Google developing “Brillo” Internet of Things OS based on Android

Google dives into smart homes with an OS for all your low-power gadgets.

Read the whole story

 

[sean]

Brillo, from the look of the chrome source patches, appears to be just an embedded platform flavour of chromeos. A simple web search for brillo and chromeos will give you links:

e.g.,

https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issu ... ?id=447250

https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issu ... ?id=399469

etc...

Essentially gentoo-esque embedded development via Chrome OS.

Sean

 

[anoncow]

Could be that Google want to enable interaction designers,who work in JavaScript , to design nice interfaces to products and have access to nice things , like good ui,voice recognition, gesture recognition ,etc

And they know that at least from a cost perspective ,chip makers can build strong processors with lots of memory for very little ,but they just prefer to charge by the KB. So maybe that their move to push the market and get in a good spot.

 

[fluxtatic]

UnnDunn[/url]":ghvp97mf]

sprockkets[/url]":ghvp97mf]

UnnDunn[/url]":ghvp97mf]

sprockkets[/url]":ghvp97mf]

UnnDunn[/url]":ghvp97mf]Great. So now Google will know what all of your IoT things are doing, and be able to target ads at you based on that.

Refrigerator nearly empty? You get tons of ads for grocery stores. Using your "smart" blowdrier? Hello shampoo ads.

Why an ad for a grocery store when the proper response is you are low on xyz?

Why would I need shampoo if I just showered?

People who come up with these stupid scenarios have no clue on how Google's advertising works.

Because <grocery store> paid more to target your demographic than <product xyz> did.

And oh look, you've been using your blowdrier a lot lately, so you're probably running out of shampoo. Let's bombard you with ads for <giant corporate shampoo brand>.

And what is that grocery going to show ads for?

Using your blow drier is irrelevant and means nothing as far as needing shampoo. That's as accurate as saying I used 100 gallons of water today so I must have done laundry, so let's show ads for that. Or, I flushed my toliet, show ads for toilet paper.

Again, you are showing a lack of understanding on how google ads work.

You seem to think they select ads for you based on what the ad is selling. Nope. They select you for the ad based on the profile you fit. The grocery store says "show our ad to people whose refrigerators are nearly empty", and the shampoo brand says "show our ad to people who use their blow-drier a lot". Since you fit those profiles, you get those ads.

Personally, I could give a shit less how Google targets ads. The point is, I'd just as soon Google not know what I'm doing those few hours I'm not on the internet. They're already tracking a pretty healthy chunk of my day. I'm not getting my own end out of Google knowing when I shower or take my daily constitutional.

 

[Arzach]

The problem with Android *is* how it gets connected to the network. Sorry, but IoT means IPv6, and from someone that disables IPv6 until the IPv4 connectivity is established... no, I can't really endorse this path.
Android for IoT ? Moreover, IpT devices RAM isn't in the order of Mega, it's in the order of KILO. They have a long road to travel.

 

[weblionx]

Well, the nice thing about a full package like that is its ability to implement multiple protocols, so it could conceivably support all the "IoT protocols" out there. If they push their own, too, then you might find it getting popular from sheer apathy, where developers use "Brillo" to support everything, but manufacturers that want to be interoperable with that growing segment have to make a decision between supporting their own protocol and hoping Google keeps compatibility up, or just switching over to Google's since there's no reason to bother maintaining their own at that point. And if devices running "Brillo" get that ubiquitous, then why bother implementing others' protocols, e.g. Apple's?

 

[feistypenguin]

I think the big security risk with the IoT isn't necessarily making things network-enabled... it's allowing remote management of every widget directly. Most of the "connected home" offerings I've seen, are designed to have the widgets communicate with a base station via some proprietary wireless protocol. Then the base station is hooked up to the internet for management (or not, if you want to be closed-circuit). Since most people don't have their own DNS, the stations I've seen are designed to only communicate with the manufacturer's "cloud service", and you log into their servers to manage your stuff. Notice that this doesn't require a public IPV6 address for every lightbulb to do this (though you do have to have some trust in a 3rd party with the info collected). It's about as secure as using Verizon's official router as your primary home router.

Security cameras are one area where you have to decide security vs. convenience. Many IP cameras support email notification, where they can email you some pics when they detect motion... and they can do it behind a firewall without being open to the world. Not as sexy as watching things in real-time, but still useful.

I can see a lot of advantages to a networked home while I'm in the house, but I don't see much benefit to remote access into the home, other than "I forgot to turn off X," or "I want to check the cameras."

 

[digi99]

"Internet of Things"? Another niche buzzword that only Google fanboys will care about like Google Glasses.

 

[Ianal]

franksands[/url]":31xf33l6]

UnnDunn[/url]":31xf33l6]Great. So now Google will know what all of your IoT things are doing, and be able to target ads at you based on that.

Refrigerator nearly empty? You get tons of ads for grocery stores. Using your "smart" blowdrier? Hello shampoo ads.

Why is this a bad thing? Gmail, Google Maps and etc are free because of those targeted ads. If the ads are non-intrusive and provide good options, I'm all for it. I already bought some very good books because Amazon recommended them.

The key word there is 'intrusive' but even the quietest, least obtrusive style of ad gets exceedingly obtrusive in volume, or if you can't get ever get away from the damn things. Ad supported apps have also created (in my opinion) an internet race to the bottom - and the bottom is 'free but we mine the hell out of your personal data' which a) sucks and b) has a stifling effect on other business models (because you can't compete with free.)

 

[Ianal]

P.Nilsson[/url]":6n0vk67a]

s73v3r[/url]":6n0vk67a]

franksands[/url]":6n0vk67a]

UnnDunn[/url]":6n0vk67a]Great. So now Google will know what all of your IoT things are doing, and be able to target ads at you based on that.

Refrigerator nearly empty? You get tons of ads for grocery stores. Using your "smart" blowdrier? Hello shampoo ads.

Why is this a bad thing? Gmail, Google Maps and etc are free because of those targeted ads. If the ads are non-intrusive and provide good options, I'm all for it. I already bought some very good books because Amazon recommended them.

Because it's just more and more of your privacy being eroded away. Just wait until the IoT swarm detects that your ex is no longer living there.

Privacy is the new virginity.

Yeah - one cock-up and its gone.

 

[unitron]

thegrommit[/url]":2vt9uym6]Brillo? Do they not know what a Brillo pad is?

It's one of those swinging bachelor apartments where one button lowers the lights and starts "Bolero" playing and slides you off of the round bed into the hot tub, only with the automation updated to run on this new Google thing.

 

[sjatkins]

Why on earth would I need 32MB of memory for a light bulb or a door lock? Anything Android based is a bit bloated. Who needs an entire OS, even a reduced one, for such extremely simple point tasks? What is wrong with effectively flashing the embedded controller with compiled minimal code to do the job?