Tag: Density

Episode 316: Everything you need to know about Project CHIP

This week’s show launches with a deep dive on Project Connected Home over IP after the Zigbee Alliance released many new details about the specification. We discuss when you can expect it, the devices you’ll see, and the security model. Then we cover the new Wyze lamp, smart auto-dimming windows, Logitech killing the Harmony remote, and Spotify’s new Car Thing. On the enterprise side, we cover a new IoT device vulnerability, funding for Density, a people counting company, and Edge Impulse making it easier to build edge-based ML models on the Raspberry Pi 4. Kevin then shares his thoughts on Logitech’s CircleView camera. We end with a question on what will happen to Z-wave and Zigbee if CHIP succeeds.

The Swarm Tile gets integrated into a sensor or device and costs $119. Image courtesy of Swarm.

Our guest this week is Sara Spangelo, the CEO of Swarm. She talks about Swarm’s monthly $5 per device pricing model and how Swarm can offer satellite connectivity for that price. We also talk about which customers are using Swarm today and why the company decided to focus on one-to-one connectivity as opposed to building a gateway. We conclude with a conversation on how to evaluate a satellite provider since there are so many options available for customers. I have to admit, I’m coming around to the idea of IoT coverage delivered via satellite as a legitimate business proposition.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Sara Spangelo CEO of Swarm
Sponsors: DigiCert and Qt

  • CHIP won’t support wearables, appliances, or cameras at launch
  • Why Project CHIP is embracing the blockchain for security
  • Should your service really have a hardware product?
  • Why the satellite era is upon us
  • How to figure out what satellite networks can and can’t do

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Episode 279: GE Appliances goes for the Gold in security

This week Kevin and I start the show with our thoughts on CES going digital, and then turn to subscriptions for smart products, specifically tied to the news that the Mellow sous vide is now charging for functionality that had been free. We then move on to pandemic-era fundings for Density, Withings, and connected fitness company Tempo. Rite-Aid face recognition, a new Alexa app (yay!) challenges for Google/Nest, and HomeKit support for Arlo’s cameras round out our newsy segments. We then showcase a new product for securing the smart home called Hedgehog, and Kevin shares his review of the Wyze Outdoor Cam. We close by answering a listener question about Gosund products.

The Mellow sous vide has new owners and a new subscription plan. Image courtesy of Mellow.

This week’s guest is  John Ouseph, executive director of embedded software in the smart home solutions group at GE Appliances. He came on the show to discuss UL’s new IoT security framework and why GE Appliances chose to use it. We also talk about security challenges facing connected appliances, how to manage long-lived connected assets in the home, and why it will get more and more difficult to buy non-connected devices. I walked away more confident that major brands are really taking security seriously. Hopefully, you will too.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: John Ouseph, executive director of embedded software in the smart home solutions group at GE Appliances
Sponsor: Very

  • Struggling hardware companies have three options to manage surprise IoT costs
  • These startups are raking in the cash during the pandemic
  • Kevin likes the new Wyze Outdoor Cam but had one tiny glitch
  • GE Appliances was serious about security but needed a way to tell consumers
  • How GE thinks about security by design and risk models for your fridge

 

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Episode 272: Let’s talk about anonymity by design

This week’s podcast starts off with IBM’s decision to stop selling facial recognition software (we recorded before Amazon made a similar announcement) and then shifts to a discussion on neuromorphic computing. From there we discuss Lutron’s new wooden blinds, turning a Commodore 64 into a home automation system,  insights on water use during the pandemic,  more integrations from RoomMe, and funding for Drop’s kitchen operating system. We also touch on industrial news with a scaled-out Bluetooth deployment and PTC, Microsoft, and Rockwell Automation offering Factory Insights as a service. Kevin then shares some thoughts on the next big things necessary for smart homes to advance. Finally, we hear from a listener who wants to find a way to make his smoke alarms smarter.

Lutron adds smart wooden blinds to its Serena line of smart window coverings. Image courtesy of Lutron.

Our guest this week is Andrew Farah, CEO of Density, a startup that provides sensors for people tracking. We last chatted more than five years ago and since then he’s built out the company, created a product for commercial real estate and found time to advocate for building IoT products that are anonymous by design. We talk about how companies are using his service and sensors to keep occupancy rates below the legal limits during the pandemic and why sensors are much better than cameras. You’ll enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Andrew Farah, CEO of Density
Sponsors: Calix and Very

  • IBM’s decision to stop selling facial recognition software is a start
  • This enterprise hub can read 12,000 Bluetooth tags in a minute
  • Three things that will move the smart home forward
  • This sensor has 800 components and can tell how many people are in a room
  • Why we need to build things with anonymity at the forefront

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I spent $120 on lights so I could control them with my Amazon Echo

If you love something you should set it free, but if you love a connected device you should spend gobs of money adding more gadgets until you have a platform. And this week I have done just that, spending $20 on six light bulbs that I can control with my Amazon Echo. I explain how I used GE’s Link lights which work with the Philips Hue platform, which works with the Amazon Echo, to both lower my overall energy spend and add voice control to more of the lights in my home. It’s awesome.

This is my new kitchen light bulb. Purchased for $20 at Home Depot.
This is my new kitchen light bulb. Purchased for $20 at Home Depot.

After this week’s news and my lighting project I welcome Andrew Farah,CEO of Density to the show to discuss how we might count people in public places. Before y’all get too worked up, his sensors offer anonymity, and we discuss why merchants, offices, consumers and governments would be keen on getting a tally of people inside buildings. We also talk about alternatives that rely on facial recognition and how building a company that sells data is very different from building a company that sells products.

Hosts:Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guests: Andrew Farah, CEO of Density

  • News about July Fourth drones, Thread and a free business idea from Kevin.
  • BP is connecting 4,000 oil wells around the world.
  • How to connected cheaper GE Link lights to your Amazon echo.
  • This startup wants to be the Waze of public spaces.
  • Another free business idea involving TVs.

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