Still looking for reasons to purchase the Apple Watch? Will you be investing in an Amazon Dash Button or are you waiting for something better to come along? What’s happening in India’s 100 Smart Cities initiative?

Every week we round up the latest developments in the Smart World, from new developer platforms to smart city initiatives around the world. Here’s what you missed:

How the cloud actually makes IoT more secure

Arrayent, Inc. has raised $11 million in funding from investors such as Intel Capital, Opus Capital, DCM Ventures and Comerica Bank. According to Arrayent CEO Cyril Brignone the new funding will be used to expand the use cases the company has to offer as well as to add more customers.

Read more about Arrayent’s plans here.

Smart cities tap smart citizens for green ideas

India is now in the second phase of its 100 Smart Cities initiative, with participating cities submitting their final proposals for improving urban infrastructure by December 15, 2015. Cooking up smart plans is not an easy task, so some municipalities have turned to social media and mobile to get ideas and inspiration from local residents.

Read more about which municipalities have enlisted their residents for phase two of the 100 Smart City initiative here.

Surviving the age of revenge porn

Revenge porn is a lucrative business for some and a nightmare for its victims. If you don’t want to fall into the victim category, one of the quickest and cheapest solutions is to protect yourself from webcam hacks. 

Read more about tips and tricks to avoid becoming victim of revenge porn here.

New road signs detect texting drivers, send warnings

Sussex Safer Roads Partnership is testing Vehicle Activated Signs (VAS) to deter drivers from using their mobile devices while they are behind the wheel. When triggered, the signs flash a reminder that using a mobile device while driving is prohibited. Some study proves that VAS are quite effective in getting the message across.

Read more about this initiative here.

People Power raises $4.4m to push IoT tech

User engagement company People Power Co. has raised $4.4 million in a round of funding led by MediaTek, Inc. The round of funding will be used to develop new Internet of Things products as well as increase its manpower.

Read more about what People Power has to offer here.

Smart home meets smartwatch

Still on the fence about purchasing an Apple Watch? Maybe its use as a smart home controller could help the decision making process. Apple Watch is now compatible with more home automation brands such as Insteon, Philips Hue, SmartThings, Savant, ecobee, to name some.

Read more about how the Apple Watch can be used to control your smart home here.

What Quirky’s bankruptcy mean for smart home hubs

Quicky, Inc. has recently filed for bankruptcy, raising some concerns regarding the fate of its spun-off smart home hub Wink, and the state of the smart home hub market overall. Quirky has been known help get to market inventions such as the Aros A/C, the Egg Minder and many others, and with its operations at a stand still, will inventors turn to crowdsourcing sites or is that avenue another dead end?

Read more about what Quirky’s bankruptcy mean for the smart home hub market here.

Is Apple HomeKit too closed-minded?

Just like the mobile sector, Apple has dreams to dominated the smart home market as well. But is the Apple HomeKit, just too closed off to become the standard, or will it be able to open its doors to become compatible with more brands?

Read more about Apple’s HomeKit here.

Put a smart ring on it: Apple files patent for smart ring

According to reports, Apple has filed a patent for an interactive smart ring which will be an extension of other Apple products. Based on the description on the patent filing, the smart ring works similarly to the Apple Watch, which makes you wonder how long the battery of such as tiny device could last and if it could become a regularly used device for daily living.

Read more about Apple’s alleged smart ring here.

Essential health apps for Apple Watch

Another reason to get an Apple Watch? Health monitoring. There are now numerous health apps that are revolutionizing the doctor-patient interaction. With apps, patient monitoring can be done at home, at the comfort of the patient’s home, instead of an ominous hospital room.

Read more about the devices and apps that are transforming patient care here.

Top gadgets we expect in Nest’s Store for smart homes

Google-owned Nest Labs, Inc. announced that it will make its Weave communications protocol available to anyone interested in building solutions for the smart home next year.

The company also announced that it will be opening a separate Works with Nest Store that will showcase all the products from partner companies that work seamlessly with its own offerings.

Read more about Nest’s initiative here.

7 ways machines will auto-order home supplies

Amazon is expanding its Dash Replenishing Service (DRS), the service that powers its Dash Button, to deliver ease of ordering to more products and consumers. With this expansion, DRS is directly incorporated into devices that will measure consumable usage such as on automatic pet feeders. When the DRS senses that supplies are running low, it will automatically order more supplies.

Read more about Amazon’s DRS here.

Tune in next week for more interesting stories, discoveries and innovations in the world of smart and connected things.

Image source: Philips Hue