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

This week we discuss a personal assistant from Samsung, Amazon Alexa on phones and mistakes from Google Home. We also talk about a Legend of Zelda superfan and how he controls his home through an ocarina. We then talk about ARM’s new architecture and discuss two deals ARM did last month to boost support for low power wide area networks. Finally, I now have my SmartThings and Lutron integration working, and it’s awesome! Image of Vint Cerf courtesy of Veni Markovski. Have you ever wanted to know what Vint Cerf, a vice president and chief internet evangelist at Google, has in his smart home? Find out in our guest segment, as one of the fathers of the internet comes on the show to discuss the internet of things and the questions we should be asking. We discuss standards, architecture, privacy and more. You’ll enjoy it. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Vint Cerf of Google Sponsors: Samsung ARTIK and wolfSSL Google needs to pivot, and its latest misstep shows why Kevin isn’t sold on ARM’s new architecture Yes, standards are important for the internet of things We talk about Vint Cerf’s connected wine cellar More questions than answers on IoT from Vint Cerf The post Episode 104: Vint Cerf has a lot of questions on IoT appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

23 Mars 201755min

This week Intel said it would spend another small fortune buying a chip company, Kevin discusses uses for LIDAR outside of connected cars and the Ring doorbell is embroiled in a security SNAFU. At SXSW this week, I learned about the IoT Design Manifesto and have some thoughts. Kevin discusses a new security flaw that deals with the physical side of cyber-physical systems and my SmartThings and Lutron integration still doesn’t work. The ring connected doorbell. But the best part of this week’s show is my interview with Phoebe Wilkinson, a partner with Hogan Lovells. Wilkinson helps manufacturers defend themselves against class action lawsuits. We discuss what aspects of connected products might be ripe for a future lawsuit and how companies can defend themselves. We also talk about how warranties are going to have to change for connected products. We may also see a revamp of how data opt-ins are handled. Listen up. You’ll learn something. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Phoebe Wilkinson, a partner with Hogan Lovells Sponsors: Samsung ARTIK and WolfSSL LIDAR is so hot right now Security should be so hot right now News from B8ta, Evrythng and applying for Alexa developer credits The most likely IoT class action is … Let’s rethink device warranties for IoT The post Episode 103: Sue your way to a safer IoT appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

16 Mars 201757min

Wow. This week saw a bunch of news about the Amazon Echo. There were rumors of new hardware, the ability to make phone calls and the crazy revelations of the CIA’s hacking ability, which led me to wonder if I want a microphone in my home at all. We also got an update on police seeking Amazon Echo data and news that the Google Home was a bit glitchy for some users. I discussed my HomeKit experience again, while CNET’s Ry Crist, this week’s guest host, introduced us to the HomeKit certified camera. Was your Google Home glitchy this week? Then we talked about IBM’s Watson teaming up with Saleforce’s Einstein platform before moving on to Ros Harvey, this week’s guest. Harvey founded The Yield, a data startup focused on farming. She really digs in (ha!) to the challenges of building a business around insights. She focuses on the challenges of making sure data is high-quality and how to negotiate data-sharing deals with big companies and still make money. She’s pretty awesome. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Ry Crist of CNET Guest: Ros Harvey of The Yield Sponsors: WolfSSL and SpinDance Should you wait to buy a new Echo device? HomeKit is trouble for anyone who lives with others This data company manages crop data for farms and supermarkets Build data collectives not data monopolies How to turn one piece of data into multiple revenue streams The post Episode 102: Wait to buy your next Amazon Echo appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

9 Mars 201748min

Well, the skies fell this week for the smart home. Or more accurately the cloud was somewhat disconnected thanks to Amazon Web Services stumbling. We discuss what happened and how companies can avoid having similar problems by designing for resiliency. We also talk about several new Alexa skills for locks, routers and phones. We then discuss the hacked teddy bears and a few new devices worth checking out. Plus Kevin gives an update on the June oven and I share my update on the Logitech Harmony. CloudPets are incredibly insecure in so many different ways. After all of that, we move to the business world for a deep dive into the new value chain for producers of physical products. Once you add connectivity, data analysis and machine learning, the model changes. I speak with Saar Yoskovitz, CEO of Augury, to find out what happens to the distributers and after market parts venders, and how startups can force their way into the process and steal margin from bigger players. It’s a really insightful conversation about what happens when everything becomes a service. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham Guest: Saar Yoskovitz, CEO of Augury Sponsors: WolfSSL and SpinDance The cloud is falling! Please stop making me write about security problems Thoughts on our devices and Kevin’s dog The future of business is services Forget data, the profits are in insights The post Episode 101: What happens when everything becomes a service? appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

2 Mars 201756min

It’s our 100th podcast, which would be a big deal if Kevin Tofel and I were a TV show hoping for syndication, but in the podcast world it means we’ve been at this for almost two years. YAY! We took a brief stroll down memory lane before digging into the week’s news covering new LTE chips for the IoT from Intel and Qualcomm as well as a report from ARM and The Economist that highlights slow growth in enterprise IoT projects. We talk about a few things to see at Mobile World Congress next week, discuss the Orbi router and also share our thoughts on Somfy motorized shades, female personal assistants and shopping from Google Home. Google’s Home speaker and AI assistant. For our guest this special week, I speak with Jaoa Barros, CEO and founder of Veniam, about what happens when we treat cars and buses as roving nodes on a mesh network. Venian calls this creating the internet of moving things, and it’s a big, awesome idea. We cover everything from the connectivity needs to autonomous cars to how connected transportation makes cities smarter. You’ll like it. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Jaoa Barros, CEO of Veniam Sponsors: Ayala Networks and SpinDance Somewhat bad news for enterprise IoT adoption How do I like the Orbi router from Netgear? Amazon Prime or Google Express? Building a mixed, mobile, mesh network is a hard to say and hard to do Cars can be sensors and hotspots for the smart city The post Episode 100: Let’s build the internet of moving things appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

23 Feb 201753min

This week we have sales estimates on the Amazon Echo, a new way to unlock your August locks and a hub that may talk to both HomeKit and legacy Z-wave and ZigBee connected devices. We also cover several networking stories ahead of Mobile World Congress involving AT&T’s IoT network, a satellite-backed LoRa network and Nokia’s plans to offer an IoT-grid network on a wholesale basis. Finally, I explain what worked and what didn’t about my effort to secure my home by splitting off into two networks. Kevin also discusses the new Google smart watches and we share Tim Cook’s HomeKit routines. This week’s guest runs the Techstars IoT accelerator and drives investing for the Techstars Fund in the internet of things. Jenny Fielding explains the trends she’s seeing in startups, what makes a good IoT exit and some of the challenges facing industrial internet startups. She also talks about how to get around them and shares the secret beginnings of Sphero, the maker of the BB-8 toy robot. Enjoy the show. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Jenny Fielding, managing director of Techstars IoT Sponsors: Ayla Networks and SpinDance If you have an Echo buy this one device to start a smart home Satellite was made for the internet of things Dividing networks don’t really work Where will the next IoT hub develop? What kind of IoT startup should I build? The post Episode 99: Tim Cook’s HomeKit setup and Echo mania appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

16 Feb 201759min

This week we discuss the city of Louisville, Kentucky adding an If This Then That channel, a settlement over televisions that spy on you, and a possible new feature for the Amazon Echo that could bridge the gap between it and the Google Home. That last tidbit was contributed by Grant Clauser, the smart home editor at the Wirecutter who took Kevin’s place this week. (Never fear, Kevin will be back next week.) Grant also provides input on the professional installer networks like Control4, Crestron and Savant in case you’re wondering about those options. We also have some kitchen M&A and security embedded in the Almond3 router. Image courtesy of Bruce Sterling. Our guest this week is Bruce Sterling, a popular science fiction author and the co-creator of a smart house/maker lab in Turin, Italy. Sterling discusses Casa Jasmina, overlooked aspects of the transition to smart homes and how Europe is likely to react to the challenges of security and privacy in connected devices. He also offers up the name “Talking Donkey” for devices like the Amazon Echo or the Google Home. To find out why, listen to this week’s show! Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Grant Clauser of The Wirecutter Guest: Bruce Sterling Sponsors: MIT IoT Bootcamp and Ayla Networks Light bulbs for better health and evil TVs Kitchen tech gets some M&A action Don’t call it old-school home automation What the heck is a talking donkey? How Europe will take our smart tech and make it better The post Episode 98: Science fiction prepared me for spying TVs appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

9 Feb 201749min

There’s a lot of money in the internet of things. No, not just in your smart home gadgets. The Boston Consulting Group estimates that by 2020 enterprises will be spending €250 billion on the internet of things. We discuss the survey, news of the week, an update on my OpenHab project and answer the question of how one gets started with a smart home. Two cases caught our eye on the privacy and security front, with one dealing with self-incrimination and a pacemaker and the other being the hotel in Austria that dealt with a ransomware attack on its smart lock system. A chart from the recent BCG report on the internet of things. And for everyone who wants to know about how to get into the smart home as a renter, I brought on Felicite Moorman, the CEO of Stratis to discuss things renters can buy to connect their (temporary) homes. She also laid out the future of smart apartments and explained what tech renters are likely to see from their landlords. There’s something for everyone this week. Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel Guest: Felicite Moorman, the CEO of Stratis Sponsor: Ayla Networks Stacey did not fat-shame Intel’s Joule board or Android Things How do you start building a smart home? Kevin found a cheap, battery-powered GPS tracker Smart locks are the entry point for smart apartments Smart apartments could tell you when a washer is available The post Episode 97: Enterprises will spend big bucks ($269 billion) on IoT appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.

2 Feb 201751min