Tag: Google

Episode 315: A Mad Max mask and a power grid of your own

This week Kevin is back and we start the show talking about the Xupermask from Will.i.am and Honeywell. Ring is adding radar to a floodlight camera and we’re pumped for that, while MIT researchers are using RF to help give robots X-ray vision. Apple is formally launching a certification program for developers who want to build for its Find My service, Verizon is expanding its edge computing partnership with Amazon Web Services, and we also talk about the end of 3G. More water plant hacks, Amazon Alexa adding a skills platform for businesses, new Ikea speakers, and tweaks to Google’s Home app round out the news segment of the show. Kevin also shares his review of the Wyze Watch. Finally, we answer a listener question about if and how platforms such as Home Assistant or OpenHAB can handle deprecated APIs for smart home devices.

Eaton’s new Alexa Wi-Fi dimmer is part of a portfolio of products that fit into its Home as a Grid concept. Image courtesy of Eaton.

Our guest this week is Jennifer Ploskina, connected solutions segment manager with Eaton. Eaton makes electrical equipment for utilities, industry, and homes. We talk about how demand for electricity will force utilities, homeowners and building owners to invest in a smarter grid.  She argues that we will eventually have energy generation capabilities that will help offset demand from the grid, and may one day even provide additional revenue streams for homes or offices. And she explains how we’ll get to the place where homes have batteries, solar and other features that will turn them into little power stations. We also discuss standards, Alexa, and the potential for Project Connected Home over IP. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Jennifer Ploskina with Eaton
Sponsors: Digicert and Qt

  • The Will.i.am mask is not totally ridiculous
  • Apple expands its proprietary ecosystem to asset finding
  • Some “hackers” are employees and companies need to deal with that
  • What happens when your home or office has a mini power grid?
  • Turn your EV battery into a revenue stream

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Episode 314: A look at Arm’s new vision for computing

Om Malik takes Kevin’s place this week as my co-host and also doubles as my guest. Malik is my former boss at GigaOm, is currently a partner at True Ventures, and writes thoughtfully about technology on his own blog. We start the show focused on chips, specifically Arm’s brand new v9 architecture and the vision Arm has for secure, distributed computing. Both Om and I are big believers that chip architectures can help us predict the future, so we spend time discussing what the silicon tea leaves are telling us.

The Bluetooth SIG’s 2021 market update anticipates growth in Bluetooth chips for the smart home.

After touching a bit on the chip shortage, we dig into the Bluetooth Special Interest Group’s latest market update. Bluetooth growth was flat, but the smart home had a few bright spots. I review the second-generation Google Nest hub which reminded me how much Google knows about me. I also focus on Tesla’s in-cabin cameras. Malik uses my worries to explain why we need a regulatory framework for thinking about our rights in what will essentially become a surveillance state. We both are excited about the Biden administration’s plan to back broadband and I wonder what Tonal will do with $250 million in funding. We end the episode by answering a question from a listener about the best sprinkler systems or hose timers to buy ahead of summer. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Om Malik
Sponsor: Switch Always On

  • Arm’s vision for computing makes the cloud and edge equal players
  • Bluetooth shipments were flat and LE audio is delayed
  • The new Nest hub is a decent hub and sleep tracker
  • We need a new framework for citizen’s rights when digital data is everywhere
  • Will the big ISPs crash Biden’s multi-billion-dollar broadband bonanza?

 

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Episode 312: Cricut’s switch up, Google’s new hub, and the end of the HomePod

This week on the show we return to the classic story of a company trying to use a software update to limit the functionality of a connected product after someone has purchased it. The latest example is Cricut, which makes a connected craft cutting device. The company recently said users would have to start subscribing to its service if they wanted to continue uploading more than 20 patterns to its software each month. After an outcry, it shifted its stance. We also talk about Apple stopping sales of the original HomePod, and new products from Ring. We then cover updates to the Particle platform, a self-sanitizing door handle, and Apple’s potential plan for light switches. We also answer a listener question about HomeKit-compatible indoor cameras.

Deako plug-n-play light switches are contracted to be installed into 1 out of every 8 new single-family homes built in the U.S.

Our guest this week is Derek Richardson, CEO of Deako, a company that builds modular light switches for home builders. The company just raised a $12.5 million funding round, so Richardson and I discuss the plans for the money and the changes happening in the builder market when it comes to smart devices. We then talked about what it takes to build a long-lived device and why you may one day pack your light switches when you move. We closed with a bit on Thread and the potential that Project CHIP might have. It’s a fun interview and offers a very different perspective on smart lighting.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Derek Richardson, CEO of Deako
Sponsor: Switch Always On

  • Cricut angers a lot of users with new subscription push
  • Do you want to let Google watch you sleep?
  • Particle entices developers with free connectivity for the first 100 devices
  • What has changed in the last five years of selling smart homes to builders
  • Will you one day bring your light switches when you move?

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Episode 310: Thanks to the IoT, everything’s a subscription now

We kick off this week’s show with the news of SmartThings device depreciation and Amazon’s Alexa Conversations feature finally making it to general availability. After that, we talk about the rising revenue from subscriptions in the consumer IoT and in manufacturing based on a new survey from Zuora. Then we discuss how police departments feel about connected doorbells such as Ring and a new consumer privacy law in Virginia. Both NXP and Silicon Labs shared news at the embedded world event this week, while rumors about a new Nest display hit the press. We closed with conversations on Tuya filing to go public, Beam’s funding for connected dental insurance, and Kevin’s review of some Meross HomeKit outlets. On the IoT Podcast Hotline, we answered a listener’s question about a connected doorbell that doesn’t collect video data.

Zuora’s end of ownership report looks at the increasing consumer interest in subscription services.

Our guest this week is Tien Tzuo, CEO of Zuora. He’s on the show to explain why the ownership model is going away and how companies can make the shift to charging subscriptions for products ranging from cars to steam traps. We talk about how subscriptions and software updates change marketing, finance, and innovation inside companies with Tzuo offering some excellent examples. We then talk about how to set pricing, and what that might look like in the years ahead. Tzuo thinks the cell phone providers are a good model, but I hate my carrier’s opaque pricing. There’s a lot of food for thought here.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Tien Tzuo, CEO of Zuora
Sponsor: Very

  • SmartThings’ changes make now a good time to evaluate other hubs
  • Virginia’s new privacy law is a lighter version of California’s CCPA
  • NXP’s secure IoT chips are coming and gigahertz MCUs are here
  • How selling subscriptions changes the way a company thinks about innovations
  • Consumer trust and systemic thinking are essential to building a subscription service

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Episode 309: Why your IoT device shipments are delayed

We’re really excited about radar in this week’s episode, so we discuss Ring’s new doorbell that added it for motion detection and Apple’s patent that plans to use radar for detecting vital signs. We also talk about radar being a feature that Plume plans to add to its Wi-Fi devices in the near future while discussing the company’s $270 million funding round. We then discuss Portland ditching smart city software, the Echo Show 10 reviews, HomeKit support for two sets of devices, and the coming ability to talk to Google’s Assistant even when the screen is locked. I then explain how you can stop some of the unwanted comments from Alexa if she’s telling you about low batteries in your smart home devices or asking you to rate a product you have purchased on Amazon. We end by answering a listener’s question about bringing Wi-Fi to his detached garage.

Ring’s new doorbell will cost $249.99 and ships on March 31. Image courtesy of Ring.

Our guest this week is Chris Carney, the co-founder and CEO of Abode. Carney explains why companies are experiencing so many delays in shipping products and why many of your favorite devices might be out of stock. The chip shortage plays a role, but so do delays at ports and challenges faced by last-mile delivery networks like the US Postal Service, FedEx and UPS. He explains how his company is trying to adapt, and when we can expect to see these shortages ease up. He also offers some advice to other companies affected by similar challenges. Enjoy the show while waiting for your latest gadget to arrive.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Chris Carney, co-founder and CEO of Abode
Sponsor: Very

  • Ring’s new doorbell gets a fancy new feature
  • Plume’s funding could lead to small acquisitions
  • How to reduce Alexa’s spam
  • Chips, ships, and delayed trips
  • When will supply chains get back to normal?

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Episode 308: Chipageddon and deets on the Pi Pico

Silicon is the theme of this week’s show, starting with a rundown on the chip shortage affecting the automotive and IoT world. Then we talk about the Los Angles Police Department requesting footage from connected doorbell cameras during the Black Lives Matter protests before moving on to Amazon’s new Kickstarter-like program for new Alexa products. In new product news, we cover Wyze’s color-changing light bulbs, Facebooks’ rumored smartwatch, and a peer-to-peer mesh network using the ClusterDuck protocol. We then share a new command for Google Assistant, discuss funding for an AI chip company, speculate on Verizon’s purchase of a robotics software startup, and dig into the many DIY options for building your own image recognition models. We end by answering a question about products that might help you save money on your electric bill.

If you want to see Amazon build a scale that works with Alexa for $34.99, you can pre-order it today. If enough people order it, Amazon will make it. Image courtesy of Amazon.

Our guest this week is Alasdair Allan, technical documentation manager at Raspberry Pi Trading, the commercial arm of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. Allan explains why the Foundation decided to build its own chip for the first Pi Pico microcontroller and why the Pi Foundation even built a microcontroller in the first place. He also discusses how the Pi Pico differs from an Arduino, talks up some use cases, and dives into ways it might be used for machine learning at the edge. After declining to tell me what might be next for the Pi Foundation, he did point out that no one assembles a chip design team to build just one chip, so it sounds like there’s a lot to look forward to.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Alasdair Allan, technical documentation manager at Raspberry Pi Trading, the commercial arm of the Raspberry Pi Foundation
Sponsor: Very

  • What’s behind the chip shortage and how long will it last?
  • We can’t expect Ring to police the police, so here’s what we should expect
  • Project OWL is a public safety or industrial mesh network
  • The custom-chip in the Pi Pico is designed for flexibility
  • Tiny ML means less internet in the IoT

 

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Episode 306: Ring wins big with Lennar

This week’s show kicks off with news from Lennar about its new smart home offering with Ring, and a discussion on what it means that Ring now has more than 2,000 police and fire departments as partners. After that, we discuss what we learned from the Tesla recall about the business of connected products, and what options y’all have if you want to ditch your Wink hub. Then we talk about a Kickstarter for some smart infrastructure products, an update coming to Google Home, and wellness data coming to Google displays. In smaller news, we touch on Abode’s HomeKit widgets, Canonical’s Ubuntu Core 2.0 for IoT, and Kevin going all-in on HomeKit. We end by answering a listener question about the best HomeKit hub to use.

Apple’s HomePod mini is small and costs $99. Image courtesy of Apple.

Our guest this week is Eric Feder, who is with LenX, the venture group for homebuilder Lennar. He’s on the show to talk about Lennar’s new partnership with Ring, Flo by Moen, Resideo, Level Lock, and more. We also discuss how Lennar’s views of the smart home have changed since it first started trying to integrate connected devices into its houses. He then talks about what features might be missing and investments the company has in new building techniques, gray water reclamation, and more. It’s a sneak peek into the future.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Eric Feder, of LenX, the venture group for homebuilder Lennar
Sponsor: TeraCode and Techmeme

  • Ring’s still using local police to sell its doorbells
  • Tesla’s right about computers in long-lived devices
  • After Wink, which hub is right for you?
  • Why Lennar dumped “movie night” routines and focused on plumbing
  • Building sustainable homes with smart tech

 

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Episode 304: Presidential Pelotons and data accountability

This week’s show kicks off with Kevin and I discussing a smart camera vulnerability before digging into what it means when the White House becomes a smart home. We then discuss Wi-Fi 6E and what it means for IoT. Next up: new devices from Signify which makes Philips Hue-branded gear. Then we dig into Google Assistants’ new skills, the Nest/SmartThings integration, and what Google wanted from Fitbit. We discuss a DIY smartwatch, self-learning sensors from Bosch, and Samsung SmartTags, which don’t seem all that smart. We end by answering a listener question about swapping out Hue gear for the Nanoleaf Essentials bulb and also Firewalla devices for Eero services.

The new Philips Hue dimmer switch looks much better. Image courtesy of Signify.

Our guest this week is Ran Korber, CEO and co-founder of BreezoMeter, which uses math and public data to track air pollution. Korber joined me to talk about why air pollution matters so much, and how to combine many sources of data to produce real insights. He also talks about how to check his company’s algorithms, as well as how to build a business on shared data. After last summers’ wildfires, I am convinced of the value of good air pollution data, and it was neat to hear how companies are putting it to use. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Ran Korber, CEO and co-founder of BreezoMeter
Sponsors: TeraCode and Techmeme

  • President Biden’s Peloton could influence smart home security efforts
  • More Philips Hue gear heading our way
  • Google’s Fitbit deal is about data, not advertising
  • How to combine air quality sensors with traffic data
  • Building a business on data begins with transparency

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Episode 302: CES and GE Lighting is betting on Cync

This week Kevin and I discuss Allegion’s acquisition of Yonomi, and what it means for those of you using the cloud service or consumers using the app. We then turn to a mention of the rebranding of GE Lighting after its acquisition by Savant last summer before talking about Singapore’s about-face on the use of contact-tracing app data by police. Also on the police front, the FBI is warning consumers and police departments that hackers are getting into poorly protected smart home security systems and using them to call police to homes. From there we cover new modems, new capabilities for a Google device, a leak about Tile trackers, and a potential sleep apnea-tracking device from Amazon. Then Kevin shares what we want to see at CES and I share my thoughts on the Ring Mailbox sensor. We end by answering a question about fall detection devices for the home.

The new Cync indoor camera will launch in May. Image courtesy of GE Lighting, a Savant company.

Our guest this week is Paul Williams, general manager of product management & growth at GE Lighting, a Savant company. He shares the rationale behind the new Cync brand, the decision to add a security camera to the lineup of GE Lighting devices, and the thinking behind a new app planned for March. Williams also talks about other devices and how the Cync devices will and won’t tie into the Savant professional brand of products. I’m excited about the details the future Cync app will borrow from Savant, and can’t wait to see it. We end with his insights on what Project CHIP will and won’t mean for device makers. Enjoy.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Paul Williams, GE Lighting, a Savant company
Sponsor: Calix

  • What changes after Allegion’s purchase of Yonomi
  • Please secure your IoT devices, y’all
  • Google, Apple, and Amazon all have new devices with new wireless sensing
  • Thanks to Savant C by GE is now Cync
  • What a GE Lighting exec thinks about Project CHIP

 

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Episode 301: An update on Project CHIP and a secure 2021

This week’s podcast starts with an update on the Project Connected Home over IP standard promulgated by Apple, Amazon, Google, and Samsung. Then we talk about Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s letter to the Department of Health and Human Services asking what privacy rules are in place for protecting consumers’ health data. Google killed Android Things and new legislation killed router fees by your ISP, so we talk about those. Then we discuss Amazon’s Echo frames and the future of smart glasses, Peloton’s planned acquisition of Precor, and Kevin’s experience with a Homebridge device. We close with a new HomeKit doorbell from Netatmo, a smart lock that isn’t connected, and LG’s wacky new kitchen tech. On the IoT Podcast Hotline, we answer a listener’s question about a smartwatch so he can call his kid.

Netatmo’s video doorbell now supports HomeKit and will go on sale Jan. 6 for $300. Image courtesy of Netatmo.

Our guest this week is Sharon Mirsky, COO and co-founder of Firedome, which provides security services for IoT device manufacturers. We talk about the role of consumers in IoT security and she offers several pieces of advice on how to secure your IoT devices, including a recommendation that you run them on a separate network, or at least your guest network. I don’t do this, but maybe I should start. She also explains what device makers should do and the role your ISP needs to play in securing the IoT. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Sharon Mirsky, COO and co-founder of Firedome
Sponsors: Calix and Plume

  • There’s a draft spec for Project CHIP but you need to pay to play
  • Can Congress please get on some sort of privacy legislation?
  • Peloton’s buy is the smart overtaking the dumb
  • Who should ensure the IoT is secure?
  • The most important thing you can do to ensure your smart home’s security

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