Tag: LoRa

Episode 150: Mozilla’s IoT Gateway and LoRa Roaming

There was a lot of smart home related news this week as Mozilla launched IoT gateway software, Apple’s HomePod reviews came out and Nest was folded into Google. Kevin and I discuss all of that, plus Netgear spinning out its Arlo home camera business and offering a 20 percent stake in an IPO, Amazon’s creepy wristband patent, Alexa at the Superbowl and some feature changes in popular devices. We also spend a lot of time talking about Apple’s health ambitions in light of a new study on detecting diabetes with the Apple Watch. We also answer a listener question about how to configure their Echo for Drop-In calls.

Screenshots from Mozilla’s new IoT Gateway web software. Clean design, but this is still very DIY. Image courtesy of Mozilla.

For the enterprise minded, we bring in Bruce Chatterley, the CEO of Senet, to talk about LoRa networks and offer some use cases in the smart city, enterprise and residential setting. I learned some new things, including efforts to allow roaming onto LoRa networks. Chatterley also brought up a new business model and said that new partners mean that Semtech no longer holds all the cards when it comes to LoRa networks. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Bruce Chatterley, CEO of Senet
Sponsors: PointCentral and Renesas

  • Grab your Pi and order a Z-wave dongle for Mozilla’s new IoT software
  • What does Nest going into Google mean for consumer hardware?
  • Kevin bought a WeMo HomeKit Bridge
  • LoRa, what is it good for?
  • Could you IoT devices one day roam?

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Episode 147: Okay Google, manage my home

At CES I made the decision to traumatize my family and swap out the Amazon Echo for the Google Home despite Wi-Fi challenges. We kick off this week’s show explaining why, and discussing some new tricks the Home has. From there, we hit the partnership between Maersk and IBM to create a digitized supply chain using the blockchain. Then we talk about a startup that might help with that effort. Add in news bits ranging from BMW acquiring ParkMobile to a new low power wide area network module that can last 15 years, and we round out the first half of the show. We also answer a listener question about radiation from IoT devices. If you’re not clued in on this subject, we’re living among radiation with things like WI-Fi and phone signals in our homes, which is why some are resorting to purchasing an EMF Meter to measure these levels of radiation. Listen on if you’re interested.

Port of Algeciras, Spain. Image courtesy of Maersk.

Our guest takes us back to the topic of IoT networks and the future 5G holds for the internet of things. Chetan Sharma is the founder of Chetan Sharma Consulting, and is a widely respected telecom analyst. He talks about what networks are likely to succeed and why, and then also digs into his thoughts on how we should rethink competition and M&A in the digital economy. He also asks if it’s too late to regulate anticompetitive data practices in the U.S. I hope you enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Chetan Sharma of Chetan Sharma Consulting
Sponsors: PointCentral and CBT Nuggets

  • The Google Home has a secret API
  • IBM and Maersk ask what blockchain can do for shipping
  • What 5G means for IoT and which flavor arrives first
  • Things to know when picking a LPWAN
  • Our anticompetitive regime is built for the 20th century, not the 21st

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Episode 135: Amazon wants your key and Vodafone wants your sensor data

The home security train just keeps on rolling in the smart home with Amazon offering a connected camera and door lock combo to enfold Prime Members even more deeply into the ecosystem and Wink launching a new security package for its members. Also on the home front Kevin Tofel and I discuss the new lighting startup Noon, which launches Thursday. We also talk about some new devices including a $20 camera and a Google Assistant intercom system before answering a question from Derek about how to integrate a bunch of devices together using an Android app. And because today ends in Y we also have a security story with Reaper as well as ARM’s new IoT security effort.

The Noon lighting system on a wall.

The guest this week is Phil Skipper of Vodafone who shares the details of building a low power wide area network using cellular. Skipper is betting on NB-IoT, and he explains the role it will play compared with Cat M and even alternatives like LoRa. He also discusses how companies are using, securing and pricing NB-IoT services. I learned a lot about new business models for IoT in this conversation. Enjoy the show!

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guests: Phil Skipper of Vodafone
Sponsors: SAP and ADT

  • Amazon’s Key and Wink’s new security system are part of a trend
  • Noon’s lighting system is pretty cool
  • It’s not IoT exactly, but you should fear Reaper
  • Why choose NB-IoT over other low power network options
  • A glass break sensor can teach us new business models for IoT

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Episode 132: Ring’s new security system and scaling sensors

This show is awesome, but we don’t discuss the Google or Sonos news, because it happened after we recorded. I just want to let y’all know going in. Instead we cover Ring’s new security system, ADT’s pair up with SmartThings and why home security is so hot right now. We also talk about a new lighting startup, a new car data and security startup and some wicked cool software for watching what you eat. We also answer a HomeKit question from Charles and talk about self-driving taxis.

The new Ring security system.

Our guest this week offers a practical perspective on building out large-scale sensor networks. Yodit Stanton, founder and CEO of OpenSensors, has deployed thousands of sensors in buildings and shares how companies should think about security, deployment and maintenance. Keeing your building safe, whether a home or an office, should be the top priority, especially if there’s other people involved counting on you to implement the best security. While these sensors are great at keeping strangers out of your building, simpler methods are offered. Simply check out these locksmith security tips for the most efficient methods on staying safe in your own building! As well as this, she also talks about how LoRa networks are gaining ground for private IoT networks. It’s a packed show!

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guests: Yodit Stanton, OpenSensors
Sponsors: Qualcomm and FSG

  • The “SimpliSafe effect” in the home security market
  • Passive information gathering is easy. Too easy?
  • How to control HomeKit light switches remotely
  • Sensor deployments have a lot in common with VoIP systems
  • Your sensors should take 30 seconds to install and cost less than $10

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Episode 122: Roombas, an IIoT dictionary and IoT networks galore

Kevin Tofel and I crammed a fine mix of IoT news into the show this week, starting with news of an employer popping RFID tags into employees and ending with a dystopian book recommendation from Kevin. In between we discuss August’s new funding round, the death of an smart home startup and the acquisition of Arraynet by Prodea, a company trying to build smarts for service providers and enterprises. And yes, we did talk about iRobot selling your home’s layout to companies, and why this is a potential turning point for IoT. My Amazon Dash Wand review, Elon Musk’s boring elevator, an ARM paper and a discussion of the new Industrial Internet Consortium’s new dictionary round out the show.

August raised $25 million to expand its Access partnerships.

Don’t be tempted to tune out after all of that, because we’ve got more! This week Comcast’s MachineQ IoT network is in the spotlight. We talk about Comcast’s interest in LoRa networks and its plans for enterprise and industrial IoT with Alex Khorram, GM of MachineQ. Khorram explains LoRA networks and what they are good for, how they might be built and what other providers are doing with the technology. Not only will you learn about LoRA, but you’ll also know what Comcast plans to do with it. Enjoy the show!

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Alex Khorram, GM of MachineQ
Sponsors: Schlage and Smart Kitchen Summit

  • Roomba’s sucking up your data represent a turning point for IoT
  • Who is Prodea and what will it do with Arraynet?
  • My thoughts on the Amazon Dash Wand and Kevin’s book recommendation
  • Every thing you need to know about LoRa and LoRaWAN
  • Wait, is Comcast becoming a wireless carrier?

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Episode 121: Everything you need to know about Bluetooth Mesh

Bluetooth mesh is finally here y’all and we dig in deep to the technology in this episode. First off, Kevin and I discuss what this means for other mesh network technologies and some basic specs. Kevin and I then turn to the topic of IoT security vulnerabilities, the return of Google Glass, an Alexa-powered alarm clock and news of an IoT platform funding. We also complain about the lack of data on device security after taking inspiration from an FBI warning for smart toys. A few news bits on different low power wide area networks rounds out the news portion of the show.

Google Glass
Google Glass goes commercial. Image courtesy of Google.

After that we’re back to Bluetooth mesh with Ken Kolderup, the VP of marketing for the Bluetooth SIG. Kolderup dives deep to explain what Bluetooth mesh is for and how the SIG handled Bluetooth’s power constraints. The solution is a managed flood network that requires developers to use different “mesh models” for different devices. It gets really complicated, really quickly. This show has it all: crazy gadgets and nerdy tech. Enjoy.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Ken Kolderup, VP of marketing at the Bluetooth SIG
Sponsors: Schlage and Affiliated Monitoring

  • What is Bluetooth Mesh?
  • Glass is back, y’all
  • To secure your kids’ data, accomplish these impossible things
  • Sensors and lighting are mesh’s first environments
  • Learn all about Bluetooth’s managed flood network

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Episode 119: Amazon’s Echo Show makes me feel lonely

After a week with the Amazon Echo Show I realize that I have no friends–on that device at least. In addition to my review of the Show, Kevin shares a review of the GoControl Z-wave sensor pack he purchased to go with the Wink, and I talk about the Leviton Decora light switch in depth. Reviews aside, we also chat (and sing!) about low power wide area networks, Ingenu’s departing CEO and the closure of the company behind a $500 backup camera.

The Plume WiFi pods

And because I’m so obsessed with Wi-Fi, I interview Fahri Diner, the CEO of Plume about where Wi-Fi is heading. He’s one of those that convinced me that Wi-Fi will end up in more devices, and he talks about how his deals with Comcast and Samsung will make that possible. We also discuss why you’re going to pay your ISP for Wi-Fi and where the retail model will struggle. You’ll have opinions about this episode.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Fahri Diner, CEO of Plume
Sponsors: Schlage and Affiliated Monitoring

  • I’m not totally sold on the Echo Show
  • Say goodbye to Pearl Backup cameras
  • Kevin tries some GoControl security sensors
  • Where will Wi-Fi be? Everywhere!
  • Retail Wi-Fi isn’t a big market

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Episode 66: The smart home will make you love your insurance company

Insurance firms might be the savior of smart home technology. Because the price for many connected gadgets are so high, and consumers are uncertain if they are worth the investment, insurance discounts and programs are one way connected devices could find their way into a home. But they also could help the insurance companies totally transform their business. It used to be just about insuring some of your vehicles with websites like Money Expert, but now the more advanced technology and the world is becoming, you have to ensure everything is insured. This week, we discuss the future of the smart home and insurance with Ryan Rist, the VP of Innovation at American Family Insurance.

Ryan Rist of American Family Insurance
Ryan Rist of American Family Insurance

Before we get to that, though Kevin and I talk about how manufacturers should kill connected devices using the end of EyeFi as our case study. Then we offer consumers some advice on how to kill their accounts for connected devices when they want to return them to stores or just leave them behind based off the experience a Redditor had with an Arlo camera from Netgear. And just for fun we also covered the Nest patent for a baby crib, the expansion of LoRa networks and my thoughts on the Arlo camera.

Hosts: Kevin Tofel and Stacey Higginbotham
Guest: Ryan Rist, American Family Insurance
Sponsors: Ayla Networks and Wolf SSL

  • The end of EyeFi and how to kill a product.
  • Don’t return your connected device before doing this.
  • LoRa, LoRa everywhere!
  • Taking insurance from reactive reimbursement to proactive protection.
  • Will your insurer make an app for that?

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Episode 51: This CEO killed his hardware startup to start a wireless network

This week we have a two for one in the guest portion of the show, with Daniel Conrad, the CEO of Beep Networks explaining how he decided to stop making a connected device, take his VC funding and find a new business model. That’s part one. Part two is all about LoRa, the wireless radio technology used for low power wireless area networks, which is what his business is now built on. Conrad explains a classic entrepreneurial dilemma and then educates us all on up-and-coming networking technology that transmits small amounts of data over fairly long distances. Is this the perfect network for the Internet of things?

The Bernooli bottle top.
The Bernooli bottle top.

Before you get to Conrad, Michael Wolf is guest hosting in place of Kevin, and we discuss the lack of HomeKit news at the Apple event Monday, some cool connected bartending gear I saw at SXSW and Bosch’s new cloud for the internet of things. Bosch is spending $548 million on R&D in innovation tech, which is less than 1 percent of its annual revenue, but still nothing to sneeze at. For the gadget lovers, Mike and I discussed b8ta, the new retail concept for selling connected devices and tried to consider what Target’s secretive Project Goldfish is.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Mike Wolf of The Smart Home Show
Guests: Daniel Conrad of Beep Networks

  • What’s the right retail model for selling the smart home?
  • Make a drink with Bernooli
  • Killing the dream of a connected speaker
  • What is LoRa?
  • The best startup opportunity around.

 

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Episode 45: A Playground for IoT and how to buy a data plan for your device

So you wanna build a connected device? If so, there’s apparently no better place for a startup to go than Andy Rubin’s new incubator/VC/design shop called Playground. With an in-depth profile in Wired, the former founder of Danger and the man behind Android has built a place for folks with a hardware idea. On this week’s show Kevin Tofel is out, so I called in my friend Carla Diana, a product designer of connected devices and robots to discuss Rubin’s new effort, connected coat racks, Max Braun’s Google Now mirror and fun projects in general. We have a good time, and you will too. Don’t get too attached to Carla (it’s hard, because she is awesome) as Kevin joins us again next week.

The electron module. - Image courtesy of Particle
The electron module. – Image courtesy of Particle

Our guest this week is Zach Supalla who is the CEO of Particle, which makes a series of development boards for connected devices. It seems like there used to be a dozen startups doing this, but Spark has so far, stayed around and added more products. The latest board out this week is it the Electron, which costs $59 and offers cellular connectivity for 99 cents per MB on a 3G connection. That’s pricey, but it has been pretty hard to find a cellular carrier willing to work with a startup or sell data in small batches, so this is a big deal. We ask Zach how he convinced the carriers to play ball. We also talk about other wireless standards out there for the internet of things, so stay tuned if you’re excited about alternative networks. And really, who isn’t?

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Carla Diana
Guest: Zach Supalla, CEO of Particle

  • Playground. We want to go to there.
  • Mirror, mirror on the wall, what data should we install?
  • Pitfalls of building a connected coat rack.
  • How to make a telco salesman hang up on you.
  • LoRa, Sigfox and LTE? Which wireless do you want?

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