Connected Devices Weekly Update/2016-10-13

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Program		Passed Gate	Status	Notes
Project Sensor Web	Cindy/Jean	Gate 1	On Target	Bulleted list item Bulleted list item
Project_Haiku (taking in Project Smart Display)	Liz/Joe/Mahe	Gate 0	On Target	Bulleted list item Bulleted list item
Voice Platform - Deep Speech	Sandip/Nicole	N/A	On Target	Bulleted list item Bulleted list item
Platform and Tools	Sandip/Nicole/Mahe	N/A	On Target	Bulleted list item Bulleted list item
Abigail	Preeti/Julie	Gate 0	On Target	Bulleted list item Bulleted list item
Project Magnet	David/Maria	Gate 0	On Target	Bulleted list item Bulleted list item
HomeWeb	Ben/Mahe	Gate 0	On Target	Bulleted list item Bulleted list item
GameON!	Candice/Julie	Pre Gate 0	On Target	Bulleted list item Bulleted list item
Lighthouse	Preeti/Julie	Gate 0	On Target	Bulleted list item Bulleted list item
PocketID	Francisco	Pre Gate 0	On Target	Bulleted list item Bulleted list item
3D Printing	Thomas	Pre Gate 0	On Target	Bulleted list item Bulleted list item
Participation Update	Michael/Brian	--	On Target	Bulleted list item Bulleted list item
Market Developments Update	Irina			Amazon Alexa: The Alexa API has been updated to support the "Alexa" wake-word for 3rd-party devices. Until now this has only been available for a few select device manufacturers who entered agreements directly with Amazon. This release makes voice activation available to the entire population of 3rd-party device manufacturers using the API. Jam Audio is the latest speaker brand to join the Alexa ecosystem. The full set of features that is available on the Echo can also be used on the Jam Audio with extra capabilities for multiroom audio, if multiple Jam devices are present. IoT platforms: IBM is investing $200 million towards expanding and improving the company’s Watson Internet of Things (IoT) platform in Munich, Germany, which will serve as a new global headquarters. The investment will also cover IoT capabilities regarding IBM’s Blockchain security platform, and will provide cash to certain clients who want to use the Watson IoT platform in their applications, whether a car, ball bearings, equipment components, or machines. IBM has actually invested over $3 billion dollars into its Watson IoT platform across the globe. The company has more than 6,000 clients worldwide that are using this platform, which is 2,000 more than what IBM reported just eight months ago. The new Munich headquarters will employ 1,000 local researchers, engineers, developers, and business experts, and will serve as the home base for what IBM calls its “cognitive IoT Collaboratories” labs. IoT security: The Cloud Security Alliance’s Internet of Things Working Group has released a new guidance report intended to help device makers design and develop more inherently secure IoT products. "That’s one of the things we wanted to do with this report was provide ammunition to the manufacturers and vendors of these types of devices to say, ‘Hey, take a step back, focus on some fundamental security and engineering concepts, understand who may be trying to break into your devices and take, at the very least, the minimum steps necessary to secure those products so they’re not open to becoming the next node in a botnet," said Brian Russell, chair of the CSA’s IoT Working Group, The European Commission is drafting new cybersecurity requirements to beef up security around so-called Internet of Things (IoT) devices such as Web-connected security cameras, routers and digital video recorders (DVRs). News of the expected proposal comes as security firms are warning that a great many IoT devices are equipped with little or no security protections.
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