Tag: IoT

Google Takes On Amazon Echo With Smart Router OnHub

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Earlier today, Google unveiled OnHub, a $200 Wi-Fi router that doubles as a smart home hub, Besides the standard wireless transmission protocols, OnHub also supports several smart home protocols, including Weave, Thread, as well as IEEE 802.15.4, the basis for Zigbee.

What Brands Should Do
While OnHub may seem like just a fancy router at first, it is without a doubt Google’s answer to the new wave of “communication hub” devices such as Amazon Echo and, reportedly, Apple TV. As more and more devices and appliances become connected, the need for a central control hub grow accordingly, which may provide brands with a new touch point to reach their audience and facilitate convenient interactions powered by voice command. Look for Google to go beyond the IoT protocols to make it easy to integrate your smart home devices and services soon.

 

Source: Ars Technica

Image courtesy of Google.com/hub

The Business Use Case For Smart Home Appliances

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Door sensors have long been a common item in smart home installations for security and surveillance purposes. Now a Syracuse-based startup named Density is putting them to work for businesses. The company offers a smart door sensor that monitors the real-time population of places, such as restaurants, bars, gyms, and retail centers, and shares the information via the cloud on its mobile apps. It also provides businesses with a “Requested” service that will allow customers to request a discount once a certain low-traffic threshold is reached.

What Brands Can Do
Placed in storefront entrances, the Density sensor can measure the in- and outflow of people—giving business owners and retail brands a great amount of data on foot traffic and producing insights that can turn into smarter business planning. More importantly, Density points to the undervalued versatility of the connected devices, the majority of which are currently being developed for smart home automation. As the Internet of Things continues to evolve, we expect more business-oriented use cases for such gadgets to pop up, improving and streamlining the in-store experience to the benefits of both brands and customers.

 

Source: PSFK

Header image courtesy of Density

Google To Bring Beacon Interactions To iOS Via Chrome

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Google has updated its iOS Chrome app to integrate Physical Web content into the “Today” view within the iOS Notification Center, where developers can make customized widgets for easier access and controls. While most beacon implementations are focused on notifications and require either a partnership with an app with wide reach or settling for a small audience, Google is attempting to broaden the uses of beacons and gather additional offline data. They want to do this without risking users turning off notifications on an app that relies on them like Google Now. Combined with Google’s newly announced beacon platform Eddystone, it seems clear that Google is determined to push into the Internet of Things.

What Brands Should Do
Physical Web uses Eddystone-URL, which Google’s beacon technology uses to send information to end-user devices, to integrate with its end-to-end beacon platform. Brands, especially those invested in the hyperlocal spaces, should take advantage of this deep integration to get more native-like proximity functionality out of their apps.

 

Source: 9to5Google

Apple WWDC Preview: Updated Apple TV As Central Hub For IoT Devices?

Posted on by Lab Team

We reported back in March that Apple might be updating Apple TV to include supporting functionality for smart home devices compatible with its HomeKit platforms. Now a new Apple support document has surfaced with clauses confirming that an Apple TV is required to remotely control HomeKit devices, potentially positioning it as the control hub for the connected devices. Although The New York Times is now reporting that there won’t be any new Apple TV hardware debut next Monday, it seems reasonable to predict that Apple will at least mention its central role in its smart-home ecosystem.

Of course, nothing is set in stone until Apple unveils its plan for the next iOS next Monday at its Worldwide Developers Conference, which may include major upgrades for its music app, Maps app, and the spotlight search feature. As always, the Lab will be live-tweeting @ipglab during the events, followed by our original posts highlighting the brand implications of the new announcements. So remember to check back next Monday to learn more.

Image courtesy of support.apple.com

What You Need To Know About The “Home” App in iOS 9

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original article on: 9to5Mac

A new report has surfaced regarding the upcoming iOS 9 ‘Home’ app. Just as Apple used the HealthKit framework to create the Health app as a highlight in iOS 8, HomeKit will rely partly on this new Home app to securely manage a connected home full of accessories and data.

Sources claim that Apple is planning to officially unveil the new Home app alongside iOS 9 at WWDC early next month. The primary functionality includes:

  • Utilizing the new Apple TV as a hub to connect all of the HomeKit devices
  • Wirelessly discovering and setting up compatible HomeKit devices
  • Creating a virtual map of rooms in the home to easily organize and connect devices supporting HomeKit.
  • Offering a series of screens to help users find new HomeKit devices and apps.

As an increasing number of devices and home appliances become connected to form the Internet of Things, brands should be aware of the opportunities these emerging media platforms could provide. We are already seeing cable companies enter the smart home space, and as the smart home market starts to take off, we expect to see some more players getting in on the action.

 

Amazon Echo Adds Smart Home Integration

Posted on by Lab Team

Read original story on: TechCrunch

Back in November when Amazon launched Echo—an intriguing hybrid of connected speaker and virtual assistant—we wondered about its potential in becoming a control hub for smart home devices. Today, Amazon announced a software update for Echo, which will add support for a variety of connected home devices from companies such as WeMo and Philips. This will enables users to, for example, turn on Hue lights in the hallway or turn off the coffee maker plugged into Smart Switch by WeMo, all by voice command.

From AI To Driverless Cars: Highlights From TED 2015

Posted on by Lab Team

Aside from a certain Austin-based media fest last week, the annual TED 2015 conference also took place, spotlighting some of the most innovative ideas in Technology, Entertainment, and Design. There’s no need to go through all 12 sessions featured this year, because we’ve got all the relevant highlights right here.

The Future of Artificial Intelligence
Fei-Fei Li, director of Stanford’s Artificial Intelligence Lab and Vision Lab, has spent fifteen years working on a key component of machine learning—visual recognition. She presented one of the first computer vision models capable of generating a human-like sentence when it sees a picture for the first time.

Similarly, Oren Etzioni of the Allen Institute has worked in artificial intelligence for 20 years and is a firm believer in the fundamental difference between intelligence and autonomy.  “AI won’t exterminate us,” he claimed, but will instead empower us to tackle real problems and help humanity.

The Necessity of Driverless Cars
Every year, 1.2 million people are killed on roads, and Chris Urmson, Director of Self-Driving Cars at Google[x], firmly believes that self-driving cars are the right approach to eliminate car accidents. He demonstrated how Google’s driverless cars handles all types of situations, from a turning truck to jaywalkers, with simulations that break a road down to a series of lines, boxes, and dots.

The Beauty of Big Data
With the help of some elegant visualizations, data artist Manuel Lima explored how the changing visual language reflects and shapes our understanding of the world. From radial convergence to arc diagrams, he believes that “growing visual taxonomy” can help us analyze complex systems of knowledge, social ties, species and ecosystems.

The Internet of Moving Things
Shiva Shivakumar, founder of Urban Engines, proposed a new take on the Internet of Things—the Internet of Moving Things, namely the network of any device, app, or software that tracks movement throughout space. By aggregating and analyzing cloud data from this IoMT, he created interactive models that visualize patterns of movement within cities that could vastly improve urban planning and transportation.

SXSW 2015: Fingerprints and Intimacy

Posted on by Lab Team

As technology becomes more personal, brands are looking for new and smarter ways to connect with consumers. Apple’s new Touch ID is an example: instead of dealing with the highly encrypted and intricate process behind its secure mobile transactions, the consumer sees only a thumbprint enabling a purchase. In fact, the experience goes beyond personal—it’s essentially intimate.

During a short discussion at SXSW, though, Dustin Kirkland from Canonical proposed a new mindset: the fingerprint should not function as a password. It isn’t secret, and if it gets compromised, there’s no changing it. Kirkland thinks since biometrics are fixed, they should function as usernames. In that sense, Apple’s Touch ID is only activated by a thumbprint, not unlocked by it. The real unlocking occurs behind the scenes, and the magic is that there’s no way to tell the difference.

Far from being an arcane security matter, marketers should pay attention because identity is at the root of the consumer experience. Magical experiences only happen when tech is smart enough to get intimate.

SXSW 2015: The Consumer Experience 2.0

Posted on by Lab Team

SXSWi 2015 is underway, and the Lab kicked off the conference with panels from sports owners and marketing directors. So far, we’ve noticed the conversation focusing on the consumer experience.  Sports teams and retailers both rely on truly intimate experiences to define both brands and bottom lines. Watching sports on television and buying shoes online are great, but physical presence can truly elevate the experience.

For instance, Major League Soccer is positioning itself as the premier sport for tech-savvy millennials, yet its live attendance far outstrips broadcast audience. Think about that: while NBA and NFL are looking into virtual reality to bring couches into the game, American soccer is pumping up the fans in the stands. Teams are dedicated to tech — not, says Seattle Sounders owner Adrian Hanauer, “just for the sake of investing in tech,” but because the future of the stadium is the future of their businesses. Sporting Kansas City is tech-positive, starting an entire business called Sporting Innovations, which is devoted to connected sports. The team has invested in WiFi throughout the stadium (built in 2011 as a tech-friendly sports venue), has created a real-time mobile engagement platform, and encourages social interaction during the game. And with WiFi comes data. “There’s about a terabyte of info across wifi over 90 minutes,” explained Heineman.”

Meanwhile, retailer Alex and Ani is pursuing its connected strategy with an emphasis on experience. The jewelry brand’s in-store sales volume is massive, but each store has a relatively small footprint, meaning “[their] biggest problem is lines,” noted VP of Digital Ryan Bonafacino. Helping the consumer interact outside of human associates is an ideal way to streamline the in-store experience.

But in-store innovation extends beyond just the consumer: Lowe’s distributes an app for its associates that, in the words of Digital Experience and Omnichannel head Sean Bartlett, “has the same requirements and rigor as the consumer-facing app.” Real-time inventory, ecommerce and consumer engagement are integral parts of the sales environment, and are helping to create a more intimate experience between consumers and their purchases.