IoT news of the week for August 21, 2020

Semtech is working with Amazon to bring LoRa to more places: Semtech, the chip company that makes LoRa radios, has signed a deal that lets it offer pre-packaged sensors that work on a LoRa network and will connect back to Amazon’s AWS cloud. Semtech is working with Amazon and TensorIoT to create two pre-packaged kits for asset tracking and smart buildings. The kits will combine easy-to-deploy sensors and a cloud dashboard designed for each use case so companies that want to deploy a network without a lot of outside help can do so. (Semtech) — Stacey Higginbotham

Excellent profile of a company I’m excited about: I’m constantly writing about the need for better energy harvesting or lower-power chips so we can scale the internet of things. If every sensor needs a battery change after a year or even five, we’re never going to get to a trillion connected devices. Everactive is one of the companies trying to make this happen, with a new chip, a new wireless protocol, and dedicated sensors. I first wrote about the company when it was called Psikick and just a few months back had one of the company’s founders on the podcast to discuss its new vibration sensor. This article also does a good job explaining what I think is so cool, namely that these sensors don’t even need a battery and can run for 20 years. (MIT News)  — Stacey Higginbotham

All hail the digital orchestrator: When it comes to a digital transformation or even building a complete IoT solution, it’s becoming clear that companies need a liaison between the tech side and the real-world product or process. Intel has called these people “bridgers” while others may think of them as consultants or subject matter experts, but I now have a new name that’s both clever and still fancy enough that someone might want to put it on their business card — digital orchestrator. Andrew Timm, former CTO at PTC and currently CEO at CrucibleWorx, who acts as such an orchestrator, shared the term during a panel I moderated on matching in digital ecosystems during the Zededa Transform virtual event. I like the concept, and think the title might catch on. — Stacey Higginbotham

Wellness is the new hotness in home automation: We’re starting to see the results of our concerns about air quality and wellness manifest themselves in new home builds. Taylor Morrison, the nation’s fifth-largest homebuilder, will put Honeywell smart thermostats, smart water and air filtration systems, touchless faucets, and UV-enabled bathroom fans as standard features inside new homes built after August 1. The builder will also use non-VOC paint. I love this shift, although I do worry what happens when your new home also comes with an app. I think the push to combine smart devices with real-world use cases that the homeowner doesn’t have to assemble had been held back by a lack of standards and trust in the longevity of IoT devices. I have hope that with builders getting on board we could soon see wider acceptance of smart home products, as well as products of higher quality. (CE Pro) — Stacey Higginbotham

In case you think Taylor Morrison is a fluke: Once again, I’m turning to CE Pro, which surveyed its network of professional home automation installers and discovered that they expect 39% of their upcoming projects to have a wellness component, up from 20% prior to the pandemic. This is unsurprising given that people who can afford custom integrations offered by CEDIA professionals have the money to make their home more comfortable and healthier. The integrators surveyed are accelerating plans to bring in wellness products to meet the demand, which means we should see some really nutty stuff at the upcoming virtual CEDIA show. (CE Pro) — Stacey Higginbotham

A new Ring hub may be headed our way: An FCC filing filed by Ring teases a new piece of hardware that looks like it might be some kind of hub. I wonder if this might be a hub that converts Amazon’s “Sidewalk” communications protocol, which it launched last year, to Wi-Fi. Amazon launched Sidewalk to solve a problem it had when connecting Ring lights — some of the sidewalk lights were too far away to communicate well via Wi-Fi. Amazon then launched a new sub-gigahertz protocol that could travel a medium distance and form a mesh network. It also used the protocol in an experimental pet tracking collar called Fetch. At the time of the launch, Amazon said it had a network operating in L.A. So maybe this new Ring hub is a chance to push Sidewalk nationwide? (Digital Trends) — Stacey Higginbotham

Google Pixel Buds get a little smarter with AI: Although reviews of Google’s latest hearables have been mixed, some shortcomings can be addressed with software updates. New features can also be added, one of which the Google Pixel Buds got this week courtesy of a little AI technology. “Attention Alerts” is a new optional experimental feature. When enabled, the Buds will lower their volume and chime whenever they detect a baby’s cries, a dog’s bark, or an emergency vehicle’s siren. Nifty! (Google) — Kevin C. Tofel

You can now buy the $200 Oral-B AI-powered toothbrush: Speaking of AI, Oral-B has a toothbrush with such smarts. Stacey and I saw it at CES this past January and on paper, it impressed. According to studies, using the Oral-B iO toothbrush improves gum health by 100% within a week of use. When we saw this smart gadget, Oral-B didn’t announce the price, but you should expect to pay $200 for healthier chompers if you want this toothbrush, which is now available for purchase. (Engadget) — Kevin C. Tofel

Will projectors be the next smart home interface? I found a new pico projector on the market this week that turns any flat surface into a 10-finger multitouch experience. That got me thinking about how these small projectors have the potential to replace our smartphones, apps, and screens as a new interface for smart homes. Yes, prices need to come down first, because high-quality projectors don’t come cheap these days. But if in the near future they become affordable, I’m hoping to replace the many screens around my home with ones that appear and disappear on command. (Stacey On IoT) — Kevin C. Tofel