BlackBerry Making a Home for the 'Internet of Things'

BlackBerry said Wednesday it was building a system to make sense of the maelstrom of information from the "Internet of Things" ranging from cars to appliances and watches.

A series of initiatives codenamed Project Ion are being woven together to create a platform in the Internet "cloud" that businesses can use to collect data from smart devices of all kinds and derive insights in real time.

"As connectivity costs continue to fall and connected technologies become pervasive, a new market is emerging the Internet of Things," BlackBerry chief executive officer John Chen said in a statement.

"Billions of connections, generating trillions of transactions and exabytes of data daily, will require platforms that can operate securely on a global scale."

The Internet of Things refers to the trend of sensors or computer chips along with online capabilities being built into once "dumb" devices ranging from watches to thermostats or household appliances.

Project Ion's goal is to help securely access and distill meaning from massive amounts of information emerging from the booming ranks of objects being linked to the Internet.

BlackBerry said the project includes building a secure public application platform and tapping into strategic partnerships, including those it has as a member of the non-profit Industrial Internet Consortium.

The move could help the struggling Canadian firm tap into a hot trend and restore momentum lost when BlackBerry handsets were eclipsed by Apple and Android devices in the smartphone market.