IoT Security - 90-Percent of Devices are NOT Secure

The explosion in the number of devices connected to the cloud come with a price.  That price is security.  Armando Lucrecio, a Senior Technical Program Manager with Amazon Connected Products addresses the issue in the Business School of AI’s WeeklyWed, talking about how some 90% of products in IoT are not secure.  Lucrecio outlines the myriad of reasons for this.  He makes it clear: Understanding and addressing the security issues will help a technology with great promise.

“Connected product” is probably a better term to use than the Internet of Things, or IoT.  Lucrecio likes the label because it better helps us understand how we are talking about  networking:  Security cameras; Alexa, Google Home and Apple’s Siri; Nest thermostats; home appliances, and a seemingly endless number of other possibilities.  There’s even word now that Amazon has a robotic dog that patrols your home and communicates with you on “the network.”

“It’s all about the network,” Lucrecio says. This connectivity allows for communication to occur, and with it, the extraction of data that enables us to make the decisions that benefit everyone involved.  If you control the network, you can can extract all the data and analyze it, providing the answers you need to better serve your customers.

The security issues crop up because of all the players involved.  Since there is no way that one company can build its own network, players rely on telecommunications companies.  Then there’s the product itself.  If you buy the hardware, those that made it can build in a back door for someone else’s access, or they can insert a trojan horse to later take control.  Then there are hackers who work to take control of either the product or device and the network for whatever reason, most likely for monetary gain.

For more on this important topic, watch this video of Armando Lucrecio's talk;

IoT Security - The Internet of Things

Evolution of a Robot

 Evolution of a Robot 

Autonomous Delivery Service Online

A “cute little robot” has graduated from college dorm burrito deliveries to providing security to women walking across campus in the dark.  Kiwibot is now “a robot that people can accept,” says David Rodriguez, the company’s Director of Strategy and Business Operations.  Mr. Rodriguez made the comments in a guest appearance online on WeekleyWed, a feature of the Business School of AI.

The surprising revelations come in an hour-long discussion that covered everything from how Kiwibot went from an incubator to a company expected to attract “billions of dollars” in funding.  Part of the reason for the company’s success, Rodriguez says, is that “small vehicles delivering burritos make a lot more sense than three-ton cars getting in the right-of-way.”  In other words, Kiwibot is not “threatening.”  

Sustainable Technology

“Technology is not sustainable unless it’s solving a real world problem,” Rodriguez says.  Here he addresses how Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are used to enable these autonomous vehicles to do what they do.  “It’s not an ‘over-techy’ product,” paving the way for “robot solutions that go beyond delivery.”  The robots are now getting requests to accompany women who want them for security reasons.

As exciting as it may sound, developing a self-driving robot that people “fall in love with,” Rodriguez says everyone in the company needs to be focused on solving a problem.  In this case, the focus is on reducing the cost of making deliveries.  In the discussion, Rodriguez talks about taking delivery costs from $10 down to three.  Now the business world is starting to take note, attracting interest from companies like Shopify, Ordermark, Chick-fil-A and others.  Kiwibot deployment stretches from Stanford to Berkley, Los Angeles to Miami, Detroit to Pittsburg and beyond.

The Actual Robot:

 

“We thought we were done.”  Rodriguez talks about surviving a disaster on the U.C. Berkeley campus.  One of the Kiwibots exploded, overheating because of a problem involving the use of four different lightbulbs in the small, autonomous vehicles.  To the shock of the company’s founders, distressed students held a candle light vigil on campus for the robot. People are falling in love with the little guy.  After four years of development and then deployment, Kiwibots now have enough momentum that the company believes they are on the way to overcoming some major hurdles.

While competition to be at the forefront of the multi-billion-dollar delivery business is fierce, Kiwibot’s founders maintain focus on solutions.  This has ranged from overcoming things like surviving cold weather to building a navigation system that avoids dangerous streets.  “If we find a neighborhood where people have a really bad attitude, we don’t go there.”  Kiwibots may face hurdles and even some roadblocks, but they look to be heading down the road of widespread acceptance.

First-ever Mobile Broadband Coverage Map

Finally! Now we can compare! Cellular providers' coverage map laid bare. The nation's first-ever mobile broadband coverage map is put out by the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC used information from AT&T, Verizon, and the others, along with information from their customers, to make the map.

The map is a tool, allowing you to compare coverage of both data and voice plans of the four largest carriers in the United States.  This is a dramatic improvement over maps offered by the carriers:  AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Verizon and US Cellular.

A huge step forward

Consumers have long complained about not being able to make calls or access their mobile carrier's network in remote areas like that pictured here, Stafford, Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California.

The tool includes options to track wireless download and upload speeds of at least 5 Mbps and 1 Mbps for each of the largest carriers.  This all was set in place by a law passed in 2020 which requires the FCC to collect and release data comparing different wired, fixed-wireless, satellite and mobile broadband service providers.

OSU's robot Cassie ran a 5K

Milestone in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

A milestone in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is reached here with this robot. "Cassie" successfully ran a 5K marathon on one charge with no tether. The applications for this technology are are phenomenal! Consider what impact this will have on the delivery business and being able to help the disabled and elderly. The robot learns how to stay upright by itself and is able to make subtle adjustments. Cassie crashed twice in the 53 minute run around the Oregon State University campus, but the improvements to the deep reinforcement learning algorithm make it possible to dream unimaginable benefits for mankind over the next decade.