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MarketScale IoT 01/30/19: Making Necessary Evils Obsolete

The MarketScale IoT Podcast explores how IoT addresses long-standing societal challenges by offering innovative solutions. The podcast delves into technology-enabled transformations in pest control and transportation, highlighting the role of connectivity and automation in enhancing road safety and pest management.

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Industrial IoT teams put it to work with AI Visibility (GEO).

By Industrial Iot · Elmer Guardado PodcastKara Kockelman PodcastShelby Skrhak Podcast
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MarketScale IoT 01/30/19: Making Necessary Evils Obsolete

Key takeaways

01

IoT technology is instrumental in automating pest control and improving road safety.

02

Connectivity and automation are pivotal in reducing human error in transportation.

03

IoT startups such as Semios and Victor Pest Control’s VLink lead technological change in agriculture.

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There are aspects of life that we have largely accepted as a necessary evils. Technology is stepping in to find solutions to these issues that have previously existed as blindspots in our society. On today’s episode of the MarketScale IoT Podcast, we look at how IoT is changing the game when it comes to pest control and safety on the roadways.

Building a Better Mousetrap with IoT

With so many labor-intensive tasks in pest control, environmental sciences, and agriculture, the application of technology could have a huge impact on each of these industries. In this episode, we explore the startups leading the charge for technology-enabled pest control and agriculture, including Semios, IoT Box Systems, and Victor Pest Control’s VLink.

“IOT is being adapted and leveraged to improve upon a main component of what the pest control industry has become — preventative. ” says John Cole of Service Pro.

IoT and Automation on the Road

Humans are error prone and cause the vast majority of car accidents. Will automation help bring these numbers down and increase driver safety? What about IoT devices? To help us better understand where we’re at and where we’re going, we’re joined by Professor of Transportation Engineering Dr. Kara Kockelman.

Dr. Kockelman talks to MarketScale’s Elmer Guardado about how much connectivity is actually on the road in 2019, what kind of data we can gather form it, and how IoT and automation are changing the way we drive. She also explains some of the findings from her published works “Valuing the Safety Benefits of Connected and Automated Vehicle Technologies.”

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Toyota estimates 1T yen/year for automation from 2028

Toyota estimates 1T yen/year for automation from 2028

Toyota told investors factory automation could cost about 1 trillion yen ($6.4 billion) a year from 2028 across Toyota, group companies and major suppliers, CNBC reported. Toyota also said it could take roughly 400,000 robots. The company has not committed to the spending or said how long it would run, CNBC reported.

  • 011 trillion yen ($6.4 billion) per year estimated spending on factory automation starting 2028
  • 02About 400,000 robots needed across Toyota, group companies and major suppliers including replacements and new installations
  • 03Automation scope covers industrial robots, automated material handling, and future human-robot collaboration on factory floors

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Flexxbotics touts 125% capacity gain as it updates platform controls

Flexxbotics touts 125% capacity gain as it updates platform controls

Flexxbotics says its platform turns production signals into authorized actions. It cited a 125% capacity increase at PMI and an 89% downtime reduction at EIS. For multi-site operators, the question is which actions can run autonomously and which require human approval.

  • 01Design News listed customer results alongside Flexxbotics’ IMTS 2026 release, including PMI’s reported 125% capacity increase and EIS’s 89% downtime reduction.
  • 02Flexxbotics is selling governance as much as analytics: teams predefine where the platform may act, which responses are authorized, and when human-in-the-loop approval is required (WhatTheyThink).
  • 03Protocol-level connectivity is central to deployment scope, with “Transformers” described as supporting bi-directional communication across more than 1,000 makes and models, a practical proxy for how much brownfield equipment can be brought into a closed loop without rip-and-replace (WhatTheyThink).

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In-machine CNC fire suppression: Stat-X vs Firetrace

In-machine CNC fire suppression: Stat-X vs Firetrace

Modern Machine Shop describes Fireaway’s Stat-X as an electrically actuated, potassium-based aerosol generator mounted inside a CNC enclosure and triggered by a separate electronic sensor. A 2025 trade article describes the same two detection approaches—electronic point detection and heat-sensitive tubing—while widening the spec to include mist extraction, fire dampers and pressure relief. For shops running oil coolant, Schwarzenbach writes that many corporate insurance policies mandate installed and regularly maintained suppression.

  • 01A system designed to extinguish a fire inside the machine costs a small percentage of a CNC’s price, per Modern Machine Shop, so the comparison is against major fire damage or rebuilding—not the option’s sticker price.
  • 02Detection inside a machine tool comes down to two methods, heat-rupturing pressurized tubing or electronic heat and flame sensors, and Modern Machine Shop described a version of each in its 2009 and 2011 articles; what 2025 guidance adds is mist extraction, fire dampers and pressure-relief flaps in the same specification.
  • 03For shops running CNC machines on oil coolant, many corporate insurers require suppression to be installed and maintained, which turns a purchasing option into a policy condition and a maintenance audit item.

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About the Experts

II
Industrial Iot
DK
Dr. Kara Kockelman

Professor of Transportation Engineering

Dr. Kara Kockelman is a Professor of Transportation Engineering. She analyses connectivity on the road and the effects of IoT and automation on driving safety.

JC
John Cole

Service Pro

John Cole discusses the adaptation and leverage of IoT within the pest control industry for preventative measures.

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