The Internet of Things Podcast - Stacey On IoT

This week we kick off the show discussing several smart devices that might provide a modicum of security or comfort in case of weather disasters associated with climate change. After that, we start the long goodbye to 3G and discuss how companies are reacting . And for those who are keeping track of algorithmic accountability efforts, California has a new law that could be better in my humble opin...

We start this week’s show with a look at a new surveillance law in Australia that seemingly obliterates a lot of protections around how law enforcement officials can access data and what they can do with it. We also talk about a survey conducted in the U.S. that shows how willing many Americans are to share their data in exchange for cheaper insurance. From there we cover new fundings for Br...

This week’s show starts off with old news that I forgot to tell y’all about last week: The Matter interoperability standard for the smart home is delayed until 2022. We talk about what that means and then turn to Google’s confusing fitness wearable strategy and the new Fitbit Charge 5 device . After that, we discuss human-computer interfaces and a new OT security report out from...

Welcome to this week’s episode! We kick it off with a discussion of SmartThing’s new focus on the edge with local control and user-derived device handlers. We then dive into four security stories starting with a flaw in the software development kit (SDK) for a Wi-Fi module , challenges with random number generation on IoT devices, and a flaw in an SDK by ThroughTek Kalay that affects s...

Elon Musk’s SpaceX satellite broadband company is getting into the IoT with the acquisition of Swarm , a smallsat IoT connectivity provider. We talk about that deal, plus what it means that Helium scored $111 million in funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. After that, we talk about malvertising infiltrating the IoT and the Samsung smartwatch that launched Wednesday. We also discuss the creati...

This week, news slowed down a bit so Kevin and I kick off the show talking about a connected manual device to physically press buttons or twist dials as needed to turn older appliances “smart.” After praising that idea we panned Amazon’s new soap dispenser for having a Wi-Fi chip that’s really underused. In other Seattle news, Wyze, the makers of so many connected devices,...

We start this week’s show with a $200 million funding for Wiliot , a company I profiled back in 2017 as one of the vanguards of low-power sensing. Then we tackle a creative idea that could see consumers create safe words for their smart homes to indicate when they might be in trouble. Next up is President Biden’s National Security Memorandum on securing cyberinfrastructure . Like coffe...

This week we got great news on the Matter front, as Amazon announced its plans for supporting the smart home interoperability protocol on most of its Echo devices. We talk about new features for Alexa developers before talking about new research from ARM showing a 32-bit ARM-based chip printed on flexible plastic. We then turned to a discussion of Qualcomm’s attempts to build something for w...

Welcome to another show! We’re spending the first few minutes of the show diving into the rise of RF sensing in the IoT, covering the news of Amazon applying for an FCC waiver to use radar for sleep tracking, the FCC creating a notice of proposed rulemaking to use the 60 GHz spectrum for radar, and a deep dive into other technologies in the 60 GHz spectrum such as ultrawideband and even Wi-F...

Imagine all of the potential problems associated with the internet of things, and then settle in, because I think we talk about all of them in this episode. We start by detailing research out of Northeastern University that shows old data isn’t deleted from hardware-reset Amazon Echo devices and then discuss a class action lawsuit going ahead against Google’s digital assistant . We tos...

Any Amazon Halo subscriber can try Amazon’s Movement Health service now, so Kevin and I explain what it is and what Amazon’s decisions around the Halo fitness tracker signal about the company’s interest in healthcare. We then cover the good news that Google will support connected Nest devices with security updates for up to five years after launch and Google’s new location...

Kevin and I start this week’s show with a discussion of his Amazon Prime Day purchases and then talk about the kerfuffle over smart thermostats and demand-response energy programs in Texas. I happened to be there at the time, and there is a definite right and wrong way to enroll people in the program. We also mentioned a more egregious example of digital overreach with Massachusettes pushing...

Hello! This week we start with Congress, where the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings related to interoperability and lock-in tied to smart home devices. We drew special attention to testimony by Jonathan Zittrain , who wrote a long, but insightful statement about the development of the web, the benefits gained when using interoperable protocols, and what the government should do to ens...

We start this week’s show with a quick update on Amazon’s Sidewalk and then focused on the smart home news from Apple’s WWDC event earlier this week. We’re excited about third-party devices getting Siri support. We then cover the EU’s thoughts on anticompetitive behavior by IoT device companies, as well as the launch of a new standard that allows for low-power, highly...

This week’s show is going to get controversial with a discussion of Amazon’s Sidewalk. Kevin is out on vacation this week, so my friend Chris Albrect of The Spoon is here to co-host.   We start with a rundown on why I think you should participate in Amazon’s Sidewalk network but also explain how to opt out. We then talk about how tech-savvy lawyers helped push Amazon to drop arbi...

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 gove...

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...

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...

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...

This week’s show starts off with two lawsuits: the first filed by ADT alleging trademark infringement against Ring , and the second a decision by the Seventh Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals related to police accessing cell phone location data without a warrant. Wemo’s new scene controller , Everactive’s energy harvesting sensors , a discussion about Helium’s tokens , a...

The week’s Apple event is the star of the podcast, with Kevin and I spending time noting a smart use of iPhone sensors with the new Apple TV 4K. We then discuss  the AirTags tech , the implications for consumers, frustrated competitors , and the things we find disappointing. Then, we talk about the EU’s proposed rules for AI and AI-based applications before questioning the market for t...

This week’s show launches with a deep dive on Project Connected Home over IP after the Zigbee Alliance released many new details about the specification. We discuss when you can expect it, the devices you’ll see, and the security model. Then we cover the new Wyze lamp , smart auto-dimming windows , Logitech killing the Harmony remote,  and Spotify’s new Car Thing . On the enterpr...

This week Kevin is back and we start the show talking about the Xupermask from Will.i.am and Honeywell . Ring is adding radar to a floodlight camera and we’re pumped for that, while MIT researchers are using RF to help give robots X-ray vision . Apple is formally launching a certification program for developers who want to build for its Find My service , Verizon is expanding its edge computi...

Om Malik takes Kevin’s place this week as my co-host and also doubles as my guest. Malik is my former boss at GigaOm, is currently a partner at True Ventures, and writes thoughtfully about technology on his own blog . We start the show focused on chips, specifically Arm’s brand new v9 architecture and the vision Arm has for secure, distributed computing . Both Om and I are big believer...

In this week’s show, we focus on Thread because Kevin tried out the new Eve sensors that use the wireless protocol, and fell head over heels in love. “This is what the smart home should be, ” he says. After that, we talk about additional sensors on the HomePod Mini and wonder when and if Apple would make a smart home display . Then we discuss Masonite’s connected doors and...