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There are a select few who were there at the dawn of IoT.  Rob Tiffany, VP & IoT Intrapreneur at Ericsson, is one of those.  In fact, Rob is known for showing up in the monumental stages of the IoT evolution and transitioning into the behemoth that it is today. Our conversation is so jam-packed with IoT insights that we had to separate it into two parts. In part one, Rob discusses the early days of IoT—pre-cloud, pre-sophisticated development tools, pre-wireless data networks—and weighs the cost and value sides of IoT. We discuss: The inventive spirit of the early days  The current state of consumer IoT Why the value of industrial IoT lies in moving users from guessing to knowing What the future holds for automation and the workforce Mentioned during the podcast: RobTiffanyDigital.com   Rob Tiffany on YouTube  @RobTiffany on Twitter  IoT Coffee Talk on YouTube  Stay tuned for Part 2 of our conversation with Rob. Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts. Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

There’s a Maori proverb that goes like this: What is the most important thing in the world? It is the people, it is the people, it is the people. That certainly applies to high-level hardware execution. After all, there is no way it happens unless you have the right people around you. Matt Barber, Chief Executive Officer at Vutility, joins the show to share his tips on how to get the right people into the right mindset for executing hardware well. We discuss: 3 tips for high-level execution How one bad apple can ruin company culture Finding operational excellence in a partnership model Taking leadership inspiration from The Hero’s Journey What the future holds for Vutility Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

Yale has been manufacturing locks since 1840. Put another way, they have hardware on lockdown. Software, on the other hand, has been a relatively new addition to the company’s repertoire. In this episode, Jason Williams, President of August Home, Yale Real Living, and Smart Residential Global Accounts, shares his thoughts on the journey his company has been on since they started manufacturing smart locks and the lessons they have learned along the way.  We discuss: The story and strategy behind acquiring August Home Lessons from learning the language of software Reasoning behind entering the smart lock space Advice for companies starting their IoT journey Follow Yale Real Living and August Home on Twitter: @YaleHome  @AugustHomeInc  Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

Nobody gets firmware right the first time. It’s a hard truth in the IoT space. Many developers of smart products trip up at this step in their journey. It’s not just the initial development that’s difficult either. As the product evolves, you need to constantly improve the experience—without breaking things in the process. Alan Vardon, Director - Smart Home Division at Globe Electric, is well-versed in the trials and tribulations of firmware development, and he’s learned a few lessons along the way. In this episode, we discuss: Transitioning an established company to the smart home space The importance of initial and continuous testing with firmware The challenges of working with firmware Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

It’s hard enough to marry the worlds of hardware and software when creating a connected device. Imagine throwing another specialized discipline with its own language and rigid ways of working into the development process too. That’s exactly what David Rabie, Founder & CEO at Tovala, dealt with in creating a company that pairs a smart oven with a meal delivery service. In this episode, he describes how they established a culture of collaboration that brought all three disciplines together under a unified mission. Topics covered: Bridging the worlds of culinary and tech The strategy behind using Kickstarter How a marketing pivot drove new growth How finding product-market fit led to operational challenges Our exclusive discount code for Tovala to purchase the oven for $89 and includes six orders is: very possible Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

For B2B robotics, all the customer cares about is the outcome. There’s no emotional attachment to having a brand new thing like there is in B2C. That’s one reason why it provides an incredible opportunity to bring sustainability and reusability to the industry. All it takes is one simple acronym: RaaS. Stefan Nusser, Chief Product Officer at Fetch Robotics, joins the show to discuss how his company approaches sustainability using a robotics-as-a-service model. We discuss: What made a partnership with Zebra Technologies so appealing The difference between building a product for B2B vs B2C The philosophy behind modular reusable components How RaaS is bringing sustainability to robotics Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

You’ve been tasked with defining an IoT and automation strategy for your company. It’s a major initiative that will likely span the next decade or more. Where do you start? What’s the right path forward? Craig Salvalaggio, Chief Operating Officer at Applied Manufacturing Technologies, was in your shoes 18 years ago. In this episode, he offers advice on how to get started with an IoT strategy and the pitfalls to avoid along the way. We discuss: - What automation looked like 20 years ago - Tips for getting started with an IoT strategy - How building a team can inform internal culture transformation - How partnerships enable growth Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

We’re a lot closer to having a bona fide Star Trek replicator than you might think. Sure, we’re not to the point where you can just press a button and a part — or maybe a steak and some Romulan ale — will materialize out of nowhere. However, additive manufacturing has finally matured to such a degree that 3D printing is feasible for manufacturing applications. Blake Teipel, Cofounder and CEO at Essentium, shares how additive manufacturing is bringing agility and adaptability to manufacturers and product developers. We discuss: - What additive manufacturing is - Building a team vs finding partners - Electromagnetic energy and electrically conductive plastics Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

Typical hardware devices aren’t designed to withstand getting punched repeatedly every day. One reason is most hardware isn’t meant to be punched. Another reason is it’s pretty hard to develop hardware for that purpose. In this episode, Jeff Morin, CEO and Founder at Liteboxer, discusses how his team tackled the challenges of creating a home boxing hardware platform that gamifies the workout experience. Topics covered: - Developing hardware in the consumer space - Strategies for raising capital - Leaving room for iteration - Determining core competencies and finding the right team Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

The most enticing opportunities on earth involve finding solutions to problems that have traditionally been considered impossible. What could be better than that? How about redefining the imaginable outside of earth’s orbit — in deep space? Neil Mallik, Office of the Chief Engineer for Space Communications and Navigation at NASA, joins the show to chat about the commercialization opportunities available in space exploration and communication. We discuss: - Openings for commercialization in the aerospace industry - The technical challenges of interconnectivity outside of Earth - Impossible things which might become possible within the next 10 to 15 years Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

Most of our tech isn’t developed to be modular. Our cell phones, speakers, and TVs are designed to be used for a limited window of time and can’t be reused in any way — at least by the end consumer. However, Afshin Doust, CEO at Advanced Intelligent Systems, has a different vision for the future of robotics. In this episode, he explains how modularity minimizes development costs and time while empowering a bigger, better robotics industry for the future. Topics covered: - Making robotics scalable - Bringing modularity to consumer technology - Why Robotics-as-a-Service? - Determining the core skills needed on your team Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

IoT is transforming the way we approach intractable problems like poverty, sustainability, and climate change, especially in remote regions like Africa. But there are many challenges inherent in bringing connected devices to these isolated places. Jit Bhattacharya, Principal at Factor(e) Ventures, joins the podcast to talk about engineering IoT solutions for areas with unreliable connectivity. Topics we covered: - 3 challenges of developing an IoT solution for remote areas - How lithium-ion batteries are changing the landscape - The importance of data in developing products and gaining industry buy-in Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

Many of the world’s greatest innovations emerge from intrapreneurship. Given the space to incubate tangential ideas, employees often create products that become the basis for successful spinoff companies. In today’s episode, we chat with Bob Marshall and Joe McNulty from Whisker Labs — a company born out of intrapreneurship. Bob is the Founder and CEO and Joe is the SVP of Product and Partnerships. We discuss: - The origin story of Ting - Intrapreneurship and innovating within a company - Analyzing whether a personal mission has legs as a business Any questions for our guests? Contact Bob at Bob@whiskerlabs.com and Joe at Joe@whiskerlabs.com. Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

IoT data can have a profound impact on the quality of your product. But don’t stop there. It can also potentially improve every single aspect of your business. In this episode, Sean Grundy, Co-Founder & CEO of Bevi, joins the show to explain how IoT data guides his business and sets the Bevi brand apart from the competition. We discuss: - Using IoT data to inform decision making - Hardware mistakes and lessons learned - Tips for entering a contract manufacturer relationship - Thoughts on core competencies and outsourcing Reach out to Sean on LinkedIn or at sean@bevi.co. Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts. Listening on a desktop and can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

A lot of companies — even the big players — make the mistake of developing a product in search of a problem. But today’s guest, Doug Roberson, Chief Technology Officer at Alterco Robotics US, advocates for taking a consumer-centric approach to product development. In this episode, he shares why listening and interacting with customers is the key to delivering a viable outcome that actually solves their problems. What we talked about: - Honing a consumer-centric approach to product development - Ensuring there’s a large enough audience for a product - Lessons from a development cycle without a viable outcome - The importance of saying no to superfluous stuff Check out Doug’s podcast, Make IoT Simple. Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

You’ve been given the reins of a moonshot engineering project. The company’s big, make-or-break initiative is in your hands and all eyes are on you. Feeling lost? Overwhelmed? No idea where to start? In this episode, new co-host, Luke Wilhelm — Chief Product Officer here at Very and a veteran leader of big consequential projects — doles out advice for overseeing critically strategic engineering initiatives. Topics covered: - Advice for newbies leading a really big initiative - Options for changing the scope of a project midstream - Tips for effectively managing up - Why saying “no” often makes saying “yes” more effective Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

A significant amount of the world’s population — over 2 billion households — cooks with dirty fuels. For most, there simply isn’t access to clean cooking fuel. In Kenya, Nick Quintong (CEO and Co-Founder) and his team at PayGo Energy have designed an IoT solution that expands access to clean cooking. In this episode, Nick shares: - Why startups are abundant in Nairobi - How a piece of smart hardware brings clean cooking fuel to Kenya - The journey of developing new IoT technology - Advice for negotiating the right metrics for success Never miss an episode of Over The Air by subscribing wherever you listen to podcasts. Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Over the Air in your favorite podcast player.

The greatest transformation in the history of aerospace is happening now. The confluence of new technology combined with the evolution of space-based markets presents incredible opportunities for companies in the connected space. Joining us on this episode to break it all down is Dennis Muilenburg, Former CEO of Boeing and current CEO of New Vista Acquisition Corp., a SPAC focused on emerging technologies in the aerospace and defense sectors. Topics we covered: - Significant changes in the connected space over the last 20 years - How SPACs help emerging space IoT technologies - Evolving space-based markets - What’s on the horizon for space exploration Over The Air

The digital transformation continues to upend industries and connect the world in new and innovative ways. But one industry remained untouched until recently: agriculture. In this episode, we’re joined by Praveen Penmetsa, CEO/Founder of Monarch Tractor & Motivo, to discuss how he’s revolutionizing the agriculture industry by bringing automation and connectivity to farms around the world. Topics that we covered: - Transforming a stagnant industry - Challenges of working in an agricultural environment - The merits of a modular vs. a non-modular approach to product development - How connected devices will change our lives in meaningful ways Over The Air

We’ve all heard of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and, of course, the hardware needed for that software to work. But what happens when SaaS and complex hardware are combined? Paul Willard, a founding partner at grep -vc, refers to this as RaaS or Robotics-as-a-Service. In this episode of Over the Air, Paul tells Ryan about… - What RaaS is and why it’s valuable - How his rare background makes him the perfect RaaS investor - What he looks for in founders - The robot he can’t wait for someone to build Over The Air