Episode 412: Playing with ChatGPT on Home Assistant

Episode 412: Playing with ChatGPT on Home Assistant

Author: Stacey Higginbotham, tech journalist March 2, 2023 Duration: 1:08:30

Details about how the U.S. government plans to disperse $39 billion in funding for chips was announced this week, so we discuss the details and what the funds mean for the IoT. Mobile World Congress took place in Barcelona this week, and amid the news about 5G networks there were several IoT-related bits worth mentioning such as Qualcomm outlining plans for millimeter-wave spatial sensing and Wi-Fi 7 updates. In satellite news, Qualcomm announced that its upcoming 5G modems would have satellite capability, and said several phone companies would use it to add emergency text messaging. Those modems will also find homes in IoT devices. Deutsche Telekom also announced satellite capability on its network thanks to a partnership with Intelsat and Skylo. Then we discuss whose responsibility it is to secure the smart home, and what you think depends on where you live. And in smaller news, we cover a new chip that provides wireless power for wearables, wireless security cameras that don’t use batteries, an update on the Google Nest deal with ADT, and the launch of fall detection on Pixel watches. Plus, I get salty about Google’s Fitbit acquisition. Finally, we answer a listener question about how to help someone in assisted living notice they have a phone call.

Image courtesy of the World Economic Forum.

Our guest this week is Paulus Schoutsen, founder of Home Assistant, the DIY, open source smart home platform. Schoutsen explains why this year is the “year of voice” for the platform and how to build an AI for users to speak in their own language for triggering automations (all without sharing data with third-party providers). He also shows off two new features; the first is using a HomePod to talk to Google Assistant over Home Assistant, and the second is using a generative language model like ChatGPT over a HomePod to create stories. We also talk about Matter and Home Assistant’s plans for a smart speaker or voice-capable device, as well as why you can’t easily buy Home Assistant Yellow, a pre-packaged box that already has the radios and software a beginner needs to run Home Assistant. It’s a good show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Paulus Schoutsen founder of Home Assistant
Sponsors: InfluxData and Silicon Labs

  • Childcare, chips and government grants
  • Mobile World Congress goes heavy on LPWANs and satellites
  • Smart home security is your responsibility if you live in the U.S.
  • Why your older gear may never get promised Matter support
  • Bowser takes on Minecraft in a demo of AI chat via a HomePod Mini

The post Episode 412: Playing with ChatGPT on Home Assistant appeared first on IoT Podcast - Internet of Things.


For anyone trying to make sense of a world where everything from your thermostat to a factory floor is getting smarter, The Internet of Things Podcast-Stacey On IoT offers essential context. Veteran tech journalist Stacey Higginbotham, who brings her experience from Fortune, and co-host Kevin Tofel break down the weekly flood of news, separating genuine innovation from mere hype. Their analysis spans the entire connected ecosystem, diving into the gadgets in our homes, the sensors transforming industrial workspaces, and the complex enterprise systems tying it all together. This isn't just theoretical; it's a practical guide to the business and technology decisions shaping our networked future. You'll hear from a range of voices that have built and critiqued this landscape, including pioneers like Vint Cerf, insightful commentators like Om Malik, and practitioners from companies such as Amazon, AT&T, and IBM Watson. Listening to this podcast provides a crucial framework for understanding the real-world implications of connectivity, whether you're an industry professional, a curious developer, or simply someone wondering how all these "smart" things actually work-and what they mean for privacy, security, and daily life. It's the clear-eyed conversation you need to navigate the ever-expanding Internet of Things.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

The Internet of Things Podcast - Stacey On IoT
Podcast Episodes
Episode 346: Three IoT acquisitions and the infrastructure bill [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:09
This week’s show focuses on three big deals happening in the IoT sector and a meaty enterprise IoT report. First up, we discuss ADT buying SunPro Solar for $825 million, which represents yet another deal bringing energy…
Episode 345: Ecobee’s big deal and climate-friendly chips [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:55
The big news in IoT this week was the announced acquisition of Ecobee by Generac, so Kevin and I share our thoughts on the deal and what it means for the smart home. After that, we were excited to see Amazon launching a…
Episode 344: Energy harvesting sensors are finally real [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:45
This week’s show kicks off with news from many of the big smart home players offering their plans for the Matter smart home protocol. First, we discuss Google’s plans, before focusing on Samsung’s latest announcements an…
Episode 343: Return of the connected bunny! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:55
We kick off this week’s podcast with a focus on chips and hardware starting with an explainer on Arm’s new Total Solutions for IoT and why it will help developers and device makers speed up time-to-market for connected p…
Episode 342: Explaining the IoT’s latest $11B deal [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:41
The industrial automation world got a jolt of news with Emerson combining some of its industrial IoT software businesses with AspenTech in an $11 billion transaction. We explain why the deal matters and what it means, be…
Episode 341: Smart cities and smart fridges galore [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:03
Welcome to the weekly podcast! We’re moving Black Friday to October thanks to chip shortages and shipping delays. Meanwhile, Amazon is working on a smart fridge, Google is trying to use a $10 monthly subscription and Nes…
Episode 340: Amazon wants you to trust its devices [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:09:28
This week’s podcast is all about Amazon (with a few other stories for variety). We start the show with a rundown of the devices and services Amazon launched at its device drop on Tuesday. We then explain what it means fo…
Episode 339: Much ado about privacy and support [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:11
This week’s show kicks off with the news of the Raspberry Pi Trading company closing a new funding round of $45 million. We talk about what the Pi Trading company is, how it relates to the Foundation, and how companies a…
Episode 338: Wyze comes back from the edge [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:28
I need to warn y’all in advance that we don’t discuss Apple news at all this week because nothing really jumped out at us for the IoT. But we did have a lot of other big news starting with Wyze raising $100 million and s…

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