Product Development, Technical Challenges, and Trading Standards: Insights from LightFair 2023

Over the Air · 28 Sept 2023 · 34m

What this episode covers

Ryan Prosser and Ben Walden of Very attend LightFair 2023 to interview executives from WAC, Keystone, Lutron, Kasambi, Ledvance, Crestron, SACO, and KNX about innovation and struggles in the lighting industry. They discuss specific products like WAC's Strut, Keystone's Smart Loop, and Lutron's Athena wireless node, highlighting technical challenges such as miniaturization, tunable white capabilities, and the shift to wireless control. The episode emphasizes the industry's move toward simplicity, open ecosystems, and backward compatibility to reduce costs and installation complexity. Key decisions involve adopting Bluetooth mesh and Wi-Fi standards to enable granular control and energy data sharing across commercial and residential applications.

Mentioned

Companies
WAC, Keystone, Lutron, Kasambi, Ledvance, Crestron, SACO, KNX, Very
Products
Strut, Smart Loop, Athena wireless node, Ledvance Link, Starfish

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • IoT For All Podcast · 1h 00m

    How to Design and Build Connected Devices | Wai Loong-Lim, Founder and CEO of Y Studios | #AskIoT E023

    Wai Loong-Lim, founder of Y Studios, discusses the industrial design and engineering challenges of building connected devices, citing work with Sonos, TiVo, and Little Fish. He explains how his firm navigates the trade-offs between aesthetics, cost, and technical constraints like RF and thermal management. The conversation also covers the business models of smart assistants (Amazon, Google, Apple) and the privacy concerns associated with IoT adoption.

  • The Circuit · 33m

    Episode 33: The Land of IoT with Guest Stacey Higginbotham

    Stacey Higginbotham, a veteran IoT analyst, discusses the current state of the Internet of Things, arguing that the market is shifting from hype to solving real-world problems in industrial and smart home sectors. She highlights key challenges such as power consumption, connectivity scaling, and the lack of a unified software platform, while noting that Matter is the closest standard to addressing interoperability. Higginbotham identifies specific semiconductor companies like Silicon Labs, Nordic Semiconductor, and Qualcomm as key players, and points to startups like Williot and Edge Impulse for innovations in energy harvesting and edge AI.

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 18m

    An Interview with Omer Kilic

    Omer Kilic, CTO of Den Automation, explains how his company is redesigning power sockets and light switches to be reliable, manufacturable, and interoperable within the IoT ecosystem. He details the engineering challenges of integrating high-voltage safety with smart features, such as per-socket power monitoring and tactile actuation, while avoiding the 'walled garden' problem of proprietary alliances. Kilic also discusses the broader IoT landscape, criticizing the industry's focus on gimmicky 'Internet of Sh*t' products and highlighting the difficulties small startups face in accessing semiconductor support compared to large volume manufacturers.

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 16m

    The Almighty Dollarydoo

    Dave Jones of EEVblog and Chris Gammell of Contextual Electronics discuss the economic realities of hardware development, contrasting the high-margin, low-volume nature of specialized test equipment with the low-margin, high-volume demands of consumer goods. They analyze how venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz favor software due to scalability, leaving hardware startups with fewer funding options, and explore how product specifications often degrade to meet price targets. The conversation also covers the technical challenges of modular electronics, connector costs, and the specific requirements for high-quality LED lighting, including Color Rendering Index (CRI) and Unified Glare Rating (UGR).

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 03m

    Simulating doors falling off

    Hosts Dave Jones and Chris Gammell discuss a wide range of hardware topics, starting with Chris's preparation for Embedded World using FreeCAD and KeyCAD. They delve into Bluetooth Low Energy history and standards, then analyze the industry shift toward plug-in hybrids, citing Toyota's strategy. The conversation covers new silicon from Espressif, the TinyTapeOut project by Bitlooney, and Pete Bevilacqua's PowerMole Kickstarter, before concluding with a look at BeagleBoard.org's new Raspberry Pi-compatible board and a discussion on popular hobbyist components.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Over the Air. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.