The SPACE 2019 agriculture exhibition recently concluded in Rennes, France. The four-day event, highlighting today’s innovative precision agriculture technologies, brought together industry experts from around the world for a series of conferences, workshops and exhibitions. Approximately 1,400 booths occupied the exhibition floor at the Parc Expo Rennes convention center, and the exhibition provided educational and networking opportunities for more than 100,000 registered attendees.

In 2019, smart electricity meters will account for 63 percent of the nearly 200 million electricity meter shipments expected around the world, according to a 2018 IHS report. This volume of smart electricity meter shipments is forecasted to increase in size over the next five years. With the rise of low-power wide-area networking (LPWAN) technologies, such as Semtech’s LoRa® devices and the LoRaWAN® open protocol, new “smarter” metering solutions are proving to be a compelling alternative to other connectivity options for both Internet of Things (IoT) networks and smart grid applications. With several hundred known use cases (and growing), LoRa-based devices and LoRaWAN networks represent the leading choice for IoT solutions today.

Semtech has recently returned from ECOC, one of the optical industry’s most anticipated and widely attended events of the year. The event hosts more than 6,500 scientists, researchers and industry experts from the field of high performance optical communication. Semtech’s booth was once again a hub for interested visitors eager to learn more about Semtech’s leading optical platform, and discuss current trends.

European Utility Week (EUW) will be held November 12 to 14 in Paris, France, and all the biggest names in metering and utility management are preparing for an exciting event.

I remember riding in the back of a taxi – I was half asleep and nearly half way around the world. I was just outside of Hangzhou, China, near the picturesque and iconic Xi Hu (Westlake) when a colleague nudged me and said, “Hey isn’t it crazy that you can travel the world selling a diode?” I thought, wow, that is crazy! It’s amazing actually.

An independent investigation recently conducted by The Chicago Tribune revealed that some of the most popular cellphones might come with radio frequency (RF) radiation levels well above the legal safety limit. This finding has drawn public attention to cellphone RF safety and also prompted a follow up investigation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States.

Without a way to intelligently track endangered species, it is difficult for rangers to fend off poachers in many of Africa and Asia’s national parks. With Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, creating a sustainable and safe environment for animals and humans through technology is simple and efficient. Whether helping to monitor the whereabouts of animals living in the park or providing protection for humans that live in close proximity, wireless IoT solutions, such as those based on low-power wide-area networks (LPWAN), offer major potential for wildlife conservation efforts.

CavagnaGroup® is a leading creator of smart solutions and products for controlling and managing compressed gasses. These products have been successfully implemented into a wide range of markets including, energy, medical, alternative fuel, and even specialty cryogenics. With years of close collaboration, CavagnaGroup and Semtech have developed a range of innovative smart industrial products based on LoRa® devices and the LoRaWAN® protocol. Recently, Semtech was invited by CavagnaGroup to participate in the World Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (WLPGA)’s annual event in Amsterdam.

At Conserv, we built one of the first environmental monitoring solutions using Semtech’s LoRa® devices and the LoRaWAN® protocol to bring better care to the world’s 450,000+ art and cultural collections in museums, libraries, archives, and private collections. Accurate and consistent monitoring is important because unhealthy collection environments – those with excessive heat, humidity, light, and vibration – do irreversible damage to valuable, sensitive objects. Sounds straightforward, right?

The emergence of smart buildings is not a new development. Building automation has been around (typically behind the scenes) since the mid-80s, having evolved from BACnet to a host of IEEE protocols, and recently from strictly wired, to both wired and wireless sensors. Building Management Systems (BMS) have played an important role in this evolution. However, historically these have had a limited role outside the realm of managing HVAC systems and the other physical operations within a building.