Cypress Semiconductor Corp. and Broadcom Limited announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which Cypress will acquire Broadcom's Wireless Internet of Things (IoT) business and related assets in an all-cash transaction valued at $550 million. Under the terms of the deal, Cypress will acquire Broadcom's Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Zigbee IoT product lines and intellectual property, along with its WICED brand and developer ecosystem. Broadcom's IoT business unit, which employs approximately 430 people worldwide, generated $189 million in revenue during the last twelve months. The acquisition strengthens Cypress's position in key embedded systems markets, such as automotive and industrial, and establishes …

The 3rd generation of the pods, called Group Rapid Transit vehicles, is the product of a collaboration between Singapore’s second-largest public transportation company, SMRT, and a technology and transportation company based in the Netherlands. The Singapore-based joint venture, known as 2getthere, issued a press release on Wednesday about the new initiative. Carel van Helsdingen, Chairman and founder of 2getthere and SMRT Services Managing Director Colin Lim made the announcement together. “Building on decades of technological development and experience gathered through projects implemented worldwide, our innovative technology will be able to optimize the efficiency, reliability, and safety of transport networks,” said Helsdingen. “There is …

Perhaps known best for its HDTVs and the Galaxy family of smartphones and tablets, Samsung is now building up its software offerings in its quest to stake out a presence in the living rooms, automobiles, and smart cities of the future. The Korean electronics giant unveiled an SDK for its smart TVs at its developers conference in San Francisco today, the latest addition to the company's campaign to bring developers into its Internet of Things ecosystem. The goal is to help Samsung achieve a "lion's share" of the estimated 20 billion Internet-connected devices that will be produced by 2020, according to company executives.

Samsung unveiled a big new push into Internet of Things at its developer conference today, and it's using a cute little robot to demonstrate it. It's called the Otto, a reference design for what is essentially an Amazon Echo Unlike the Echo though, it also has an HD camera that can recognize faces or act as a security camera. There's also a small screen on it that displays a semblance of a face plus a variety of animations depending on the application. clone. It has microphones and speakers so it can answer questions like "What's the weather?," plus you can use it to control various …

The United States might be one step closer to having a unified strategy for using the Internet of Things to its economic advantage. A Senate commerce committee on Wednesday passed the DIGIT Act, which would require the Federal Communications Commission to report on the spectrum required to support a network of billions of devices. It would also convene working groups, composed of public and private sector representatives, to advise Congress on Internet of Things-related policy.

The Internet of Things will have an estimated 6.4 billion "connected things" by the end of 2016 according to technology research firm Gartner. Increasingly, mesh networking is emerging as an ideal design solution for interconnecting a large number of network devices, especially for smart home applications. Mesh networks rely on wireless nodes rather than centralized access points to create a virtual wireless backbone. Thus, mesh networks offer the ability to connect wirelessly devices and computers directly, without a phone company or ISP link. All mesh nodes cooperate in the distribution of data in the network, and mesh networks can relay …

A Nestle Waters executive at the Forrester Marketing 2016 Forum detailed a strategy on how it can gain insights from a connected cooler that prompts mobile device owners to use its free Wi-Fi when nearby. During the "Customer Understanding" session, the executive walked attendees through the company's idea of having Perrier branded coolers in stores that use beacons to alert nearby mobile users to come in for free Wi-Fi. Interested consumers can connect to the high-tech cooler, which then gives Nestle Waters a bevy of information about the individual and allows it to retarget them later. 

A wave of virtual reality content is hitting the market this year and consumer adoption could quickly follow, bringing with it growing demand for shopping experiences using the technology, according to a new report from the Center for Advancing Retail & Technology. The report, Retail Innovation: U.S. Retail Technology Insights and Analysis, insists that many retailers are still struggling with integrating mobile into their strategies even as the pace of technological innovation speeds up. As a result, many retailers will be unprepared for the shift to virtual reality.

Department store chain Barneys New York is furthering its omnichannel capabilities through the use of integrated iBeacon technology and a personalization platform. Powered by RichRelevance’s Relevance Cloud, Barneys is emphasising its dedication to creating an in-store experience enhanced by digital touchpoints. The initiative has created a first-of-its-kind digital customer experience at Barneys’ recently opened downtown flagship in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood.

Trying to regain its digital footing, Nokia is buying Withings -- a French startup that makes connected health products from fitness bands to sleep-trackers. The deal is costing Nokia about $192 million, Venture Beat reports. “Withings suite of products will be added to the Nokia Technologies arm, which signals an interesting new direction for a company once synonymous with mobile phones.”