The Internet of Things Podcast - Stacey On IoT

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? The post Episode 309: Why your IoT device shipments are delayed appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

25 Feb 202151min

Silicon is the theme of this week’s show, starting with a rundown on the chip shortage affecting the automotive and IoT world. Then we talk about the Los Angles Police Department requesting footage from connected doorbell cameras during the Black Lives Matter protests before moving on to Amazon’s new Kickstarter-like program for new Alexa products. In new product news, we cover Wyze’s color-changing light bulbs, Facebooks’ rumored smartwatch, and a peer-to-peer mesh network using the ClusterDuck protocol. We then share a new command for Google Assistant, discuss funding for an AI chip company, speculate on Verizon’s purchase of a robotics software startup, and dig into the many DIY options for building your own image recognition models. We end by answering a question about products that might help you save money on your electric bill. If you want to see Amazon build a scale that works with Alexa for $34.99, you can pre-order it today. If enough people order it, Amazon will make it. Image courtesy of Amazon. Our guest this week is Alasdair Allan, technical documentation manager at Raspberry Pi Trading, the commercial arm of the Raspberry Pi Foundation. Allan explains why the Foundation decided to build its own chip for the first Pi Pico microcontroller and why the Pi Foundation even built a microcontroller in the first place. He also discusses how the Pi Pico differs from an Arduino, talks up some use cases, and dives into ways it might be used for machine learning at the edge. After declining to tell me what might be next for the Pi Foundation, he did point out that no one assembles a chip design team to build just one chip, so it sounds like there’s a lot to look forward to. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Alasdair Allan, technical documentation manager at Raspberry Pi Trading, the commercial arm of the Raspberry Pi Foundation Sponsor: Very What’s behind the chip shortage and how long will it last? We can’t expect Ring to police the police, so here’s what we should expect Project OWL is a public safety or industrial mesh network The custom-chip in the Pi Pico is designed for flexibility Tiny ML means less internet in the IoT The post Episode 308: Chipageddon and deets on the Pi Pico appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

18 Feb 202156min

This week’s podcast starts off with the launch of the Tuya Wi-Fi 6 modules, which will bring features of Wi-Fi 6 to IoT devices. Keeping on the Wi-Fi theme, we also discuss the new Shelly Wi-Fi motion sensor. We then talk about the new Raspberry Pi Pico, and the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s first custom chip before delving into Bosch’s win with AIoT. In consumer news, we cover rumors of an Amazon wall-mounted display and Fitbit’s addition of glucose monitoring. Then we explain why Renesas is buying Dialog Semiconductor, new funding for SecuriThings, and a big round for IoT security company Armis. We end by answering a listener question about Wi-Fi 6 for IoT devices, which brings the show full circle. Tuya’s new Wi-Fi 6 modules will bring next-generation Wi-Fi to IoT devices. Image courtesy of Tuya. This week, our guest is Beau Woods, a cybersecurity expert who came on the show to discuss this week’s hack of a water treatment plant in Florida. He lays out the hack and lets us know whether we should freak out or not. After discussing that particular hack, we dig into the nature of threats facing the IoT and how the landscape has changed in the last four years, touching on ransomware, the new IoT Cybersecurity Act, and more secure chips. We end with Woods promoting his upcoming book, Practical IoT Hacking, which will teach readers how to hack IoT devices and help the non-technical get a sense of the types of threats they need to consider as they design their products. Enjoy the show. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Beau Woods, a cybersecurity expert Sponsors: Very What to expect from Wi-Fi 6 IoT devices The smallest Pi has a custom-designed microcontroller and runs FreeRTOS Why smart homes need a display or some useful ambient notifications Should we freak out over Florida’s water treatment plan hack? Organized crime and hackers are teaming up The post Episode 307: Wi-Fi 6 for IoT and water plant security appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

11 Feb 202151min

This week’s show kicks off with news from Lennar about its new smart home offering with Ring, and a discussion on what it means that Ring now has more than 2,000 police and fire departments as partners. After that, we discuss what we learned from the Tesla recall about the business of connected products, and what options y’all have if you want to ditch your Wink hub. Then we talk about a Kickstarter for some smart infrastructure products, an update coming to Google Home, and wellness data coming to Google displays. In smaller news, we touch on Abode’s HomeKit widgets, Canonical’s Ubuntu Core 2.0 for IoT, and Kevin going all-in on HomeKit. We end by answering a listener question about the best HomeKit hub to use. Apple’s HomePod mini is small and costs $99. Image courtesy of Apple. Our guest this week is Eric Feder, who is with LenX, the venture group for homebuilder Lennar. He’s on the show to talk about Lennar’s new partnership with Ring, Flo by Moen, Resideo, Level Lock, and more. We also discuss how Lennar’s views of the smart home have changed since it first started trying to integrate connected devices into its houses. He then talks about what features might be missing and investments the company has in new building techniques, gray water reclamation, and more. It’s a sneak peek into the future. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Eric Feder, of LenX, the venture group for homebuilder Lennar Sponsor: TeraCode and Techmeme Ring’s still using local police to sell its doorbells Tesla’s right about computers in long-lived devices After Wink, which hub is right for you? Why Lennar dumped “movie night” routines and focused on plumbing Building sustainable homes with smart tech The post Episode 306: Ring wins big with Lennar appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

4 Feb 202152min

This week’s podcast is full of nerdy wonder. We start off with news from Amazon regarding proactive Hunches and the new Guard Plus service before mentioning that the Echo Show 10 is now available for pre-order. Then, in honor of the Tiny ML movement, we highlight new deals from Edge Impulse to put its software on Silicon Labs’ chips and chips from Nordic Semiconductor. Meanwhile, Qualcomm has created a toolkit to shrink AI models for 8-bit inference! Then we introduce you to a scalable LPWAN based on Wirepas’ technology that is now an ETSI standard. After that, we discuss biodegradable displays and disable sensors for COVID-19 detection. Then we hit the news briefs with Wink going down, the new $60 Ring doorbell, roaming on LoRa networks, and Homepods getting a UWB handoff to iPhones. To close out the news, Kevin discusses what buyers should look for when it comes to securing home cameras from errant employees. We end by answering a listener question from a high school student who’s looking for resources to learn more about the IoT. Span’s electrical panel combines computing and circuit breakers. Image courtesy of Span. Our guest this week is Arch Rao, CEO and founder of Span, which raised $20 million in venture funds this week. Span’s product is a rethink on traditional electrical panels that adds computing and internet connectivity to the box. The idea is that people will put more electrical load on homes as homes and our transportation networks electrify. Adding a breaker box that understands what’s using power and providing computing to orchestrate the flow of power around the home helps reduce energy usage during peak times, but also can help a home avoid upgrading their electrical systems. Rao explains this and talks about building a connected device designed for a thirty-year life. It’s a glimpse into a future I’d like to live in. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham Guest: Arch Rao, CEO and founder of Span Sponsors: TeraCode and Techmeme How Amazon is taking the guesswork out of hunches Why Tiny ML is such a big deal now This is a LPWAN that really scales The grid of the future needs a more proactive electrical panel Why solar installs and batteries may be the key to Span’s growth The post Episode 305: Alexa Hunches, Tiny ML and a new wireless standard appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

28 Jan 20211h

This week’s show kicks off with Kevin and I discussing a smart camera vulnerability before digging into what it means when the White House becomes a smart home. We then discuss Wi-Fi 6E and what it means for IoT. Next up: new devices from Signify which makes Philips Hue-branded gear. Then we dig into Google Assistants’ new skills, the Nest/SmartThings integration, and what Google wanted from Fitbit. We discuss a DIY smartwatch, self-learning sensors from Bosch, and Samsung SmartTags, which don’t seem all that smart. We end by answering a listener question about swapping out Hue gear for the Nanoleaf Essentials bulb and also Firewalla devices for Eero services. The new Philips Hue dimmer switch looks much better. Image courtesy of Signify. Our guest this week is Ran Korber, CEO and co-founder of BreezoMeter, which uses math and public data to track air pollution. Korber joined me to talk about why air pollution matters so much, and how to combine many sources of data to produce real insights. He also talks about how to check his company’s algorithms, as well as how to build a business on shared data. After last summers’ wildfires, I am convinced of the value of good air pollution data, and it was neat to hear how companies are putting it to use. Enjoy the show. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Ran Korber, CEO and co-founder of BreezoMeter Sponsors: TeraCode and Techmeme President Biden’s Peloton could influence smart home security efforts More Philips Hue gear heading our way Google’s Fitbit deal is about data, not advertising How to combine air quality sensors with traffic data Building a business on data begins with transparency The post Episode 304: Presidential Pelotons and data accountability appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

21 Jan 202158min

This week’s show is mostly about CES 2021, starting with an array of interesting devices that were launched. We covered a lot of them here, but we also mentioned a $3,000 pet door, an energy harvesting NB-IoT modem demonstration, and Kevin’s take on where we are with the smart home based on what he saw. We also discussed Ring’s encryption news explaining what it does and does not mean. And because I love semiconductors we gave a quick mention to Intel’s new CEO and Qualcomm’s acquisition of Nuvia. The Qualcomm deal represents a huge shift for server and computing CPUs and is likely why Intel felt it needed the skills of Pat Gelsinger in the executive chair.  We end the show by answering a question about Lutron and Apple’s adaptive lighting. The MyQ Pup portal is quite the pet door. Image courtesy of Chamberlain MyQ. Our guest this week is Wienke Giezeman, CEO and co-founder of The Things Network. He is here to talk about how to build a business around LoRa networks and give his thoughts on why enterprises might need one. We also talk about consumer LoRa networks and Amazon’s Sidewalk network. Will that ever be an open option? Giezeman shares case studies and a discount code if anyone listening wants to learn more about LoRa at The Things Conference, a weeklong virtual event all about LoRa that starts Jan. 25. That discount code we mention is TTC21-I-KNOW-STACEY. Enjoy the show. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Wienke Giezeman, CEO and co-founder of The Things Network Sponsors: TeraCode and Techmeme CES had half the vendors and some weird tech Smart home tech is in a period of refinement right now Big news in the chip world How many low power WANs do we need? Let’s check out of LoRa in action The post Episode 303: Everything from CES 2021 and a bit about LoRa appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

14 Jan 20211h

This week Kevin and I discuss Allegion’s acquisition of Yonomi, and what it means for those of you using the cloud service or consumers using the app. We then turn to a mention of the rebranding of GE Lighting after its acquisition by Savant last summer before talking about Singapore’s about-face on the use of contact-tracing app data by police. Also on the police front, the FBI is warning consumers and police departments that hackers are getting into poorly protected smart home security systems and using them to call police to homes. From there we cover new modems, new capabilities for a Google device, a leak about Tile trackers, and a potential sleep apnea-tracking device from Amazon. Then Kevin shares what we want to see at CES and I share my thoughts on the Ring Mailbox sensor. We end by answering a question about fall detection devices for the home. The new Cync indoor camera will launch in May. Image courtesy of GE Lighting, a Savant company. Our guest this week is Paul Williams, general manager of product management & growth at GE Lighting, a Savant company. He shares the rationale behind the new Cync brand, the decision to add a security camera to the lineup of GE Lighting devices, and the thinking behind a new app planned for March. Williams also talks about other devices and how the Cync devices will and won’t tie into the Savant professional brand of products. I’m excited about the details the future Cync app will borrow from Savant, and can’t wait to see it. We end with his insights on what Project CHIP will and won’t mean for device makers. Enjoy. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Paul Williams, GE Lighting, a Savant company Sponsor: Calix What changes after Allegion’s purchase of Yonomi Please secure your IoT devices, y’all Google, Apple, and Amazon all have new devices with new wireless sensing Thanks to Savant C by GE is now Cync What a GE Lighting exec thinks about Project CHIP The post Episode 302: CES and GE Lighting is betting on Cync appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

7 Jan 202159min