Welcome to June and almost official summer (June 20th). Happy Birthday to CNN, an idea everyone considered crazy at the time. Who wants to watch the news all day every day? Turns out lots of us do, especially when it’s as nice as a successful space launch.

Asian readers (say hello on Twitter to @IoTplaybook) might like to know about the new Rendanhei IoT Research Center in New Delhi, India. Part of the Haier Model Research Institute.

Consulting firm iKS-Consulting expects the Russian Industrial IoT market to drop by 10% this year thanks to the pandemic slowdown. The loss adds up to about 7.1 billion rubles or $101.1 million.

On the other hand, warehouse management tech keeps growing as deliveries for everything increase. The Internet of Warehouse Things (IoWT – why not?) market size will reach $19.06 billion by the end of 2025 says a report from Million Insights. One interesting note: deliveries are now called “Goods-to-Person (GTP) technology” just to add another acronym to our dictionary.

IoT industry consolidation continues as Delta Electronics of the Netherlands acquires Trihedral Engineering of Canada. Trihedral focuses on SCADA and Industrial IoT software which will be integrated with Delta’s hardware offerings in areas such as power, water treatment, oil and gas, and more.

Tech people are never happy. We don’t have 5G in many places but Huawei, Xiaomi, and ZTE are exploring applications for the 6G wireless network. Results are expected in 2023 which will lead to standards by 2026 and deployment starting in 2028 for commercial use in 2030. Write those dates down because tech developments always meet development deadlines, right?

Frost & Sullivan’s recent report on 5G and the IIoT pegs the financial sector, retail, and automotive as key industries to leverage 5G-integrated IIoT.

Internet of Things (the Toronto company) announced that Health Canada authorized interim marketing and sales of its ThermalPass fever detection system. The company sent news that its Weather Telematics subsidiary is partnering with IBI Group to develop the Winder Ice and Snow Decision Support System for Operations Management (WISDOM) platform.

After 130 years, GE is getting out of the lighting business. The makers of the first LEDs and other innovations sold off the lighting division to Savant Systems, a leader in the smart home space. No terms were disclosed.

Also in the smart home (or apartment) space, SmartRent raised $60 million to expand its automation for property owners, managers, developers, and residents. Getting ahead of the expected revenue rise of 18.3% from 2020 to 2023 for better multi-tenant management. For instance, the Allow Access management module smooths the move-in and move-out process for managers and tenants – no physical keys or fobs to exchange.

Oil and gas folks have more communications options now that IoT Labs MX upgraded the circuit board to expand beyond Sigfox as the only network. Now you can use GSM networking that includes GPS tracking.

Siren develops smart textiles for remotely monitored wearables, including socks. Yes, socks. The company received Series B funding of $11.8 million to further develop socks that monitor foot temperature in diabetics to catch foot ulcers before they get serious.

From our friends at Hackster.io

Tired of being alone in your place during your virus vacation? Watch this video from the Virtually Maker Faire 2020 on Making Companion Bots. Unlike roommates, you can make your bot be quiet when it gets annoying.