Tag: Google

Episode 145: The block-less blockchain

This week Kevin and I talked about the death of an expensive smart lock, Amazon buying a security company, and spent a lot of time wondering what the heck is going on with Google’s IoT cloud platform. We also wondered what the ad strategy for voice UIs will be given the news that Amazon is talking to consumer product brands about advertisements. Our news wrap-up includes voice computing from Roku, Arrow buying eInfochips, and the Intel CPU flaw that shouldn’t affect edge devices too much. We also answer a listener question on which smart speaker to buy if you don’t have a smart phone.

The Otto lock will likely never ship after the company shut its doors.

And for those tired of cryptocurrencies, we bring you block-less blockchains for the internet of things from Computes, a new startup. Computes founder, and former IoT Podcast guest Chris Matthieu, discusses why IoT needs decentralized computing and why a new type of blockchain makes the most sense. We dig into Computes, blockchain and more in a somewhat geeky interview. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Chris Matthieu of Computes
Sponsors: Lux Products and CBT Nuggets

  • Why 2018 is the year of cheap smart home tech
  • What should a voice ad sound like?
  • Arrow goes from distributor to IoT integrator with latest buy
  • Why IoT needs decentralized compute
  • What the heck is a block-less block chain?
  • When it comes to smart speakers sans smartphone ownership, which do you buy?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 142: Smart sheets, suits and carpets are coming

We begin this week with another cautionary tale about bricked connected devices. This week it’s an automotive product called Mojio. From there I discuss the things I recently learned about building wireless networks in industrial settings while Kevin talks about how much money connected plants can save. We then get super nerdy on innovations in low-power chips before dipping into a lot of news such as IDC’s expectations for the IoT and new talents for the Google Home, Amazon Echo and Honeywell’s controller. We end the show with reviews on two connected devices we installed and answer a question about leak sensors from a listener.

Levi’s offers a jacket made with smart fabric from Google.

Stick around and you’ll hear from Nick Langston, head of business development at TE Connectivity, talking about the future of smart fabrics. While the biggest use case so far is in smart clothing to detect health data, Langston envisions a future where those same sensors might be put into sheets, carpets or even cars. He also shares an idea about what might be the coolest jersey ever that would react to your player getting hit on the field or light up in response to your team scoring a point. It’s pretty cool.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham
Guest: Nick Langston, TE Connectivity
Sponsors: Lux Products and ADT

  • Another brick in the IoT device bag
  • How transistor design will change for IoT
  • The IoT will be worth $1 trillion by 2020
  • What happens to privacy if your bedsheets are a sensor?
  • Smart fabrics are soft, but the business model is hard

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 131: Amazon’s new gear and Nest’s Matt Rogers

This week’s show features a quick rundown of Amazon’s new devices. It also has a lot of exciting news on the wearable front. Kevin Tofel reviews his Apple Watch with LTE and we also discuss a new program from the Food and Drug Administration that will allow nine companies to get pre-certifications for their devices. I’m optimistic that consumers will get more innovation and better data. We also hit on a stealthy new lighting startup from a former Nest co-founder, a partnership around autonomous vehicles and a fight between Google and Amazon.

The Echo spot has a camera, a screen and costs $129.99.

My guest is Matt Rogers, co-founder and VP of Engineering at Nest, who discusses the rationale behind the new Nest Security system and where Nest is heading. We also talk about efforts to build a closer relationship between the Google Home and Nest teams. Plus, he offers hope for an eventual HomeKit integration, although I am not going to hold my breath. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Matt Rogers, Nest
Sponsors: Qualcomm and Eero

  • Which new Amazon device will you buy?
  • The FDA gets into wearables
  • Advice for a listener on creating audio-activated scenes
  • Why Nest is aiming at the high end for security
  • Will Nest gear ever get HomeKit support?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 115: All about Apple’s HomePod

Apple’s disclosure of the HomePod, a connected speaker and personal assistant, drove much of the IoT news this week. However, research from Pew on how rapidly people are becoming connected and the lack of transparency about how our data is used might end up being the story with real legs. Kevin Tofel and I discuss both this week, along with some Wink news, how he feels about the Google Home and a brand new purchase I made.

The Apple HomePod. Image courtesy of Apple.

To continue with the HomePod theme, I spoke with three different people to get a sense of how voice affects adoption of smart home technology, what the HomePod could mean for HomeKit adoption and what another voice-activated speaker means for privacy. Scott Harkins of Honeywell, Adam Justice of ConnectSense and Nuala O’Conner of the Center for Democracy and Technology joined me for the discussion.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guests: Scott Harkins of Honeywell, Adam Justice of Connect Sense and Nuala O’Conner of the Center for Democracy and Technology
Sponsors: TE Connectivity  and Affiliated Monitoring

  • Wink gets on the services bandwagon
  • Pew says you will never not be connected
  • Honeywell says voice is a killer app for smart homes
  • Could you connect HomeKit devices without changing the hardware?
  • It’s good to see a company selling privacy

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 112: Google’s IoT Cloud takes on Amazon and Azure

This week we recorded before the big rush of news from Google I/O but we managed to cram in the details on Google’s new IoT Core beta that offers developers a cloud-based platform for connected devices. Since Google servers are used frequently by businesses it would be interesting to see how google monitoring would work within this new cloud beta. Kevin Tofel and I also discuss Android Things and the moves Amazon has made with the Echo to compete with anticipated Google news. These include notifications on the Echo and a pledge to pay some developers. Add to this, Samsung’s new ARTIK modules, Honeywell’s new venture fund and some speculation on Spotify and we have a solid show. Plus, soon I can shop at B8ta.

GE’s appliances can talk to Alexa or Google’s Assistant.

Our guest this week is Bill Gardner from GE Appliances, who shares the industrial giant’s thinking around connected ovens, stoves and more. There’s some bad news, an AI named Geneva that works with Alexa and Google Home, plus a call for partners in building the smart kitchen for the future. And just for fun, I find out why I may want a connected washer and dryer. Enjoy the show!

Hosts: Kevin Tofel and Stacey Higginbotham
Guest: Bill Gardner of GE Appliances
Sponsors: Aeris and Smart Kitchen Summit

  • Google gets semi-serious about an IoT cloud offering
  • Amazon’s pulling out the stops to keep devs with Alexa
  • Sorry, old appliances won’t get Wi-Fi
  • Meet Geneva, the bot that will connect your kitchen
  • Get a sneak peak at GE’s plans for the kitchen of the future

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 104: Vint Cerf has a lot of questions on IoT

This week we discuss a personal assistant from Samsung, Amazon Alexa on phones and mistakes from Google Home. We also talk about a Legend of Zelda superfan and how he controls his home through an ocarina. We then talk about ARM’s new architecture and discuss two deals ARM did last month to boost support for low power wide area networks. Finally, I now have my SmartThings and Lutron integration working, and it’s awesome!

Image of Vint Cerf courtesy of Veni Markovski.

Have you ever wanted to know what Vint Cerf, a vice president and chief internet evangelist at Google, has in his smart home? Find out in our guest segment, as one of the fathers of the internet comes on the show to discuss the internet of things and the questions we should be asking. We discuss standards, architecture, privacy and more. You’ll enjoy it.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Vint Cerf of Google
Sponsors: Samsung ARTIK and wolfSSL

  • Google needs to pivot, and its latest misstep shows why
  • Kevin isn’t sold on ARM’s new architecture
  • Yes, standards are important for the internet of things
  • We talk about Vint Cerf’s connected wine cellar
  • More questions than answers on IoT from Vint Cerf

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 103: Sue your way to a safer IoT

This week Intel said it would spend another small fortune buying a chip company, Kevin discusses uses for LIDAR outside of connected cars and the Ring doorbell is embroiled in a security SNAFU. At SXSW this week, I learned about the IoT Design Manifesto and have some thoughts. Kevin discusses a new security flaw that deals with the physical side of cyber-physical systems and my SmartThings and Lutron integration still doesn’t work.

The ring connected doorbell.

But the best part of this week’s show is my interview with Phoebe Wilkinson, a partner with Hogan Lovells. Wilkinson helps manufacturers defend themselves against class action lawsuits. We discuss what aspects of connected products might be ripe for a future lawsuit and how companies can defend themselves. We also talk about how warranties are going to have to change for connected products. We may also see a revamp of how data opt-ins are handled. Listen up. You’ll learn something.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Phoebe Wilkinson, a partner with Hogan Lovells
Sponsors: Samsung ARTIK and WolfSSL

  • LIDAR is so hot right now
  • Security should be so hot right now
  • News from B8ta, Evrythng and applying for Alexa developer credits
  • The most likely IoT class action is …
  • Let’s rethink device warranties for IoT

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 91: The cops want your smart home data

This week’s big story was the Bentonville, Arkansas case where police were seeking data from an alleged murderer’s Echo history. Kevin and I share our thoughts on the case, what police could learn from connected gadgets and what this means for your privacy. We then talk about Google’s new smartwatches coming in 2017, two new open/close sensors I discovered and Intel’s work with Amazon to create a model smart home. We also debate what shape the smart home should take and I’m getting ready for CES next week.

The Amazon Echo in my kitchen.

After a big thank you to the companies who sponsored the podcast this year, I interviewed Guarav Garg, a managing partner at Wing VC about how the fight to be the next big IoT platform will shape up. He has some surprising views on the roles startups will play and where the innovation in IoT will come from (and when).

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Guarav Garg, a managing partner at Wing VC
Sponsors: Samsung ARTIK and Level Education

  • What could your smart home tell the police?
  • Two discrete sensors for your doors from GE and Sensative
  • Is your ideal smart home controlled by a virtual wife?
  • Consumer electronics are too hard for startups
  • How to think about building platforms for the industrial internet

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 89: Google’s IoT Strategy takes shape and Microsoft enters the fray

There was so much news this week, that we skipped having a guest in favor of just keeping track of some big moves in the sector. This week was Google’s time to shine since it launched both Actions on Google (an SDK for talking to its Assistant on Google Home) and its IoT operating system plus the Weave communications protocol. Not to be topped Microsoft released an SDK for Cortana it’s voice powered personal assistant and Amazon doubled down with AI for all on AWS. So Kevin Tofel and I spent the first half of the show discussing what this means.

The Plume WiFi pods
The Plume WiFi pods

For the second half we focused on all the little bits of news such as Fibaro’s new HomeKit sensors, Ayla Networks’ new ability to help customers build Alexa skills, GE’s decision to build networking gear for the industrial IoT and a new Bluetooth hub for the enterprise from Cassia Networks. Uber and Google also offered some exciting self-driving car news this week and the ZigBee and Thread groups achieved a feat. We also reviewed two Wi-Fi options with Kevin discussing Google WiFi and me talking about why the new Plume pods may not work for everyone. We’ll be back next week with a guest, but in the meantime, enjoy the show.

Hosts: Kevin Tofel and Stacey Higginbotham
Sponsors: Samsung ARTIK and Skybell (Use STACEY50)

  • The 3 things every personal assistant needs to succeed
  • Radio news from Thread and Zigbee plus a new BLE hub
  • GE and Ayla are making IoT easier for the enterprise
  • We have Waymo car news than usual
  • Reviewing Plume Pods and Google WiFi

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 81: Reviewing the Wink Hub 2 and new gear from Philips Hue

The second version of the Wink hub, complete with an Ethernet connection, Bluetooth and a $99 price tag is out, and I started testing it. The good news so far for folks who have existing Wink gear is in this week’s show, along with my take on the new, richer color Philips Hue bulbs. For those seeking the latest in thermostats, we discuss the new, cheaper Ecobee Lite, the Honeywell Lyric T5 for $149 and Nest’s need to the lower its pricing. (We also discussed the new Eco nomenclature). Kevin Tofel shared his impressions so far on Google Assistant, and we’re all still waiting for Google Home.

honeywellt5

After that, Michael Wolf, creator of the Smart Kitchen Summit and host of The Smart Home Show talked with me about his vision of the connected kitchen, some of the latest gadgets on offer for that segment and food waste. In the show I mention my anti-food waste recipes, so here they are for y’all (Minestrone and Weeknight Curry). Just chuck your old produce in one of these and feel virtuous.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Michael Wolf, The Smart Home Show and the Smart Kitchen Summit
Sponsors: ARM and Hewlett Packard Enterprise

  • Only one hiccup with my Wink hub transfer
  • I’m all in on Philips Hue
  • Google Assistant is no Amazon Alexa (yet)
  • Is the smart kitchen ready for the harried chef?
  • The best kitchen gadget buying advice

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS