The Tech Between Us Podcast: Exploring the Matter Protocol for a Smarter Home

21 Dec, 2023

The Tech Between Us Podcast: Exploring the Matter Protocol for a Smarter Home

In a recent episode of the podcast "The Tech Between Us," host Raymond Yin engages in a compelling discussion with Chris LaPré, the Chief Technology Officer at the Connectivity Standards Alliance.

In this compelling podcast, host Raymond Yin, explores the rapidly advancing realm of smart home connectivity, offering valuable insights for tech enthusiasts, homeowners, and those intrigued by the potential of interconnected living environments.

The Essence of Interoperability in Smart Homes

A central theme of the episode is the critical importance of interoperability in smart homes. Yin and LaPré delve into how devices from various manufacturers can seamlessly communicate and collaborate, creating an integrated and efficient home environment. This aspect of smart home technology is not just a convenience but a necessity in our increasingly interconnected world.

Benefits of a Unified Ecosystem

The podcast highlights the numerous advantages of a unified smart home ecosystem. The duo discusses how such integration leads to heightened convenience, bolstered security, and improved energy efficiency. These benefits underscore the transformative impact of smart home technologies on our daily lives.

The conversation also acknowledges the challenges and complexities inherent in the smart home technology sector. As the field evolves rapidly, staying abreast of these changes and addressing the emerging issues is essential for both developers and consumers.

Insights from an Industry Expert

Bringing a wealth of knowledge to the table, Chris LaPré shares his expertise on the current landscape of smart home connectivity. He sheds light on recent advancements in wireless technologies and the significance of open standards in promoting interoperability and shaping the future of connected homes.

Visioning the Future of Connected Homes

The episode provides a glimpse into the future of smart homes, emphasizing the role of interoperability in its evolution. This forward-looking perspective is particularly engaging for listeners keen to understand where smart home technology is headed.

In conclusion, "The Tech Between Us" episode with Raymond Yin and Chris LaPré offers a comprehensive and insightful exploration of the present and future of smart home connectivity. It's a must-listen for anyone interested in the intersection of technology and everyday living, providing a clear view of the technological landscape that lies between us and our homes. The podcast also encourages its audience to subscribe and stay updated on future episodes, ensuring they remain at the forefront of technological advancements in the field.

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Using robotics to supercharge health care

Vecna Technologies, founded by a pair of MIT alumni, has followed a long and winding path to help people in health care settings.

23 Jan, 2023

This article was first published on MIT News.

Since its founding in 1998, Vecna Technologies has developed a number of ways to help hospitals care for patients. The company has produced intake systems to respond to Covid-19 patient surges, prediction systems to manage health complications in maternity wards, and telepresence robots that have allowed sick people to stay connected with friends and loved ones.

The differences among those products have also led to a number of transformations and spinoffs, including material handling company Vecna Robotics and the health care nonprofit VecnaCares. Vecna Technologies co-founders Deborah Noel Theobald ’95 and Daniel Theobald ’95, SM ’98 say each of those pivots has been driven by a desire to build a robotics company that makes a positive impact on the world.

“We knew we wanted to do robotics and do something good in the world,” Deborah says of the team’s mindset. “We founded Vecna thinking, ‘How can these new web technologies influence and improve health care?’ That’s the arc MIT set me on and something I’ve been excited to pursue ever since.”

“A fun ride”

As a child, Deborah Theobald wanted to be an astronaut. The desire led her to MIT, which had one of the few aerospace engineering programs for undergraduates. She got interested in the health care industry while studying the health effects of long-term space exploration with Professor Dava Newman, the Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics at MIT who is now also the director of the Media Lab.

Deborah also met Daniel Theobald at MIT. Daniel had been building robots since he was a child and was majoring in mechanical engineering.

The two began thinking about starting a company, and Daniel even applied to the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition (then the $10K) with a rough idea for a robotics company.

For their master’s degrees, Deborah went to the University of Maryland to continu

Image: Shimon, a robot in the Center of Music Technology and School of Music.

Robot Uses Deep Learning and Big Data to Write and Play Its Own Music

Compositions created using database of well-known pop, classical, and jazz artists

Jason Maderer

fromGeorgia Institute of Technology

08 Oct, 2018

big data

- machine learning

- social robotics

Shimon, a four-armed, marimba-playing robot, is writing and playing its own music using deep learning. This is the first of its two songs.

A marimba-playing robot with four arms and eight sticks is writing and playing its own compositions in a lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The pieces are generated using artificial intelligence and deep learning.

Researchers fed the robot nearly 5,000 complete songs — from Beethoven to the Beatles to Lady Gaga to Miles Davis — and more than 2 million motifs, riffs and licks of music. Aside from giving the machine a seed, or the first four measures to use as a starting point, no humans are involved in either the composition or the performance of the music.

The first two compositions are roughly 30 seconds in length. The robot, named Shimon, can be seen and heard playing them here and here.

Ph.D. student Mason Bretan is the man behind the machine. He’s worked with Shimon for seven years, enabling it to “listen” to music played by humans and improvise over pre-composed chord progressions. Now Shimon is a solo composer for the first time, generating the melody and harmonic structure on its own.

“Once Shimon learns the four measures we provide, it creates its own sequence of concepts and composes its own piece,” said Bretan, who will receive his doctorate in music technology this summer at Georgia Tech. “Shimon’s compositions represent how music sounds and looks when a robot uses deep neural networks to learn everything it knows about music from millions of human-made segments.”

Bretan says this is the first time a robot has used deep learning to create music. And unlike its days of improvising, when it played monophonically, Shimon is able to play harmonies and chords. It’s also thinking much more like a human musician, focusing less on the next note, as it did before, and more on the ov