Tag: Silicon Labs

Episode 251: Here’s what people at CES said about CHIP

This week’s show was dedicated to a wrap up of CES 2020. Kevin and I shared how the show has changed in the last 15 years, talked about technology for Boomers, the Withings ScanWatch and ran through several new maker boards. We covered the $2 Wemos W600-PICO board, a new Arduino board for industrial use and a RISC-V development board. From there we moved on to pretty light switches from Iotty and Legrand as well as Mixtile’s local AI as part of a smart home hub. I also saw a connected chai-maker at a friend’s house that handled personalization well using Bluetooth and we talked through the SmartThings app migration that started this week. We also covered an industrial IoT acquisition and a plant-powered sensor that sent data to space. Our question this week was about light switches, and we need your help.

The Withings ScanWatch offers medical-grade heart monitoring and sleep apnea detection. Image courtesy of Withings.

Our guest segment this week is comprised of five different guests who I cornered at CES to talk about the new Connected Home over IP standard.  First up was Lee Ratliff, senior analyst with IHS Markit, who explains why he thinks CHIP is a positive development, what each player is likely to bring the standard and why the IP aspect of the standard matters so much. Then I spoke with Tobin Richardson, CEO of the Zigbee Alliance and Chris LaPrè, a solutions architect at the Zigbee Alliance, about the need for schemes and a name change for the Alliance. Matt Johnson, SVP and general manager of IoT at Silicon Labs, shares his take on CHIP and as the company behind the Z-Wave standard, talks about what happens to Z-Wave as CHIP gains ground. Scott Harkins, Vice President Connected Home Resideo, explains why Resideo is backing CHIP and why he’s not giving up on the Open Connectivity Foundation, or any of the other standards efforts Resideo is involved in. And finally, Brian Van Harlingen CTO of Belkin International talked about how CHIP could help his company and whether or not he thinks it’s going to happen. There’s a lot here, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guests: Lee Ratliff, senior analyst with IHS Markit; Tobin Richardson, CEO of the Zigbee Alliance and Chris LaPrè a solutions architect at the Zigbee Alliance; Matt Johnson, SVP and general manager of IoT at Silicon Labs; Scott Harkins, Vice President Connected Home Resideo; and Brian Van Harlingen CTO of Belkin International.
Sponsors: MachineQ and IoT World

  • Say goodbye to the old guard at CES
  • Healthcare startups and maker boards catch our eye
  • Get ready for the SmartThings app migration
  • Why the Zigbee Alliance is contemplating a name change
  • What’s so special about IP anyway?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 204: Apple’s next big market and Silicon Labs’ CEO

This week Kevin and start the show with an educated guess about what comes next for Apple after the iPhone and then discuss the leadership transition at IFTTT. In the wake of Google saying that it didn’t disclose the microphone inside the Nest Guard box, Kevin and I reiterate our take from last week, which is that cameras and microphones should always be disclosed in the specs. We also talk about Osram being for sale, smart circuit breakers, Libellium’s embrace of NB-IoT and what Google needs to do to catch up to Amazon in the digital assistant race. Finally, we answer a question from a listener about creating panic buttons for the home.

The Nest Guard’s hidden mic became apparent after Google announced it offered Google Assistant.

This week’s guest is Tyson Tuttle, the CEO of Silicon Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB), a semiconductor firm that is making a big bet on IoT. Tuttle talks about the role of various radios in the smart home and in industrial settings. He also explains why he’s not worried about the tech giants snapping up gadget-makers that are using his chips. We end with a discussion on how we need to rethink tech and innovation for the edge. It’s a good chat.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Tyson Tuttle, CEO of Silicon Labs
Sponsors: Urban-X and Western Digital

  • Apple’s HomePod feels like a gimmick
  • Mics and cameras shouldn’t come as a surprise
  • Smart circuit breakers are still a hard sell
  • Are Z-wave and ZigBee doomed?
  • What happens when Amazon buys up your customer?

 

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 194: Is it time to address privacy in the Constitution?

This week I’m joined by Om Malik, a partner at True Ventures and my former boss. We kick off the show with a discussion of the New York Times’ investigation into app location sharing and Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s testimony before Congress. Both topics led to a debate about device privacy and what we should do about the lack of privacy and security in IoT.  We also talked about the need for two-factor authentication on certain connected devices and covered new Z-wave chips, IoT backpacks for bees and the fact that Essential is still around. We also took on some edge computing with Pivotal launching serverless options for users. Finally, we answered a question about adding presence detection to your car. 

Look at this bee-autiful connected sensor backpack. Image courtesy of Vikram Iyer, Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington.

We didn’t just cover privacy in the news segment. The guest this week also details what happens when data gets out of control. In this case, we’re talking about smart cities. I had Bianca Wylie co-founder of Tech Reset Canada and a Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation on to discuss why we need to hit pause before adding too much technology to cities. She suggests that we invite more people to participate in the process and tells us how to be better citizens as our governments try to bring in more technology. To be clear, she’s not against technology, but she is concerned that we don’t often have important conversations about how technology can lead to surveillance and how it can impact vulnerable citizens. 

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Om Malik
Guest: Bianca Wylie co-founder of Tech Reset Canada and a Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation
Sponsors: Digicert and Afero

  • Is changing the Constitution the key to privacy regulation?
  • Alexa needs two-factor authentication
  • Serverless and the edge are new computing paradigms
  • It’s time to hit pause on the connected city
  • Tech is not the answer to every government problem

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 146: ARM’s CEO on Spectre and Meltdown, plus hot CES 2018 takes

This week. the Internet of Things Podcast crew (Kevin and I) went to CES to discover that the consumer electronics industry was ALL OVER the internet of things. We talked about the big trends and news, such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant starring in everything, the concept of a smart bathroom and Samsung’s really big play in the connected home. We also talk about Ring’s latest lawsuit, Z-Wave’s newest low-power chips and some of the cooler things we’ve seen so far at the show. We also answer a question about bathroom fans taken from the listener hotline.

Google was really pushing Google Assistant and the Google Home.

While at CES I had the chance to sit down with Simon Segars, the CEO of ARM, to discuss the future of technology as well as the Spectre and Meltdown security vulnerabilities. Segars says that the potential attack has “blown away” chip designers with decades of experience who had never considered that particular type of attack. He also gave some good advice to any consumer concerned about how this particular flaw affects them. Listen up.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Simon Segars, CEO of ARM
Sponsors: Lux Products and CBT Nuggets

  • Samsung’s open IoT vision is coming to pass
  • Why Alexa and Google are everywhere at CES
  • Can IoT help with bathroom smells?
  • Where ARM fits in Softbank’s grand plan
  • Will Spectre and Meltdown fixes slow my phone?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS

Episode 125: Lockstate’s big goof and a super sensor from CMU

How do you turn a deadbolt into a brick? Update its software! That’s not funny, especially if you’re Lockstate, which rendered 500 connected door locks useless with a software update last week. Kevin and I add a bit of context to the event and then jump right into discussions about Anker’s Eufy Genie, a connected bassinet and a story that portrays Carnegie Melon’s super sensor in a scary light. We end with Caraoke, June’s new wall-mounted oven and a plan to use Outlook to schedule your Roomba.

The Snoo bassinet costs $1,160.

Our guest this week covers what we need to do to continue building out the internet of things. As SVP and General Manager of Silicon Labs’ IoT division, Daniel Cooley has the unenviable task of predicting what features chips will need three to five years before he thinks we’ll need them. In this segment he talks about pushing more math to sensors, how important it is to get security right, the future of human-to-machine interfaces and the types of business models we’ll need. He also dives into the concept of unified data models for the internet of things– essentially defining in software what a physical product can do. You’ll learn a lot.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Daniel Cooley of Silicon Labs
Sponsors: HiQo Solutions and Eero

  • Lockstate has something in common with Wink
  • Someone put a baby in a Snoo!
  • Another gadget for the hall of shame
  • How silicon companies are thinking about the edge
  • The internet of things needs data models stat!

Correction: This episode credited the super sensor to MIT, but it was built by researchers from Carnegie Melon. The post has been changed on Aug. 29, 2017 to reflect the correction.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: RSS