Hacker News Reader

Comment by Duhck | Hacker News Reader

As someone actively working in the smart home space, I refrain from calling our business IoT for exactly this reason. I've even challenged the team to stay away from smart home. We do very little "smart" home stuff and instead rely on cleverly designing a set of devices that don't require an application or future technology (AI, voice control) to work properly. They also don't take up space in your home and combine the functionality of two or more devices into one.

I'd like to think I've been a bullhorn for the "IoT is stupid" movement, but I think the author did a great job of calling it out as well.

View on HN

Hi :-)

This is very interesting. What exactly are you doing then? Designing (software, hardware, both?) dumb devices for home?

Parent poster's bio link points to https://www.hellotwist.com/ which does multi-room speaker systems.

What I was going to say before thinking to check the link, is that there must be a wealth of applications available to the instrumentation engineer, using modern microcontrollers without making the full step to Internet of Things.

The smoke alarm with the "I'm cooking for the next ten minutes" button. The simple alarm clock that knows weekends from weekdays, or even your work shifts. The thermostat with a few dozen more available states than the traditional ones and a sane interface. Electric showers that deliver a pleasant showering experience. Smart dumb devices.

Twist seems like a pretty clever idea, especially by integrating it all into the lightbulb.

Can anyone think of potential downsides to this approach? Other than the audio probably not being of very good quality compared to a serious speaker system.

We've used a really high quality audio driver and have some future products that'll help round out the system (aka subwoofers).

For reference here is the data sheet of speaker we use: http://www.baysidenet.tv/catalog/pdf/Peerless/30n18al04-04.p...

We also have a half a dozen other products designed to fit into this form factor, all of which provide a superior lighting experience to what is available on the market today.

I'm sure it's good, but I don't think you'll win the audiophiles over.

Tried to go on your profile to know more..can you provide a link of what you're building?

Apologies was traveling all day yesterday.

We are building Twist (www.hellotwist.com). The long term vision is a smart home platform for Apartments (and more specifically, renters).

In the short term, we've built a great multiroom audio system that doesn't take up valuable space, add to your clutter, or require setup / installation.

We've leveraged the light socket to deliver a quality lighting and audio experience that anyone -- even small spaces -- can benefit from.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com