Tag: Jamie Siminoff

Episode 430: The theme of this show is wearables

This week’s podcast focuses on wearables, from hearing aids to mixed reality headsets. We start the show talking about the potential future of Apple AirPods as a hearing aid or an additional health-focused wearable. And while on the topic of Apple, we mention that the badges on your smart home devices will say the device works with Apple Home as opposed to Apple HomeKit. And then it’s back to wearables with our skepticism over the Humane AI pin. In smart home news, Shelly has new Z-Wave devices coming, and a fledgling smart home company called TUO has released a new Matter smart button. Yes, I purchased the company’s smart button. Then we discuss Swarm stopping the sale of its original VHF satellite connectivity for IoT devices to focus on its direct to cell satellite services. We then give an update on the purchase of Jamie Siminoff’s Honest Day’s Work startup by Latch. Finally, we answer a listener’s question about how to create a routine on Amazon’s Alexa system that controls multiple devices.

The Swarm Tile hardware won’t be sold anymore, but is still supported … for now. Image courtesy of Swarm.

Our guest this week is JJ Lechleiter, SVP and general manager of PTC’s Vuforia business, discussing another kind of wearable — headsets. Lechleiter has been building augmented and mixed reality software for years, and shared whether he thinks the introduction of Apple’s Vision Pro headset will change the adoption of mixed reality, augmented reality, and virtual reality in manufacturing operations. He also shares different use cases where AR and VR are already in use and explains the various reasons one might use one over the other. Lechleiter discusses different headsets already on the market and shares some thoughts about how AI, IoT, and AR will get used in day-to-day manufacturing. It’s a good show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: JJ Lechleiter,  of PTC’s Vuforia business
Sponsors: Blynk and Particle

  • Why wouldn’t Apple make a hearing aid?
  • Is Humane the future tech that moves us beyond the smartphone?
  • Swarm stops selling its VHF satellite hardware
  • Can Apple move the needle on mixed reality in manufacturing?
  • When to use AR and when VR makes more sense

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Everything you need to know from CEDIA

Grab your headset for a special bonus edition of the Internet of Things Podcast from the CEDIA show floor in San Diego. Last week I attended the show, which is aimed at the professional AV installer market to understand what’s hot, what’s not and how the business of home automation will evolve. I saw some beautiful televisions and more light switches than I even knew existed, while I walked away despairing of ever getting the smart home experience right.

This OLED screen is actually two OLED screens mounted back-to-back in a sheet of glass. It costs $20,000 and is designed for high-end retail.

I spoke with Julie Jacobson, the founding editor of CEPro to find out what she thought was cool, met with Tim McInery of Savant to talk about the benefits consumer tech has on the installer business and asked Richard Gunther of the Digital Media Zone to explain the changes in business models. I also interviewed the CEO of Josh.ai to understand why the smart home industry has progressed so slowly, and talked to Ragan Mena, the president of Audio Zeal, a custom installer to see what toys he was excited about. He did like the Josh Micro, which enables voice access for older custom systems.

This entire episode was sponsored by Ring, which is offering discounts on bundles of home security items to both consumers and pro installers. Visit www.ring.com/stacey to learn more.

  • Stacey’s highlights and news (0:45)
  • Julie Jacobson of CEPro on trends and cool stuff (10:25)
  • Tim McInerney of Savant on the benefit consumer tech has for installers (14:40)
  • Richard Gunther of The Digital Media Zone discussing the custom installer business model (16:20)
  • Ragan Mena, president of Audio Zeal explain how he decides what consumer tech to use (22:00)
  • Alex Capecelatro, of Josh.ai on why Crestron, Control4 and others have a hard time competing against consumer tech (25:10)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS