IoT news for the week of August 18, 2023 – Stacey on IoT
Verdigris raises $10M for smart architecture: I’m very excited about this news, because about eight years ago I met one of the founders of Verdigris in an Austin coffee shop to talk about how to use AI and connect HVAC to make buildings green. The company recently raised $10 million in funding (in this space!) led by DCVC and Solea Energy to further commercialize the product. I’m glad to see that Verdigris is still around and that all the hype around AI will help a company that has long been using IoT and AI to make buildings more efficient. (verdigris) – Stacey Higginbotham
Nordic Semiconductor bought the TinyML player: Nordic Semiconductor bought the IP of Atlazo, a San Diego, Calif. company. which was developing technology to build low-power MCUs optimized for machine learning. Nordic, which makes low-power wireless chips for the IoT, says this is a bolt-on acquisition that will benefit the company within 12 to 18 months of closing. Given the need for on-device machine learning and Nordic’s focus on IoT, bringing low-power MCU technology makes sense. (Nordic Semiconductor) – Stacey Higginbotham
ChargePoint is taking a page from telcos to make EV charging more reliable: ChargePoint says it has built a network operations center (NOC) to monitor the health of its 243,000 EV chargers across the United States and Europe. As part of new legislation to promote the adoption of electric vehicles, the federal government is requiring new timing requirements, prompting ChargePoint to invest in NOC. Honestly, I was surprised it didn’t have an NOC anymore, since the whole business is about providing customers with an EV to charge when they get to the charger. It seems crazy that I didn’t have a way to monitor that before. And I would argue that any company that provides connected services or devices should have the same teams to monitor time, but maybe that’s because I’ve accepted that we’re in an adjustment period. (Ars Technica) – Stacey Higginbotham
Are video doorbells just a security platform? That’s what this BBC article is asking, and I’m on the phone. I think they can be easy, but I also think that porch criminals are used to technology in hiding their faces. I was interviewed in the story and I speak like that. (BBC) – Stacey Higginbotham
Shelly now has a premium subscription option: The lure of recurring subscription revenue is strong for smart home device makers, and Shelly is no exception. The smart home device maker has added a premium subscription tied to power management. This service is for Europeans and is available in the US For €3.99 ($4.34) a month, subscribers get notifications when they leave lights on, alerts when products use more or less electricity than usual, ways to monitor their devices’ energy usage, and more. Shelly says the service should save up to 18% on electricity bills, so it might be worth it. (Shelly) – Stacey Higginbotham
Some pure speculation about Google Nest: Information is reporting that Verily, one of Alphabet’s businesses it is pursuing under “other bets,” is preparing to stop using Alphabet’s corporate services to prepare for an exit at the end of 2024. The reporter who wrote the story notes that this could pave the way for more exits for Bullet’s “other bets.” And the “other bet” we care about most in this newsletter is the Google Nest category. I’ve debated posting this story because it’s just speculation, and it’s behind a paywall. However, given how Alphabet is promoting Ruth Porat, who was responsible for the demise of Google’s unprofitable services, and how Google has been withdrawing from supporting some of its Nest displays, I thought you might want to hear about any plans to investigate businesses that are part of Alphabet’s other bets. Because if Google decides to release Nest, that could have a big impact on the smart home ecosystem. (Information) – Stacey Higginbotham
The new Aqara LED light line achieves Matter, but… Aqara’s latest product launched this week and it’s a bit of good news/bad news. First, the good news. Like the recently released Nanoleaf Essentials light line, the Aqara LED Strip Lights T1 supports the Matter standard. Priced at $49.95, you can order the T1 now and put it to work on your choice of smart home platform. The bad news is that Matter doesn’t support Adaptive Lighting, a feature that automatically changes the brightness and color temperature of lights based on the time of day. You can get that feature working on the T1 but only if you choose not to use Matter on the connection. If so, you need an Aqara hub for a Zigbee light-line radio. So while it’s strange that this is a case-in-law, that kind of sums up all of Matter’s implementation so far. (The Verge) – Kevin C. Tofel
Looking for a non-cloud video doorbell? Here’s a DIY option: I don’t expect many of you to take me up on this, but I got a little video doorbell project this week. Using ESP32 and open source software, you can follow the instructions to make a privacy-oriented video doorbell. The current implementation works with Home Assistant, but I’m sure it could be modified to work with other DIY-style smart home hubs, too. (CNX software) – Kevin C. Tofel
The second generation EveCam is expected next month: Thank goodness for Google Translate or I wouldn’t be able to bring you this news. The German site has spilled more details on the upcoming EveCam, which is expected to make its debut at the IFA event next month. I don’t usually share rumors without physical evidence but I can say that the FCC documents on the new webcam are valid. The new model appears to be tested for both 2.4 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi networks and has a smaller 50mm square footprint. Although Eve Home products have recently expanded support beyond HomeKit with Matter, the Matter spec does not include webcams so this is likely to be a HomeKit only solution. (appgefahren) – Kevin C. Tofel
