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Wireless World 2 1 Thursday, September 14, 2017 Foundation Announces New Members The Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF), a leading Internet of Things (IoT) standards body, announced the addition of 68 new member organizations including Haier Group, LG Electronics and NET- GEAR, Inc., growing membership to more than 300 companies. As one of the biggest IoT consortiums, this surge in membership follows the announcement that OCF and the AllSeen Alliance merged under the OCF name and bylaws with the mutual goal of creating a common IoT standard. With analysts predicting more than 25 billion devices by 2020, the need to ensure interoperability is greater than ever. OCF is doing its part through indus- try consolidation and more than 15 strate- gic liaisons with industry leading organi- zations including Thread Group and the Industrial Internet Consortium. OCF also continues to make it easier than ever to certify products, recently opening six labs across the globe. "We're very excited to see the indus- try's response to the merger, which has inspired nearly 70 new companies to work with us to develop a common stan- dard for IoT," said Dr. Matthew Perry, newly appointed President of Open Connectivity Foundation. "The addition of these new members makes OCF one of the largest consortiums in the industry, furthering our ability to create open and free IoT standards that allow organiza- tions to provide fully interoperable prod- ucts to consumers." In addition, OCF is announcing two new directors that were elected to repre- sent its Platinum member companies – Anoop Mohan, Vice President of Product, XFINITY Home for Comcast, and Olivier Carmona, Director of Business Development for AwoX. They will serve a two-year term. About Open Connectivity Foundation Billions of connected devices (devices, phones, computers and sensors) should be able to communicate with one another regardless of manufacturer, operating system, chipset or physical transport. The Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) is creating a specification and sponsoring an open source project to make this pos- sible. OCF will unlock the massive opportunity in the IoT market, accelerate industry innovation and help developers and companies create solutions that map to a single open specification. OCF will help ensure secure interoperability for consumers, business, and industry. The AllSeen Alliance now operates under the Open Connectivity Foundation. For more information, visit www.open connectivity.org. REYEDR HUD for Motorcycles: Heads-Up Display for Safer & Smarter Riding REYEDR, a start-up from New Zealand, has been furiously developing its HUD for motorcyclists. It adopts a unique retrofit approach – the device when fitted to a full face helmet converts it into a smart AR device. REYEDR's (pronounced rider) mis- sion is to connect motorcyclists with their machines in a way that transforms the ride experience. The way in which we view information on motorcycles has not really changed since being developed a century ago. AR combined with smart- phone computing now provides the abili- ty to improve safety by delivering key information at eye level. By eliminating distractions from looking down at the dash, motorcyclists can now ride safer by keeping their eyes on the road at all times, to look out for hazards. The REYEDR HUD (with universal helmet mount) and REYEDR smart- phone app deliver key information about the bike, route and ride group. Leisure motorcycling is a popular recreational activity in the developed countries; the social aspect of the app is designed to connect bikers to this large community and discover new routes, through those who have ridden in the past or to experi- ence with those in their ride group. Motorcycling is a risky sport. By keeping riders geo-connected with their group and the ability to alert emergency servic- es, it gives riders and non-riding loved ones peace of mind. REYEDR has attracted interest and support for its venture from the outset. A born-global firm, with operations in Auckland, New Zealand, REYEDR is now seeking distributors, IoT collabora- tors and investors for its venture. It was a finalist in the University of Auckland Spark Entrepreneurship Challenge 2015, and Alumni of the Lightning Lab Digital Accelerator 2016. ECOVACS Robotics Expands its Floor Cleaning Robot Line to Support Category Demand ECOVACS Robotics, the premier devel- oper and manufacturer of home service robots, expands its DEEBOT™ floor cleaning robot line with new products and new technology. These new products were designed in direct response to consumer feedback, and to help retailers expand their growing home robotics category. "Today's consumers are looking for cleaning innovations designed to enhance their ever-evolving lifestyle," said Mike Hecht, Executive Director, ECOVACS Robotics. "The ECOVACS Robotics lineup offers the connectivity and functionality to help users maximize their time and efficiency. Whether it's turning to our robust portfolio to achieve spotless windows or to maintain an orderly home with truly clean floors, ECOVACS Robotics is bringing the best cleaning solutions to the forefront." The new ECOVACS Robotics DEE- BOT floor cleaning robots were devel- oped for consumers who want the home that cleans itself sans the laborious time and effort. ECOVACS Robotics under- stands that cleaning needs vary, and that there are multiple types of floor surfaces in today's homes: hardwood, tile, linoleum, area rugs and carpet. In recog- nition of these facts, many innovative and technological advancements have been incorporated into the DEEBOT offerings. The DEEBOT Slim (DA60) is a fea- tured product that has been designed to clean bare floors and the com- mon debris found there – pet hair, crumbs, etc. DEEBOT Slim, as its name implies, is a low-profile robotic vacuum that stands only 2.2 inches tall, so it easily cleans under furni- ture where other robots can't. DEEBOT Slim is simple to operate and maintain, cleans bare floors effectively with no-tangle direct suction, and can mop too. The DEE- BOT Slim can clean up to and around stairs, detect objects in its path, recharge itself and perform scheduled cleaning once per day even if nobody is at home. The recent introduction of the DEE- BOT M81 provides consumers the abili- ty to clean both bare floors and carpet, and the ability to damp mop bare floor surfaces. The DM81 features four clean- ing modes that allow users to pick the best option that accommodates their cleaning needs. The modes include: Auto, Spot, Edge and Intensive. The Advanced Wet/Dry Mopping System has an integrated water reservoir that automati- cally dampens half of the Advanced Wet/Dry cleaning pad to remove dirt and debris, while the other half then dries the floor. The introduction of the DEEBOT M88 is a connected multi-function floor cleaning robot with a five-stage cleaning system that sweeps, lifts, vacuums, mops and dries in one pass. It's designed with a sleek white exterior and cutting-edge smart features for a simple home cleaning solution. The DM88 features Smartphone Control, so that users have access to manage this DEEBOT when at home or away. The DM88 can be scheduled to automatically clean twice per day at a specific time, for an effortless hands-off approach to clean- ing, even if nobody is at home. Add sales to your robotics category with ECOVACS Robotics products. Wireless Charging Is About to Get a Lot Better By John Barry, Ventev Mobile, Head of Product This will be the year that wireless mobile phone charging makes it to the big leagues. I'd like to be able to say you heard it here first, but that wouldn't be true. You heard someone say the exact same thing last year, and probably a few years before that too. Consumers and phone makers have been slow to adopt wireless charging. For the last couple of years, unless you owned a Samsung, you likely had to rely on an aftermarket charging adaptor and charging mat that cost somewhere between $60 and $150. All that for a charger limited to five watts. Wireless charging, in other words, was slow and required a good amount of Do-It-Yourself to get the parts to work with your phone. How slow was it? If you used your phone to stream music while charging wirelessly, you'd often use more energy than you gained. That changes this year. New wireless charging advance- ments are making fast, powerful wireless charging a reality. Higher power wire- less charging is coming to market in 2017 and will allow the phones to go from five watt charging up to 15 watt charging. The increase in power could reduce your charging times by 66 per- cent. These power increases and techno- logical improvements have paved the way for new accessories. Wireless car chargers, for example, weren't very use- ful. Drivers using GPS or streaming music would arrive at their destination with less juice than when they'd left, even though they were wirelessly charg- ing the entire time. Our new wirelesspro dock solves this problem. It clips to car vents to keep the screen upright and in your face – that's good for GPS, and keeping your eyes on the road. It's also compatible with PMA, Qi and fast wireless charging to supply up to 15 watts of power. That's enough to go from 0 to 60 percent in 30 minutes or to make sure that even a short drive leaves you with more power than you started with. So here's a prediction: look for more phone makers to pick up wireless charg- ing. Look for more smartphone users to jump on board, unlike the paltry rates we've seen in previous years. For more information, visit www .ventev.com.