IoT Podcast Episode 322: Google’s Fuchsia looks promising for the IoT

Did you know that Roku aims to get into the smart home game? We discuss that along with a new set of vulnerabilities in Bluetooth during the first part of the show, before moving onto Google’s new Fuchsia OS and some updates from Google I/O. After that, we discuss surveillance technology from China and the need for more discussion and disclosure around new technology purchases by local governments. We touch on a proposed data privacy law, new HomeKit support for the Eero 6 routers, and Wyze night lights. We end the news segment by answering a listener question about the Wyze security system and Yale locks.

A DroneExpress drone and package. Image courtesy of DroneExpress.

Our guest this week is Beth Flippo, CTO at Telegrid, which owns DroneExpress. DroneExpress has built a drone delivery service based on drone and radio technology built by Telegrid for the military. With DroneExpress, Flippo aims to build a business delivering items weighing less than five pounds within a small radius. This month Kroger announced it was trying the service for grocery delivery. We discuss why Teregrid decided to sell a service as opposed to the technology, what niche drone delivery serves, and even how widespread drone delivery could change consumer packaging. We also talk about the limitations of drones and Flippo’s belief that drone delivery could reinvigorate brick and mortar businesses.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Beth Flippo, DroneExpress
Sponsor: Very

• What will Roku do in the smart home?
• Kevin thinks Google’s Fuchsia OS will be good for the IoT
• Technology is a tool, but we need to understand its potential uses
• Why sell hardware when you can sell a service?
• How drone delivery might influence the size of consumer packaged goods

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IoT Podcast Episode 321: Google decides Matter matters

This week’s show focuses on news from Google I/O 2021 where it’s clear the search giant is trying to build out a fairly open ecosystem based on the Matter protocol and WebRTC for audio and video streaming. Google also said it would use Wear OS for Fitbit and combine Wear OS with Samsung’s Tizen OS. Google also announced a CarKey deal with BMW. There’s bad news on the data-sharing front from Imperial College London and Northeastern University, where researchers tracked how many connections popular smart home devices opened, and what it means for privacy. In security news, Consumer Reports found flaws in four security cameras and video doorbells, and we discuss the Eufy video camera bug. Additionally, cyber risks are so high that the CEO of Swiss Re, a reinsurer, said insurance for cyberattacks was becoming impossible. Finally, we mention the new Echo Frame options, although Kevin is still not a fan. In our hotline, we answer a question about Matter and keeping a SmartThings hub.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaking at Google I/O 2021. Image courtesy of Google.

Our guest this week is Mark Hanson, VP of Innovation at Sony Semiconductor America. We talk about embedded computer vision and what it means to have machine learning taken care of on the image sensor itself. It enables lip-reading applications, occupancy sensing, and new ways to track inventory in stores. (He’s very excited about  inventory sensing cameras.) Hanson also says the sensor and its DSP can provide training at the edge, allowing a user to show the sensor images and then have the sensor later recognize those images. We also talk about how product designers can figure out if they need a camera for a particular use case.  Hanson really wants to get new ideas from everyone listening about use cases for embedded computer vision, so see if any of the interview sparks your creativity.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Mark Hanson, VP of Innovation at Sony Semiconductor America
Sponsor: Very

• Google will embrace Matter in most displays, smart speakers and on Android
• Do you know who your smart devices talk to?
• Cyberattacks are becoming too big for insurance to cover
• Why adding ML to an image sensor makes sense
• How to use a “dumb” sensor to offload some computing tasks

 

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IoT Podcast Episode 320: Project CHIP becomes Matter and hacked pipelines

This week’s show hits on two of the biggest stories of the year for the smart home: Project Connected Home over IP is now called Matter and Amazon’s Sidewalk Network adds Tile as a participant. We also discuss what it means for Zigbee after the Zigbee Alliance changed its name to the Connectivity Standards Alliance.  The Colonial Pipeline ransomware also merits some attention. We then spend time on some news bits such as Amazon updating its Echo Show devices for the video calling era we seem to be in, Wyze’s new earbuds with noise-canceling technology, and the new Phyn leak detection sensors. We also discuss the FragAttack vulnerabilities and try to explain them. We conclude by answering a listener question about whether we’ll see Thread on phones anytime soon.

The Phyn puck, cable, and extension node combine to create a compelling option for sensing leaks. Image courtesy of Phyn.

Our guest this week delves even deeper into the Matter protocol. Kevin Po, a senior product manager at Google, is involved in the Matter working group. Po explains the multi-admin feature that will let consumers swap ecosystems with ease if they have Matter-certified devices, and lets me pester him with specific questions for those who might have multiple ecosystems in one home, or those that might want to use different smartphones.  He also lays out some of the security features and explains where he thinks device makers should try to differentiate themselves as the Matter standard develops. He also foreshadows some Google-related Matter news at Google I/O next week, so we should probably pay attention.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Kevin Po, a senior product manager at Google
Sponsor: Very

• Project CHIP becomes Matter and the Zigbee Alliance becomes the Connectivity Standards Alliance
• Why the Colonial Pipeline really shut down
• Amazon’s Sidewalk network is better than Apple’s Airtags at one thing
• Will Matter let me have Alexa and Google in my home?
• Is Matter an attempt for the big three tech firms to dominate the smart home?

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IoT Podcast Episode 319: How ML at the edge will make products truly smart

This week’s show was a lot of fun to record with Kevin and me discussing Google’s upcoming I/O event and updates on the chip shortage from STMicro, TSMC, and someone who makes electronics. We also talk about Kroger’s drone delivery plans, cameras in cars, funding for robotic computer vision, and funding for robotic welding driven by AI. After that, we hit some smaller news items such as Amazon adding greetings to the Ring doorbell, Oura raising $100 million, and an update to Withings’ scale that provides a new biomarker. We then cover my review of the Lutron outdoor outlet and Kevin reviews Apple’s new AirTags. We conclude by answering a listener question about Bluetooth mesh.

Kroger will introduce a drone delivery pilot this spring in the Midwest in partnership with Drone Express. Image courtesy of Kroger.

This week, our guest is David McIntyre, the VP of marketing at Perceive, a startup building edge-based machine learning chips. He shares several ways that local machine learning will enable new features in products and explains how to add machine learning to consumer devices. He also explains how adding smarts to products changes their design and offers advice for those trying to rethink their own product strategies. We spent a lot of time trying to dissect what makes something smart as opposed to connected, and I think y’all will enjoy that discussion.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: David McIntyre of Perceive
Sponsor: Very

• The chip shortage will make a lot of gadgets more expensive
• How should we handle camera data from inside our cars?
• Lutron’s outdoor outlet is pricey, but high quality
• Local ML will enable better Zoom calls and smart appliances
• Forget the ecosystem, and think about differentiation when building smart devices

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