Tag: LoRaWAN

Episode 340: Amazon wants you to trust its devices

This week’s podcast is all about Amazon (with a few other stories for variety). We start the show with a rundown of the devices and services Amazon launched at its device drop on Tuesday. We then explain what it means for the smart home and ask if this is what we want. We also question if the Astro robot is really all it seems before offering a public service announcement about updating to iOS 15 beta software. After that, we cover a new Helium miner called Finestra, designed for the mainstream consumer. As an added bonus, the company behind the new miner, Mimiq, is also building LoRaWAN devices, which is desperately needed if we want these networks to actually provide real value. After that, we talk about a smaller satellite signal module that works indoors and an incredibly irritating marketing campaign for the new Flic Twist device that puts me off from what is actually a good idea. Then, Kevin talks about his experience with the new Wyze Cam Pan 2. We close the news segment by answering a listener request for a Spanish-speaking smart home.

Amazon launched a $1,000 robot. Image courtesy of Amazon.

Our guest this week continues the Amazon theme. We have Anne Toth, head of Alexa Trust to discuss how Amazon is trying to introduce friction into the Alexa experience as a way to promote privacy and help consumers open up to Alexa at their own pace. She didn’t answer my question about the number of false positives or give me a convincing reason why Alexa keeps interrupting me with suggestions about other things I can do with the device, but she does a good job talking about the challenges of explaining what Alexa does and doesn’t know about people and why people may want Alexa to know more. It’s a good interview, even if I didn’t get all the information I’d like.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Anne Toth, Head of Alexa Trust at Amazon
Sponsors: Trek10 and Ayla Networks

  • Ambient intelligence is code for stop looking at your smartphone
  • There’s a looming wave of new Helium miners
  • Flic has a cool new device coming, but finding out about it is annoying
  • Amazon does care what you think about privacy
  • Alexa talks back so you know all of the cool things it can do

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Episode 326: It’s about ethics in smart devices

Kevin and I start this week’s show with a discussion of his Amazon Prime Day purchases and then talk about the kerfuffle over smart thermostats and demand-response energy programs in Texas. I happened to be there at the time, and there is a definite right and wrong way to enroll people in the program. We also mentioned a more egregious example of digital overreach with Massachusettes pushing COVID-tracking apps to Android devices. After that, we explain Senator Amy Klobuchar’s interest in the Matter smart home protocol,  Arm’s confidential compute plans and share plans for a new LoRaWAN network. We round out the rest of the show with an update on Ecobee thermostat’s smarts and new devices from Wyze. We close by answering a listener question about the Ting fire safety device.

Ecobee participates in demand response programs such as those that caused frustration in Texas. Image courtesy of Ecobee.

Our guest this week is Mary Beth Hall, director of wireless strategy and marketing with Panasonic. We dig into the reality of 5G deployments inside manufacturing plants and what it will take to actually see real deployments instead of mere pilots. She’s responsible for putting 5G inside Panasonic’s line of Toughbook handheld computers used in industrial settings, so she has good insights into what’s real and what’s hype. She also shares her thoughts about what 5G will offer manufacturing customers when they finally adopt it. But she can’t actually tell us when that moment will come. I enjoyed her honesty.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Mary Beth Hall from Panasonic
Sponsors: Bsquare and Edge Impulse

  • Smart thermostats aren’t the problem in Texas, communication is
  • The Senate wants more information on smart home interoperability. Us too.
  • Why I’m excited for Arm’s confidential compute plans
  • Why most factories are fine with 4G wireless
  • Why 5G will help carriers deliver five nines

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Episode 299: LoRaWAN tries to co-opt Amazon Sidewalk

This week’s show kicks off with us discussing a fascinating interview with the head of the LoRa Alliance about its efforts to bring Amazon’s Sidewalk network into compliance with the LoRaWan standard. We then discuss Apple’s app privacy labels, a similar option for Google users, and the nutrition-style label for connected device security. Then it’s on to NIST’s cybersecurity standards, Aquanta’s smart water heaters, Amazon’s Energy Hub, and Amazon’s live translations. We then cover the new Wyze outdoor plug, the gen 2 Flic buttons, and easier Google Routines before diving into using IoT for vaccine tracking. A startup called Tive received funding and Forrester underlined the current best practices. Kevin then shares the latest news from Home Assistant’s conference this past weekend. We conclud the first half of the show by answering a listener question about how to use a light sensor to make bulbs turn on before sunset on cloudy days.

The Flic buttons are $29.99 for a single button or can be sold as a package with multiple buttons and a hub. Image courtesy of Flic.

Our guest this week is Geoff Wylde, lead, IoT and Urban Transformations at the World Economic Forum. We are discussing the latest WEF report, The State of the Connected World 2020, which was pretty much rewritten in the last few months to focus on how IoT can help us respond to the global pandemic. Wylde talks about the role collaboration plays in solving problems with IoT, the report’s findings around social equity, and the concept of compromised consent, as it relates to sharing data. There’s a lot of good info in the interview and much more in the report, which you can find here. Check both out.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Geoff Wylde, the head of IoT and Urban Transformations at the World Economic Forum
Sponsors: Calix and Plume

  • Will Amazon’s Sidewalk ever be part of LoRaWAN?
  • Can nutrition labels help with privacy and IoT device security?
  • Let’s all read the NIST cybersecurity suggestions!
  • How IoT Can help us during the global pandemic
  • What is compromised consent and how can I avoid it?

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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 287: Amazon’s new network and cleaner air from 3M

This week’s podcast covers our thinking on Amazon’s new Sidewalk network, but not the devices the retailer launched on Thursday. As part of the network conversation, we also discussed LoRaWAN network operator Senet’s new $16 million in funding before detailing three upcoming products from Wyze. We then talked about sharing Alexa routines, Google’s new mystery product, Intel’s new edge chips, a new automation hub that controls IR-based devices, Microsoft’s foray into satellite networks, and Mozilla spinning out WebThings. Kevin now has the new contact tracing app in his state and he also reviews the Nuheara IQ Buds2 Max hearables. We conclude by revisiting a question from two weeks back when we gave the wrong answer. We got it right this time.

The Wyze video doorbell will cost $29.99 and offers two-way audio and 1080p video. Image courtesy of Wyze.

Our guest this week is Andy Boyd, a product manager who handles the business side of 3M’s Filtrete brand. He came on the show to talk about wildfires, a little COVID, and mostly about 3M’s plans to make indoor air quality better using the IoT, by combining its materials expertise with connected devices and other platforms. Boyd talks about the lessons learned building a Bluetooth-based connected air filter, an upcoming Filtrete air purifier, and plans for a smart plug that will let customers link their older air purifiers to the Filtrete ecosystem. I really love Boyd’s approach to the smart home. 3M clearly knows what it has to offer and is willing to work with others or take on all the elements needed to deliver good indoor air quality.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Andy Boyd, 3M
Sponsors: Perceive and Ayla Networks

  • Why Amazon decided it needed to build an IoT network
  • Intel’s edge chips are really designed for industrial use cases
  • Alternatives to WebThings now that Mozilla is spinning it out
  • How to clean indoor air, even during wildfire season
  • Why 3M wants to work with everyone when it comes to better air quality

 

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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 235: How Amazon is defining the smart home

This week’s show covers the big Amazon announcements in the guest segment, but first Kevin and I focus on the retailer’s smaller announcements around its new show and tell feature and voice interoperability efforts.  Kevin has thoughts about cameras in the home. We also talk about Google changing how it handles voice recordings to help address user outrage while covering a study about the privacy challenges of other IoT devices. Then we dive into the geeky idea of merging Wi-Fi and LoRaWAN into a super IoT protocol, cover Zira’s industrial IoT software and figure out who might buy FitBit. We end by answering a question about smart bedside table lamps.

For 99 cents you can get an explicit or clean version of Samuel L. Jackson to replace Alexas voice for some features of the Echo.

Our guest this week is Daniel Rausch, VP of Smart Home, Amazon who runs through some of the bigger announcements from the Amazon Alexa and services event on Wednesday. We cover why Alexa has moved beyond a physical device to become a digital assistant and platform. We talk about how Amazon wants to make money on that platform as well as some of the new devices that will showcase Alexa. These include Frames and the Loop ring. Plus, we do a deeper dive into Sidewalk, Amazon’s new wireless protocol for the front yard (and maybe more). Rausch ends by telling us how long we’ll take to see Amazon deliver a truly smart, proactive home.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Daniel Rausch, VP of Smart Home, Amazon
Sponsors: Control4 and HiveMQ

  • Are cameras the secret to smart home dominance?
  • The pros and cons of voice interoperability
  • This Wi-Fi plus LoRaWAN plan isn’t too crazy
  • The digital assistant is the new tech platform and Alexa is queen
  • More on Amazon’s new Sidewalk wireless protocol

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