Episode 1: How to build hardware that doesn’t suck

We’re as excited as you guys to hear about Amazon’s upcoming devices, but we don’t devote too much time to them this week. Instead, we focus on the Alexa Gadgets Toolkit that Amazon unveiled and the alleged new Google Home hub. I also share my experience with the Amazon version of the Geek Squad before we move to IoT for utilities and a new insurance package that comes equipped with some connected sensors. We round it out with new platforms! Yay platforms. First up is Sprint’s new Curiosity Platform that offers a few things enterprises will care about. Blackberry launched Spark, a security service for connected devices. After that, we answer a question from a listener about connecting their apartment building’s door buzzer to the internet. We found something, but it is not cheap. The Array Smart lock uses Wi-Fi and has solar panels. Our guest this week is Kim Kelley, CEO of Hampton Products, which makes the new Array-branded smart lock. We discuss the lock but spend most of our time on the topic of tariffs. Kelley explains his company’s history of manufacturing in China, and what Trump’s new tariffs will mean for his business. He also shares some considerations for any company trying to create a physical product that connects to the internet. It’s not easy. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Kim Kelley, CEO of Hampton Products Sponsors: SAS and Auklet Your kids’ toys will soon have a new relationship with Alexa Google’s planned home hub is pretty limited Want some insurance with your IoT? What happens to consumer devices under new tariffs Connected products can take a long time to build The post Episode 182: Trump’s tariffs are bad for IoT appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

20 Syys 201854min

A lot of people are getting a smart speaker for the holidays. That’s one of the takeaways from a recent survey by Adobe that Kevin and I talk about this week. We follow that up with the new Sonos integration with IFTTT before covering a $6.7 billion semiconductor merger. Also on the chip side, we discuss Qualcomm’s new chip for smart watches and why I think it’s worth noting. On the security side, we cover a new security chip for Google IoT core, more botnets and a new security bill that awaits the signature of California’s governor. We update some older stories, cover IKEA’s possible smart blinds and talk about my experience with the new Brilliant Switch. We end the news segment of the show answering a question about programming lights to change color in response to the weather. Adobe surveyed 1,000 consumers about smart speakers. Our guest this week is Ann Bosche, a partner with Bain & Company. She discusses how IoT will become a $520 billion business by 2021 and which companies will get a piece of that pie. She also explains how vendors need to step up if we want to see more IoT pilots become integral parts of a business. Her suggestions and advice are practical and worth hearing. Enjoy the show. Host: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Ann Bosche who is a partner with Bain & Company Sponsors: SAS and Auklet What weird things do you ask your smart speaker? Renesas’ big bid for Integrated Device Technology Is IKEA making smart blinds? What companies will win in IoT? To be good at IoT companies must focus The post Episode 181: Are you ready for IoT to be a $520B business? appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

13 Syys 201858min

This week we learn more details about Lenovo’s smart home line and talk about Amazon’s new Alexa API for sensors and motion detectors. We touch on a combined router/smart speaker that has Kevin feeling vindicated and talk about the challenges new business models such as Target’s Fetch program face. The Open Connectivity Foundation’s latest version of the IoTivity standard also gets a mention. Security woes are back on the show this week with hacked enterprise door locks and another IoT botnet. We also discuss Relayr’s acquisition by Munich Re and a partnership between Jabil and Tibco to offer a complete electronics board for embedded devices. We then take a call about a builder who wants to place an Interlogix alarm system in a new home, and how the DIY buyer may want to proceed on the IoT Podcast Listener Hotline. We love Lenovo’s Smart Display, but how will we feel about its new smart bulb, plug and camera? Our guest this week tackles the challenges of indoor location, explaining why it matters and why it’s so hard. Vikram Pavate is CEO of Locix, a newly launched startup that has been working on this problem for the last four years. Pavate talks about using indoor location in typical use cases such as inventory management, but also to take away some of the manual labor associated with the smart home. I can’t be the only one who hates hand labeling the rooms for every light bulb in the house. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Vikram Pavate is CEO of Locix Sponsors: SAS and Auklet Amazon’s Alexa gets new skills and a bunch of devices What makes an IoT standard? Why Munich Re needs an IoT platform Indoor location is hard but the context it provides is key The post Episode 180: Alexa and Google are the real smart home standards appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

6 Syys 201850min

This week in Germany, the IFA trade show is the place to be. Unfortunately Kevin and I aren’t there, but we share a lot of the news that came out from the first half of the show. This includes smart speakers at the high end and lower end, crazy connected kitchen tech and a HomeKit enabled air quality monitor. From there we discuss $50 million in funding for Puls and Kevin’s experience with the Philips Hue Outdoor Lights. We also talk about some disappointing experiences with various updates of our products, from latency to services breaking. After that we answer a question about what to give a student leaving for the dorms. I will confess that I forgot to recommend a Tile, but we did recommend this (affiliate link). The Joule sous vide cooker packs a lot of power and plenty of connected smarts. But no physical interface. Image courtesy of ChefSteps. Our guest this week is Chris Young, the CEO of ChefSteps, which operates a recipe site and makes the Joule sous vide cooker. We talk about why the Joule doesn’t have any external controls, and what happens if the company goes bust, as well as why ChefSteps doesn’t plan to license Joule’s tech to other appliance companies. He claims to have the Best Sous Vide Machine and I was fascinated by how it works. It’s certainly a machine I would recommend. He also shares a recipe that will change your perception of beef. Enjoy the show. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Chris Young, CEO of ChefSteps Sponsor: Afero All about IFA When updates go wrong, or take too long Gifts for college-bound kids for $50 or less What is sous vide? Putting the power of a nuclear reactor into your stock pot The post Episode 179: IFA news and bringing extreme wattage to your kitchen appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

30 Elo 201857min

This week’s show kicks off with Kevin and I trying to figure out Facebook’s voice ambitions. We then explain how Google is using IoT data and AI to shave 40% in energy use in its data centers. This is the future. From there we talk about that future’s dark side with a survey on consumer fears, a security exploit of Wemo devices and an attack that could waste a lot of water. We then discuss news bits such as C3 working with Google Cloud, using Wi-Fi for airport security, my thoughts on the new FitBit Charge 3, the acquisition of the maker of the Vera hub and the acquisition of CE Pro. We also answer a question about tracking when your kids come in and out of the home. This is how I picture myself in the FitBit Charge 3. Not stuck behind my computer screen. Our guest this week is Tyler Baker, the CTO of Foundries.io, a company created to provide continued security for connected devices. Baker explains why Foundries.io exists, how it works and the company’s attempts to become the Red Hat of IoT security software. Unlike some of the recent IoT security platform efforts out there, Foundries.io isn’t linked directly to hardware. You’ll learn more on the show. Enjoy. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Tyler Baker, the CTO of Foundries.io Sponsors: NETGEAR and Afero Why Facebook needs your voice A new type of IoT attack changes how I think about risks 50 ways to track your children Foundries.io is taking open source security and turning it into a service The post Episode 178: Facebook’s smart speaker and a new security startup appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

23 Elo 201852min

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 The post Episode 177: Defcon hacks and blockchain facts appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

16 Elo 201851min

This week Kevin and I kick off the show with our thoughts on the future of hearables before explaining why we think Apple joined the Thread Group and what it means for future HomeKit products. From there we talked about a new report suggesting that IoT will be a $520 billion industry by 2021 and how enterprise and industrial IoT has stalled. A reader tip led us to valuable security actions you can take with your connected devices from Make magazine and Kevin shares his thoughts on the new Anki robot.  We hit news from ARM, the feds, Control4 and Smarter before answering a listener question about IR in the smart home. The new June oven is $499 for a limited amount of time. It will eventually retail for $599. Our guest this week is Matt Van Horn, who is the CEO of June. This week June launched a second generation oven that is roughly a third of the price of the original. Van Horn shares how June made that possible, how the company is using data to improve the user experience and why he’s not going into meal delivery kits anytime soon. He also shares a recipe for S’mores. Enjoy the show. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Matt Van Horn of June Sponsors: NETGEAR and Afero We’re going to ditch screens for voices in our ears Security tips for your Pis and IoT devices Check out Bond for IR control No knobs and scaled back sensors lower June’s price tag Why June has 64 ways to cook bacon The post Episode 176: Why did Apple join the Thread Group? appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

9 Elo 201856min

This week on the show Kevin and I speculate what digital assets GE will sell and discuss the sad bankruptcy of French smart home company Sen.se. After hitting the sad news, we talked about the latest HomePod feature expected in iOS 12 and the fact that Apple didn’t say much about HomePod in its latest financial results call. We shared a new smart home device for dedicated DIYers from Machinon, discussed Control4’s new intercom function and Lenovo’s application for the FCC to test a smart bulb. Kevin shared his initial thoughts on Lenovo’s Smart Display for Google Assistant and a pro tip for anyone with a connected home. We share another ridiculous IoT idea for the week and answer a question about connecting Wyze, IFTTT and SmartThings to turn on a light. Kevin’s 10-inch Lenovo Smart Display can play YouTube videos, Netflix and images from his Nest cameras. Image by K. Tofel. This week’s guest is Chris Smith, vice president of service innovation at Otis Elevator Company. He talks about how Otis connects its elevators, the architecture, and most importantly what it learned in trying to use data to predict failures. In addition to his practical knowledge he also answers everyone’s big question: Does the door close button on an elevator actually work? Enjoy the show. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Chris Smith of Otis Elevator Company Sponsors: NETGEAR and Afero Is GE’s Predix for sale? And who would buy it? Another smart home company bites the dust The Lenovo Smart Display is really nice! Predicting failure is a subtle art Sure, let’s put Alexa in an elevator The post Episode 175: GE slims down and Otis tries Alexa in elevators appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

2 Elo 201855min