Blogs

Enterprise Private Wireless Networks: 5G or Wi-Fi?

By Frank Rayal posted 12-12-2022
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Enterprise private wireless networks based on cellular technologies have seen limited deployments over the past decade. It is believed that 5G will change that. Much of the arguments in favour of 5G centre on its performance capabilities. But this ignores other technologies that compete with 5G, such as LoRaWAN for IoT connectivity which 5G supports through NB-IoT and RedCap, and Wi-Fi for broadband connectivity. Focusing on Wi-Fi, the technology is thought to be too unreliable or unable to provide similar latency performance as 5G. This belief ignores recent developments in Wi-Fi which is progressing along a roadmap that addresses its shortcomings on reliability ...
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The Sustainability Myth in 5G Networks!

By Frank Rayal posted 11-11-2022
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The topic of energy consumption in 5G is becoming a mini-irritation because so much noise is around it. I often see quotes of how great 5G is on energy efficiency: xx Wh/MB or some other ratio that compares 5G with other technologies. I wonder if whoever is talking about such metrics actually tried to calculate it themselves. And what's more irritating is most of these numbers are pushed by lobbyists on behalf of the big telco companies and organizations. Ratios for energy per unit of traffic are useless because what matters is the absolute, not the relative, energy consumption. Using ratios only helps confounds the issue. I also think this could lead to wrong ...
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The Digital-Physical Transformation Imperative for the Public Sector

By Walter Knitl posted 11-03-2022
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By Walter Knitl and Nilufer Erdebil Executive Summary We live in a digital world founded on data generated by humans creating text, pictures, audio, and videos using digital tools and by, cyberspace applications and automated systems. Digital has invaded private enterprise and is the way of living and working through public big-platform social media and business services and offerings. Consequently, we are in the midst of massive digital transformation creating new digital and human processes which are changing our human behaviour, societal characteristics, and economy – compelling new digital governance and policies to amplify digitalization ...
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Apple-Globalstar: Just an SOS or Birth of the "Global" Telco?

By Frank Rayal posted 09-12-2022
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Globalstar is one of the very early companies to provide IoT services from space over their LEO satellite constellation (at the time, it was called machine-to-machine). Last week, Apple announced an “Emergency SOS via satellite” service available with the iPhone 14 ( here ). This direct satellite-to-handset service operates over Globalstar satellites to allow users send and receive text messages to emergency centers. While the service operates at low bit-rate, it should be sufficient to alert the appropriate authorities in case of an emergency in areas outside the mobile network coverage. To provide the capacity needed for this service, Globalstar will abandon ...
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The impact of new technologies on healthcare

By Cedric Melancon posted 09-09-2022
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Introduction In the last two years, our society has been through a real shock. Among the effects felt: a new vision of telecommuting, a growing labor shortage, a cut in supply (which is still struggling to recover) and much more. But it wasn't all bad. The shock has also had the effect of accelerating certain initiatives, encouraging us to review our ways of doing things and to be increasingly creative. In Quebec, one of the areas that has been most affected is healthcare. Highly visible throughout the pandemic, our healthcare system has seen several improvements over the past two years. What are they? Here are some examples of new technologies in health ...
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ThingkFest 6.0 - Canada's Internet of Things Conversation

By Walter Knitl posted 08-07-2022
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IoT North is back with a new ThingkFest – ThingkFest 6.0! I’m pleased to invite everyone to ThingkFest 6.0 to learn what Canadians are doing with the #InternetOfThings - on October 4th, 2022. What’s more – this is also your opportunity to propose your Short-Talk to tell us what’s on your #IoT Mind. To register to attend or propose your Short-Talk, go here: ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e7iYb7e6 ThingkFest is an IoT North online event allowing participants to share their involvement in IoT and hear what others in Canada are doing, innovating, and thinking in the IoT space. It's a showcase with many Fast-Fire Four-Minute Short-Talks on different topics from ...
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The Privacy Risk of Language Models - Defining data privacy attacks

By Michel Langelier posted 07-05-2022
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Article from Paul Wu - June 12th 2022 In today’s world, large models with billions of parameters trained on terabytes of datasets have become the norm as language models are the foundations of natural language processing (NLP) applications. Several of these language models used in commercial products are also being trained on private information. An example would be Gmail’s auto-complete model. Its model is trained on the private communication that occurs amongst users, which contains sensitive information such as users’ names, SSN, and credit card information. Why should businesses be concerned ? Well, with great power comes great risks. The lack of awareness ...
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ThingsHappen Episode 21: Advancing Canadian Smart Agriculture through the Internet of Things

By Walter Knitl posted 07-05-2022
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Click to Listen Food – we need it and relish it. And agriculture is how we get it. But how do we ensure the quantity, high quality, and environmental sustainability we value? We discuss IoT’s underpinning of Smart Agriculture that answers these needs and values, including in animal, crop, and greenhouse operations. We delve into the types of systems and autonomous equipment employed, several use cases, and the challenges of farm digitalization. Our conversation leads us to CENGN’s role in fostering Canada’s smart agriculture and addressing some of the challenges. We also discuss some of the specific smart agriculture start-ups they helped cultivate. Guest ...
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ThingsHappen Episode 20: Smart Cities and the Internet of Things

By Walter Knitl posted 07-05-2022
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Click to Listen Smart Cities – what are they? Of the many things that make a city “smart”, technological or social, the Internet of Things is at its core. We not only delve into IoT’s central role and related technologies like AI and 5G but also dive into the raison d'être of Smart Cities and their drivers and benefits. But – we don’t shy away from pointing out Smart Cities’ challenges and what adopters can do, and where to turn to innovate solutions, build talent, and make a real go of Smart Cities. Guest Our guest is Dr. Rick Huijbregts, Global lead for Smart Cities at Stantec. Rick is an industry veteran with extensive experience at the intersection ...
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The marriage between AI and IoT... it's AIoT!

By Cedric Melancon posted 06-23-2022
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You hear a lot about the Internet of Things (IoT). In fact, lately I've been talking about it a lot at least. Another topic that is taking up a lot of space is... not Netflix series, but rather artificial intelligence (AI). There is a very strong cohesion between the two that gave the idea to some to create a new acronym, AIoT for Artificial Intelligence of Things. But what is this? Take a deep breath and let's look at it together. Use of the data In a recent article, I told you that IoT is actually the connectivity component of a digital solution. Indeed, you just need to put a SIM card, a network cable or connect an object, a machine, a car and voilà! ...
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ThingsHappen Episode 19: Accelerating Canadian IoT ventures

By Walter Knitl posted 05-28-2022
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Click to Listen Picking the right horse is important but choosing the best racetracks to race in is just as crucial. The same holds for individual IoT ventures and the IoT verticals or sectors they play in. With a track record of successful races, our guest shares his thoughts on the merits of IoT application in different sectors and why and how L-SPARK is accelerating IoT ventures in the automotive, medical, and cybersecurity fields. We also discuss the SaaS-IoT interplay and L-SPARK’s programs and touch on guidance for entrepreneurs growing their ventures. Guest Our guest is Leo Lax, Executive Managing Director at L-Spark in Ottawa. Leo has extensive ...
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Carl Data Solutions announces three new environmental monitoring products

By David Fromont posted 05-19-2022
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​Carl Data Solutions, a leader in predictive analytics that leverage Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for compliance-driven Environmental Monitoring as a Service (“EMaaS”) and Smart City applications, is announcing the pre-launch of three new environmental monitoring products. “Our new products build upon the Company’s existing FlowWorks real-time reporting and analytics software for municipal and industrial and infrastructure. They are supplemented with intellectual property developed during Carl Data Solutions’ two-year engagement leading the Fresh Water Data Commons project for Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster,” said CEO Jean Charles ...
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Systemic Digital Governance - Compelled by the Internet of Things, Supported by Design Thinking

By Walter Knitl posted 05-17-2022
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By Walter Knitl and Nilufer Erdebil We live in a digital world, immersed in digital information not just generated by humans but also by the pervasive Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT is an extension of the Internet, which now interconnects Things, humans, and applications. While on the one hand, IoT drives innovation, creates economic value, and improves quality of life, it also, on the other hand, introduces challenges such as privacy, security, and diminishing human agency. This demands digital governance, simultaneously involving multiple economic and societal areas and consequently compelling a systemic governance approach. Systemic digital ...
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ThingsHappen Episode 18: Automobility, Innovation, and the Internet of Things

By Walter Knitl posted 05-17-2022
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Click to Listen Where’s the value of IoT? It's undoubtedly in the vertical solutions founded on it. We discuss IoT's underpinning role in the new era of mobility, advanced manufacturing, and other prominent verticals in the Windsor-Essex region. We also dive into IoT's role in regional economic development, talent creation, and the digital rejuvenation of traditional industry sectors into modern industries. Guests Our guests are Yvonne Pilon, CEO at WEtech Alliance, and Tom Schnekenburger, Project Manager at the University of Windsor. Yvonne has deep experience in the tech sector with a core focus on growing companies and building a thriving ...
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ThingsHappen Episode 17: Managing and assuring the RF spectrum for IoT with AI

By Walter Knitl posted 05-17-2022
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Click To Listen IoT is extensively about wireless communication by connected devices riding on the RF (Radio Frequency) spectrum. But will that be reliably and securely? We air the critical role of the RF spectrum in IoT adoption and how we monitor it and make sure it's available and secure – especially as 5G, a "Massive IoT" enabler, adds to the spectrum management complexity. We dive into the critical roles that Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence play in analyzing and correcting real-time spectrum perturbations, threats, and disruptions. Guest Our guest is Cliff Ellement, head of AI Solutions at ThingkRF, bringing ThingkRF's new ...
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Evolving the Canadian AIoT Ecosystem

By Frank Rayal posted 05-16-2022
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AIoT Canada has gathered 36 industry, government, and academic leaders to identify what a national Canadian AIoT strategy needs to address. In the course of the workshop, the participants discussed the opportunities and challenges of AIoT and zoomed-in on a few solutions they deemed critical to evolving Canada’s AIoT market. The key takeaway of the workshop is that building a viable ecosystem is fundamental to drive innovation in the Canadian AIoT market. The broad nature and diversity of AI and IoT are bound to develop friction among the various parts which dampens the adoption rate. Reducing this friction requires a well-functioning ecosystem that stimulates ...
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AI could turn your phone into a mobile health lab

By Michel Asselin posted 05-04-2022
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Google Health has introduced research projects that promise to turn smartphones into disease=screening tools. One promising avenue involves using the onboard microphones on a phone as a stethoscope to detect circulatory irregularities like murmurs. The innovations could be deployed through telehealth, saving the need and time for patients to travel to a doctor. “At Google, we’re focused on unlocking the potential of everyday devices to support people’s health and wellness,” Greg Corrado, head of Health AI at Google, told Digital Trends in an interview. “Such developments are becoming possible thanks to improvements in sensors on mobile devices, as well ...
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Early detection of skin cancer thanks to AI.

By Michel Langelier posted 04-30-2022
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MIT researchers have just trained this machine learning model using 20,400 patient's skin pictures. The system achieves 90.3 accuracy in detecting melanoma from smartphone pictures #ai #healthtech #machinelearning #innovation
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Avoiding the Cascading Technology Trap

By Frank Rayal posted 04-29-2022
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I introduced the cascading technology trap in a previous article . As a reminder, the trap lies in fast pace of technology evolution which exceeds the ability of cities to grasp and adopt technology. Here, I share 4 fundamental approaches, or models, that cities have adopted to avoid the trap. Involve startups and early stage ventures Singapore exemplifies this approach with direct budgeting of smart city contracts to startups. Since much of the fast-moving innovation comes from startups, the premise of this strategy is that startups are probably the best at integrating rapidly evolving technologies and deploying them economically. The cities that have ...
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Edge Computing: Quand les données sont massives et importantes

By Cedric Melancon posted 04-22-2022
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On entend de plus en plus parler de l’Internet des Objets (ou Internet of Things ou IoT). Quand on parle de cette technologie, nous avons en tête plusieurs produits connectés tels que les montres intelligentes ou encore les fameux assistants pour la maison tels que Google Home ou Alexa. Ces produits sont reliés à l’infonuagique par réseau Wifi ou Bluetooth ce qui représente certains défis pour la sécurité des données. Qu’en serait-il si la connectivité était plutôt cellulaire ou si un grand volume de données était transigé (flux vidéo par exemple)? Réponse: la solution serait extrêmement coûteuse! Existe-t-il un moyen plus efficace de répondre aux besoins ...
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