The rising of the sun each day, the Super Bowl, a re-emerging public fascination with David Hasselhoff, farewell tours from the rock band KISS … these are things that can be observed to come and go in cycles, like many things in life. It can be argued that invention follows a similar cycle as well — but it usually takes a look back at history to point it out. Huawei, the Chinese technology giant, believes that these same cycles can be applied to the evolution of and technology leaps seen in smartphones, and that the next generation will produce something the …

The Indonesian city of Jakarta is in the first of multiple phasesimplementing smart streetlights that will be able to dim based on environmental conditions, as well as send information about their functionality to the city's command center, enabling predictive maintenance. GridComm's Street Light Management Solution (SLMS) allows the city to monitor power consumption and the streetlights' working conditions, both in real time and historically, and to program the lights to dim at specific times. GridComm partnered with LED lighting provider Siklon Energy Nusantara, which installed the Internet of Things technology. The solution employs powerline communication (PLC) two-way communication with a gateway device, …

The Internet of Things might finally start going mainstream when detergent brands, for example, begin building sensors into their containers that can auto-order a new bottle when the supply runs low. A group of CMOs, platform execs, pundits, and analysts discussed the issue at aroundtable organized by Adobe on Thursday in San Francisco. The twelve people around the table discussed the prospect of fifteen percent of all purchases being “passive” by 2020. That is, many of the products …

This week, Mattel released Hello Barbie, a WiFi-enabled doll that records and saves its conversations with children. The capacity for the doll to collect data begs questions about security, privacy, and potential misuse of information. TechRepublic spoke to Andrew Browne, Director of Lavasoft's malware lab, about his concerns over Hello Barbie's privacy settings. Hello Barbie sends communications between children and Mattel's control center. What are your thoughts on potential security issues here? I'm less concerned about hacking and more concerned about privacy. Theprivacy policy says it captures voice data that can be used to improve speech recognition or AI algorithms.

Google leads in technology, testing and software development for autonomous vehicles, judged market research firm IHS in a recent report. The key to a self-driving vehicle is software that can interpret sensor input and learn to mimic driving skills and experience, and Google leads in software development for that type of vehicle. Google has invested nearly $60 million so far in autonomous vehicle research, according to IHS estimates.

Samsung Smart TVs may be listening to everything you say, but new research published Wednesday brings a reminder that there are always new ways to compromise Internet-connected televisions—and the Internet of Things in general. Researchers at security software company Avast noticed that a Vizio smart TV they were evaluating communicated with a particular site, tvinteractive.tv, about once a second. They were curious about what data the TV was sending to the server, so they devised a man-in-the-middle attack that allowed them to intercept the data the TV sent out and also trick the TV into thinking commands they sent …

For several years, cybersecurity experts have been warning of the risks associated with the emerging Internet of Things, the vast network of connected devices people have started to bring into their homes. A smart thermostat, coffee maker, television, and speaker system may make life easier and more customizable, but they also present a new class of entry points for a hacker to infiltrate your home network and steal valuable personal information. It creates, to use the language of the cybersecurity industry, a huge attack surface. One of the biggest obstacles to securing these devices is that keeping them all …

The National Association of Realtors is eyeing the smart home. Technologists inside the Chicago-based trade organization are establishing a lab to test out gear to help homeowners make the quality of their living environments healthier and more energy efficient. Chad Curry, managing director at the Center for Realtor Technology, explained that the organization is concerned with the quality of housing stock on the market and is considering how to help improve and modernize existing homes.

Fossil's move to buy fitness tracking company Misfit for $260 million is likely to be the starting gun in a race to consolidate. There are too many fitness wearable players and the reality is that the technology is likely to be included into most watches. Timex's move to include step tracking in its Metropolitan watch highlights where things will go. Misfit's best move was to be a first mover as things consolidate. Fossil's acquisition gives Misfit more capital to grow. Fossil gets a cloud and app platform that would have taken years to build and largely be a me-too effort.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh say self-powering solar panels could provide high speed Internet to the most remote parts of Earth by using visible light spectrum, also known as ‘Li-Fi’ technology. Google and Facebook are among the technology firms looking to provide connectivity to the estimated four billion people who lack it through initiatives like Internet.org and Project Loon, the latter of which makes use of hot air balloons. However Professor Harald Haas and his team at the University’s Li-Fi R&D Centre say the ability for a solar panel to provide both power and data means it has the ability to cover just …