Walmart is asking companies that want to sell smart home products to make sure those products work with Google Home. The retailer has instructed potential suppliers to ensure that their products support Google Home, and if they also support Amazon … [Read more...]
To make IoT sustainable, ask hard questions
We hear a lot about designing with security in mind for connected products, but Lena Pripp-Kovac, Sustainability Manager IKEA of Sweden, designs IKEA's connected products with sustainability in mind. (Yes, it also designs with security in mind, … [Read more...]
Thoughts on automation after visiting IKEA’s test facility
While visiting IKEA's headquarters in Älmhurt, Sweden, I did not get to eat actual moose meatballs — but I did learn many things. I toured the testing lab, which performed 15,500 tests during IKEA's 2017 fiscal year (which ran from September 2016 to … [Read more...]
Rethinking the smart home in 2018
A year ago this month, I prepared a presentation on the "State of the Smart Home," which focused on how far voice interfaces had taken us and where they fell short. This week, I gave a quick talk to folks preparing smart home products for IKEA in … [Read more...]
Podcast: Amazon’s Alexa Blueprints, home robots and more
This week’s show finds me in Sweden pondering Alexa Blueprints, the Amazon Echo for kids and Amazon’s smart robot plans. Kevin and I talked about all of that, before showcasing new research for IoT out of Carnegie Mellon, the University of … [Read more...]