Episode 419: Little sensors save big amounts of water

Episode 419: Little sensors save big amounts of water

Author: Stacey Higginbotham, tech journalist April 20, 2023 Duration: 1:02:02

This week’s show has lots of updates and small updates. We start off with a story about a golf course near San Diego that has saved millions of gallons of water using connected soil sensors. And then we review what changed with Zigbee PRO 2023 and cover the NIST efforts to create practical framework for protecting medical device privacy and security. In other medical news we talk about a new device from Cherish Health, which will use millimeter wave sensing to track falls and movement in a home, and the rise of ambient sensing as well as the launch of a new smart scale from Withings, which lets you track your weight without ever having to confront the numbers on the scale. Then we discuss the UK’s competition regulator opening up an investigation of Amazon’s deal to buy Roomba maker iRobot, before also talking about a new feature on certain Roomba vacuums. In small news HomePods can now listen for smoke alarms going off and Google is adding Matter to its most recent Nest thermostat — and only that thermostat. And speaking of Matter, Kevin tested out the beta version of Matter support on Home Assistant, and was impressed. Finally, we answer a listener question about smart breaker panels and GFCI outlets.

The Cherish Serenity device uses millimeter wave sensing to detect movement and falls. Image courtesy of Cherish Health. 

Our guest this week is Robert Pile, the head of real estate strategy at Homma, a company that is building smart homes. The company started out building smart homes but has since switched to building townhomes and multifamily units for rentals thanks to the changing real estate market. Pile talks about the technical challenges of building the infrastructure for smart homes and what types of buyers are choosing their properties. He also discusses the price premium that people are paying to buy or rent a smart home that’s built smart from the first foundation pour. I’m not sure if I’m done with my DIY efforts, but it does sound nice to have everything already smart when you move in. Enjoy the show.

Hosts: Stacey Higginbotham and Kevin Tofel
Guest: Robert Pile, head of real estate strategy at Homma
Sponsors: OnLogic and Silicon Labs

  • GroundWorx sensors makes water use visible, and reduces it
  • Could ambient sensing be the key for aging in place?
  • Home Assistant has a really nice Matter implementation
  • How much will people pay for a smart home or apartment?
  • What does the “plumbing” for a smart home look like?

The post Episode 419: Little sensors save big amounts of water 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…

«1...678910