Episode 394: This company thinks TinyML will be big

This week I was at Google’s cloud event in San Francisco while Kevin swapped out his video doorbells. We discuss Google’s news related to edge computing and several pieces of doorbell news before talking about a few recent articles that show how far the smart home has to come. Kevin talks about the first NB-IoT tracker for the U.S., a new Bluetooth security flaw, and how Google’s cloud differs from AWS in his experience connecting our voicemail hotline to the cloud. We also cover a surprise contender for the worst connected device seen this week and answer a question on Alexa and hubs that is probably pretty common. This is the $20 Wyze camera. This week’s guest is Elana Fishman, COO of Wyze Labs, who came on to explain how the company can make a high-quality HD camera for between $20 and $30. The combo of a low price and a good camera obviously works. Wyze has sold more than 500,000 cameras so far! She also answers questions about security, privacy and the company’s recent integration with Amazon’s Alexa ecosystem. You’ll enjoy the show. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Elana Fishman, COO of Wyze Labs Sponsors: Afero and Smart Kitchen Summit How Google’s IoT cloud stuff compares with Amazon’s and Microsoft’s Neurotic people might not want smart home gear The dumbest IoT product of the week How does Wyze make a camera that costs 10X less than Nest’s? Wyze has sold half a million IoT devices. That’s insane! The post Episode 174: How Wyze makes such a crazy, good camera for cheap appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

26 Heinä 201847min

Nest’s CEO has been forced out, and GE and Microsoft create even deeper integrations for industrial IoT. Also this week, UPS creates a partnership with a startup to take on Amazon Key, and we discus the common question of if you should upgrade your Echo? There’s a lot of lock news, some connected car fundings (Zoox and Light) and an Alexa-enabled microwave that feels perfect for dorms or bachelors. Kevin also shares a secret to turn your Kindle FireHD tablet into an Echo Show and some news for those still hoping for a decent Android WearOS device. This week’s listener question is also about smart locks but for a very particular use case. GE’s latest microwave costs $139 and can be controlled with Amazon’s Alexa. Image courtesy of GE Appliances. Our guest this week is Mark Allen, vice president of IT at Jacuzzi, who discusses why and how Jacuzzi connected its premium line of hot tubs. Jacuzzi has connected 1,000 hot tubs so far and since it starting selling them in April, it has 500 of the connected tubs in consumers’ homes. Allen explains the tools Jacuzzi has used to get the hot tubs online and connected to dealers’ service operations. He also shares his thoughts about privacy rules and how connected devices will change Jacuzzi’s business. Enjoy the show. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Mark Allen of Jacuzzi Sponsors: Afero and Avnet Why Microsoft and GE got a little closer Lots of lock news from the home to the enterprise Should you update your Echo? Which platform did Jacuzzi choose to connect its tubs? GDPR will affect your hot tub The post Episode 173: Nest CEO is out and Jacuzzi is in with the IoT appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

19 Heinä 201853min

This week’s show takes up last week’s news of Netgear’s Arlo division and Sonos filing for initial public offerings. Kevin and I share what we see in the filings and what it means for the smart home. We also discuss Amazon’s Prime Day deals and Google’s answering sale with Walmart,  before digging into this week’s other news.  There’s a bit about building IoT networks in space and LG CNS’ plans to launch a smart city platform. Kevin also found a fun project that tackles how to make your own indoor air quality monitor.  We close our segment by answering a listener question about garage door automation. Me installing the Alexa-enabled faucet a few weeks ago. This week’s guest helped build the new Alexa-enabled faucet from Delta Faucet and shares the process with us. Randy Schneider is a product electrical engineer at Delta Faucet, and discusses how the company decided on Alexa, why there’s no app and why the phrasing for asking Alexa to turn on a faucet is so awkward. You’ll learn a lot from this, and may even find yourself wanting to connect your own kitchen sink. Enjoy the show. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guests: Randy Schneider is a product electrical engineer at Delta Faucet Sponsors: Afero and Avnet Amazon looms large in both planned smart home IPOs Google and Walmart take on Prime Day with deals for Google gear Want to make a DIY air quality monitor? Why Delta decided voice would be good for the kitchen sink What’s Crate and Barrel got to do with this? The post Episode 172: The smart home goes public appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

12 Heinä 201846min

This week Kevin and I decided to do something a bit unusual, turning our segment where we answer listener’s questions into the entire show. You guys have been sending a lot of interesting questions to the Schlage IoT Podcast Listener Hotline, and we hated to leave so many unanswered, so we combined a slow holiday news week with some Q&A. Remember, if you have a question, give us a call at 512.623.7424. Kevin and I at CES in 2018 when we hunt for cool new stuff and ask manufacturers about your questions. We tackle issues such as insurance discounts for smart home gear, local hubs and the best skills for Alexa in a classroom setting. We failed to find a perfect USB cable for someone, but did locate a smoke detector that will work with SmartThings for a Canadian listener. We also dug into details on several home hubs for listeners debating Home Assistant, Home Bridge, Open HAB, SmartThings and Wink. We hope you enjoy the show and keep those questions coming. Next week, we’ll be back to the usual format. Hosts: Kevin Tofel and Stacey Higginbotham Sponsors: Control4 and Schlage When will my insurer give me a discount on my smart home? A question about smart locks Which home hub is best for first timers? These five Alexa skills are good for education The post Episode 171: Your smart home questions, answered! appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

5 Heinä 201830min

This week’s episode begins on a grim note, as Kevin and I discuss the New York Times’ story about how smart home gadgets can become another point of control in abusive relationships. From there we touch on the new Wi-Fi WPA3 security standard and Tesla’s new plan to charge users for data and what it means for IoT. Kevin shares the new Alexa for iOS feature and explains why it’s useful, while I talk about a startup that wants to detect pollution at granular levels. We share news of a smart stent, smart park benches and my experience with an Alexa-enabled faucet. We then answer a question from a reader who wants to buy Abode’s security system but wonders what gadgets will work with it. The reader hopes that he can connect his home camera system to it, but has his doubts. If you are looking for your own home camera system, you may want to check out something like a home security camera, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll be able to connect it to Adobe’s security system. This smart stent is one long antenna with a pressure sensor. Image courtesy of the University of British Columbia. For the guest segment, I visit with Cyrus Farivar, who is a reporter at Ars Technica and wrote a book on surveillance tech called “Habeas Data”. We discuss the current legal underpinnings of privacy law in the US and how it has evolved. Our conversation covers the recently decided Carpenter case, the 1967 case that established the concept of a “reasonable expectation of privacy,” and how the government could use our connected devices against us. You’ll learn a lot, but you may want to unplug your Echo. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Cyrus Farivar author of “Habeas Data” Sponsor: Control4 How to reset connected devices and be a decent human being Y’all had some great ideas on connected cameras Alexa, ask Delta to turn on faucet Where the expectation of privacy came from What to ask device makers about government snooping The post Episode 170: Smart stents, surveillance tech and Alexa-powered faucets appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

28 Kesä 201851min

This week in IoT news, Kevin and I talk about AT&T’s plans to launch an NB-IoT network. Then we talk about the pros and cons of Marriott putting Alexa into hotel rooms. We also talk about a new voice assistant for the enterprise, HP Enterprises’ $4 billion investment in IoT, and digital rights management in smart fridges. We touch on a few more stories including an accelerator for the smart kitchen, leaked location data, a router that acts as a smart hub, and a clarification on the Thread news from last week. We then answer a question on how to view content from video doorbells and cameras on Alexa-enabled screens. Amazon created a special version of Alexa for hotels. Image courtesy of Amazon. This week’s guest is Gabriel Halimi, CEO and co-founder of Flo Technologies who discusses his leak detection technology as well as the insurance market. We talk about why consumers will end up sharing their data with an insurance firm, what you can learn from water flow data, and Halimi poses a somewhat scary future where your insurance firm will know if you actually set your alarm that they offer a discount for. Enjoy the show. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Gabriel Halimi, CEO and co-founder of Flo Technologies Sponsors: Praetorian and Control4 AT&T joins Verizon and T-Mobile with anew NB-IoT network Here’s why Alexa is everywhere Wait, this fridge comes with DRM? With insurance and IoT, if you can’t join ’em, beat ’em. You can learn a lot from water data The post Episode 169: Alexa gets a hotel gig appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

21 Kesä 201852min

This week Kevin and I spend a bit of time on industrial IoT news with Rockwell Automation’s $1 billion investment in PTC and also ARM’s buy of a Stream Technologies. On the consumer side, we debate Wi-Fi subscription plans and Nest’s price drop and Ring’s new security system. We also talk about Thread’s milestone in industrial IoT, Verizon’s new CEO, and whether or not Google Home can now handle three consecutive commands. I review the Wyze Pan Cam and we answer a question about the Qolsys’ IQ Panel 2. Ring’s security system lands on July 4 for $199. This week’s guest comes from GE’s Current lighting business. Garret Miller, the chief digital officer at Current by GE explains why the division is for sale, why GE has to offer lighting as a service, and how reality forced a shift in thinking for Current. When Current launched, it had grand plans to deliver electricity as a service but realized that it was several steps ahead of the market, so it now offers lighting as a platform. It’s a good interview about how to reassess the market when needed. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Garret Miller, chief digital officer at Current by GE Sponsors: Praetorian and Control4 Why ARM bought Stream Technologies Ring and Nest gear up for home security fight I like the Wyze Pan Cam Why GE had to change the way it sells lights Why Current changed business models and what it says about IoT The post Episode 168: How GE’s Current curtailed dreams to meet reality appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

14 Kesä 201854min

Kevin kicks off the show with his thoughts on Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference news, including Siri’s new IFTTT-like abilities. We continue with Alexa finding a home on computers and a discussion of the OVAL sensor that’s hoping to crowdfund a second-generation product. I’m disappointed that Lenovo’s new Google Assistant screen-enabled device won’t ship until September, but super excited about Microsoft’s new IoT offerings, including spatial intelligence. There’s yet another industrial IoT platform for cellular low power wide area networks, this time from Sierra Wireless. Finally, Kevin and I share our latest buys, an Aware Glow air quality monitor for me, and an app that puts Alexa on the Apple Watch for Kevin. My Awair Glow plugged into my bedroom wall. Our guest this week is Anya Trybala, a musician and creator of SynthBabes, a group that supports female electronic music artists. Trybala talks about how connectivity and technology could change the way artists perform and introduces a concept for VR called The Elevator. For a look at her work, check out this video. To hear her thoughts on how to use AR/VR and the blockchain for changing music, listen to the interview. Hosts: Stacey Hgginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Anya Trybala of SynthBabes Sponsors: Praetorian and Bosch Apple still isn’t changing the game in the smart home Microsoft continues making its IoT services better Check out Alexa on an Apple Watch Building a connected concert experience Are you ready for drone microphones? The post Episode 167: Apple’s WWDC news and connected musicians appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

7 Kesä 201849min