Amazon Dash built into Whirlpool home appliances – Geek

2 Comments

1. January 5, 2016 at 1:37 pm

   Tomi Engdahl says:

   Whirlpool integrates Amazon’s Dash into its smart appliances
   It’s also introducing a Smart Kitchen Suite plus a washer and dryer that lets you donate to charity.
   http://www.engadget.com/2016/01/04/whirlpool-smart-home/

   Whirlpool has come out swinging at this year’s CES with a slew of connected kitchen appliances and an app that will be integrated with Amazon’s Dash Replenishment Service. It’s actually one of many appliance brands to have the integration this year, and it’s doing so with its brand new Smart Kitchen Suite. Simply hook up your Amazon account to the Whirlpool app, and you can reorder a new batch of, say, detergent whenever your supply is low.

   Speaking of that Smart Kitchen Suite, Whirlpool is also revealing a new set of appliances for 2016, which consists of the Smart Front Control Range, the Smart Dishwasher and the Smart French Door Bottom Mount Refrigerator.

   Last but not least, Whirlpool is also announcing a new washer and dryer that’ll let you make a donation to Habitats for Humanity every time you do a load of laundry.

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2. March 9, 2016 at 1:12 pm

   Tomi Engdahl says:

   Teardown: Amazon Dash Button keeps you connected
   http://www.edn.com/design/consumer/4441569/Teardown–Amazon-Dash-Button-is-the-ultimate-in-consumer-convenience?_mc=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_consumerelectronics_20160309&cid=NL_EDN_EDT_EDN_consumerelectronics_20160309&elqTrackId=c6b2f63c0ec04158b438b0553c634a71&elq=435b35b9d62546759201b438adfd6f2c&elqaid=31218&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=27293

   Amazon’s Dash Button, which I previously mentioned back in late May 2015, is the ultimate in consumer convenience (or, if you prefer, consumerism gone crazy). Simply press a button on the inconspicuous adhesive-backed device (perfect for attaching to your washer and dryer, refrigerator, counter, or cabinet), and your Amazon account is charged for the purchase while the corresponding product gets automatically ordered and shipped to you.

   Initially unveiled on April 1, 2015 (therefore explaining why I at first thought the announcement was an April Fools’ joke from the company), they cost only $4.99, and Amazon more recently announced that it’d even refund the purchase price after your first associated-consumable order.

   Somewhat surprisingly, the battery is welded to its associated positive and negative terminals, dooming the device it powers to a finite-duration lifetime, since the battery’s also not rechargeable

   It’s an InvenSense INMP441 MEMS microphone, actually. Recall that the Dash Button requires connection to an owner’s Wi-Fi network, but there’s no wired Ethernet port alternatively available to send initial configuration data to it. One alternative means of accomplishing this objective, as is also done with products such as the Google Chromecast and Belkin’s WeMo switch, involves the device initially broadcasting a wireless network with SSID “Amazon ConfigureMe,” to which the Android version of the Amazon Shopping app connects. At that point, accessing the Dash Button’s built-in Web server at 192.168.0.1 enables entry of the remaining setup parameters.

   The other configuration option is pretty (albeit not completely) unique, and leveraged by the iOS version of Amazon’s configuration app (the reasons for the operating systems’ setup discrepancy are unclear to me; perhaps Apple doesn’t give Amazon sufficient low-level access to accomplish an Android-like Wi-Fi hotspot scheme). In this case, setup parameters are sent via ultrasound from the smartphone or tablet to the Amazon Dash, using the former device’s speaker and the latter device’s aforementioned MEMS microphone.

   Micron Technology M25P16 16 Mbit SPI serial interface flash memory.

   BCM43362 2.4 GHz 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi module

   STMicroelectronics STM32F205 microcontroller

   More generally, the Amazon Dash appears to be based on a Broadcom WICED (Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices) reference design module.

   http://www.broadcom.com/application/internet_of_things.php

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