8 Colorado IoT companies leading the charge to a connected future

Colorado is positioning itself as a leader in the booming Internet of Things marketplace. TechrIot is offering companies around the world a Colorado-based education in succeeding in the field. Recently some big players like Arrow have gotten involved. But, like any new, disruptive industry, it's the smaller companies doing innovative things that really shake things up. Here are eight Colorado companies leading the way to an ever more connected world: 

Rachio makes connected smart-sprinkler systems. They have made it possible for you to never forget to water your lawn, or perhaps more importantly, to never water when you don't need to. Water has never exactly been an abundant resource along the Front Range, and, as ever more people move here, it's only going to become more precious. 

Notion monitors your home using small, connected sensors. You place them around your house and they’ll monitor all sorts of things. They will send you an alert on your phone if a door or window is open, if your house is getting too hot or too cold, or if you have a water leak. You can hold down the fort from anywhere in the world.  

eBags is connecting bags to the internet. Really. It may sound odd, but in September we spoke with eBag’s CEO Mike Edwards about how the company is leading the charge for the connected bag. In the not too distant future, you could have a backpack that charges your devices, unzips with fingerprint technology, and knows its location. Backpacks are about to become a lot more interesting. 

You probably know about Sphero's BB-8 Droid — which is great, because it's awesome. But, it turns out that Sphero actually makes other things as well. Our favorite is the SPRK, which aims to make STEM classes something kids actually look forward. To get the SPRK to operate, kids have to do some light coding using Sphero's C-based coding language OVAL. Cool, huh? 

Stryd makes a device that shows runners see how hard they're running, instead of just how far or fast. Their wearable power meter pulls the data to a smartphone, letting you know if you’re running as hard as you think you are, or if (more realistically) you're just being lazy. 

Revolar makes a small, wearable safety device that connects to your phone. If you feel unsafe, you press a button and it will send a distress signal with your location to a person you trust. It's kind of like having the bat-signal in your pocket. You'd just better hope that whoever you're signaling is as badass as Batman. 

JStar is bringing artificial intelligence to the Internet of Things with their digital personal assistant, Josh. He will take care of all sorts of things around your house for you. He can open your blinds, unlock your doors and lives on your phone. Josh should start shipping later this year. 

BluFlux helps Internet of Things companies get their antennas to work. It sounds weird, but IoT devices are connected to the internet using tiny antennas. BluFlux solves the engineering hurdles of shoving miniature antennas into oddly shaped IoT devices.