Samsung's Home AI Offers to Nag and do General Chores

 CES is virtual this year but is putting out some interesting things, with the usual warning that they are concepts rather than imminent realities.  Looks like Samsung is  touching on the fabled general home-chore butler-helper concept.     Which is hard, a little like General AI  (GAI).    General 'nagging' as proposed though is easy. 

Samsung's latest home robots can do chores and nag you to stop working

Bot Handy's extendable arm can load your dishwasher and set the table.

CES wouldn’t quite feel right without Samsung showing off some robots. A year after it unveiled grapefruit-sized spherical bot Ballie, Samsung has revealed some new machines it’s working on to help out around the home.  ... " 

GE Smart Switch Makes a Move

As the article suggests, have seen little from GE oriented toward smart home applications.

GE's wireless smart switch works without a hub in Engadget
No messing around with wiring.

It's been a while since we heard from GE about its smart home arm, but today the company announced several new items designed to make its already straightforward lighting ecosystem even easier to use. Most notable of the bunch; a new smart switch and hubless dimmer model. This is an interesting addition to GE's range -- and an industry first -- because there's no need for any additional tech (such as a hub) to integrate them with Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa for voice control. ... " 

Cheap Frig Cams

What we have all been looking for in the Smarthome?  Probably not, but another example where cheap simple cams can be be added to an attentive systems as part of the IoT.

Cheap Fridge Cam
" .... Smarter used to show to launch their latest product TheFridgeCam, a wireless fridge camera that allows users to see the contents of their fridge from wherever they are via the app. The camera takes a photo of the contents of the fridge every time the door is shut, which is them displayed via the Smarter app  .... "  

Beacon System for Push Notification

A very simple idea, a small device that can generate an alert for a push notification based on context and location. .  Note this is unrelated in function to the Amazon Dot, even though it looks similar.

Seeing this more generally as a way to construct an IoT network in a smart home that can react intelligently to its inhabitants and mobile devices.

In FastCodesign:  This $20 Dot Makes Push Notifications Way Less Annoying ... Now on Kickstarter, these small Bluetooth beacons contextualize how your smartphone behaves based on your location.

" ...  GPS just doesn't have the granularity to determine whether or not you're in your bedroom or your home office, which is why companies like Apple use supplementary hardware called iBeacons to provide customers contextual information throughout their stores. Google has a similar project, called Nearby, that pings users in public places like museums and stores.

Dot is a set of beacon-like devices for your home and other personal spaces that allow you to contextualize your push notifications. A Dot is essentially a Bluetooth beacon that you stick on any surface. As your smartphone gets closer, it can detect the exact distance based upon signal strength, and send a push notification when you get within a certain distance. What's cool about Dot is that you can program that notification to contain anything, through an app inspired by popular internet recipe-making platform IFTTT (an acronym for "If This, Then That"). A Dot can just as easily be programmed to remind your roommate to take out the trash as it can turn on the smart lights to your bedroom when you walk in the room. ... "  

Samsung Scoop Speaker

A competitor to the Amazon Echo?   Indications of voice activation.  Samsung Scoop.  Advanced cognitive skills are unclear.  But note Samsung previous devices like S Voice, and Otto, which hinted at cognitive AI skills.

" .. Samsung has designed a Bluetooth-connected speaker with a microphone that certainly looks like it could compete with Amazon’s voice-activated Echo and the forthcoming Google Home.

Samsung today submitted documents for the device, currently named Scoop, to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The documents include photos of the device and a manual. ... 

Clearly the Scoop is meant to be mobile, as it comes with a strap, suggesting that you could carry it around while it’s hanging from your wrist. You’d be able to use “Samsung-approved chargers” to power it up, including one for the Scoop that would be sold separately. And a light on the top of the gadget would tell you when it’s out of juice, according to the manual. Also on the top are volume up and down buttons, as well as a play button that doubles as a Bluetooth pairing button, the manual indicates. Next to a power button on the side, a cover hides a USB jack and a charging port, a photo shows. ... " 

Introduction to the AWS IoT Button

Had heard of this recently, but just started to take a look.   Like the Dash buttons I still have in test for retail.  Consider it for the simple acquisition of data for analytics.

Post by Mihai Corbuleac:

The AWS IoT button provides a very simple way to control different devices around the home or outside. The best part is that it is very easy to both install and use. It is fully supported by AWS which is increasingly the home to many different technologies and solutions. The integration makes it very easy to achieve complex tasks in a simple way. ... 

It makes IoT approachable for people

With the IoT button, IoT is no longer something which only experts can dabble in. Now, anyone who has programming skills can easily test out different IoT applications and create their own through the IoT button. You can set it up in your house easily with a few scripts and an active connection to AWS. You need to create the AWS IoT resources, configure your button and create rules. There are great guides available on the internet as well as software so you can hit the ground running with it.

Customize to your heart’s will

The problem with closed systems is that they do not let people get creative. There are already much more complex devices than the IoT button available to purchase but most of them use a closed architecture which you and I cannot access or customize. Only limited development is possible on the terms of the device’s manufacturer. The IoT button, on the other hand, is pretty much customizable.   ... " 

Still Looking for Full Featured Smart Mirrors

We featured the idea, and saw it at other consumer innovation labs a decade ago.  Mostly it dealt with using the mirror for cosmetics options and delivering basic 'news and weather' information in the morning. That alone is fairly easy to do.  A mostly one way visual and audio interface.  Stationary to places in the home, the office, or even in conference rooms.  But it seems the demand today is beyond the basic.

   A new example is being promoted:  " ... The problem with the Perseus smart mirror is the same as with all of the ones that preceded it: over-promising a set of features that will be incredibly difficult to deliver on. These include: voice recognition, video streaming, an HD camera with time-lapse capabilities, fully customizable widgets, third-party apps, and the list goes on ..  " .  Video at the link. 

Some of the idea is similar to the Amazon Echo with a display.  The capability is stationary.  You could mount any number of them in  place.  Say as part of wall displays in an office.  The inclusion of camera enables conferencing and gestural interaction, as well as displaying tailored information.  But that's beyond a mirror.

Also in retail to sell things that we wear like clothes, cosmetics and eyeglasses.  Experimented with several of these examples.

See my previous mirror posts.

On IOT Smarthome Security

In the BBC,  a non technical overview of the IoT in the smart home, and the security challenges it creates.

Open Connectivity Foundation

Just brought to my attention,  The Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF). The breadth of corporate support does look to be good.

" ... Efforts led by ARRIS, CableLabs, Cisco, Electrolux, GE Digital, Intel, Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Samsung – Ensures IoT Solutions and Devices of the Future Work Together Seamlessly

Beaverton, Oregon – Feb. 19, 2016 – Today, major industry leaders who are invested in the future of the Internet of Things, announced they will unify as the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF), an entity whose goal will be to help unify IoT standards so that companies and developers can create IoT solutions and devices that work seamlessly together. Via cross-industry collaboration, the OCF will work towards unlocking the massive opportunity of the future global IoT segment, accelerate industry innovation and help all developers and companies create solutions that map to a single, open IoT interoperability specification. Ultimately, with OCF specifications, protocols and open source projects, a wide-range of consumer, enterprise and embedded devices and sensors from a variety of manufacturers, can securely and seamlessly interact with one another.

The OCF unifies the entirety of the former Open Interconnect Consortium with leading companies at all levels – silicon, software, platform, and finished-goods – dedicated to providing this key interoperability element of an IoT solution.  ... " 

Cortana for the Smart Home

Long ago we met with MS Research about their approaches to the smart home.  Seems they had dropped that approach since then. .  Are they back again pushing standards?

The Thread Group and Open Connectivity Foundation join forces to make it easier for smart home devices to connect   By Agam Shah 

Microsoft wants to put Windows 10 at the center of smart homes. The company wants users to be able to tell the operating system's Cortana voice assistant to switch on a light, open a door, release food for a cat and even check the contents of a refrigerator. ... " 

Towards IoT Standards Alliances

Towards IoT alliances to create useful standards for the smart home.  Will this lead to improved security as well?    Could also lead to more standardized data for analytics.

Intelligent and Secure Learning Hub for the Smart Home

Hubs should learn ... 
" .... With the emerging ecosystem of connected devices – often dubbed the “Internet of Things” – consumers are rightly worried about the security and privacy implications associated with always-on hardware in their homes that listen, watch, observe and then store data in the cloud. Today, a company called Silk Labs, co-founded by former Mozilla CTO Andreas Gal, is launching a device that aims to address those concerns with its smart home sensor dubbed “Sense” that interoperates with your home’s connected devices, and automatically adapts to your needs over time by learning from your behavior and patterns.

At launch, Sense, now live on Kickstarter, will function as something of a digital brain for the connected home, in order to do things like turn on or off the lights, adjust the music or thermostat, and more. But what’s different about how this device operates, versus other smart home hubs on the market today, is that it acts on your behalf by developing an understanding of the people in the home, and their specific needs.   ...  It learns.  ... 

Seeking More Robotic Servants.

Its still hard to do many of the 'simple' tasks that are done in the home.  But at least we can prototype a number of them with robot like machines.  But when will the robot sweeper learn to fold clothes, do and put away the dishes,  clean the windows, walk the dog?    The machines may get smart, but when will they get mechanically able and versatile?  And combine into just a few chore masters?      More in Techdirt.

Discussion on Samsung's $5799 Digital Frig

Good discussion on Samsung's smart Frig.  Apparently not a prototype and is for sale.  The the cost is hefty   Is the refrigerator the place for the home hub?

Connected Air Fresheners in the Internet of Things

Here's A Whiff of the Future for the Internet of Things
Marketing Lessons from P&G's Febreze Internet-Connected Air Freshener By David Berkowitz

" .... When the Febreze Home internet-connected plug-in air freshener arrived in the mail this month, I opened the box and beheld yet another questionable impulse buy. I ordered it during this year's Consumer Electronics Show in January just after Procter and Gamble announced it. If this was a typical Kickstarter project, it would have arrived in time for the 2017 holiday season after several competitive products already hit the market. P&G actually stuck to its promised ship date, which is the most remarkable aspect of this product's debut. .... This harbinger of the connected home offers a whiff of what's ahead for marketers, manufacturers and consumers.  .... " 

IFTTT Continues to Build Channel Support

There are now 314 channels, includes connections to Samsung and GE Smart applicances.  From the BMW automotive lab, home smart security systems, Amazon Echo and much more.   Each channel has demonstrations of how it can be used.  

Allows you to trigger reactions based on input from channels you connect to.  A good demonstration of a simple internet of things.   I have a nice collection of triggers in place now.   It needs more participation and creativity.   More on IFTTT, with many business and home examples.

Google Home to Compete with Amazon Echo

Announced today, the Google Home.  Previously code named the Chirp. Similar in form to the original Echo, but with more design choices.  Google is know to have some of the best voice AI systems around.  See also the Viv, by the same developers.

This new device also includes some of capabilities most often asked of the Echo. Like multi speaker control.  It brings in a number of initial partners to provide content, and some are the same as on the Echo.

   Also tries to cover similar retail and smart home capabilities. Like music, impulse services and smart lighting.  At this time it is not open to third party 'skill' developers. As in the Echo, there is no embedded screen.  I find that design choice interesting.  You leave out a sensory channel on purpose and create a new kind of presence.   No price has been announced, it is due to be out later this year.  

A Dash Button for an Internet of Things

I have been testing the Amazon Dash buttons for some time. Nice, simple idea.  That implemented some of our innovation center ideas.   Now Walter Riker reports that that they have been generalized to perform other tasks.   Now as a signalling button in the internet of things?   Some hints of linking to other devices like the Echo. Thinking the possibilities.

In AndroidAuthority:
" ... Amazon’s Dash Button could just be a piece of hardware that would order you some toilet paper with the click of a button when needed, or perhaps some more dog food, but the company’s new Dash button isn’t for re-ordering products at all — it’s a programmable button that hooks users into the Internet of Things. ... 

The AWS IoT button connects to Wi-Fi and relies upon Amazon’s AWS cloud services. Because of this, can be easily programmed to do pretty much anything. Examples of some things the Dash button can be used to do include switching on your Phillips Hue lights, hail an Uber, send a Tweet, or even hook into Slack. Amazon CTO Werner Vogels even said that if there’s a chore you can with Alexa, you can assign it to one of these buttons. ... " 

Cost is $20, but currently unavailable. They write a more technical set of goals:

An easy way to get started with the Internet of Things, based on the Amazon Dash button hardware, the AWS IoT button is a developer kit that can be programmed to control internet-connected devices and services. ... " 

This programmable Wi-Fi button is designed to help developers learn how to use AWS IoT, AWS Lambda, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon Simple Notification Service and other Amazon Web Services.

Use the button to count items, track usage, initiate a call, send alerts or start and stop a process.

Eliminate the hassle of writing device-specific code; code in the cloud to configure your button's single, double, and long clicks. ... " 

Smart Home Vacuum

In Spectrum IEEE: Extensive technical and practical review of the Neato Botvac.   A robotic vacuuming solution for the home.  We studied how narrowly focused robotics could be delivered to the home and the potential for onboard cleaning products. A key application for smart home robotics.   Even this area, the solutions have not flourished.

Google OnHub with IFTTT is Looking Like an Echo

When Google first introduced the OnHub, it looked like a too complex and expensive Wifi hub.  Did not give it much thought.  

But when hooked to the IFTTT engine with 'recipes', announced today,  it becomes a control box that can make lots of things happen in the smart home.

Streaming content and sending email, and  ...   Even looks cylindral, like the Echo.   Wifi rather than voice directed, clever idea.    This piece gives some enlightening examples of its potential use.   The competition begins? .