. Quantenna Communications and Aerial Technologies entered a strategic partnership to bring the latest in Wi-Fi motion detection technology to the market. In more partnership news, DataXoom and Samsung SDS America will collaborate to transform the Samsung smartwatch, via custom developed applications, from a device for consumers to a purpose-built tool for enterprise use. And Tri Cascade, an IoT technology company that is a subsidiary of SkyFidelity, announced a new partnership with Skydrop, a pioneer in smart sprinkler controllers. As a result, Tri Cascade will use its NB-IoT technology to enhance SkyDrop’s current smart irrigation system—and SkyDrop’s solution will be integrated into Tri Cascade’s suite of interconnected IoT smart neighborhood technology.

Samsung and Xiaomi reported record-setting quarters after each shipping 9.9 million smartphones to India last month—the best period either vendor has had in the country.