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The National Security Agency is researching opportunities to collect foreign intelligence — including the possibility of exploiting internet-connected biomedical devices like pacemakers, according to a senior official.
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When asked if the entire scope of the Internet of Things — billions of interconnected devices — would be “a security nightmare or a signals intelligence bonanza,” [Richard Ledgett, the NSA’s deputy director] replied, “Both.”
— the Intercept
For more on the world of the Internet of Things, check out these links:Don't get smart with me: reassessing the "Internet of Things" in the homeEnlisting the Internet of Things against California's historic droughtMap Plots the World's Internet DevicesTraffic Lights are Easy... View full entry
Google will introduce its much-anticipated entry into the voice-activated home device market on Wednesday, according to people who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Named Google Home, the device is a virtual agent that answers simple questions and carries out basic tasks. It is to be announced at Google’s annual developers’ conference in Silicon Valley.
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Questions are already arising about privacy, disclosures and the quality of the information being doled out.
— New York Times
The project will compete against Amazon's Echo.For more on new forays into smart home technology, check out these links:Mark Zuckerberg's resolution for 2016: build an at-home AI "like Jarvis in Iron Man"A city for the future but devoid of peopleSamsung Acquires SmartThings, A Fast-Growing Home... View full entry
We need to think of technology-enabled furniture as a platform for integrating other technology because in a small apartment it is not practical to put in conventional systems...I don't believe in smart homes, I believe in dumb homes that you put smart things into. If smartness is embedded in the walls then your home becomes obsolete in five years time — BBC news
Jane Wakefield talks with folks behind various efforts to lower the cost of homes including; WikiHouse, CityHome and the Brazilian tiny apartment construction firm, Vitacon. View full entry
"I'm very interested in using voice and face recognition to set lights and temperature as well depending on who is in what rooms, etc," he writes. [...]
The really interesting part of Zuckerberg's AI plan is when it moves past standard smart home controls and into his work. Describing the "simple AI" that he intends to build, Zuckerberg writes, "On the work side, it'll help me visualize data in VR to help me build better services and lead my organizations more effectively."
— theverge.com
You can read Mark Zuckerberg's entire Facebook post on his AI home-plan here. Referring to already commercially available "smart home" technologies (such as temperature, entertainment, or security controls), Zuckerberg plans to build on existing products to make them more responsive with less... View full entry
By the end of this year, some 20 million households in the U.S. will have some form of smart-home device, double the number in 2012 [...]
But some homeowners find themselves frustrated by the proliferation of smart-home technology. They complain of complex systems for once-simple tasks like turning on the light, “learning algorithms” that get their preferences wrong and systems that simply go on the fritz too often.
— wsj.com
More on Archinect:Enlisting the Internet of Things against California's historic droughtHackers Present Threat to Internet of ThingsWhen 'Smart Homes' Get Hacked: I Haunted A Complete Stranger's House Via The Internet View full entry
Samsung is making a big push into being the center of the smart home today with its acquisition of SmartThings, which allows people to sync up their connected gadgets onto a single smartphone app and hardware hub. — forbes.com
Looks like Samsung is trying to catch up with Apple's upcoming HomeKit. View full entry
Opening the Nest platform to outside developers will allow Google to move into the emerging market for connected, smart home devices. Experts expect that this so-called "Internet of Things" phenomenon will change the way people use technology in much the same way that smartphones have changed life since the introduction of Apple's iPhone seven years ago. — CBS News
The company will lead an ambitious effort, beginning next month, to accelerate the adoption of smart-home products. It is setting up a separate company, Wink, whose main technology is software intended to be the equivalent of an open operating system, helping to seamlessly connect all kinds of automated home devices. — nytimes.com
With a feature called HomeKit that's coming in iOS 8, iPhones will be able to start controlling smart devices, such as garage door openers, lights, and security cameras. It'll all be controllable through Siri too [...]
It's only a matter of time before major tech companies begin vying to be the thread that connects appliances and devices throughout your home, and this seems to be Apple's first step in the door.
— theverge.com
“I can see all of the devices in your home and I think I can control them,” I said to Thomas Hatley, a complete stranger in Oregon who I had rudely awoken with an early phone call on a Thursday morning.
He and his wife were still in bed. Expressing surprise, he asked me to try to turn the master bedroom lights on and off. Sitting in my living room in San Francisco, I flipped the light switch with a click, and resisted the Poltergeist-like temptation to turn the television on as well.
— forbes.com
Engineers from Microsoft have made a new operating system which could enhance the control of the smart home. The new software will become a platform for making apps for “installation” to flats and houses which are furnished with different electronics and household appliances. — architechnologist.com
This software is available at lab-of-things.com. View full entry
Openarch is a real prototype of a smart home. The first home designed from scratch to incorporate a digital layer connecting the house and its elements to the Internet. Its inhabitants lead a new digital and connected life. It is flexible and thanks to its ability to transform, it can adapt to any condition that the user requires. — openarch.cc
