Smart Thinking “Poor Roo,” my friends say about my seven-year-old Corgi mix. “Don’t you think he minds having his every moment broadcast online?” The fact is Roo has become the unwitting subject of my electronic hacks. One of my recent experiments involved attaching an UP by Jawbone band to his harness to solve the mystery of just what he does all day. Yep, I like to measure things Thankfully, I’m not the only one who likes to experiment with technology. As a designer, I’m really excited by this shift in how we relate to the everyday objects around us. What all this adds up to is a virtual database of physical objects — or “Internet of Things” — that can be accessed at any time. As inspired as I am by the possibilities, it’s also my job to keep things real. To avoid the trap of “technology for technology’s sake,” I keep in mind these six overarching guidelines when designing for the Internet of Things. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
nativelove Exclusive: Nest has raised another $80M, now shipping 40K+ thermostats a month Smart thermostat startup Nest has closed on a round of $80 million, we’ve learned, and the funding was done at a post money valuation of $800 million. Google Ventures led the round, and Venrock participated as a new investor, according to our sources. Nest is currently listed on Venrock’s site. The company has raised this round to continue its growth; it’s now shipping 40,000 to 50,000 of its learning thermostats per month. Some of that growth is happening in Europe, in addition to its shipments in the U.S. Nest also plans to use the funds to offer a more comprehensive smart home service along with its product, which could include lighting and alarm systems, too, we’ve heard. We’ve reached out to Nest and are waiting to to hear back on these figures. Nest previously raised tens of millions of dollars before this round. Nest’s growth is one of the few success stories to come out of the cleantech sector in awhile.
Samsung Galaxy Camera: Android Comes To Internet Of Things Everyone knows the smartphone is killing the point-and-shoot digital camera. Who wants to carry a digital camera as a separate device when your smartphone already takes good-enough pictures and makes them easy to share with your friends? Sure, a good point-and-shoot takes better pictures than a smartphone does. On the other hand, digital cameras can't use mobile apps, a cellular connection or a smart operating system. Until now. Samsung Galaxy Camera The Samsung Galaxy Camera is an Android-based digital point-and-shoot that will be available from AT&T on Nov. 16 for $499. Is there a place in the consumer market for such a device? Samsung is not the only company to attach a mobile operating system to a high-quality camera. A Mainstream Step Into The Internet Of Things The Galaxy Camera is a camera first, cell phone… never. When we think of mobile operating systems like Android or iOS, the first thing that pops into our minds are smartphones and tablets.
dotMN — SmartThings launches $250k Kickstarter campaign Minnesota’s most ambitious Kickstarter campaign yet has launched today with the intention of crowd sourcing a quarter million in cash to “make the world a smarter place,” through an ‘Internet of things’ hardware + software platform play. SmartThings, as it’s known, is now ready to take your money ($10 to $10k) and “Add intelligence to everyday things in your world, so that your life can be more awesome,” says co founder Ben Edwards. If awesome implies enabling anyone to remotely monitor, control and automate various aspects of their physical and digital lives in novel ways through the emergence of a new, globally recognized Minnesota startup, then yes — awesome indeed. SmartThings’ grand plan is contingent upon reducing a number technical complexities and hooking together a lot of moving parts in a cohesive user friendly and functional fashion. “We want to give your front door, your bed, your toilet, anything and everything, an API. “There’s a lot of Minnesota inertia here,” says Edwards.
SmartThings’ Kickstarter project lets developers hack the real world Guess what! There’s another Kickstarter project that pushes the Internet of Things forward in a fun way. For as little as $10 you could pledge money to SmartThings, which wants to develop sensors and an application environment that lets people who may not be comfortable programming an Arduino board tie the physical world to their virtual one. SmartThings is trying to raise $250,000, and it just got a boost in the form of a tweet from Kevin Rose, the co-founder of Digg and now at Google Ventures, that has helped it raise $60,000 in just a few hours since its launch. SmartThings has an app environment, a SmartHub that connects and houses the intelligence for the sensors and will develop sensor kits. One plugs into a wall outlet and will then turn things on or off when a certain online is taken (every time you get a new Twitter follower your lights blink on and off). Other kits include a presence sensor (is your hamster still in his cage?)