Internet of Things news and analysis: smart home, industrial internet of things, enterprise internet of things, and more. Joins co-hosts Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel as they dissect the week's latest IoT news. Stacey Higginbotham has covered technology since 2001. In my years covering tech I became more fascinated by the stuff we were able to do on vast computing networks and ever speedier mobile and wireline broadband networks. Finally all of the elements of the technology I’ve covered in more than a decade have culminated in this moment and we’re creating the internet of things. No matter what you call it, we’re at a pivotal moment in the evolution of human creativity, business creation and productivity gains. We could see the gains we make in these next few years help us conserve resources and let us lead safer and healthier lives or we could open the door to a dystopian society where our every thought is monitored and our every utterance is effectively for sale. I hope to explore all of these issues, the people who will make it possible and the devices that will lead us there in the IoT Podcast. I hope you will join me.
https://iotpodcast.com/
Episode 155: New toys, Pi Day and insect-tracking LIDAR
We have reached the purported end of Broadcom’s bid for Qualcomm, so Kevin and I finally shared our thoughts on the topic. After that we discussed a murder that was solved using evidence from connected devices, Google Routines and Strava’s privacy clean up. We used the SmartThings outage to discuss whether or not we need a hub in the smart home before hitting an array of new devices, including the new Raspberry Pi Model B+, Rachio’s new sprinkler, Ecobee’s new light switch, and a new security hub/camera from Abode. Kevin’s Nest Cam solved a crime as well and we answered a listener question about taking the first steps to learn about the IoT.
Rachio’s third generation sprinkler sells for $249.99 and looks easier to install.Our guest this week was Tobias Meene, the global head of digital farming at Bayer AG, who shared a bunch of insights about bringing sensors, machine learning and intelligence to farmers. He discussed how the firm has managed to remotely identify insects by their wingbeats using LIDAR, several startups working with Bayer to make farming more productive and how Bayer sees IoT remaking its business and business model. Plus, Bayer has built a cool app to identify weeds and problems called Xarvio. I couldn’t try the app because it’s not compatible with my devices, but I would love to. Enjoy the show.
Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Tobias Menne of Bayer
Sponsors: Samsung Artik and IoT World
- Chip consolidation ain’t over yet
- Google Routines is a step forward, but not far enough
- This week’s crop of new devices is strong
- The problem with using LIDAR to track insects
- How Bayer finds customers who want to buy into its new business plan