Tag: Home Assistant

Episode 435: How Honeywell is approaching TinyML

This week we make a big announcement about the podcast and newsletter. Get ready! Then we talk about the issues with Matter and who’s to blame. We lay out the challenges that both we and The Verge have highlighted with Thread credentialing, and talk about uneven device support. It’s a mess. Other messy topics include the prospect of hacked radiation sensors in Chernobyl, as reported by Kim Zetter. Then we get chippy, discussing the new RISC-V company that Qualcomm, NXP, Infineon, and others are backing, and the proposed sale of an IoT module business to Renesas. A drone startup is building an on-demand drone network that looks like a satellite network, and we have thoughts. We also discuss Kevin’s experience and reaction to our audience’s comments on his transition to Home Assistant. Then, we highlight some tips to help you prep your home ahead of smart energy management programs. Finally, we answer a listener question about the Amazon Echo Show and devices that might work with it.

Home Assistant energy monitoring. Image courtesy of K. Tofel

Our guest this week is  Muthu Sabarethinam, VP AI/ML product and services with Honeywell, who is on the show to talk about TinyML. We start off discussing how Honeywell is thinking about using data from equipment to build services, and then segue into talking about how Honeywell might use TinyML located on sensors. Sabarethinam explains the reasons Honeywell wants algorithms that can run directly on a sensor, and how it will help with security, power, and latency. He also shares his thoughts on how companies should package their algorithms to make it easier to deploy TinyML at scale. For perspective, Honeywell supports more than a million sensors in the field that could all use TinyML. We conclude by talking about business models and how customers want to access data. It’s a great show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Muthu Sabarethinam, VP AI/ML product and services with Honeywell
Sponsors: Wilderness Labs and Skyhawk

  • We’re hitting pause on the podcast later this month
  • Sensors can lie, so how should we offset that risk?
  • Why RISC-V is getting so much love
  • Why Honeywell wants local AI on industrial sensors
  • How to think about building AI sensors that can scale

 

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Episode 434: So many new hubs, and a primer on LPWANs

This week’s show kicks off with a surprising revelation from Kevin, who has decided to swap out his smart home platform. He explains his choice, which also may represent a theme of sorts, as we see more and more high-end smart home hubs hit the market. We discuss the HOOBS Pro device and the Homey Pro, both of which cram a bunch of different radios into one powerful box. Then we talk about California’s Privacy Protection Agency and its decision to investigate how connected car companies are using consumers’ data. Do connected car companies violate California’s 2018 privacy law? After that we dig into a new report about the troubles facing OT and IT security professionals, and marvel over a water-soluble PCB board that might help address some of the challenges associated with e-waste. The board isn’t destined for large scale production or IoT devices yet, but we applaud any effort to bring more easily recycled electronics to the market. Finally, we hear from Signify’s CEO that the maker of Philips Hue devices is planning a video camera for a home security offering. We close the first segment with a pair of comments from our listeners responding to last week’s question about turning off lights using a sensor.

Infineon is testing out a water-soluble PCB board. Image courtesy of Infineon.

Our guest this week is Alexis Susset, the CTO of UnaBiz. He’s on the show to explain the value of Low-Power Wide-Area networks and Unabiz’s plans to offer many LPWANs under one roof. He shares how the acquisition of Sigfox’s assets last year helped give Unabiz the credibility it needed to create deals with other LPWAN providers to share their networks. He also does a deep dive into the pros and cons of various available LPWAN technologies such as Sigfox, LoRaWAN, and cellular. Finally, we talk about the rise of satellite networks for IoT devices and whether or not we’ll need any more LPWAN technologies in the near future. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guests: Alex Susset, the CTO of UnaBiz
Sponsors: Wilderness Labs and Skyhawk

  • Kevin switches to Home Assistant, and even his wife likes it
  • Hubs are back, baby
  • Criminals are still hacking enterprise networks and critical infrastructure
  • How Sigfox helped UnaBiz make deals with other LPWAN providers
  • Why IoT devices might benefit from specialized satellite

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Episode 428: How to add ChatGPT to the smart home

This week’s podcast tackles Kevin’s real-world experience with the Google Pixel tablet and speaker dock. He liked the tablet, but as a smart home accessory it’s lacking, which is what we had originally anticipated. But it’s still a bummer, because I want a good Google Home display option as Google deprecates third-party Google Home display devices. Then we talk about a couple smart energy products including Dracula Technologies’ new energy harvesting technology that can “suck” even more power from sunlight, Savant’s new energy storage device for homes, and a smart plug from EcoFlow that connects to Kevin’s existing rechargeable battery. The industrial internet of things gets a mention thanks to IDC putting out a new report estimating that total spending on IIoT will be $1 trillion in 2026. Get on it. We then get a bit random, discussing smart water filtration stations, and what Broadcom’s new Wi-Fi 7 chips means for Wi-Fi and for smartphones, before hitting a Thread-enabled dev kit using an ESP32 and Philips Hue bulbs getting a feature tweak. We close the news segment by answering a listener question about connecting Zigbee bulbs between IKEA’s and Home Assistant’s platforms.

Image courtesy of IDC.

This week’s guest is Ran Roth, CEO and co-founder of Sensibo, a maker of smart HVAC controllers. The add-on devices connect to window units, mini splits and other A/C and heating units that use IR controllers. We talk about smart energy and the road the company has taken since its founding in 2014. But most of our conversation focuses on how Sensibo is using ChatGPT to improve the user experience with its devices. Roth also hints at other potential use cases for ChatGPT that are less intuitive, and explains how he thinks the availability of large language models will help companies that have access to them use their data more easily. He likens it to the shift that Amazon’s cloud computing had on innovation after AWS launched cloud computing (EC2) in 2006. He then talks about what he’s learned so far and the concerns people have around AI and privacy. It’s a good show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Ran Roth, CEO and co-founder of Sensibo
Sponsors: Blynk and Particle

  • As expected, Google’s Pixel tablet isn’t a major improvement for the smart home
  • Better energy harvesting from Dracula sucks more power from light
  • Broadcom’s chips could lead to smartphones with Zigbee or Thread
  • How Sensibo is using ChatGPT to parse a lot of data
  • What Sensibo has learned about using generative AI

 

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Episode 419: Little sensors save big amounts of water

This week’s show has lots of updates and small updates. We start off with a story about a golf course near San Diego that has saved millions of gallons of water using connected soil sensors. And then we review what changed with Zigbee PRO 2023 and cover the NIST efforts to create practical framework for protecting medical device privacy and security. In other medical news we talk about a new device from Cherish Health, which will use millimeter wave sensing to track falls and movement in a home, and the rise of ambient sensing as well as the launch of a new smart scale from Withings, which lets you track your weight without ever having to confront the numbers on the scale. Then we discuss the UK’s competition regulator opening up an investigation of Amazon’s deal to buy Roomba maker iRobot, before also talking about a new feature on certain Roomba vacuums. In small news HomePods can now listen for smoke alarms going off and Google is adding Matter to its most recent Nest thermostat — and only that thermostat. And speaking of Matter, Kevin tested out the beta version of Matter support on Home Assistant, and was impressed. Finally, we answer a listener question about smart breaker panels and GFCI outlets.

The Cherish Serenity device uses millimeter wave sensing to detect movement and falls. Image courtesy of Cherish Health. 

Our guest this week is Robert Pile, the head of real estate strategy at Homma, a company that is building smart homes. The company started out building smart homes but has since switched to building townhomes and multifamily units for rentals thanks to the changing real estate market. Pile talks about the technical challenges of building the infrastructure for smart homes and what types of buyers are choosing their properties. He also discusses the price premium that people are paying to buy or rent a smart home that’s built smart from the first foundation pour. I’m not sure if I’m done with my DIY efforts, but it does sound nice to have everything already smart when you move in. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Robert Pile, head of real estate strategy at Homma
Sponsors: OnLogic and Silicon Labs

  • GroundWorx sensors makes water use visible, and reduces it
  • Could ambient sensing be the key for aging in place?
  • Home Assistant has a really nice Matter implementation
  • How much will people pay for a smart home or apartment?
  • What does the “plumbing” for a smart home look like?

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Episode 414: How generative AI could help the IoT

We kick off this week’s show with a focus on generative AI and what new models such as GPT-4 and even things like Stable Diffusion could mean for the internet of things. Along the way we disagree with an article trying to compare digital assistants such as Siri with ChatGPT, and highlight some of the opportunities generative AI provides, especially when it comes to robots. Then we discuss a new deal between Senet and Unabiz that helps drive the concept of a unified LPWAN. We even include a little dish on Senet’s relationships with Helium. After that, we talk about how Google is screwing up Fitbit and the latest wearable sales figures. In smaller news, we offer thoughts on Best Buy’s deal to install home hospital equipment and Amazon’s plans to launch broadband service over satellite. Then we highlight a tiny chip that could attach to your teeth, a hack of Ring’s doorbell, and an industrial attack that uses a speaker to send data. Kevin then shares his latest test of Home Assistant, which he found easier to install and better for HomeKit users. Finally, we answer a listener question about whether you really need a mesh router system for a 1,400-square-foot home.

An at-scale rendering of the wafer chip-scale packaging xG27 SoC from Silicon Labs. Image courtesy of Silicon Labs.

Our guest this week is Nick D’Angelo, director of public affairs for Eaton’s Electrical Sector. He’s on the show to discuss how two new laws are incentivizing consumers and businesses to take steps to modernize the electric grid. We cover the concept of grid modernization and why it’s necessary, the two laws that have the most relevance, and lay out some of the incentive programs that will be available at state and federal levels for things like replacing electric panels and swapping out furnaces for heat pumps. We also talk about how long the process of modernizing the grid will take and then conclude with what else will need to be done. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Nick D’Angelo of Eaton’s Electrical Sector
Sponsors: InfluxData and Silicon Labs

  • Here’s a great use case for GPT-4 and other chatbots
  • Why Senet’s network may soon include Sigfox
  • Google’s wearables are No. 2 now!
  • How the Inflation Reduction Act and the infrastructure bill will fund a newer grid
  • How long will it take to modernize the grid

 

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Episode 412: Playing with ChatGPT on Home Assistant

Details about how the U.S. government plans to disperse $39 billion in funding for chips was announced this week, so we discuss the details and what the funds mean for the IoT. Mobile World Congress took place in Barcelona this week, and amid the news about 5G networks there were several IoT-related bits worth mentioning such as Qualcomm outlining plans for millimeter-wave spatial sensing and Wi-Fi 7 updates. In satellite news, Qualcomm announced that its upcoming 5G modems would have satellite capability, and said several phone companies would use it to add emergency text messaging. Those modems will also find homes in IoT devices. Deutsche Telekom also announced satellite capability on its network thanks to a partnership with Intelsat and Skylo. Then we discuss whose responsibility it is to secure the smart home, and what you think depends on where you live. And in smaller news, we cover a new chip that provides wireless power for wearables, wireless security cameras that don’t use batteries, an update on the Google Nest deal with ADT, and the launch of fall detection on Pixel watches. Plus, I get salty about Google’s Fitbit acquisition. Finally, we answer a listener question about how to help someone in assisted living notice they have a phone call.

Image courtesy of the World Economic Forum.

Our guest this week is Paulus Schoutsen, founder of Home Assistant, the DIY, open source smart home platform. Schoutsen explains why this year is the “year of voice” for the platform and how to build an AI for users to speak in their own language for triggering automations (all without sharing data with third-party providers). He also shows off two new features; the first is using a HomePod to talk to Google Assistant over Home Assistant, and the second is using a generative language model like ChatGPT over a HomePod to create stories. We also talk about Matter and Home Assistant’s plans for a smart speaker or voice-capable device, as well as why you can’t easily buy Home Assistant Yellow, a pre-packaged box that already has the radios and software a beginner needs to run Home Assistant. It’s a good show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Paulus Schoutsen founder of Home Assistant
Sponsors: InfluxData and Silicon Labs

  • Childcare, chips and government grants
  • Mobile World Congress goes heavy on LPWANs and satellites
  • Smart home security is your responsibility if you live in the U.S.
  • Why your older gear may never get promised Matter support
  • Bowser takes on Minecraft in a demo of AI chat via a HomePod Mini

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Episode 404: CES has more Matter and many voices

Kevin and I are at CES 2023 this week and eager for the show floor to open to see all of the new and crazy gear. But before we see the show floor, we had to slog through the planned news and media events, which we’re talking about in this week’s show. Matter is everywhere so far with most companies choosing to announce new Matter products that will arrive in the coming months. We cover news from Nanoleaf, Eve, Govee, Samsung, Lutron (no update on Matter plans), and SwitchBot. We then talk about Amazon’s Sidewalk expansion news and its work with two partners for voice interoperability in an automotive platform and with Josh.ai. Also in voice news, Home Assistant will add voice control for its platform in the coming year. And now, prepare for the rush of product news including new Ring cameras, ADT’s app with upgraded Nest integration, Cync lights, and Moen’s new sprinkler and soil sensors. We also discuss Arlo’s new end of life plans for older cameras, which the user community is upset with. Then we talk about a larger trend emerging at CES of building smart devices, such as Masonite’s new powered door, into the home itself. I don’t think we’re ready for this, but the consumer electronics industry is eager to provide these products. Finally, we get more details on Thread’s range from a listener calling in on the Internet of Things Podcast hotline.

Nanoleaf has smart switches and an intelligent Matter over Thread hub. Image courtesy of K. Tofel

Our guest this week is Gimmy Chu, CEO of Nanoleaf. He’s on the show to discuss Nanoleaf’s new Sense+ Controls light switches that contain sensors and additional buttons to manage the growing complexity of color lighting. These are also key components for Nanoleaf’s new Nanoleaf Automations Learning Assistant (Nala), which is an effort to let your lights automate themselves. The idea is that sensors inside the switches will indicate presence, based on time of day, ambient light and stated preferences, then add more information to get the appropriate lighting for that moment. As a person who has been testing smart lights for a decade, I’m eager to see if Nanoleaf has the goods. We’ll have to wait until the third quarter until these are out to test it, but Chu explains what he’s aiming for. We also talk about the future of lighting and how color will play a larger role. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Gimmy Chu, CEO of Nanoleaf
Sponsor: Silicon Labs

  • The promise of Matter is everywhere at CES. The devices, not so much
  • Amazon’s adding LoRa connectivity parters to its Sidewalk program
  • You’re getting more options on the voice assistant front
  • Nanoleaf’s plans for intuitive controls are compelling
  • Why Nanoleaf is waiting to deploy Matter to existing gear

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Episode 379: Lock down your smart home’s data

This week we continue discussing privacy and data protection with a focus on the smart home. I’d like to see a feature that lets us turn on privacy as needed on our devices, but Kevin doesn’t think that’s likely. For those who want concrete steps they can take today, Mozilla and the EFF have some suggestions that will appeal to the DIY types. And smart home device makers should be aware that if they focused on privacy, the might sell more gear according to a recent survey. For those worried about security (less about privacy), we discuss network segmentation options. In smaller news on this slow news week, Unabiz will retain the Sigfox brand, the FCC approves roaming satellite broadband via Starlink, and Samsung SmartThings is readying an app update with more features. I also share the devices I connect before I head out of town. In our IoT Podcast Hotline we answer a listener question about the best platforms on which to practice IoT development.

Home Assistant hub for smart home privacy
Home Assistant’s Yellow hub can help you keep your smart home automations locale and more private. Image courtesy of Home Assistant.

Our guest this week is Vijay Sankaran, the CTO of Johnson Controls. He talks about the reasons we’re adding more sensors to our buildings, and ensuring they work with other with IT systems. He also explains what needs to happen at the edge and what should take place in the cloud, while also laying out the standards we need to make digital twins of smart buildings. On the practical front, he says that customers usually start with modernizing buildings that are more than 10 years old or those that are currently under construction. And the best way to get started is for customers to start tracking carbon consumption by trying to understand how much energy is being used in a building and then understanding what deices are using it. Only after customers understand that, can they work on optimizing their energy usage to reduce consumptions or at least allocate carbon consumption to places or products that generate the most value.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Vijay Sankaran, the CTO of Johnson Controls
Sponsors: InfluxData and Intent

  • The privacy-focused smart home is DIY but doable.
  • What would you buy if privacy concerns didn’t hold you back?
  • Here are the devices I use when on vacation.
  • When it comes to smart buildings, which should get modernized first?
  • Standards matter for digital twins of smart buildings.

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Episode 367: What do you want in a home robot?

In this week’s show we question whether or not we want Amazon’s Astro home robot after seeing a few reviews. We then note that Google has introduced gaze as signal to wake up Google Assistant, which is one of the first uses of gaze as a wake-up indicator for the smart home. Then we talk about wearables starting with a recollection from Eric Migicovsky, the founder of Pebble, about what went wrong ending up with Pebble’s assets sold to Fitbit. We compared the Pebble story to the latest funding for the Oura ring, and mentioned Fitbit’s new FDA-approved atrial fibrillation detection. Then we discuss smarter tags manufactured in a new Brazilian factory for Avery Denison before discussing two new options in air purifiers: one from Wyze and one containing a UV-filter from Xiaomi. In other product news, here’s a new smart grow lamp and watering system for houseplants and some smart trackers with a greener footprint. And for all of our Home Assistant fans, Kevin checks in on the platform after a one-year-hiatus. We close by answering a listener question about consolidating smart lights.

Amazon’s Astro robot roves around the home trying to be helpful. Image courtesy of Amazon.

Our guest this week is Dan Simpkins, CEO and co-founder of Dwellwell, a startup that aims to create a check-engine light for the smart home. Simpkins started the company in 2018 after experiencing a flood caused by frozen pipes, and realizing that many of the options available to monitor the home were too expensive and siloed. The solution he’s worked out is a SaaS product called Dwellwell that relies on custom-sensors that contribute data to several algorithms to check on the health of several home systems. We discuss how it works, why he chose to go after the multi-family and rental market and why he needs to use his own sensors. We also discuss the role Matter will play in the smart home and eventually, his platform. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Dan Simpkins, CEO of Dwellwell
Sponsors: Impinj and InfluxData

  • Is your home robot ready?
  • What we’ve learned in a decade of wearables
  • Home Assistant’s worth another look
  • Why companies should base their AI on their own sensors
  • How Dwellwell rethinks traditional maintenance devices

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Episode 351: Smart homes in the metaverse

What happens when the smart home meets the metaverse? We talk about the potential for better user interfaces and home mapping if we build digital twins of the home in a metaverse, while also discussing the potential of UWB to expand the amount of information contained in that digital twin. Then we discuss an excellent article on the Matter protocol and a new chip for Matter devices before noting Samsara’s successful public offering. In some anti-consumer news, Toyota is disabling features in its radio-controlled keyfobs unless people pay a subscription, leading us to wonder how we assess value in software as compared to hardware. We then look at LoRaWAN coverage maps for the combined Helium and Senet network, a new deal in the satellite IoT sector. Finally, we answer a listener question about Shelly RGBW modules for lighting and Home Assistant.

The Fi collar costs $149 and requires a subscription for its location-tracking feature. Image courtesy of Fi.

This week’s guest is Jonathan Bensamoun, the CEO and founder of Fi, a maker of a connected dog collar. We discuss the product and why people buy a connected collar. Then we cover the connectivity options and why the Fi collar uses cellular as opposed to some of the other low-power wide-area networks such as Amazon’s Sidewalk. Lastly, we talk about subscription options and how to build a plan that works for your audience. Whatever Bensamoun is doing works, because 93% of people who buy the collar subscribe to the service. That’s amazing! Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Jonathan Bensamoun, the CEO and founder of Fi
Sponsors: Twilio and Silicon Labs

  • Does the metaverse have a role in the smart home?
  • How UWB can help make the smart home better
  • Where there’s LoRaWAN coverage, and where there isn’t
  • Why cellular still beats Amazon Sidewalk and LoRaWAN
  • How to price a subscription for an IoT device

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