Apple, Google and Amazon

More on this, good direction for assistants.  And security is a good place to start.   This is key way to make the average consumer invest in such infrastructure, the assurance that today and tomorrow they will work together.  Now that the market has been established, clean it up for design and operating value.  Further, there needs to be ways that skills/knowledge can effectively shared, and linked to new ideas for for their collective  use.  Microsoft?

Apple, Google, Amazon Decide to 'Play Nice' Over Smart Home Tech
BBC News
December 18, 2019

Apple, Google, and Amazon have announced a partnership to improve smart-home technology's ease of use by creating a new standard to ensure their smart products are compatible with all three companies’ smartphones and voice assistants. The three tech giants also will work with the Zigbee Alliance, and a successful effort could remove consumers and manufacturers' burden of favoring one smart-home technology over others. Draft specifications for the new standard are not expected before late 2020. The companies said current smart-home products should continue to operate after the new standard is implemented. The first product category to be targeted by the new standard will be smart home security products.  ..."

Amazon, Apple, Google work with Zigbee Alliance

Had not heard of this particular alliance, would seem there is still considerable competition regarding ecosystems.

Amazon, Apple and Google join in smart home alliance  in Retailwire

Apple, Google and Amazon have been some of the top players in the smart home market and, until now, have been competing to gain dominance for their respective ecosystems. In an announcement today, the three say they are forming a partnership in conjunction with Zigbee Alliance called “Project Connected Home over IP” which will work on a new standard for the industry so that consumers will have more confidence that the products they buy will work together.  ... " 

ZigBee's Dotdot Language Seeks Harmony

Been a while since I have looked at ZigBee, new developments to link attached devices.

ZigBee's Dotdot language aims for IoT harmony

The new application layer defines how connected devices discover and learn about each other   By Stephen Lawson

As consumers watch another wave of home IoT devices emerge from CES this week, they’ll still be waiting for one technology that can make all those products work together.

The ZigBee Alliance, a group of more than 400 companies that make things with the ZigBee wireless protocol, made a bid to provide that unifying technology right before the annual consumer electronics gathering kicks off. 

On Tuesday, ZigBee announced Dotdot, which it calls a universal language for IoT. Even though ZigBee is best known as an open wireless communications protocol used in many home IoT products, Dotdot is intended for use with any wireless technology. It defines things like how devices tell each other what they are and what they can do, which is important for making different objects around a home do things together. 

For example, if you install a new connected light fixture in the living room and want it to turn on whenever the front door is opened, the connected lock or sensor in the door will need to know that such a light is out there and be able to send commands to it. ... "

New Sensors for an Internet of Things

An internet of things is also connected to its environment, which needs sensors to detect context.  Context can drive analytics with data.  Looking for new ways to connect and interact in the smart home.

 " ... Helium is releasing new sensors, applications and development tools as it builds out a comprehensive product line. The company's latest product is a new sensor called Helium Green, which can monitor temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, motion, and light. ... 

The sensor hardware offers three years of battery life on two AA batteries. It can be plugged into a mesh network of interconnected devices through the emerging IEEE 802.15.4 standard, which is behind Zigbee and Google's Thread protocols. .... "  

LG Announces Smart Home Hub

Looks like an Echo cylinder with a small screen and speaker.  But is not voice activated. AI / Cognitive?  In the past have been impressed by LG's experiments with smart appliances, we used and tested several in innovation settings.  before they could be networked.  Note the use of the Alljoyn system,  which has been mentioned for inclusion in Windows 10.   More next week at CES.

In the Verge: 
" .... The hub, announced today ahead of a demonstration at CES next week, is visually similar to Amazon's Echo, and like that device, features a large built-in speaker that can stream music. But where the Echo is only gradually moving from cool curio to useful gadget, LG is pitching the SmartThinQ as the "gateway" to your automated home, connecting to smart refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners, and displaying their information on a 3.5-inch color LCD display. ...  The hub uses the open AllJoyn "internet of things" platform, connecting to other appliances — both smart and conventional — via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or Zigbee ....  " 

Zigbee Alliance

It has been a while, but early in our efforts in promoting an internet of things we looked at the Zigbee Alliance.  In particular for future home systems.  Have had cause to go back there and examine it again.  Worth following.

Kroger Digitizing Stores

In Retailing Today. On how Kroger is digitizing retail.  Retail is the ideal industry to make this happen.  It operates an internet of things that closely integrate with an internet of increasingly connected people.  Analytics will make this more efficient and engaging.

" ... Kroger has unveiled a bold initiative to digitize every aspect of its physical store in an effort to measure a breadth of operational metrics to enhance the shopper experience. 

The company announced a partnership with eInfochips, Wincor Nixdorf and several other partners on a new enterprise IT architecture called Retail Site Intelligence. This architecture for stores of the 21st century uses ZigBee wireless mesh networks to integrate long battery life sensors, hand held devices, point-of-sale devices and video management software into a next generation platform for retail applications such as in stock optimization, loss prevention, store automation and video analytics which can be integrated with Kroger’s industry leading loyalty program data. ... " 

Kroger Store of the Future

In RIS News:    Provides considerable new opportunities for analytic understanding of the shopper experience under varying contexts.  Expect to see much more of this.

" ... One of the largest retailers, Kroger, has introduced its new Retail Site Intelligence (RSI) enterprise IT architecture. The architecture helps drive the store of the future by using ZigBee wireless mesh networks to integrate video analytics, wireless devices, POS devices, handheld sensors, scales, IP cameras, and Vigil360 video management software into a next-gen platform for retail applications, including loss prevention, store automation and analytics. ... "