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smart devices

13 Sep 2017

iRobot and the Smart Home

Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) technology. Find out what that mapping technology could mean for the future of the smart home.

The Roomba, that cute little robotic vacuum by iRobot, has been cleaning our floors since 2002. That makes it one of the elder statesmen of the modern smart home.

But did you know the company originally made bomb disposal robots? iRobot, founded in 1990, only sold off its military unit in 2016.

All robotic vacuum cleaners (robovacs) use short-range IR sensors to detect obstacles. That helps them avoid bumping into anything. Yet iRobot’s models from 2015 and onwards now feature cameras, super powered sensors, and new software.

This Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) technology means that the Roomba doesn’t just avoid obstacles. It now generates a map of the whole room. Measuring the spatial dimensions, it also includes the layout of furniture and other items that may block its path.

The SLAM tech is so sophisticated that the robovac can pause cleaning, go back to recharge in its dock, and then pick up where it left off. All of that with no input from you.

That’s a smart device.

But let’s find out what that mapping technology could mean for the future of the smart home.

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23 Aug 2017

Do You Know the Smart Devices Privacy Issues?

All technology has the potential for security and privacy concerns. Let’s investigate some of the potential privacy issues associated with smart devices.

More people are bringing smart technology into their home. The technology usually comes in the form of smart devices to help people save energy, monitor health problems, entertain the kids, and protect their property while they’re away.

All technology has the potential for security and privacy concerns, but the privacy issues are more obvious with certain types of devices like voice assistants.

Voice assistants such as the Amazon Echo or Google Home provide ways to integrate these smart solutions. They also dispense with the need for multiple controllers for an array of products. The devices integrate with other systems. So you can install Amazon’s Alexa within your SURE Universal remote to control the app – and your smart devices – using your voice.

But the devices also pose their own problems.

The voice assistants aren’t autonomous like Iron Man‘s Jarvis. But they are always listening, ready to pick up on any cues to swing into action. Google’s Home assistant, for example, wakes up when it hears “Okay, Google.”

Yet the “always listening” aspect of many devices leads some to worry about who else might be listening.

Let’s investigate some of the potential privacy issues associated with smart devices.

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