IoT News of the week for Oct. 5, 2018

Electrolux is cooking with Drop: A few years ago, we bought a connected Drop Scale. It comes with a companion app, and the combined package tailors recipes based on how many people you’re cooking for and what ingredients you have on hand. More recently, Drop has been partnering with appliance makers. Electrolux is the latest; its Home Care & Small Domestic Appliances (SDA) unit will be enabling integrations with the Drop platform. Ironically, it’s that platform, not the Drop hardware, that seems to be the biggest hit. (Electrolux)

How does Amazon’s Alexa Guard work? This technical article from Amazon gets pretty deep into the weeds, but if you really want to understand how Alexa can monitor for the sound of breaking glass, this one’s for you. The solution consists of an artificial neural network, many sound samples, and the ability to measure for both false positives and false negatives. The end result? A clever repurposing of the Echo’s microphones and processor combined with Amazon’s cloud data that gives you security functions at no extra charge. (Alexa Blogs)

Honeywell spins out a new company: Even with several thermostat startups entering the market over the past few years, Honeywell still has a huge presence. Now the company is spinning out its homes and ADI Global Distribution businesses to form Resideo, a new company that will continue to make devices under the Honeywell brand. Resideo expects to be a “smart home industry leader” focused on do-it-yourself and original equipment manufacturer technology solutions. (Honeywell)

SoftBank joins forces with Toyota to create a new company: While some companies are spinning out new ventures, others are banding together to create them. That’s what SoftBank and Toyota are doing with MONET. The new joint venture will combine Toyota’s autonomous vehicle and supply chain smarts with SoftBank’s IoT platform. The goal is to first provide just-in-time vehicle dispatch services in Japan, and later make those services work with autonomous vehicles. (SoftBank)

Microsoft wants Windows in robots: Among the many new hardware announcements this week was one from Microsoft about the Robot Operating System (ROS). The company wants to make it easier for Windows developers to create software for robots using Visual Studio as well as Microsoft Azure. If you’re the coding type, ROS is currently available in an experimental release. I should note that this isn’t Microsoft’s first go-around in this space. Back in the netbook days, there were Microsoft APIs to use the Xbox Kinect sensor for robotics, but that never really went anywhere. (Windows Blogs)

Microsoft’s IoT story is compelling: It’s rare we give two shout-outs to the same company in one week, but I think Microsoft deserves it. Why? Because as we’ve said many times on the IoT Podcast, the company tells a very compelling and cohesive IoT story. In this one blog post, Microsoft highlights all of the many IoT services it offers for devices, developers, cloud processing, and more. And of course, the company highlights its 10-year software support promise, which is extremely important for connected devices. (Windows Blogs)

IoT networks…for weather? Yup, there’s an app for that, and ClimaCell makes it. The company uses what it calls “hypersensing” data points from wireless and IoT networks to produce ultra-local weather forecasts. That’s the same approach that Dark Sky, my favorite mobile weather app, uses, but instead of crowdsourcing localized weather data from phones, ClimaCell does it through devices on IoT networks. Given that there will be, if there aren’t already, more connected IoT devices than phones, it makes sense. Investors must agree, since ClimaCell just raised $45 million in Series B funding. (ClimaCell)

Routers still seem to be the weakest link for security: Not a month goes by when we don’t hear about some botnet. And most of the attacks are on routers, although other connected devices such as connected cameras are targets, too. The latest botnet hit 100,000 routers in Brazil and modified DNS settings to redirect bank requests to 52 different phishing sites. If there was ever a device that needed some beefing up from a connectivity and IoT standpoint, it’s the always-on, always-connected router. (ZDNet)

Everything you wanted to know about MEMS: OK, maybe not everything, but if you only have a cursory understanding of tiny microelectricalmechanical systems (MEMS), you’ll want to read this overview. In particular is how important MEMS have become in phones and how much more important they’ll be in future IoT devices, thanks to their low cost and low power requirements (IoT For All)

Put your extra door/window sensors to good use: Earlier this week, I called door/window sensors the Rodney Dangerfield of IoT devices; they just get no respect. That’s because they don’t seem to do much other than tell you when something is open or closed. I offer up four unique ways to utilize any spare sensors you might have, from making a smart reclining chair to ensuring people don’t forget to turn on the exhaust fan when showering. Put those sensors to work! (StaceyOnIoT)