In episode 17 of the Let’s Connect! Podcast, and the Season 1 finale, David Wilson, Customer Success Manager at Intelinair, joins host Ken Briodagh to get our hands dirty and dig into Agriculture IoT, AI and 5G and where the three intersect.  

David and Ken spend time talking about how Aircraft can serve as effective ioT sensors, and data collection engines, how predictive analytics and crop data help framers act as commodities traders for new revenue that can make the difference between a good year and a bad year, and how farmers turn raw data from field sensors into actionable data for improved operations. 

Intelinair provides automated crop intelligence that leverages AI and Machine Learning to model crop performance and identify problems so our commercial growers can make proactive, improved decisions. We provide a full-scope, full-season crop performance and intelligence to ensure the health of the crop, ensure timely, proactive alerts to farmers/growers–and to all the different professionals that help growers raise a healthy, abundant crop. And we do all this with our company’s flagship product, AGMRI®   AI-platform which aggregates and analyzes data–including high resolution aerial, satellite, and drone imagery, equipment, weather, scouting, and more–to deliver actionable Smart Alerts on specific problems in areas of fields as push notifications to farmers’ smartphones.

Time Stamps:

(0:00) Welcome to the Let's Connect! Podcast

(1:05) Introductions to David Wilson and Intelinair

(2:09) Agriculture IoT: an Introduction

(4:00) Where is Agriculture IoT Now?

(5:11) Aircraft as IoT Sensor 

(6:40) Predictive Analytics for Market Trading

(9:10) Converting Data into Actionable Intelligence

(11:50) How Does Agriculture IoT Analysis Work?

(13:50) How Do You Deliver the Data?

(14:30) Data Sharing and Metadata for Global Food Supply Chain

(18:43) Final Thoughts

In episode 16 of the Let’s Connect! Podcast, Rick Hall, CEO at Aginity Corporation, joins us to define advanced analytics for IoT, talk about Artificial Intelligence (AI), edge computing, digital twin, and metadata analysis.

Rick and Ken explore the inside track on how companies can and should be using advanced analytics to make the most of their data collection efforts and drive real business outcomes. We also dig into consumer IoT, digital twin as a tool for analytics, and how and when you should be thinking about metadata.   

Rick Hall is CEO of Aginity Corporation, and a software entrepreneur focused on the analytics market. He has led the development of over a dozen software products and taken several companies from the early stage to an eventual sale.

Rick led a group in the purchase of Aginity in March of 2020 and has taken over the CEO role as a result. Connect with Rick on LinkedIn.

Aginity was an early innovator in Analytics Management and launched Aginity Pro early this year. The product is off to a fast start, attracting 13,000 subscribers in the first nine months and is set to grow by more than 250 percent through 2021.

Time Stamps:

(0:00) Welcome to the Let's Connect! Podcast

(1:17) Introductions to Aginity and CEO Rick Hall

(2:57) How Data Analysis Works in Consumer and Retail

(6:39) How Do You Measure Activity?

(11:13) Digital Twin as Analytical Tool

(13:51) MetaData Analytics and How They Work

(16:09) Let’s Get into AI for Analytics

(20:30) Final Thoughts on Advance Analytics

In episode 15 of the Let's Connect! Podcast, Robert Hemmerdinger, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Delta Controls, joins host Ken Briodagh to talk about why buildings that have been left empty for more than a year, all over the globe, need to be rethought, and how that process is more opportunity than problem for building owners and managers.

Robert and Ken explore how smarter, safer buildings can be enabled by IoT and how those same tools can be leveraged to make square footage more flexible and usable by many stakeholders, instead of relying on long-term leases of the past that might not rematerialize in the present.  

Robert Hemmerdinger  is the Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for Delta Controls, Inc. and a member of the executive management team. Robert’s role includes global responsibility for sales growth and driving brand awareness. Robert first started his career in 1997 as a technical support engineer with Andover Controls, which was acquired by Schneider Electric in 2004. With a background in engineering, he served in a variety of positions including in product management, strategic sales and business development for the U.S., EMEA and Asia Pacific markets.

Connect with Robert on LinkedIn. Follow him on Twitter. 

Delta Controls is the benchmark for Smart Building manufacturers, being one of the most respected organizations in our industry. We pride ourselves on our integrity, reliability, innovation and track record of our products and partners. At the root of our success is our people who use technology to create products that are simple, yet powerful enough to last, and we never compromise on quality. We care for the world around us, and we are proud to be a part of the integration upon which infrastructures and businesses are built. With a top-down view from the center of the room, the O3 Sensor Hub detects motion, sound, light, and temperature with new levels of accuracy. The O3 Room Controller is DIN rail mountable and combines modular I/O with room-level integration. The O3 is a complete solution that combines HVAC, access and lighting control in a modular system. It combines multiple protocols and I/O points in one unit. Follow Delta Controls on Twitter. 

Time Stamps:

(0:00) Welcome to the Let's Connect! Podcast

(1:33) Introduction to Robert Hemmerdinger and Delta Controls. 

(4:00) What Does IoT Give a Building Owner or Manager?

(5:54) The Market Differences Between New Construction and Retrofit

(8:00) Delta Controls O3 Device for Occupancy Sensing 

(10:30) The Smart Building of Theseus

(11:42) Smarter, Safer Building Efficiency... and Profits

(14:07) Commercial Real Estate is at an Inflection Point

(20:00) Multi-Use Offices and Hot Desking as a Growing Market Trend

(23:00) Final Thoughts

In episode 14 of the Let's Connect! Podcast, Philip Attfield, CEO at Sequitur Labs, joins host Ken Briodagh to talk Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning and how their interactions impact the way we should be thinking about Security at the Edge of the network in IoT.

Philip and Ken define the terms you need to know, the risks that you’ll face and how AI & ML at the Edge can impact your IoT Network security. Then, they talk solutions and strategies at the leading edge of IoT security best practice.

Philip Attfield is the CEO of Sequitur Labs Inc. He brings a strong background in computing, networking, security and systems modeling. He has more than 20 years of industry experience in large enterprises and small entrepreneurial firms. Starting his career at Nortel, Phil was a member of its scientific staff and developed software tools and in-house products for modeling, synthesis and verification of telecom and network equipment hardware.

Sequitur Labs is developing seminal technologies to improve trust in a connected world, reducing the cost and complexity to build secure embedded and IoT devices. Sequitur’s products span a range of disciplines required for trusted computing, from boot through the full device lifecycle. Sequitur’s security solutions provide real business value to device makers, such as reducing BoM costs, protecting revenue by thwarting IP theft, improving product reliability and reducing liability, and improving device lifecycle management processes. Follow Sequitur Labs on Twitter!

Time Stamps:

(0:00) Welcome to the Let's Connect! Podcast

(1:35) Introduction to Phillip Attfield and Sequitur Labs

(2:39) Securing AI & ML at the Edge

(4:29) What are the Risks of Lax AI & ML Security?

(8:00) Does AI at the Edge Introduce Greater Vulnerability to the Network?

(10:57) What are the Best-Practice Security Strategies, Right Now?

(14:00) What Should You Worry About?

(17:13) What is Unique about IoT Systems Security?

(18:32) Sunsetting Technology and Out-of-Date Security

(20:18) Final Thoughts

In episode 13 of the Let's Connect! Podcast, David Su, CEO And Cofounder at Atmosic Technologies, joins host Ken Briodagh to talk about how to lower power consumption, improve battery life, and what the future of battery technology might look like.  

David and Ken get into how IoT developers can make battery-powered devices more efficient, how important it is to make batteries last longer and store more power, reliably, and what the intermediate steps will be, including constant recharging via green energy sources. 

David Su brings to Atmosic over 30 years of engineering expertise with an extensive wireless background, as his past teams’ radio designs have brought billions of successful devices to market. He was on the early engineering team at Atheros, VP Analog/RF Engineering, and VP Engineering with Qualcomm following the 2011 acquisition of Atheros. David earned a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and has been a Consulting Professor of Electrical Engineering at Stanford. David is an IEEE Fellow. 

Connect with David on LinkedIn and Follow him on Twitter

Atmosic Technologies is an innovative fabless semiconductor company designing ultra-low power and energy harvesting wireless solutions. Atmosic’s technology is helping to dramatically reduce and disrupt device dependency on batteries, delivering forever battery life and battery free solutions for the Internet of Things. The company’s products enable the IoT device ecosystem — designers and manufacturers, as well as end users and those responsible for deployments — to dramatically lower costs and efforts associated with maintaining the growing Internet of Things in the Personal, Home, Auto, Healthcare, Industrial, Enterprise and Smart Cities segments. In addition to these tangible business advantages, Atmosic aims to reduce ecological impacts with its vision of dramatically reduced battery consumption in the Internet of Things. Follow Atmosic on Twitter.

Time Stamps:

0:00 Show Introduction

1:05 David Su and Atmosic Technologies Introductions

3:37 How are we making batteries function better for IoT?

4:56 Sustainable Energy, and Infinite Battery Life

5:52 Software Solutions for Battery Efficiency

7:28 AI Decision Making in the Cloud

8:30 The Impact on Processing and Latency

9:33 Environmental Impacts and Energy Management

11:56 Battery as a Precious Resource

14:38 Final Thoughts

In episode 12 of the Let's Connect! Podcast, Ed Freyfogle, Head of Product at OpenCage, joins host Ken Briodagh to talk about Location Tracking and Geocoding in open data networks for IoT.

Ed Freyfogle is Head of product for OpenCage. Prior to OpenCage, Ed was co-founder of Lokku, the company that spun out OpenCage. He started his career in the early days of the internet as the first developer at yahoo.de. He has an MBA from MIT, a degree in engineering from Duke University, and was a Fulbright Scholar in Weimar, Germany. Connect with Ed on Twitter and LinkedIn and listen to his GeoMob podcast!

OpenCage provides a geocoding API used by many IoT service providers at high volume (millions of queries per day) to convert device location (longitude, latitude) into useful location information. And they do it using open data from OpenStreetmap. OpenCage started in 2013 as a project within Lokku, a company with a long history of using and supporting OpenStreetMap. They implemented the first ever commercial use of OpenStreetMap (all the way back in the internet dark ages of 2006!), and were one of the first companies to use OpenStreetMap maps instead of Google maps. In May 2015 Lokku was acquired by Mitula Group. The OpenCage project was spun out into an independent brand, and has run independently ever since. Follow OpenCage on Twitter!

Time Stamps

0:00 Show Introduction 

1:04 Ed Freyfogle Introduction

1:30 What is Geocoding?

2:28 OpenStreetMap, or Google Maps: What’s the Difference?

5:18 How Much Will it Cost?

6:50 Security and Privacy in Open Location Data: Is it Good Enough?  

9:00 Remote Locations, Away from Roads  

10:35 Location tracking at Sea, and on Rails

13:00 Data Protection and the Unintended Consequences Law

13:30 Location Services Standards Organizations

14:55 Final Thoughts

In episode 11 of the Let's Connect! Podcast, Erik Fossum Færevaag, Founder and President of Disruptive Technologies, joins host Ken Briodagh to talk about Smart Buildings and Facilities Management. In particular, they look at how the commercial real estate industry needs to evolve with the help of IoT solutions. 

Erik Fossum Færevaag is the Founder and President of Disruptive Technologies, a Norwegian Tech company providing The World’s Smallest Wireless Sensor. The company has received numerous recognized awards such as Gartner Cool Vendor, Nordic Startup Awards, Norwegian Tech Awards and more. The sensor is the size of a postage stamp with 15 years battery lifetime, unmatched ease-of-use and scalability. Sensor data is delivered on a cloud API, where the complete service, including sensors, are managed. Erik’s background is from the microchip/semiconductor industry, architecting the world’s lowest power microcontroller EFR32 and the world’s lowest energy ISM band digital radios.

Interested in connecting with Erik? Reach out on Linkedin!

Disruptive Technologies is a developer of commercial-grade wireless sensors and a rapidly growing innovator in the IoT market. The Internet of Things promised a self-sufficient world of interconnectedness, but the technology was expensive, cumbersome and limited. It also came with a range of new privacy and security concerns, hindering adoption. The company's sensing solution simplifies data collection and delivers the data securely to their dashboard (DT Studio) or a partners’​ analytics programs in the cloud. The technology enables sensor solutions for smart buildings, facilities management, workplace, manufacturing & warehousing, cold storage and substations. Finally, safe, cost efficient and sustainable operations allow people to truly unload the ordinary for more rewarding pursuits.  Follow them on Twitter. 

Time Stamps

0:00 Show Introduction 

1:20 Erik Fossum Faervaag Introduction

3:10 Facilities Management Post-2020

5:40 What is Building Cleaning Validation?

6:43 The Future of Work and Workspaces 

7:53 Commercial Spaces in Smart Cities

9:30 Sustainable Buildings 

10:05 Case Study on WeWork Pilot 

13:12 Smarter New Construction

15:05 How to Start an IoT Company

In episode 10 of the Let's Connect! Podcast, Tim Danks, VP, Risk Management & Partner Relations at Huawei Technologies USA, joins us to talk about the methodology and strategy of IoT security at scale and how standards organizations can offer guidance.  

As VP, Risk Management & Partner Relations, Tim Danks is responsible for understanding and managing business risks in the context of cybersecurity and privacy across Huawei USA businesses and toward external stakeholders. Further, he is responsible for developing and enhancing partner relationships towards key external stakeholders across academia, channels partners, industry, and suppliers utilizing his broad understanding of Huawei’s local and global business operations. His background includes a diversified mix of operational experience, from both the vendor and customer perspectives, with a primary focus on risk mitigation and management in delivery environments. In addition, he has achieved repeated success in building organizations through improved methodologies, processes development, and effective tools that enable efficient and cost controlled service delivery toward internal and external stakeholders.

Interested in connecting with Tim? Reach out on Linkedin!

Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. With integrated solutions across four key domains - telecom networks, IT, smart devices, and cloud services - Huawei is committed to bringing digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world. 

During the discussion Tim touched upon Huawei’s TECH4ALL initiative, which is about powering digital inclusion by driving equity with technology. He also mentioned NIST, which you can check out at the link. 

Time Stamps

1:25 Introductions

3:20 Risk Management, Security & Privacy

6:00 Standards for Security & Privacy

10:00 Security Operations and Infrastructure

14:00 Edge and Scale

15:30 Security Strategy & Worst case scenarios

20:00 Final Thoughts