There was a lot of Wi-Fi news this week with new routers and services from Eero. Meanwhile, the Wi-Fi Alliance has created a certification program for builders to ensure that newly constructed homes get the best in-home coverage available. Since I was out this week, Kevin and I recorded early, so there’s news of AWS Greengrass and Softbank buying Boston Dynamics. Plus, Kevin and I share how to connect your smart locks to Alexa and further information on the WeMo dimmer.
My guest this week tackles a serious topic. Davida Herzl, the CEO Aclima, discusses how we can use sensors on cars to map pollution data and shares the results of a study conducted in Oakland with Google. We talk about the importance of scientific validation for sensor data and algorithms as well as how to charge for this type of data. Beyond that, she shares why she thinks this sort of granular pollution monitoring is the future of fighting climate change.
The retail mesh products are incredibly overpriced and companies are capitalizing on some good marketing. Every beacon, pod, etc, is a choke point in the home network. The more beacons, pods, etc, the more latency added to the network. Sure, you can create a strong signal everywhere, but do some tests and see your latency. A lot of studies and all show significant better throughput when hard wiring another access point using Ethernet, MOCA, HPNA, etc. back to the main router. Below links to one such studies for my fellow nerds. Just like a repeater, extender, etc. that you can get for a whole lot less.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/wi-fi-mesh-vs-moca-backhaul-head-testing-yields-dramatic-gondar