Farstuff: The Internet of Things Podcast

After an early arrest for hacking, Terry Dunlap grew up to work for the good guys—first with the NSA, and now as the Founder & CEO of Tactical Network Solutions. TNS helps ensure that manufacturers consider security for the whole IoT product lifecycle. In this episode we get deep into Internet of Things security and privacy starting with the current (awful!) state of “things”, whether companies are starting to get “get” IoT security, and what the future will be like. Terry Dunlap is Founder & CEO of Tactical Network Solutions. He spent over fives years as an intelligence analyst, programmer, trainer, and speaker with the US National Security Agency (NSA) before starting Tactical Network Solutions (TNS) in 2007. TNS specializes in cyber risk mitigation of IoT and other connected devices. Through meticulous examination of the heart and soul of IoT devices—firmware—Mr. Dunlap’s company discovers hidden attack vectors that place IoT devices squarely into the crosshairs of hackers. Prior to his NSA experience, Mr. Dunlap held network security positions at Western Kentucky University and Deloitte & Touche, LLP. Prior to that Mr. Dunlap worked at Fidelity Investments. Mr. Dunlap earned a Master of Science in Network Security from Capitol College (now Capitol Technology University) and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Economics from Case Western Reserve University. About Tactical Network Solutions Fortune 500 companies and governments around the world come to Tactical Network Solutions, LLC for our reverse engineering training programs, firmware evaluations and cyber risk mitigation strategies. TNS discovers hidden attack vectors in IoT and other connected devices using the Centrifuge IoT Security Platform to rapidly conduct firmware evaluations and mitigate cyber risks.

In this episode we discuss the business feasibility of the Internet of Things and what needs to happen to make this a viable business asset or possibly complete business model. Maciej Kranz, VP of the Strategic Innovations Group at Cisco, wrote the book on “Building the Internet of Things” and we discuss what he discovered working with a multitude of clients. Maciej Kranz, vice president, Strategic Innovations Group, at Cisco brings 30 years of networking industry experience to his position. He leads the group focused on incubating new businesses, accelerating internal innovation, and driving co-innovation with customers and startups through a global network of Cisco Innovation Centers. He is frequently interviewed by the media about Internet of Things technology. Maciej is also the author of the new book, “Building the Internet of Things” A book that dissects the business models and strategic necessities to make IoT a sustainable reality. Click on the book to get your copy today!

Lockheed Martin is an impressive innovator in the symbiotic machine-human tech development space. With an impressive array of sensors, haptic feedback points and a sophisticated AI system, a fighter jet and its pilot are more linked than ever before. This is just a fraction of the innovation happening there, learn more by checking out the latest news at Lockheed Martin Innovation. Lockheed Martin is one of the largest companies in the aerospace, defense, security, and technologies industry. With a mission to solve complex challenges, advance scientific discovery and deliver innovative solutions to help our customers keep people safe, it is the world’s largest defense contractor. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 98,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. Lockheed Martin is led by Marillyn A. Hewson, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. As a global security, innovation, and aerospace company, the majority of Lockheed Martin’s business is with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. federal government agencies. In addition, Sikorsky (a Lockheed Martin Company) provides military and rotary-wing aircraft to all five branches of the U.S. armed forces along with military services and commercial operators in 40 nations. The remaining portion of Lockheed Martin’s business is comprised of international government and commercial sales of products, services and platforms. Dr. Bart Russell is a Senior Research Scientist in the Human Systems and Autonomy research area within Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Technology Laboratories. There she uses her expertise in human neurophysiology to help design systems that monitor, assess, and adapt to the human operator to optimize overall human-system performance, and interfaces that maximize the efficiency of information exchange and collaborative behavior in human-machine partnerships. To understand how human systems change and react to extreme military situations, Bart’s research includes understanding the ways stress affects human attention, emotional regulation, perception and information processing. As part of that work she has adapted methods quantifying volitional attention control for applied research and possible integration into operational systems. Some of the work she has most enjoyed includes field research studying elite military units in training and selection courses to understand how cognition, memory and decision-making breaks down under intense, prolonged stress. She is particularly interested in why some people, including members of Special Operations Forces and other elite military units, perform well despite extreme and high-threat conditions, while most fail. Prior to and while completing her Ph.D., Bart spent more than a decade conducting strategic assessments and analysis of the operational relevance, opportunities, and threats associated with emerging biotechnological developments in human performance for the Department of Defense (SAIC 2003-2006, Scitor Corporation, 2006-2014). She was a fellow with the Center for Advanced Study of Language (CASL) between 2008-2012 where she studied the effects of burnout on verbal and visuospatial working memory and executive function. She has a Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University, a Master of Arts in Security Studies from Georgetown University, and a PhD in Neuroscience and Cognitive science from the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Bill Casebeer is a Research Area Manager in Human Systems and Autonomy for L...

CloudOne helps companies create their own IoT, from services to things. In this episode we have the pleasure of talking with John McDonald, the CEO of CloudOne, about how they do that, and the challenges of building enterprise- and consumer-grade IoT products. CloudOne, Inc. Magazine’s fastest-growing IT company in Indiana two years in a row and winner of the 2015 & 2016 IBM Beacon Award, the highest honor given to a business partner, builds the software that goes into big companies IoT products. Further focusing on the long-term value of these IoT products, CloudOne also collects and analyzes the data from the products they’ve helped build.  John McDonald, CEO of CloudOne John McDonald is the CEO of CloudOne, Inc. Magazine’s fastest-growing IT company in Indiana two years in a row and winner of the 2015 and 2016 IBM Beacon Award, the highest honor given to a business partner.  Formerly a technical sales executive at IBM for over 20 years, he is one of the founding members and on the steering committee of the 450+ member Cloud Customer Standards Council, a board member of the Venture Club of Indiana, a board member of TechPoint, a member of the IBM PartnerWorld Global Business Partner Advisory Council, and of the Industrial Advisory Board for Purdue Polytechnic Institute at Purdue University.  John was also an original IBM Champion in 2011, an honor granted again every year since.

Today’s LED lights are really IoT devices — with sensors, processing, and memory — which are deployed every 8 feet in a typical building. That makes lighting the nodes that enable “digital ceilings”, which in turn enables building- and site-wide intelligence. We’re delighted to share our in-person interview with both Greg Merritt, Cree’s VP of Marketing, and John Baekelmans, CTO of Cisco’s Internet of Everything (IoE) Solutions group. This episode will be over your head, in a good way! Our guests John Baekelmans is Chief Technology Officer in Cisco’s Internet of Everything (IoE) Solutions group. His organization delivers solutions in a number of vertical areas like manufacturing, smart cities, utilities, retail, oil and gas, mining, transportation, etc. John and his team drive next generation innovations and drive thought leadership globally. Greg Merritt is Vice President, Marketing and Public Affairs, for Cree, Inc. Greg is one of Cree’s top marketing executives working to drive the game-changing transformation from obsolete, energy wasting lighting to higher-quality, more efficient, better LED technology.

On May 15, Nest permanently disabled the Revolv home hub, rendering thousands of consumers’ home IoT systems worthless. What does this mean for IoT devices going forward? Do IoT developers have an obligation to keep their supporting networks active forever? Should there be legal requirements for how End of Life IoT devices or is it just understood that one day your purchase may be deemed unnecessary by its parent company? We discuss all these and more in this episode while we explore what obligations come with a new form of product that needs to connect to the outside world to do its job. NOTE: Since recording this episode Tony Fadell has stepped down as CEO of Nest. Relevant Links: * Revolv and Nest * Revolv Home Page * Tony sold me a container of hummus * How to kill a product gracefully

Amazon is a company that has quickly become a prime staple for your shopping needs. But this behemoth is more than just an e-commerce giant, establishing itself as a go-to resource for sophisticated cloud hosting, on-demand information, and an open-source IoT hub. How does Amazon compare to the other major players in the IoT space? And more interestingly what is Amazon’s long-term goal compared to the other players. Amazon wants to be everything to everyone, can they pull it off? Relevant Links: * Amazon History Wiki * Alexa Skills Kit * Amazon IoT * Amazon Dash

Farstuff headed to O’Reilly’s SolidCon this year to check out the latest developments in Hardware, Software and the Internet of Things. Andreea met some amazing innovators and got to play with some cool new IoT tech. This episode includes images! The much anticipated Part 2!! Interviewees: * Mouse McCoy – CEO & Creator of Bandito Brothers and well-known in the dirt bike arena is now driving (no pun intended) a cooperative with Autodesk to make a fully-customizable, 3D Printed Race car. * Bandito Brothers * Autodesk University * Ian Banford – Lead Robotic Director for Fetch Robotics has developed two new robots for inventory management that interact better with the humans already in the warehouse. * Fetch Robotics * Anthony Ortez – Creator of the Smart Plate thinks he’s finally developed a tool to accurately measure actual calories on the plate. * Smart Plate * Emily Harris – Director of Sales at Quietyme and Jordan Barrett of Barrage have teamed up to bring sophisticated data analysis to the noise problem in hospitals and discovering some interesting things! * Quietyme * Barrage Additional Links: * SolidCon 2015 – San Francisco, CA Image Gallery:    

Farstuff headed to O’Reilly’s SolidCon this year to check out the latest developments in Hardware, Software and the Internet of Things. Andreea met some amazing innovators and got to play with some cool new IoT tech. This episode includes images! Interviewees: * Miro won the Hardware Hackathon and was rapidly snagged to be a great last minute addition to SolidCon * Him and his partner are developing a Mesh Network for shared internet to help improve internet access in remote communities around the world. * Hitch * Brian Hamilton is the Head of Business Development for Stack which is looking to take Smart Lighting to the next level by creating Smart Bulbs. * Stack Lighting * Jack Mudd – Chief Evangelist & Blake Crow – specializing in Prototyping and Design Engineering of the One Wheel spent most of SolidCon riding around on the self-stabilizing one-wheeled skateboard that really feels like you’re snowboarding on powder even when you’re making your way through the streets of SF or around the room at SolidCon. * One Wheel Interested in more…. Stay tuned for Part 2! Additional Links: * SolidCon 2015 – San Francisco, CA Image Gallery:

If you follow the Internet of Things, you’ve surely heard of AllJoyn — the open-source IoT framework — and the AllSeen Alliance of 170+ member companies who’ve put their weight behind this important effort. Today we have a treat for you — a fun and interesting conversation about all things AllJoyn with Philip DesAutels, The Linux Foundation’s Senior Director of IoT. The Linux Foundation provides a forum for collaboration and education by hosting collaborative projects, and Philip is responsible for the AllSeen Alliance. Links * Philip DesAutels [Twitter] * AllSeen Alliance * Programming IoT Applications Using AllJoyn.js [PDF] * Higgins    

Arrayent is a Redwood City, CA startup that helps companies create smart, connected products, and strengthen their company-to-consumer relationship via those products. Their customers include Whirlpool Corporation, Pentair, and Chamberlain. Prior to founding Arrayent, Mr. Dyer co-founded Propellerhead Studios, Inc. and was its Chief Technical Officer. Before that, he co-founded and served as CEO of ActivePhoto Inc. a venture backed digital imaging company partnered with Polaroid and Sprint to deliver internet connected digital camera systems. Links * http://www.arrayent.com/ * http://www.arrayent.com/platform/iot-platform-overview/  

Apple just shipped their first wearable, which has huge implications for the consumer-facing Internet of Things. In this episode we talk about Apple Watch after spending some time with it, and ultimately recommend whether or not you should buy one. Topics * The “stand up” problem, and how to fix it * Apple Watch is Apple’s MVP (minimum viable product) wearable * 20 million units of a 1.0 product * Launching with 3,500 not-very-good apps * Incredible scale: 885 million iTunes accounts as of fall 2014 (source: Bono) * Apple Watch is to Fitbit, Jawbone, etc. as iPhone was to Palm OS phones — a different species * Compared to Apple, none of the other players has an ecosystem * Fashion * Close to 40 models, confusing naming * “It’s called Apple Watch, but it’s not a watch.” * It’s really not for people who buy watches for the time * “Take your phone, take notifications and messaging, put it on my wrist.” * Apple watch as a needy extension of your phone * We are Pavlov’s Dogs, but with notifications * Health and HealthKit * Siri sucks less (!?) * Related to Siri 3rd generation? * Hypothesis: Apple deployed to Apple Watch first * Payments and security * Water and scratch resistance * Will traditional high-end watch buyers buy Apple Watch? * Price means not a wearable for “the rest of us” * The near and far future of Apple Watch * Apple’s App Store schizophrenia * Should you buy one? Stuff we learned after recording * Apple Watch measures your heart rate every 10 minutes while at rest unless you go to the Heart Rate glance. [Apple Support] It measures your heart rate more often (every 5 seconds when running, for example) when you exercise. [@bradlarson] Links * Apple Watch: Consumer Reports’ First Test Results [YouTube] * The science behind smartwatch scratch resistance: Is the sapphire crystal on the Apple Watch worth the extra money? [Consumer Reports] * Mechanical watchmaker on the Apple Watch: ‘I wouldn’t say I consider it a threat’ [The Verge]  

This is the final of our exclusive 4-part series talking with GE folks about their Industrial Internet (we like to call it “Big IoT”) initiatives. This is a unique view into the side of the Internet of Things you don’t normally get to hear about. In this episode we talk to Lynn DeRose about “cooking with big data” (literally), robot wrangling, and bringing old factories into the modern age. Lynn specializes in introducing innovative technology into old processes, and hanging out with intelligent robots. Get ready to hear about the “smartest” smoker in Austin, the next generation of robot inventors and getting robots and people to enjoy helping each other out. Related articles * At SXSW, GE shows how data analytics can make some damn good barbecue [VentureBeat] * The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition About Lynn DeRose Lynn DeRose is a Principal Investigator at GE. She spends her time optimizing the world around her with sophisticated sensors, advanced computer visualizations and cool robotics. At GE, she is trusted to bring legacy factories around the world into the modern world by incorporating smart elements. Lynn is also actively working with Baxter, an advanced robot, by training him to interact effectively with the world around him. About GE’s Industrial Internet The Industrial Internet changes the game for industrial companies. Pushing machine data to the enterprise level allows businesses to leverage big data to optimize processes and asset performance. Apply predictive analytics to minimize unplanned downtime. Increase throughput, improve product quality and drive resource efficiency. The powerful outcomes—powered by the Industrial Internet—drive transformation.    

This is the third in a 4-episode exclusive series where we delve into GE’s Industrial Internet initiatives. This is the side of the Internet of Things you don’t usually get to see! We talk to Arnie about the challenges and opportunities of user experience design at an industrial scale, and how great UX design puts people and problems first, and technology at their service. About Arnie Lund Arnie Lund is a Connected Experience Technology Leader and Pioneer. Lund has spent over two decades in the field of human and computer interaction creating amazing innovations in data visualization and User Experience Field in Emerging Technologies. He has over 40 patents filed and granted and over 80 publications and presentations. Related article: When Virtual Reality Meets Big Data About GE’s Industrial Internet The Industrial Internet changes the game for industrial companies. Pushing machine data to the enterprise level allows businesses to leverage big data to optimize processes and asset performance. Apply predictive analytics to minimize unplanned downtime. Increase throughput, improve product quality and drive resource efficiency. The powerful outcomes—powered by the Industrial Internet—drive transformation.

This is the second in a 4-episode exclusive series where we delve into GE’s Industrial Internet initiatives. This is the side of the Internet of Things you don’t usually get to see! About Julian Keith Loren Julian Keith Loren has been building design and innovation teams and taking on large-scale, multi-faceted design challenges for over 20 years. Currently, he leads a worldwide collaboration to design and develop Operations Optimization products for GE’s Industrial Internet. Julian is the Co-Founder of the Innovation Management Institute where he designs and facilitates Gameferences — unforgettable face-to-face games that drive deep exploration and breakaway design. Julian also lectures and runs collaborative design games at Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley and speaks and writes about audacious innovation. About GE’s Industrial Internet The Industrial Internet changes the game for industrial companies. Pushing machine data to the enterprise level allows businesses to leverage big data to optimize processes and asset performance. Apply predictive analytics to minimize unplanned downtime. Increase throughput, improve product quality and drive resource efficiency. The powerful outcomes—powered by the Industrial Internet—drive transformation.