Siemens will exit the Russian market as a result of the Ukraine war. The company has started proceedings to wind down its industrial operations and all industrial business activities. The financial impact of this decision is reported as part of the organisation’s regular disclosure on its second quarter results.

After the start of the war, Siemens put all new business in and international deliveries to Russia and Belarus on hold. The comprehensive international sanctions, as well as current and potential countermeasures, impact the company’s business activities in Russia, particularly rail service and maintenance.

Roland Busch, President and CEO of Siemens AG, said: “We condemn the war in Ukraine and have decided to carry out an orderly process to wind down our industrial business activities in Russia. This was not an easy decision, given our duty of care for our employees and long-standing customer relationships, in a market where we have been active for almost 170 years. We are evaluating the impact on our people and we will continue to support them to the best of our abilities.”

Mobotix has been working successfully with the Vaxtor Group as a Technology Partner over the last few years, therefore, the acquisition of the Spanish company who develop automatic character recognition software, using video technology, was a logical consequence of this intensive cooperation.

The strategic expansion was already announced on January 17, 2022, after the purchase agreement for 100% of the company shares was signed.

Due to the exceptional importance of Vaxtor’s technologies, the Spanish licensing authorities requested a judicial review of the acquisition, which has now been positively decided and the Spanish Ministry of Industry and Trade has approved the takeover. The closing is now officially completed and the legal transfer of the company shares has taken place.

Mobotix AG strengthens its operating business with the strategic acquisition of the Spanish Vaxtor Group from Tres Cantos, Madrid. The acquisition is an essential building block for Mobotix in its positioning as a high-end solution provider based on video and artificial intelligence technology. It will also strengthen the development cooperation between Vaxtor and the Mobotix development office in Madrid, allowing both companies to be able to address emerging growth markets and future requirements even more effectively. According to the company, Market Intelligence estimates that the global market for automatic license plate recognition solutions alone will grow from $2.3 billion to $3.8 billion by 2025.

“Video technology has long gone far beyond just security applications. Data is the key to the future. Collecting, analysing, and connecting vast amounts of data open up new possibilities for our customers,” explains Mobotix CEO Thomas Lausten. “Video technology with artificial intelligence will help protect, support and preserve values and will make life more pleasant, easier and better. With the combined expertise of Mobotix and Vaxtor, we are ideally positioned.”

Vaxtor is a leading provider of artificial intelligence (AI)-based video analytics software, specialising in optical character recognition (OCR) and deep learning technologies. Vaxtor’s 100 percent in-house development, technical vision, expertise, continuous R&D investment, and product quality have enabled it to achieve growth and positive operating results.

SALTO has approved one more year of the quality audits for ISO 9001 (Quality Management System Certificate) and ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System Certificate), passing the audit with 0 non-conformities.

These certification renewals guarantee quality as a permanent and priority objective and ensure a commitment to customers regarding the implementation and maintenance of integrated Quality and Environmental Management Systems.

“The fact that SALTO has renewed this double ISO 9001/14001 certification has made us a benchmark in our commitment to the quality and sustainability of our products and processes,” said Ricardo Garcia, SALTO Sustainability and Quality Manager. “Our commitment to continuous improvement propels us to go beyond what is required by international certification standards to include things such as ODS, compensation for our carbon footprint, and eco-design.”

SALTO maintains its commitment to the quality, continuous improvement, and sustainability of its products and processes. With the management of integrated Quality and Environmental Systems, SALTO’s policy is consolidated in order to achieve the required level of quality and continuous improvement in each of the activities carried out by the company. The purpose of this commitment helps SALTO achieve both customer satisfaction and environmental protection.

ISO 9001 and 14001

ISO 9001 quality management means that the organization works to: develop a management plan based on strategic guidelines framed in a global sustainability strategy and focus on minimizing risks and continuous improvement of processes and products, and measure customer and partners’ satisfaction to answer and fully meet customer needs.

ISO 14001 quality management means that the organization works to: conform to legal requirements, have a commitment to the life cycle of products and services in its processes, try to minimize the environmental impact caused by the activity carried out, and seek continuous improvement of its environmental performance.

According to a recent study from Future Market Insights, the facial recognition market is expected to reach US$ 22.5 billion by 2032, up from US$ 5.2 billion in 2022, expanding at a high CAGR of 15.7%. This study explains that increased government investments in emerging technologies of CCTV cameras in most public places to minimize criminal activities and terrorist attacks, and to enhance public safety, is boosting the facial recognition market growth.

Factors such as the rise in demand for face detection systems to enhance safety and security, and increase in applications in physical security and intelligent signage are expected to propel the growth of the global facial recognition market during the forecast period. Further, the report opines that the technological advancements such as 3D recognition systems and cloud-based solutions are anticipated to augment the market growth in the coming years.

The key points suggested by the researchers show that by component, it is the software tools segment that has expanded strongly at a CAGR of 16.8% up to 2021; the law enforcement application was dominant in the facial recognition market with a CAGR of 16.7% to 2021; and in terms of geographical uptake of the technology, the analysts predict that it will be China that accounts for the highest value share of US$ 1.6 Bn of the global market demand for facial recognition market by 2032.

Increasing mobile transactions for banking in countries, such as India and China, coupled with their governments’ initiatives, are expected to be the major drivers for the facial recognition market in the region, suggest the research analysts.

Competitive landscape

Players in the global Facial Recognition market focus on expanding their global reach through various strategies. The players are also making a significant investment in R&D to add innovations to their products which would help them in strengthening their position in the global market. Some of the recent developments among the key players are:

In March 2022, Aware, a biometrics software and services company, partnered with Miracl to expand its cloud-based biometric authentication technology. The partnership is a through a mutual reseller arrangement whereby each company can both sell each other’s products and integrate them within their own product lines.

SALTO’s acquisition of Cognitec Systems is initiating strong partnership of business synergy and innovation. This acquisition is expected to meet market requests for adding face recognition and artificial intelligence technologies to the company’s electronic access control and ticketing solutions.

Key players mentioned and covered within the report include: NEC Corporation, Aware, Idemia, Daon, Innovatrics, Facefirst, Facephi Biometria, Sightcorp, Neurotechnologies, Technobrain, Smilepass, Stereovision Imaging, ID3 Technologies, Herta Security and Animetrics.

Bosch is expanding its expertise in MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) micro speakers and strengthening its market position as leading provider of sensing solutions for consumer electronics with an acquisition. Arioso Systems, based in Dresden, Germany, is to become part of the Bosch Sensortec GmbH. Agreements to this effect were signed by Bosch and Arioso Systems.

Arioso Systems is one of the world’s most innovative providers of MEMS micro speaker technology. The technology is also a beneficial complement to Bosch’s MEMS sensor portfolio for wearables and hearables. The unique and innovative technology concept from Arioso Systems combined with the long-lasting experience from Bosch Sensortec to develop a technology to high-volume consumer electronics market maturity is expected to shape the emerging global MEMS micro speaker market. Manufacturers of TWS (true wireless stereo) earphones and other hearable devices will benefit from a sound generation with significant less power consumption and a smaller form factor, which means an expanded battery run time and easier system integration.

Arioso Systems developed a novel audio transducer technology, where sound is generated through movement of vertically oriented lamellas inside a silicon chip. Unlike conventional membrane, Arioso Systems technology uses the chip volume rather than surface. Therefore, it is possible to build a miniatured MEMS micro-speaker to generate up to 120 dB SPL (sound pressure level) out of 10mm2 active area.

“The whole Arioso Systems team is excited to become part of the most powerful global provider of sensing solutions and to take the next step in expanding our leading-edge technology,” says Hermann Schenk, CEO of Arioso Systems. “Joining our forces means we can leverage the full potential of our MEMS micro speaker technology.”

It has been agreed that any project details such as the purchase price will not be disclosed. The acquisition is subject to approval by the antitrust authorities.

According to the latest market research from Berg Insight, the European market for smart home systems is still behind the North American market in terms of market penetration and maturity. However, the market has now grown to become almost as large as the North American market.

Smart home and home automation systems include a wide range of solutions for controlling, monitoring and automating functions in the home. Berg Insight’s definition of a smart home system is one that is accessible from remote and includes a smartphone app or a web portal user interface. Devices that only can be controlled and automated locally, through switches, timers, sensors and remote controls, are thus not included in the scope of this study. Smart home systems can be grouped into seven primary categories: security and access control systems; energy management and climate control systems; audio-visual and entertainment systems; lighting and window control systems; healthcare and independent living systems; home appliances and service robotics.

Most advanced market is US

The North American smart home market recorded strong growth during 2021. The installed base of smart home systems increased by 18.0 percent to reach 223.2 million at the year-end. An estimated 30.0 million of these were multifunction or whole-home systems whereas 193.2 million were point solutions designed for one specific function. As some homes have more than one smart system in use, the installed base totalled an estimated 51.3 million smart homes at the end of the year. This corresponds to 35.8 percent of all households, placing North America as the most advanced smart home market in the world. Between 2021 and 2026, the number of households that adopt smart home systems is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8 percent, resulting in 74.6 million smart homes. Market revenues reached US$ 36.7 billion (€ 31.0 billion) in 2021, an increase of 16.4 percent year-on-year. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.7 percent between 2021 and 2026, reaching US$ 63.7 billion (€ 53.9 billion) in yearly revenues at the end of the forecast period.

Europe lags behind in maturity

The European market for smart home systems is still behind the North American market in terms of market penetration and maturity. However, the market has now grown to become almost as large as the North American market. At the end of 2021, there was a total of 167.7 million smart home systems in use in the EU27+3 countries, up 22.9 percent year-on-year. Around 20.0 million of these systems were multifunction or whole-home systems whereas 147.7 million were point solutions. This corresponds to around 53.7 million smart homes when overlaps are taken into account, meaning that 23.0 percent of all households in Europe were smart at the end of the year. The number of European households to adopt smart home systems is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.7 percent during the next five years, resulting in 99.7 million smart homes by 2026. Market revenues grew by 30.9 percent to € 29.7 billion (US$ 35.1 billion) in 2021. The market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 15.5 percent between 2021 and 2026 to reach € 61.1 billion (US$ 72.2 billion) at the end of the forecast period.

Wide mix of players

A point solution will in many cases constitute the consumer’s first smart home purchase. The most popular point solutions to date, in terms of sold units, include smart thermostats, smart light bulbs, smart plugs, connected security cameras and voice controlled smart speakers. These products are marketed by incumbent OEMs such as Signify, Resideo, Danfoss, Belkin, Chamberlain, Schlage and Assa Abloy and newer entrants such as Ecobee, Sonos, Arlo, Nuki, Mysa, Ikea and Wyze Labs.

In the whole-home system market, traditional home automation vendors such as Crestron Electronics, Control4, Savant Systems, eQ-3 and Loxone are facing new competition as companies from adjacent industries have entered the market. Communications and security service providers such as ADT, Vivint, Comcast and Brinks Home Security (Monitronics) have established themselves among the largest whole-home solution vendors in North America. Major vendors in Europe include Centrica, Somfy, Deutsche Telekom and Verisure.