Tag: HomeKit

Episode 294: Let’s talk about Thread and digital twins

This week’s show starts off with a conversation about Thread because it’s clear that it’s going to become an important radio for the future of the smart home. We explain why before discussing an update to LoRaWAN and an alternative to the big voice-controlled smart speakers from Josh.ai. After that, we express frustration with exploding doorbells, discuss a fitness tracker that finally covers pregnancy, and get excited about a new robot vacuum. On the industrial side, I try to get excited about Hitachi Vantara’s deal with Amazon Web Services and explain why Honeywell is trying to become more than just a process manufacturing powerhouse. We conclude the show by answering a listener’s question about Wi-Fi.

The new Wyze vacuum has LIDAR and will cost $199 at first. Image courtesy of Wyze.

Our guest this week is Chris Nelson, VP of Software Development at OSIsoft. He explains what a digital twin is and isn’t and attempts to cut through some of the marketing hype about where we are in terms of building real-time updateable models of machines and manufacturing processes. If that gets too esoteric, he also tries to talk about what they mean for IoT business models and shares how digital twins might be helping us find a vaccine for COVID-19. It’s a good interview if you want to figure out what’s real and what is just marketing.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Chris Nelson, VP of Software Development at OSIsoft
Sponsors: Calix and Teracode

  • Why Apple cares about Thread and you should too
  • Why not put LIDAR on a vacuum cleaner?
  • What it means when Honeywell’s CEO says it’s a controls company now
  • What’s real and hype when it comes to digital twins
  • How digital twins can help us discover a COVID vaccine

 

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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 276: Google inches toward a smarter home

This week Kevin and I discuss the news from Google’s smart home event, and what it means for the big players in the game, standards efforts, your television, and whether Amazon can compete without a smartphone when it comes to the smart home. From there we talk about Arm’s decision to spin out its IoT services businesses and Synaptics buying Broadcom’s wireless IoT business. An update for Alexa, insecure smart cameras, and a skinny new codec round out the news segment this week. For the IoT Podcast Hotline, we answer a listener question about creating routines based on sunrise and sunset.

Augury’s sensor forms the basis of the Halo system. Image courtesy of Augury.

My guest this week takes us to the manufacturing floor where his company is enabling insurance providers to better assess risk and price policies accordingly. Saar Yoskovitz, co-founder and CEO at Augury, joins me to talk about the company’s new guarantee that is backed by Hartford Steam Boiler, a division of Munich Re, that pays customers IF Augury fails to anticipate a machine breakdown. We also discuss the role the pandemic has played for Augury’s business and how the company ended up launching a new product for its customers to help them keep production employees working remotely. Instead of just helping manufacturers keep an eye on the health of their machines, Augury has a web-based communication tool that lets production managers keep an eye on their plant and schedule workers. It’s a cool story.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Saar Yoskovitz, co-founder and CEO at Augury
Sponsor: Very

  • Google’s integration with Android reminds me of Apple
  • Arm’s decision to spin out its IoT services makes sense
  • A new codec could help cut down on smart camera data demand
  • When IoT meets an insurer’s moral obligation
  • Why Augury found itself building a Slack for manufacturing

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Episode 274: Apple embraces IoT and SmartThings shakes things up

This week’s show is a whopper, starting with the news from Apple’s WorldWide Developers Conference. We talk about how Apple is playing the long game by integrating sensors and machine learning across devices to give contextual experiences, Apple’s updates to HomeKit, and some details about Apple opening up its FindMy network. From there we talk about SmartThings’ evolution and eventual shut down of some beloved services and the new Wyze Cam Outdoor camera. On the enterprise side, Microsoft acquires CyberX, and Deutsche Telekom spins out its IoT business. We also cover news from Google related to Hue devices, Misty Robotics, Tuya, and Segway. Kevin gives a preview of Amazon’s Echo Frames and we answer a quick question about viewing your Ring doorbell on an Apple TV.

The new Wyze Cam Outdoor is battery-powered and cheap. Image courtesy of Wyze.

This week’s guest is Mark Benson, head of engineering at Samsung SmartThings, who joins us to discuss the changes coming to the platform later this year. He lays out why SmartThings is going to end support for some features as it tries to move toward delivering a more intuitive smart home. For example, on the hardware side, your hub will still exist but SmartThings will also put its software on hubs made by other vendors and we’ll see other manufacturers make SmartThings’ branded devices. On the software side, it’s moving from the current Groovy programming environment to an API, which is going to upset some developers and DIY folks. Benson explains why this change is needed and what developers will gain and lose. You’re going to want to listen.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Mark Benson, head of engineering at SmartThings
Sponsors: Very and Very

  • Apple’s using its chips and closed ecosystem to deliver context to devices
  • Why Microsoft purchased CyberX
  • How long will the Zigbee Alliance keep its name?
  • 2020 is the turning point for the smart home
  • Why SmartThings wants to trade Groovy for an API

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Episode 269: Wyze wants to bulk up and Microsoft Build news

This week’s show is all about Seattle-area companies. First up, Wyze wants to raise money, so it shared its sales from last year and plans for 30 more smart home products. Kevin and I talk about the company and its impact on the industry. Then we shift to Microsoft and its Build event, which took place this week. We discuss the IoT news including Azure RTOS, an update to Azure IoT Central (the SaaS IoT platform for Azure), and more.  We also took a side trip to explore a new consortium dedicated to digital twins. We then discuss what $4.99 a month buys you from Wink, a new wearable for contact tracing from Nodle and Avnet, the new Logitech Circle View camera, and Google Assistant getting new skills for appliances. We conclude by answering an email from Australia about door locks for rentals.

The new Logitech Circle View camera works with Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video service and sells for $159. Image courtesy of Logitech.

This week’s guest is Dr. Ben Calhoun, co-founder, and co-CTO at Everactive. I profiled the company a few years back when it had a different name but the same mission — building battery-free sensors that are powered via energy harvesting. The company has sold its steam trap sensor since 2018 and is now launching a vibration sensor. We talk about how to build a sensor that can harvest enough energy to monitor factory conditions, how COVID-19 is changing the demand for industrial IoT, and what changes once plant managers get a continuous stream of data about their operations. It’s a fun show, and you’ll learn all about steam traps!

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Dr. Ben Calhoun, co-founder, and co-CTO at Everactive
Sponsors: Very and Edge Impulse

  • Wyze sold $95 million in gear last year
  • Microsoft’s really building out an end-to-end IoT infrastructure
  • Wink is charging me $5 a month so my voice assistants integrate better
  • Why we need energy harvesting sensors
  • How to sell a big name on a startup’s tech

 

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Episode 254: Google goes enterprise with Glass

This week Kevin and I start the show with a focus on Google’s new Glass product for the enterprise, and a newly discovered smart hub from the Craftsman brand (h/t Jimmy Hawkins). We also cover the Starling smart hub that can link your Nest gear to your HomeKit account, and discuss Kevin’s reaction to Ring partnering with his local police force. In smaller news, there’s a new industrial hardware board for IoT, Google can help find your Tile, MIT has doubled wireless carrying capacity with a smart surface, and Philips Hue fixes a security flaw. We also muse on Google’s hardware numbers  — or lack thereof — and close with a question about Zigbee devices falling off a SmartThings’ network.

The Paranoid device turns off the mic on your smart speaker or spouts white noise that interferes with the speaker until you want to ask Alexa or Google for something.

My guest this week is one of the creators of a new device designed to stop your smart speaker from listening to your conversation. Demian Pimentel is an electrical engineer with Pleasant Solutions. The Candian software development firm has launched a device called Paranoid that sits on top of your smart speaker and either physically turns off the microphone or uses white noise to block the mic from listening in. When the user activates the Paranoid device using their voice the Paranoid either physically unmutes the smart speaker or stops generating white noise so Google or Alexa can hear the request. Pimentel explains why Pleasant built this and how it works for our listeners. It feels like a security blanket for people who are worried enough about their smart speaker to spend $49 for a Paranoid device but are still enamored by the convenience of their smart speaker.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Demian Pimentel is an electrical engineer with Pleasant Solutions
Sponsors: Digicert and Very

  • Can Google’s new Glass cut it in the enterprise?
  • Kevin discovers that Ring doorbells in his neighborhood may share with police
  • This industrial IoT board may double as a space heater
  • What is Paranoid, and will it protect my privacy?
  • Is this a necessary device or a patent grab?

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Episode 253: Smart cities, Ring, and the new surveillance state

On this week’s show, privacy was a big theme beginning with our conversation about Ring’s sharing of certain user data with third-party tracking sites, a plea from 40 organizations for the U.S. to stop using facial recognition technology, and a new way to think about smart cities. Kevin and I also discussed proposed device security rules for the U.K. and security challenges associated with LoRaWAN networks. We touched upon new water sensors for HomeKit homes, Ciscos’s new security service for industrial IoT, another satellite network for IoT, and Verizon’s deal to put 4G modems on Honeywell’s smart meters. Kevin also found a ring that doubles as an activity tracker. In this week’s IoT Podcast Hotline, we answer a question about how to build a smart home that works for visitors.

A rendering of a home in a KB Home planned community near Seattle. Image courtesy of KB Home.

My guest this week is Dan Bridleman, a senior vice president with KB Home. As a home builder, KB Home has started to integrate some smart devices into their portfolio. Bridleman explains what those options are and how KB plans to support (or offload the support) of a smart home. He also shares what he’s excited about in the home sector and why newer technologies could do away with expensive home infrastructure like copper wiring to switches.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Dan Bridleman, a senior vice president with KB Home
Sponsors: MachineQ and IoT World

  • Ring is bad, but it’s hardly the only offender
  • Smart cities are the opposite of a smart home
  • The U.K. may mandate a device expiration date!
  • No one comes in wanting a smart home
  • New tech could replace a lot of expensive home wiring

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Episode 229: Check out this new location tech for IoT

This week Kevin and I continue to follow the never-ending saga of companies who sent people’s voice utterances to contractors without disclosure and pile on with more disconcerting news about Amazon’s facial recognition service getting the ability to detect fear. From there we discuss partnerships (LIFX and Brilliant, LG and Lumi); breakups (Microsoft and Johnson Controls, TP Link’s Kasa and HomeKit); and things that aren’t working (Google and Wink). We sprinkle in some Defcon news about acoustic attacks and hacked telephones before finishing with a study about power consumption on your voice-controlled TVs. We then answer a question about automating a bathroom exhaust fan.

Brilliant’s smart lights now work with LIFX.

Our guest this week is Adam Smith, director of marketing at LitePoint, a company that makes wireless test equipment. He came on the show to discuss the reasons LightPoint joined the FiRa Consortium, while also giving a primer on how the location-finding and the security features work. After that, we discuss how he decides which wireless tech to bet on and which ones he’s most excited about today. You’ll learn a lot.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Adam Smith, director of marketing at LitePoint
Sponsors: Nutanix and DigitalOcean

  • Overt surveillance and covert manipulation, coming to a phone near you
  • Take ups and breakups in the smart home
  • Huawei has a new OS to replace Android on its devices
  • What the heck is FiRa and how does it work?
  • Using time of flight to secure a wireless link

 

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Episode 228: Ring uses police as a sales channel

We should name our show the Internet of Privacy Violations Podcast. This week Kevin and I talk about Apple and Microsoft sending voice utterances to contractors and what the industry overall has done to clarify this fact to consumers and also let folks opt-out. We also talk about Microsoft’s discovery that IoT devices are an entry point for hackers and ask for feedback on whether a printer is an IoT device. Then we follow up on Ring’s work with police departments, which doesn’t make me feel good at all. In more fun news we finally discover what Google’s Mistral is, we find a new device from Walmart and discuss a new tech alliance. From there we talk about a new hub for your cameras, Arlo Pro getting HomeKit support and a new roving digital assistant from Asus. We close by answering a question about connected weather stations.

Our guest this week is Meirav Oren, CEO and co-founder of Versatile Natures. She explains how to get non-tech firms to adopt AI and IoT and why she thinks cameras are not the best IoT sensor to use. She also tells me how she thinks the construction industry will evolve over the next decade as it adopts new technology. You’ll gain a lot from this interview.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Meirav Oren, CEO and co-founder of Versatile Natures
Sponsors: Nutanix and DigitalOcean

  • Is a printer an IoT device? We want to know.
  • Ring has turned police officers into its sales channel and that isn’t okay
  • What’s Walmart’s Project Franklin?
  • To get non-tech people to adopt AI, you need trust
  • The future of construction can be found in chip manufacturing

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Episode 217: Lutron has saved the smart bulb!

This week, Lutron introduced the Aurora dimmer switch, which attaches to a traditional light switch to control your smart bulbs without any need of an electrician or tools. We love it! We also discuss the launch of Wyze’s light bulbs and newly added Google Assistant integration, Comcast’s proposed health sensors and Mediatek’s new chips for IoT.  From there we chat about GDPR, over-the-air updates for cars and Google’s new version of Glass. Our news bits feature Savant, Arduino Nano, Tado and Lenovo. This week’s hotline question concerns how to track when people are in a room for automation purposes, so we introduce RoomMe and a new security device called Minut as possible solutions.

The Lutron Aurora sells for $40 and is easy to install.

The guest this week is Zach Supalla, the CEO of Particle, who shares the results from a company-commissioned a survey of 800 IoT developers. We talk about the industries spending money on IoT and their use cases and then talk about the things that companies tend to struggle with once they scale up an IoT project. Surprisingly data isn’t the challenge you need to worry about. There are good learnings here.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest:  Zach Supalla, the CEO of Particle
Sponsors: Dell Technologies and Nordic Semiconductor

  • Lutron Aurora is a must-have for renters
  • Do you want Comcast all up in your health?
  • Microsoft wants GDPR-style regulations in the US too
  • Here are the top five industries buying IoT
  • Here are the top three use cases so far for industrial IoT

 

 

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