The Importance of Modern-Day Innovation
For those of us who grew up with the Space-time continuum as defined by Dr. Emmett Brown (Doc Brown) in the Back to the Future trilogy, we know that…
Improving Sustainability at Commercial and Industrial Companies: It Begins with Measurement
As I read the news of those who hit the streets for the climate strike, I reflected on my own habits. I consider myself an environmentally…
Big Thinking Abounds in Idaho
This past weekend, I took part in the Think Big Festival located in Coeur D' Alene (CDA), Idaho – just a short drive away from Itron’s headquarters…
Innovation and the Inception of Itron Idea Labs
Nine out of 10 Fortune 500 companies in 1955 disappeared from the list by 2016. The average tenure of a Fortune 500 company decreased from 33…
My Friend Went 100% Solar. . . Indirectly
I was speaking with one of my friends recently and they were proudly telling me that they signed up for their utility’s 100% solar rate plan. I…
Is My Smart Home Really Smart?
I am a smart home geek. I have all the “smarts”: voice assistant/speaker, security cameras, lighting, fans/air purifiers and a thermostat. My home…
The Front Door for Cleantech Innovation in Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s La Kretz Innovation Campus is the front door for cleantech innovation in Los Angeles. The campus…
Bringing Innovation to Life: Caltech’s FLOW Rocket Fund
Itron is proud to be a corporate sponsor of the FLOW Rocket Fund at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), which is now accepting…
Itron Idea Labs at the Cleantech Open Global Forum
I recently represented Itron Idea Labs at the Cleantech Open Global Forum held in Los Angeles at LACI, the Itron-sponsored Los Angeles Cleantech…
Itron and Blockchain at CES 2019
Itron was among a number of companies highlighting blockchain technology and applications at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2019. A…
Drones, Robots and More – Oh My
My first visit to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) left my head spinning – figuratively and literally. To begin with, I was intrigued by the mass…
Sensory Overload: CES 2019
As my first CES event, sensory overload might be a good way to describe my initial visit to the showroom floor. I suppose because I've spent my…
Stranger Things at CES 2019
It is never boring at CES, from a technologies and products point of view. This year, I thought I would pay attention to strange things rather than…
A Brighter Future for a Nepali Village
In November, representatives and volunteers from Itron had the great opportunity to travel to Nepal to help with the Mohari Project, a project…
Itron Idea Labs Attends LA CoMotion Leadership Conference
As an entrepreneur-in-residence for Itron Idea Labs, I was excited to be able to represent our organization at the recent LA CoMotion Leadership…
Itron Idea Labs Attends First-Ever California Climate Cup, Supports Clean Energy
Itron Idea Labs continued its partnership with the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) this week with two exciting events! On Monday, Sept. 10,…
Joining the Conversation Around Clean Energy
As part of our efforts to stay abreast of innovations in the cleantech space, Itron Idea Labs is now a corporate sponsor of the Los Angeles Clean…
Adventures in Cryptocurrency
Last October, a conversation began in the Itron Idea Labs community around blockchain and what Itron might do with it in the energy space. Ideas were…
Itron Showcases the Future of Smart Cities at #CES18
Providing a peek into the future, Itron showcased its vision of what it may be like to live in a city of the future from a consumer standpoint at the…
Speed Dating at #CES2018
Innovation is always the hot word at CES, but smart cities and smart energy made their debut this year in a big way. Itron Idea Labs was there to…
Going Zero to 60 at #CES2018
From the excitement in the air about rooms full of new tech to the chaos of navigating the pavilions with an expected new record attendance of…
The Robots of #CES2018
This slideshow requires JavaScript. Autonomous vehicles, drones, artificial intelligence, augmented/virtual reality, robotics and smart cities are…
Consumer, Commercial Needs Met at #CES2018
The Consumer Electronics Show 2018 is my re-introduction to the electronic industry’s show of all shows – the last time I was here was about 15 years…
Disruption Ahead
Thomas Edison would have no trouble recognizing most of the component parts in any electrical generation and distribution network today. The…
Itron and Omron Creative Labs Collaborate to Enhance Smart Cities and Public Safety
Omron Creative Labs of Omron Electronic Components LLC and Itron Idea Labs will be teaming up to demonstrate the Omron D7S Seismic…
What Itron Idea Labs Brings to Itron and the Industry
Nine out of 10 Fortune 500 companies in 1955 disappeared from the list by 2016. The average tenure of a Fortune 500 company went from 33 years in…
Itron Riva Streetlights: Sunglasses On!
You might want to wear your sunglasses while reading the following... It all started in January 2017, at the Itron Sales Conference, held in Palm…
The Importance of the Culture of Innovation
A few weeks ago, I was on a panel with Microsoft Ventures and Providence Fund in Seattle, discussing corporate innovation and the key ingredients…
Figuring Out 5G
One of the main topics I heard talked about at Mobile World Congress is 5G— the next generation cellular. I tried to forget everything I know about…
Connected Cars Everywhere!
Cars everywhere. Some, are a very similar to the ones I saw at CES (see my previous blog, The Connected World and Autonomous Cars @CES 2017) while…
Itron Idea Labs Takes Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress
Among the more than 100,000 attendees at the Mobile World Congress 2017 is the Itron Idea Labs team. And alongside the mobile giants we are…
What Does Itron Idea Labs Do?
Imagine you are planning a trip from point A to point B to get there as quickly as possible in your car where you must arrive at a specific time for…
Lots of Firsts at DistribuTECH 2017!
I’ve been attending DistribuTECH for the last 10 years, and the only constant thing has been change. Maybe not rapid and fast-paced change like we…
Why Itron Idea Labs?
I just got a Google Home – you know, the speaker you can talk to and it will play music. It tells me what the outside temperature is or what a cup of…
Leaving Las Vegas @CES 2017
It is day four at CES and almost time to leave. It’s the King’s birthday, my twentieth time at CES, during CES’s 50th anniversary, and a great day to…
In Search of Machine Intelligence @CES 2017
Day three at CES. I was on a mission to find machine intelligence, not a product but an ingredient technology. I was expecting to see it embedded in…
The Connected World and Autonomous Cars @CES 2017
Day two at CES was all about the cars—self-driving cars—a.k.a. Autonomous Vehicles (AV). AVs will change transportation as we know it by creating a…
Virtual Reality, Tech, Tools and Smart Energy and Water @CES 2017
CES day one. It’s been a crazy day of taking in the latest and greatest gadgets and technology in Las Vegas. As usual, I’ve geeked out as much as…
IoT at CES – More Than Just Buzz in the Energy Sector
CES 2017 marks the 21st year since the term Internet of Things (IoT) was introduced. Since it first appeared in 1985, we have seen a growing number…