This week’s Smart City roundup features a new industry partnership that speeds up time-to-market launches for connected retail vending providers, a smart energy management system that combats office drowsiness and a smart desk with built-in virtual assistant.

Eseye and Device Insight enter partnership for connected retail vending

Internet of Things cellular connectivity provider Eseye Ltd. and M2M Service Enablement Services (SES) and End-to-End solutions provider Device Insight GmbH announced a partnership for connected retail vending. The partnership includes the launch of an integrated and complete solution that will allow both companies to offer significantly quicker time-to-market for vending machine manufacturers that are looking to reliably connect their machines to the Internet and gather meaningful data sets that would allow them to make intelligent decisions.

“It was a partnership waiting to happen. We genuinely feel that the combination of both companies’ technical IoT expertise, Eseye’s managed AnyNet connectivity services along with Device Insight’s CENTERSIGHT application offers the perfect solution for retail vending machine manufacturers looking to gain rapid market entry with a turnkey solution. Having worked with Device Insight over the past months we have welcomed the opportunity to partner with them in this particular market,” Fred de Haro, Eseye SVP Global Sales, stated.

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Smart energy management system that wakes up sleepy employees

Researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) and Cumbernauld-based Gas Sensing Solutions (GSS) developed a smart energy building management system that would help make employees become more productive, or at least stay awake during office hours. The smart energy management system is able to monitor air quality, anticipate a drop in atmospheric oxygen and reacts to correct it.

The system was developed under a project by the Innovation Center for Sensors and Imaging Systems (CENSIS) and could be ready for market release within a year.

The system utilizes sensors that are able to detect the number of people in a room to be able to automatically adjust room temperature and air quality to keep the occupants comfortable. The sensors, which were provided by GSS, have a battery life of up to 10 years but the team is already working on a solar-powered version of the system. The sensors are placed both inside and outside the building, so the system can also react to external conditions such as lowering the temperature inside when it’s getting too hot outside.

“People have traditionally tackled afternoon drowsiness with making a cup of coffee, but in reality the issue tends to be associated with diminishing air quality,” Dr Hadi Larijani, GCU senior lecturer in the Department of Computer, Communications & Interactive Systems, said. “Modern building regulations have focused on thermal insulation, so insulating a building to prevent heat loss has the associated effect of preventing any fresh air getting in. That means the people inside are sitting in a room where the oxygen levels are falling throughout the day.”

Larijani believes that the smart energy building management system can maintain a steady level of good air quality throughout the day which, though it might not prevent caffeine cravings, can result in less dependency in caffeinated drinks.

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Robotbase

You’ve read about the Stir Kinect, the smart desk that learns your routine and tells you when it’s time to get your ass off your chair, but have you heard about the Robotbase?

At the GPU Technology Conference, a new smart desk made its appearance, but its really a robot disguised as a desk. Called Robotbase, it is a mechanized standing desk that comes with its own virtual assistant. It can perform tasks such as reading your email out loud or book a taxi from your workplace to your home or next meeting. It is powered by Tegra K1 and deep learning algorithms, to allow it to recognize its owner’s face as well a be able to interact or engage in a conversation with its owner throughout the day.