IoT news of the week for Feb. 23, 2018

Another piece in place for Google’s IoT toolbox: Just last week, when writing about Google’s purchase of Xively, I noted that Google didn’t have any IoT customer success stories. That changed this week as Google’s IoT Core product became generally available. Schlumberger, Smart Parking, Blaze, and Group ADO all shared their positive experiences using IoT Core to create and manage their IoT efforts. IoT Core is the part of Google Cloud used to connect and manage IoT devices, with the data fed back into Google’s analytics and machine learning tools. The combination of IoT Core and customer case studies provides Google with a more cohesive tool set, so keep an eye out to see what other companies choose Google over its competitors in the IoT space. (Google)

The new data center isn’t at the center; it’s at the edge: With more data processing and collection happening on devices, traditional data centers aren’t the best place to store, sort, and analyze information. Computing at the edge is the next big thing. And it will require a transition in product design, data analytics, and machine learning, to name just a few aspects. If you’re looking to better understand why this is happening and what the future implications of moving compute cycles out to edge devices are for IoT, this article is a great read. (NextPlatform)

Why you need to design scalable IoT pilot programs: Adding connectivity to a device isn’t all that difficult, but that alone doesn’t define a good IoT experience. Such a concept is often overlooked when creating IoT pilot programs. Instead, there has to be return on investment for the data captured in the pilot device, which can be tricky; ROI isn’t a “one and done” effort. Successful pilot efforts will evolve and scale the business value over time as companies figure out the many ways they can use data from devices. If your pilot project can’t do that, it’s likely to become a short-term solution at best and at worst, a one-off effort. (LinkedIn)

Training robots with virtual reality is a thing: I can’t wait until our digital assistants gain mobility and take care of things around the house. Current robots are pretty dumb when it comes to household tasks because they often don’t recognize what the items in our home are, never mind how to interact with them. How do you train their AI without breaking everything? I suppose you could set them loose in an IKEA and over time, they’d eventually figure it out. The Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence has a better idea, though: Use virtual reality to simulate homes and household items so robots can learn without causing real destruction. Fascinating! (IEEE Spectrum)

The SEC pushes for sorely needed cybersecurity risk disclosures: No system is perfect, so even if the best precautions are taken, cyber hacks can happen to any company. If they’re taking reasonable security precautions, I generally have sympathy for when they get hacked. I draw the line, however, when hacked companies withhold public information about the hack. That’s why I’m happy to see the Securities and Exchange Commission put forth new guidelines on cybersecurity risk disclosures and breaches. (Reuters)

Dish will spend $1B on an IoT network: While most telecom companies are focusing on both 5G and NB-IoT networks, Dish is looking solely at the latter. The company plans to spend a billion dollars through 2020 to build out a network for IoT device use. Even though Dish has plenty of spectrum, it can’t yet deliver 5G service because the 3GPP standards group has only defined specifications for adding 5G to existing networks. Since Dish doesn’t have a 4G network of its own, it has to wait for the 3GPP to approve such a standalone effort. That may be good news for the IoT industry, though. By having an option other than the traditional carriers for IoT data services, price plans and service could be better through Dish over the next few years. (Fierce Wireless)

Siri to go hands-free in the next AirPods: Before I bought them last year, I didn’t think I would enjoy Apple’s AirPods as much I do. But one thing that irks me is that you have to tap them for Siri. Maybe she’s sleeping in there and this action wakes her up? That’s set to change, as the next version of AirPods are expected to wake Siri by saying “Hey, Siri” in hands-free mode. I don’t know if it that alone will be worth replacing the $169 pair I already invested in, but I use the hands-free Siri on my Apple Watch numerous times a day, which is telling. The main question I have is: Will Apple cut costs in the new AirPods and remove the touch functionality altogether? I hope not, because I don’t want to have to speak to Siri every single time I want to skip a music track or play a different artist. (Bloomberg)

You can finally order a Lighthouse AI webcam: We’ve been hearing about Lighthouse for nearly a year, but in case you missed it, here’s a quick summary. Lighthouse looks like most other connected home security cameras and works like them, too. There’s some secret sauce inside, though: more artificial intelligence than competing products. You can ask the Lighthouse app, for example, “Did anyone walk the dog today?” and computer vision algorithms can determine the answer from captured footage and 3D sensors. Yes, it’s a smart (or smarter) webcam that understands natural language queries. You can now order a Lighthouse for $299. Just remember that the AI service will cost you $10 a month. (The Verge)

Nest Cam IQ is now a Google Assistant: Speaking of webcams, you can actually speak to one and get information from it. Nest made good on its promise to integrate Google Assistant into its Next Cam IQ devices this week. That’s one less Google Home product you need to buy if you purchased this camera from Nest. This is also a good example of an IoT device maker designing with an end-user business plan in mind, something that many IoT companies don’t consider from the beginning of the product life cycle. (StaceyOnIot)

OrCam raises $30.4M to bring smart glasses to the visually impaired: I love what OrCam is trying to produce. The company has built a smart camera that attaches to any glasses frames for use by the visually impaired. The wireless camera can scan objects, bar codes, and faces, and then read aloud what it “sees.” For folks with terribly bad, or even no eyesight, OrCam could be an accessibility superhero in our digitally visual world. I must not be the only who thinks so. The company raised $30.4 million at a $1 billion valuation this week. (Reuters)

Update 2-26-2018: This article was changed to reflect that the Lighthouse camera is now available to ship.