The top 5 IoT innovations of 2015: Global Mobile Awards shortlist

The winner of the ‘Best Mobile Innovation for the Internet of Things’ award will be unveiled on March 3 during the 20th Global Mobile Awards ceremony, part of the Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona, Spain. A five-strong shortlist from which the winner will be chosen has been drawn up by the judges and comprises:

• AT&T Cargo View with FlightSafe
• Jasper for Cloud IoT Based Platform
• Korean Telecom’s Smart EcoBin
• Porsche Car Connect with Vodafone, and
• Vodafone/GenertelCobra’s Quality Driver

AT&T Cargo View improves transport operations by extending the ability to monitor cargo while it is in transit on an aircraft. This is important in a number of areas including food distribution, pharmaceutical shipments, high-value electronics and fine art. So far only positive feedback has been received from an ongoing, US-based trial involving more than 20 customers.

Jasper is a device manager IT platform which is proving increasingly popular worldwide, to date reaching 1,700 companies in six continents. Some of the biggest names in mobile, such as AT&T, China Unicom, Etisalat, Telefonica, and another 19 groups with networks comprising more than 100 operating units, have partnered with Jasper. The company’s cloud-based platform enables machines to connect to the Internet over a mobile network via embedded SIM cards. As a common platform, it cuts across all verticals. Its business model is a revenue sharing one and has been very successful so far.

Korean Telecom (KT) has developed, along with with Korea Environmental Corporation and Conpo Tech, a smart bin for food waste. The bin reads RFID tags and automatically transfers weight information via the mobile network to disposal management. Disposal fees are charged according to usage, allowing for a 20% reduction in food waste and less cost to customers (local authorities). Introduced in 2012, the solution is now being tested on 70 university campuses. Initially 15,000 bins are part of the project.

Porsche and Vodafone affiliate, Cobra, partnered to enhance the connected-car experience. A hardware device containing a secure Vodafone global SIM is factory-fitted in the car during manufacture. The SIM connects to Vodafone’s global service which provides a vehicle-tracking system, remote services/assistance, and entertainment. The service is available in 40 countries. One cool feature is enabling mechanics to remotely access the car and try to fix problems in cases of break down.

Vodafone/Genertel/Cobra’s Quality Driver rewards drivers with good driving records by reducing their insurance premiums up to 25% every year they qualify. The service has been designed to not only lead to potential savings but also to encourage safe driving. Genertel, an insurance company, first deployed it in Italy, where it has 125,000 subscribers.

Who do you think should win among the top five? Do you have any other entry that you know about and liked? Please comment.