Episode 309: Why your IoT device shipments are delayed

We’re really excited about radar in this week’s episode, so we discuss Ring’s new doorbell that added it for motion detection and Apple’s patent that plans to use radar for detecting vital signs. We also talk about radar being a feature that Plume plans to add to its Wi-Fi devices in the near future while discussing the company’s $270 million funding round. We then discuss Portland ditching smart city software, the Echo Show 10 reviews, HomeKit support for two sets of devices, and the coming ability to talk to Google’s Assistant even when the screen is locked. I then explain how you can stop some of the unwanted comments from Alexa if she’s telling you about low batteries in your smart home devices or asking you to rate a product you have purchased on Amazon. We end by answering a listener’s question about bringing Wi-Fi to his detached garage.

Ring’s new doorbell will cost $249.99 and ships on March 31. Image courtesy of Ring.

Our guest this week is Chris Carney, the co-founder and CEO of Abode. Carney explains why companies are experiencing so many delays in shipping products and why many of your favorite devices might be out of stock. The chip shortage plays a role, but so do delays at ports and challenges faced by last-mile delivery networks like the US Postal Service, FedEx and UPS. He explains how his company is trying to adapt, and when we can expect to see these shortages ease up. He also offers some advice to other companies affected by similar challenges. Enjoy the show while waiting for your latest gadget to arrive.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Chris Carney, co-founder and CEO of Abode
Sponsor: Very

  • Ring’s new doorbell gets a fancy new feature
  • Plume’s funding could lead to small acquisitions
  • How to reduce Alexa’s spam
  • Chips, ships, and delayed trips
  • When will supply chains get back to normal?

Episode 301: An update on Project CHIP and a secure 2021

This week’s podcast starts with an update on the Project Connected Home over IP standard promulgated by Apple, Amazon, Google, and Samsung. Then we talk about Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s letter to the Department of Health and Human Services asking what privacy rules are in place for protecting consumers’ health data. Google killed Android Things and new legislation killed router fees by your ISP, so we talk about those. Then we discuss Amazon’s Echo frames and the future of smart glasses, Peloton’s planned acquisition of Precor, and Kevin’s experience with a Homebridge device. We close with a new HomeKit doorbell from Netatmo, a smart lock that isn’t connected, and LG’s wacky new kitchen tech. On the IoT Podcast Hotline, we answer a listener’s question about a smartwatch so he can call his kid.

Netatmo’s video doorbell now supports HomeKit and will go on sale Jan. 6 for $300. Image courtesy of Netatmo.

Our guest this week is Sharon Mirsky, COO and co-founder of Firedome, which provides security services for IoT device manufacturers. We talk about the role of consumers in IoT security and she offers several pieces of advice on how to secure your IoT devices, including a recommendation that you run them on a separate network, or at least your guest network. I don’t do this, but maybe I should start. She also explains what device makers should do and the role your ISP needs to play in securing the IoT. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Sharon Mirsky, COO and co-founder of Firedome
Sponsors: Calix and Plume

  • There’s a draft spec for Project CHIP but you need to pay to play
  • Can Congress please get on some sort of privacy legislation?
  • Peloton’s buy is the smart overtaking the dumb
  • Who should ensure the IoT is secure?
  • The most important thing you can do to ensure your smart home’s security

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?

Episode 250: Everything that mattered at CES

This week Kevin and I went to Las Vegas for the annual CES event showcasing thousands of technology products under dozens of roofs. We recorded the show before we had the chance to see everything, but we did pull together this show with some of the big themes we saw developing and the news that we felt would matter most to our smart home listeners.

Kevin and I in front of our official CES podcasting booth!

We saw several products purporting to adapt to the user and their environment to deliver a product or experience. L’Oreal showed off personalized makeup and skincare that adapted to the environment and your face on a daily basis, while Nanoleaf promised a lighting system that would learn your habits and deliver the right lighting. We also talked about a bunch of new Wi-Fi routers and a new talent that some routers will get. The third big trend revolves around healthcare for people and pets. We’ll have more on that next week as well.

We hit on a bunch of news items including the launch of Bluetooth 5.2, which brings quality audio and sharing to Bluetooth Low Energy. We also saw a variety of new locks, several new light switches or bulbs, and Google Assistant’s newly announced talents. And Kevin and I both share some of the cooler companies we have seen so far including Binah.ai, Sunflower Labs and Camect.

Hosts: Kevin Tofel and Stacey Higginbotham
Sponsors: MachineQ and IoT World

  • Smarter personalization is almost here
  • Wi-Fi 6 is here, but you don’t need to upgrade yet
  • Urine luck if you want to monitor your health
  • There were a lot of locks and real innovation in the category
  • Lights went hipster and everyone now has a platform
  • These are a few of our favorite things

 

Episode 177: Defcon hacks and blockchain facts

We kick off this week’s show with an overview of the stories coming out of the Defcon security conference held this week in Las Vegas. Keeping security in mind, we talk about Amazon Web Services’ new cloud IoT security product, and Google’s lack of transparency around location data tracking. From there we move to Wi-Fi stories, covering the new Arris Wi-Fi Easy Mesh router and Samsung’s new SmartThings gear that uses Plume’s software for better Wi-Fi. In a section on digital assistants we get Kevin’s options on the new Samsung Galaxy Home speaker and talk about Microsoft’s Cortana collaborating with Amazon Alexa. On a related note, Kevin completes his review of the Lenovo Smart Display and I talk about my test of the Joule sous vide cooker. To wrap it up we answer a listener question about installing a connected wall switch to control his ceiling fan.

Samsung’s Galaxy Home smart speaker doesn’t look like the competition.

Our guest this week is Alison Clift-Jennings, CEO of Filament who came on the show to discuss what blockchain can do for the internet of things. One big area we discussed was micropayments. Another was how Clift-Jennings realized that to create the business she envisioned, she was going to have to build some hardware. We also spent a lot of time thinking about building decentralized trust and where information theory meets economic theory. It’s a fun show.

Hosts: Kevin Tofel and Stacey Higginbotham
Guest: Alison Clift-Jennings, CEO of Filament
Sponsors: NETGEAR and Afero

  • Hacked Alexas and voting machines
  • Google needs to be transparent about user data
  • An update for SmartThings featuring Plume
  • Why Filament had to build a special chip for the blockchain
  • The parallels between information theory and economic theory as it relates to data

Episode 165: How Sears plans to use IoT

I was at the Parks Connections event that covers the smart home this week, so I share a few thoughts on what’s holding back adoption and how to think about using AI to create a smart home. From there, Kevin talks about the new meeting function offered by Alexa and we add nuance to the debate over Amazon selling facial recognition software to police. We then dig into some additional doubts about the new Wi-Fi EasyMesh standard, cover Comcast expanding the places it offers new Wi-Fi pods, discuss funding for a smart light switch company and new Arduino boards. For the more industrial and maker minded, we talk about Ayla adding Google Cloud as a hosting option and Kevin shares how we put our IoT hotline into the cloud. Finally, we answer a question about getting different bulbs to work together before switching to our guest.

A panel on smart home user interfaces. Photo by S. Higginbotham.

This week’s guest is Mitch Bowling, the CEO of Sears Home Services, who gives me the answer to what Sears plans to do with its acquisition of Wally sensor business back in 2015. I have been wondering what happened to Wally inside Sears for years. He also discusses how Sears can use IoT to make appliance repair better and the plans to add smart home installation services. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guests: Mitch Bowling, CEO of Sears Home Services
Sponsors: MachineQ and Bosch

  • Device interoperability is a huge challenge for the smart home
  • The fuss over computer vision is just beginning
  • What can Sears Home Services do with IoT?
  • The smart appliances are coming!
  • The installer will see you now

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

Episode 89: Google’s IoT Strategy takes shape and Microsoft enters the fray

There was so much news this week, that we skipped having a guest in favor of just keeping track of some big moves in the sector. This week was Google’s time to shine since it launched both Actions on Google (an SDK for talking to its Assistant on Google Home) and its IoT operating system plus the Weave communications protocol. Not to be topped Microsoft released an SDK for Cortana it’s voice powered personal assistant and Amazon doubled down with AI for all on AWS. So Kevin Tofel and I spent the first half of the show discussing what this means.

The Plume WiFi pods
The Plume WiFi pods

For the second half we focused on all the little bits of news such as Fibaro’s new HomeKit sensors, Ayla Networks’ new ability to help customers build Alexa skills, GE’s decision to build networking gear for the industrial IoT and a new Bluetooth hub for the enterprise from Cassia Networks. Uber and Google also offered some exciting self-driving car news this week and the ZigBee and Thread groups achieved a feat. We also reviewed two Wi-Fi options with Kevin discussing Google WiFi and me talking about why the new Plume pods may not work for everyone. We’ll be back next week with a guest, but in the meantime, enjoy the show.

Hosts: Kevin Tofel and Stacey Higginbotham
Sponsors: Samsung ARTIK and Skybell (Use STACEY50)

  • The 3 things every personal assistant needs to succeed
  • Radio news from Thread and Zigbee plus a new BLE hub
  • GE and Ayla are making IoT easier for the enterprise
  • We have Waymo car news than usual
  • Reviewing Plume Pods and Google WiFi