3 ms·

After the Dropcam fiasco, I wondered if there would be a market for secure smart devices with an open API. To me, it's an obvious benefit and one that I would b

After the Dropcam fiasco, I wondered if there would be a market for secure smart devices with an open API. To me, it's an obvious benefit and one that I would buy (whereas I won't buy the cloud-based devices of this sort), but I suspect the ease of use of something like Dropcam trumps all of the other considerations. I even considered doing a Kickstarter to build something in that space; the technical side, both hardware and software, is actually very, very, simple these days. I mean, a thermostat is a temperature sensor, a clock, and some switches; the kind of thing electronics nerds put together when first learning. The smallest Arduino could more than handle the task (for the prototype, and a dedicated device could be manufactured in quantity very cheaply). Controlling switches and sensors in software is also very simple. Making a beautiful UI (which I think is a big part of the appeal of Nest, Dropcam, and the like) is more challenging, for me, but perhaps there's a UI/UX designer out there who has similar inclinations. I never thought I'd want to be in the home automation business, or the web cam business, but this kind of thing is just so offensive to me, that whenever I think about it, I want to do something.

ghaff 11y ago
I haven't tried it personally but I know a few people who think highly of SmartThings [1], which is a relatively open platform. I've also experimented with Raspberry Pis. However, to be honest, there are a fairly limited number of "smart" things I can do around my house which would be genuinely useful. [1] http://developer.smartthings.com/ http://developer.smartthings.com/
- SwellJoe 11y ago
  That does look promising. It's kinda hard to tell how SmartThings all fits together with devices and what level of control consumers actually have, but, the word "open" appears a lot in their copy.
- crispyambulance 11y ago
  It is a neat platform. I use it myself. HOWEVER.... it DOES rely upon Smartthings "in the cloud". Every interaction with sensors is mediated through the cloud and if something goes wrong on their side (and it does) mayhem ensues. FWIW, the developer platform consists of writing groovy scripts in their web-based IDE. The code runs on their servers, not your devices.
  - vorg 11y ago
    It's not just Smartthings which betray users by collecting all your data. If you need documentation help with writing those Apache Groovy scripts, you might think going to the Apache website to look up Groovy would provide a safe browsing experience. But virtually every link there for Groovy redirects to groovy-lang.org. Look up the DNS name registry and you'll see your IP address isn't being collected by Apache, or even a business -- that domain name is owned by a single private individual without any business or non-profit affiliation. When it comes to business ethics, like attracts like.
petra 11y ago
Looking at the trends in computing,coffee makers,printers,routers etc, it kinda seems like a lost battle, isn't it?
seanp2k2 11y ago
Moteino is pretty cool if you want to DIY: http://lowpowerlab.com/moteino/ http://lowpowerlab.com/moteino/
crispyambulance 11y ago
The problem with taking these things out of the cloud is that you're then a hardware provider rather than a service provider. Your revenue would come from selling increasingly inexpensive hardware and/or trying to sell your software to run in a consumer environment where you have very little control. Very few companies can make money that way. Smartthings is backed by Samsung (800 lb gorilla). They appear to be playing a long game now because they provide cloud-backed service (for free) and cheap hardware. The strategy will very clear shift towards subscription service eventually, IMHO.
- scrupulusalbion 11y ago
  Perhaps a hybrid business model could be achieved by setting the hardware to talk to a central server of the user's choice. The server software would be open source and be manageable via a web interface, which is mobile-friendly. The company would simultaneously offer a cloud-based alternative for a monthly fee, so that the user could avoid having to setup his/her own server. As a third option, each device could be managed individually; this is likely most appropriate if the user only has a single device. So long as the company does not go rogue and purposefully brick the devices, then the company could shutdown and the devices could still be usable. Further, other companies could provide remote management services for these devices. Being IoT devices, though, would make them still susceptible to security issues, but at least being able to use them on a segregated network could limit that from happening.

ghaff 11y ago

I haven't tried it personally but I know a few people who think highly of SmartThings [1], which is a relatively open platform. I've also experimented with Raspberry Pis. However, to be honest, there are a fairly limited number of "smart" things I can do around my house which would be genuinely useful. [1] http://developer.smartthings.com/ http://developer.smartthings.com/

SwellJoe 11y ago
That does look promising. It's kinda hard to tell how SmartThings all fits together with devices and what level of control consumers actually have, but, the word "open" appears a lot in their copy.
crispyambulance 11y ago
It is a neat platform. I use it myself. HOWEVER.... it DOES rely upon Smartthings "in the cloud". Every interaction with sensors is mediated through the cloud and if something goes wrong on their side (and it does) mayhem ensues. FWIW, the developer platform consists of writing groovy scripts in their web-based IDE. The code runs on their servers, not your devices.
- vorg 11y ago
  It's not just Smartthings which betray users by collecting all your data. If you need documentation help with writing those Apache Groovy scripts, you might think going to the Apache website to look up Groovy would provide a safe browsing experience. But virtually every link there for Groovy redirects to groovy-lang.org. Look up the DNS name registry and you'll see your IP address isn't being collected by Apache, or even a business -- that domain name is owned by a single private individual without any business or non-profit affiliation. When it comes to business ethics, like attracts like.

petra 11y ago

Looking at the trends in computing,coffee makers,printers,routers etc, it kinda seems like a lost battle, isn't it?

seanp2k2 11y ago

Moteino is pretty cool if you want to DIY: http://lowpowerlab.com/moteino/ http://lowpowerlab.com/moteino/

crispyambulance 11y ago

The problem with taking these things out of the cloud is that you're then a hardware provider rather than a service provider. Your revenue would come from selling increasingly inexpensive hardware and/or trying to sell your software to run in a consumer environment where you have very little control. Very few companies can make money that way. Smartthings is backed by Samsung (800 lb gorilla). They appear to be playing a long game now because they provide cloud-backed service (for free) and cheap hardware. The strategy will very clear shift towards subscription service eventually, IMHO.

scrupulusalbion 11y ago
Perhaps a hybrid business model could be achieved by setting the hardware to talk to a central server of the user's choice. The server software would be open source and be manageable via a web interface, which is mobile-friendly. The company would simultaneously offer a cloud-based alternative for a monthly fee, so that the user could avoid having to setup his/her own server. As a third option, each device could be managed individually; this is likely most appropriate if the user only has a single device. So long as the company does not go rogue and purposefully brick the devices, then the company could shutdown and the devices could still be usable. Further, other companies could provide remote management services for these devices. Being IoT devices, though, would make them still susceptible to security issues, but at least being able to use them on a segregated network could limit that from happening.