CAPE TOWN - The Internet of Things (IoT) has already changed our world by connecting almost every machine to the internet with the aim of improving lives and positively impacting businesses
Forecasts by Africa Analysis shows that the IoT installed base in South Africa will reach 35 million by 2020. Their survey also revealed that half of the participants believed that IoT services will be responsible for up to 50% of business revenue by 2020.
Let's take a look at ioT start-ups here in Africa that are chaning the game:
1. UjuziKilimo
This Kenya-based start-up uses Big Data analytics to provide useful insights on farming trends and productivity based on the accurate data that is generated.
UjuziKilimo
has developed a soil analysis platform that measures soil characteristics for assessing quality in farming use.
Hardware elements of the solution include an electronic sensor placed in the ground, which alerts and gives farmers guidance, via SMS, on real-time soil conditions. .
2. Illuminum Greenhouses
undefinedIlluminum Greenhouse develops innovative solutions for the agricultural sector by building greenhouses.
Its greenhouses use solar panels and sensors to control and maintain an optimal growing environment.
The startup constructs affordable, modern greenhouses and installs automated drip irrigation kits for smallholder farmers by using locally available materials and solar-powered sensors.
The iHub based startup embeds sensors in the soil that read how much moisture there is.
When the sensors detect that water is needed they trigger an irrigation system which then provides the exact amount of water needed.
3.Vula Telematix
Vula Telematix has partnered with San Diego-based Ingenu to develop “The Machine Network SA,” a network providing IoT and M2M solutions with further reach, a global range, and longer lasting battery life than any existing network.
The company’s Random Phase Multiple Access (RPMA) technology connects machines wirelessly for lowering development costs and enabling a faster time-to-market.
Vula Telematix is enabling the Internet of Things in South Africa.
4. HealthQ
Stellenbosch-based HealthQ develops technologies for helping users monitor their overall health and fitness.
The company’s solutions use biomathematical models to power fitness trackers and other wearable devices such as TomTom’s highly popular Runner2/SPARK.
The company creates an environment where experts from various fields including life sciences, hardware engineering, machine learning, mathematics, physics and cloud computing can cross-pollinate ideas to provide solutions.
4. Cape
Cape operates as a WiFi network and application quality monitoring tool. The Cape Sensor monitors WiFi network and application performance by behaving like a real user and reporting issues in real-time.
5. Giraffe
Giraffe is a mobile recruitment platform that aims to make finding employment for job seekers in South Africa quick, cheap and easy. They do this by linking candidates with relevant opportunities via SMS. The startup proved impressive last year walking away with $500,000 in prize money by winning the 2016 Seedstars World Summit.