Cox Communications has tapped CoreKinect to provide sensor-based products for Cox2M, a new Internet-of-Things unit that provides connected asset services tailored for business customers and emerging opportunities with smart cities.
Financial terms weren’t announced, but CoreKinect will design and develop hardware that Cox2M will use for an asset-tracking service that will also target the smart home, connected wearables, and the agriculture and energy sectors.
The Tempe, Ariz.-based startup said it manages the production of IoT products, from the initial design to the assembly line. Its IoT solutions include GPS tracking, asset tracking, and vehicle/fleet tracking, fire response systems, waste disposal sensors, utility metering, and smart city applications.
CoreKinect claims that it can turn ideas into “workable prototypes” within six to eight weeks, on average.
Cox Automotive is an early adopter of Cox2M’s services, as its Manheim vehicle marketplace has teamed on a custom app that delivers real-time tracking of vehicles across auction lots. The solution, piloted last year, connects more than 500,000 vehicles using a Low Power Wide Area IoT network.
“Cox is redefining the IoT space by introducing custom, purpose-built sensors at market disrupting price points,” Assar Badri, CoreKinect’s CEO and co-founder, said in a statement.
“The depth and breadth of CoreKinect’s team, quality product development, and complete supply chain solutions will help ensure a successful deployment for our Cox2M business line,” added Josh Sommer, executive director of new growth strategy for Cox. “CoreKinect’s low-power, wide-area network and asset tracking systems provide an agnostic communications platform that will allow Cox Communications to deliver end-to-end IoT solutions.”
