Tag: Masonite

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 353: Virtual CES extravaganza

It’s CES week, and neither Kevin nor I are physically there for the second year running. That makes it really tough to get a macro sense of cool tech and upcoming trends outside of press releases and product launches. Normally, we spend so much time trawling for the weird or futuristic in the demos and report on the stuff that isn’t pre-packaged in a release. Maybe we can return to that next year. In the meantime, there are a lot of stories, but the biggest trends in the smart home relate to the upcoming launch of the Matter interoperability standard for the smart home, a bunch of new products that will support HomeKit, and new products for Amazon Alexa and the Google ecosystems. We are also are excited about the newly launched Home Connectivity Alliance and what it might mean for future product features and energy consumption in the home.

Arlo’s new DIY security system includes an all-in-one sensor and keypad. Image courtesy of Arlo.

After a quick break, we share our non-amazement of John Deere’s automated tractor. It’s cool, but it has also been half a decade in the works, so it’s not like it comes as a huge shock. We then discuss new products from Samsung (an energy harvesting remote and a tablet for the smart home), Schneider Electric’s update to its energy management software, a new assistive robot, and Arlo’s smart home security system with an all-in-one sensor. Outside of product news, the Wi-Fi Alliance has released an update to the Wi-Fi 6 standard with more uplink capacity and better power management. This will ensure that Wi-Fi 6 is more relevant for IoT devices and perhaps ensure those chips get used in more end devices, especially in cameras and video doorbells. Masonite also showed off its smart door at CES so we share our impressions. Finally, we answer a question from a listener about power consumption in IoT devices.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Sponsors: Twilio and Silicon Labs

  • Matter may be late, but it’s looking much better
  • All three digital assistants got a lot of love from new product launches
  • John Deere’s robot tractor shows how technical farming has gotten
  • Wi-Fi 6 gets an update custom-made for the IoT
  • How much energy does Alexa or Siri consume?

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Episode 313: We are super pumped about Thread

In this week’s show, we focus on Thread because Kevin tried out the new Eve sensors that use the wireless protocol, and fell head over heels in love. “This is what the smart home should be, ” he says. After that, we talk about additional sensors on the HomePod Mini and wonder when and if Apple would make a smart home display. Then we discuss Masonite’s connected doors and why it’s such a disruptive move. Peloton made several acquisitions, so we cover those before discussing another radar product and funding for Flex Logic, an edge-based machine learning chip startup that raised $55 million in funding. We also answer a question about getting a list of your connected devices from your Wi-Fi router.

Vayyar’s new radar module can use one device to monitor all three rows of a large SUV. Image courtesy of Vayyar.

Our guest this week is Carla Diana, who is a product designer whose new book “My Robot Gets Me: How Social Design Can make New Products More Human” comes out next week. We start the conversation with her thoughts on whether we should anthropomorphize devices like Roombas or Alexa. We talk about the frameworks that designers should consider when designing connected products and some best practices to consider. If you’re interested in design, ethics, or how we could have a better-designed future, you’ll enjoy the interview, and likely, the book. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Carla Diana
Sponsor: Switch Always On

  • Kevin says some tough things about Bluetooth
  • Peloton’s acquisition strategy is oriented around delivering smart services
  • Smart doors that come with power and connectivity
  • Can I call Alexa or Siri her?
  • How to incorporate calm design into the smart home

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