[From the last episode: Devices need to talk to other devices using the correct form of the API for the devices receiving commands. ProfilesAn agreed-upon definition of how some device works – what commands it can receive – and what those commands should look like. may help with this.]

Now that we’ve had a bit of background on why devices can or cannot talk to each other, let’s look at the Big 3 IoTThe Internet of Things. A broad term covering many different applications where "things"  are interconnected through the internet. companies that you’ve probably heard of: Amazon, Apple, and Google (in alphabetical order – we’re not playing favorites).

Speaker-Based Systems

A couple of the companies revolve around a “smart speaker” – an internet-connected speaker that also has a microphone. That speaker becomes the hub, and it controls most (all?) of… whatever goes through the speaker. This may sound familiar; systemsThis is a very generic term for any collection of components that, all together, can do something. Systems can be built from subsystems. Examples are your cell phone; your computer; the radio in your car; anything that seems like a "whole." like this have certainly received a lot of attention.

With speaker-based systems, there are a couple of elements that get confused. Speakers, for obvious reasons, are inextricably linked with entertainment systems. Some people consider “smart” entertainment systems to be part of the IoT; I personally don’t, for the most part. By definition, TVs and radios have “streamed” their content over the air (if not specifically from the cloudA generic phrase referring to large numbers of computers located somewhere far away and accessed over the internet. For the IoT, computing may be local, done in the same system or building, or in the cloud, with data shipped up to the cloud and then the result shipped back down.) for decades. What’s new is the ability to “talk back” or select programming through your remote or some other device.

What’s more IoT-like, in my mind, is what these companies call “smart-home” capabilities. This is where you can use the speaker to control various devices in the home.

Let’s look at the three ways you might use such a system:

• You might want to get some information: “What is the closest Thai restaurant?” This requires no interaction with another device, and so it’s not really IoT-like. It’s equivalent to doing a search on your computer; it just happens to use voice.
• You might want to watch a particular channel: “Play Pandora.” This is entertainment-oriented.
• You might want to control something in the home: “Turn on the heater.” This is a smart-home function, since you’re using one device in the home to control another.

Opening the Walled Gardens

Most of these ecosystems are intended to be self-contained. All of the devices on the networkA collection of items like computers, printers, phones, and other electronic items that are connected together by switches and routers. A network allows the connected devices to talk to each other electronically. The internet is an example of an extremely large network. Your home network, if you have one, is an example of a small local network. must speak the same language. But you may be able to create a crack in the wall using a separate hub.

Let’s say that you have one of the systems – I’ll randomly pick Apple’s HomeKit. But you really want to get this awesome Widgiterator that you saw – only it doesn’t work with HomeKit. If you can find a hub that talks both to HomeKit and to the Widgiterator, then you can bring it all together. Yes, it requires the additional hub that you might not need if you stayed within the system, but it gives you flexibility and lets you escape the walled gardenAn approach to the IoT that restricts which devices and brands you can have work together. It could protect you, help assure interoperability, keep out certain competitors, or any and all of the above. if you wish.

Apple HomeKit

Apple’s IoT offering centers around its phones or other devices, which act as the control centers or hubsA piece of electronic equipment that gathers separate related things together. A network hub, for instance, might bring together the individual network connections of multiple local users. A sensor hub brings together sensor data from multiple separate sensors for possible combination. Or, more specifically, a device in the home (or elsewhere) that acts as a central point connecting a variety of smart-home (or other) devices. The devices talk to the hub; the hub talks to the cloud.. Siri is used for voice control, so, in that way, it can resemble a speaker-based system, but it doesn’t literally use a speaker. You can also control things through apps without using voice.

You can find Apple’s ecosystemA group of related businesses that agree to work together, typically through a somewhat formal organization that may have a brand name. If something like that existed, for, say, produce sold in a grocery store, then the ecosystem might include select farmers, distributors, transportation companies, and grocery stores. partners here.

Amazon Alexa

This speaker-based system has received a ton of attention, so it’s entirely likely that you’ve heard of it. That said, their branding is a little confusing.

The speaker itself is the Amazon Echo (or the Echo Dot). Alexa is the voice-recognition thing behind it – like Siri. The speaker again becomes the heart of the system, allowing you to get information, buy things (intentionally or not), and control compatible smart-home devices.

You can find a list of those compatible devices here. As of this writing, they claim to have 840 such gadgets.

Google Home

Google also has a speaker/microphone-based system. There’s a Google Home smart speaker that works with Google Assistant (their version of Siri) to interpret commands that you speak.

This is where Nest was front-and-center when it first came out. Nest seems to have been subordinated to the Google Home speaker, but if you have a Nest in the system, it’s still important to know if other devices talk to Nest.

Google’s ecosystem is very large. At one point, I counted 249 different companies (and you should expect that number to change). You can find lists of companies they work with here. (Don’t compare this to the 840 number from Amazon – that was the number of specific products; the 249 is the number of companies, many of which make many different products. We’re not grading based on the length of these lists…)