Google's operating system for lightweight Internet of Things devices, the fittingly-named Android Things OS, was originally intended to run on a wide array of hardware. It has seen the most success in Google Assistant-powered smart displays and speakers, and now that's the only product category Android Things will be certified for.
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In a press release this morning, Qualcomm announced a new platform "purpose-built for IoT devices" and a couple of new system-on-chips to go along with it. The company is calling the new program the Vision Intelligence Platform, and its new chips will be used in devices like robots and smart cameras.
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The more capable a microwave oven is, the harder it is to figure out what buttons to press to make it do the thing you want. Or so I've heard. Today, Amazon announced that it will save us all from furiously button-mashing to just heat up some leftovers by adding cooking capabilities to its Smart Home Skill API and working with appliance manufacturers to add its Alexa assistant to cloud-connected microwave ovens.
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We've seen levitating Bluetooth speakers and connected smart cameras before, but the Moon, a fully funded Indiegogo project, melds those technologies in a $209 ($330 at retail) floating robotic eyeball and base that can also act as a smart hub for your home. That is, if it ever ships. The typical crowdfunding caveats apply. Some Indiegogo projects don't have much of a future, and this is 1-Ring's first.
The Moon, which comes from 1-Ring Inc., comprises a wide-angle lens embedded in a sphere made of plastic, aluminum, and rubber. When the smart camera is levitating above its base unit, it can give its owner a 360-degree scan of whatever room it's placed in.
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Coffee is an integral part of so many people's lives, so it makes sense to make the brewing process more convenient. The folks at Behmor thought of this and created the Behmor Connected Coffee Brewer. The MSRP of $299 might have made it a bit out of reach for many consumers, but Groupon currently has this WiFi-toting machine for just $159.99 - a savings of around 46%.
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Fast on the heels of Developer Preview 2, Google has just pushed out their latest Developer Preview for Android Things, the IoT embedded platform based on Android.
Android Things was released at I/O in 2015 originally under the codename Brillo, and was meant to give existing Android developers a platform for embedded devices through the same tools and Android SDK they already know. At its most basic level Android Things is the same Android we all know and love applied to embedded devices like smart lights, doorbells, thermostats—that sort of thing—with some of the same APIs and tools that Android developers have used for years.
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Android Things is Google's simplified build of Android for Internet of Things devices (I still hate that term), first released last year as a developer preview. The previews only support a handful of developer boards - the Intel Edison and Joule, NXP Pico, and Raspberry Pi 3. Now Qualcomm has committed to supporting Android Things on its Snapdragon 210 SoC later this year.
Read MoreGoogle dipped its toe in the waters of the ambiguously defined "Internet of Things" (IoT) at I/O 2015 when it announced the Brillo operating system. Today, Google has announced Android Things, the new name for Brillo, is ready for public testing. Developers can grab the images right now for several hardware platforms.
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Love it or hate it, Bluetooth is in almost every gadget we own and use. It's one of the most universal means of communication between devices and thanks to the Low Energy protocol of Bluetooth 4.0 (and 4.1 and 4.2 subsequently), it has been propagating to various accessories, gadgets, wearables, and Internet of Things devices. Right now, I can count 13 things within 2 feet of me that use Bluetooth, and they're not all phones: I also have a speaker, a wireless trackpad, 2 smartwatches, a Fitbit, and so on.
But Bluetooth is slated for even more expansion as beacons start showing up everywhere, multiple items around you and even on you get smart, and your house/office appliances and various things start learning to communicate wirelessly.
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Ever since it sold off its mobile business to Microsoft and its mapping entity to a consortium of German carmakers, Nokia has been struggling to find its identity and reinvent itself amidst a changing and challenging ecosystem. Its network arm is still going strong, but the brand has lost much of, if not all of its halo when it comes to consumer-facing technologies.
Now Nokia might be looking at a new direction and an interesting way to sneak back into the market, as a digital health provider. It announced today that it wants to acquire Withings, a French company that specializes in Internet of Things products and connected health gadgets.
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