Today’s Internet of Things news roundup features a collaboration to make connected homes even smarter, a new in-car smart mount for phones, and a home security startup raising $1 million in seed funding.

Icontrol Networks turns to weather to save energy

Icontrol Networks, Inc. and Earth Networks announced a collaboration that would integrate the latter’s WeatherBug Home offering into the Icontrol Developer Program. This partnership will bring Earth Networks’ big data intelligence, proprietary weather data and energy usage analytics to Icontrol’s deployment customers, allowing them to deliver more intelligent energy management services to consumers to reduce costs, while maintaining comfort.

WeatherBug Home is a connected home optimization platform that analyzes energy usage patterns in home and consumer comfort setting to be able to intelligently control smart thermostats and other connected connected devices to ensure inhabitants are comfortable. A recent study found consumers saved 16.5 percent in energy costs when using a connected thermostat integrated with WeatherBug Home compared to a standard thermostat. WeatherBug also offers response programs that provides incentives to customers who willingly reduce thermostat usage on peak energy days while still maintaining user home comfort.

According to Icontrol’s 2015 Smart Home Report, 70 percent of respondents are excited about the potential cost savings from energy efficiency and monitoring. The report also determined that weather is the single largest factor impacting energy costs.

This partnership is similar to what IBM hopes to achieve with its acquisition of The Weather Company. As explained by Inhi Cho Suh, VP of strategy and business development of IBM Analytics, in an interview with theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, “Environmental conditions actually account for almost a half a trillion of economic loss on an annual basis just in the U.S. alone,” and the acquisition will allow then to “ consider atmospheric science, data analytics, and that rigor of precision forecasting and predictive to really fundamentally change business decision making is a huge opportunity for every client to kind of transform.”

Bluejay in-car smart mount

Launching on Kickstarter PBC is Bluejay, a new in-car smart mount for phones that aims to better integrate cars and phones. Bluejay is made up of high-grade CNC aluminum and durable carbon fiber,  equipped with Bluetooth Smart technology, and an app that makes your phone’s contacts, music and GPS locations readily available.

Bluejay is compatible with all smartphones. When the smartphone is placed on Bluejay, the app automatically launches and turns the phone into a driving dashboard. A driver only needs to swipe on the phone to perform different functions, reducing the time needed to look at the phone’s screen and allows users to focus more on the road.

The Bluejay app also features Find my car/phone, meter notification, call and messaging shortcuts, music app and Internet radio integration, turn-by-turn navigation, personalized driving stats, and smart home and IFTTT integration.

Bluejay has a Kickstarter funding goal of $80,000.

BuddyGuard raises $1m for Flare home security device

BuddyGuard GmbH announced that it has raised approximately $1 million in seed funding, enabled by a group of angel investors based in Germany as well as Bachmann GmbH & Co. KG, a developer of high-end electronic components & systems.

The capital will be used to bring Flare, the company’s first product to market. Flare is a complete, intelligent home security system, which combines ever-evolving artificial intelligence with minimalistic design.

Flare features a 1080p HD camera with night vision, motion and temperature sensors, Wi-Fi, microphone, speaker & siren that allows you to communicate directly with unwanted guests, a battery that lasts up to three days when the power goes out, a BuddySim so it’s still connected even when the Wi-Fi goes out, accelerometer that activates the alarm when it is ripped from the wall, and Bluetooth that allows it to communicate with other connected devices via IFTTT.

photo credit: It’s a Wild World via photopin (license)