Skeptics Corner: Brilliant Tech Smart Home Panel

Wink Relay Panel Redux

With a name like Brilliant I hope that they're not overselling.  It is good however to see another company taking the charge in offering a permanent screen-based solution to cover SmartHome needs.   Wink made a SmartHome touchscreen panel several years back which began it's life at about the same price at the 2-switch panel by Brilliant ($300).  But it was no long for this world (as it only worked with Wink).

Versatility and Conflict

Brilliant has seen the light of progress and has made a switch panel with far more features that the Wink panel.  Each panel includes a full screen, switches, sensors and a camera (with a privacy cover).  But it is the back end compatibility with all sorts of SmartHome hardware companies that will (hopefully) allow it to win the day.  Alas, even if you can get past the exorbitant price (starting $249 for the single switch), you may struggle to find this device as applicable in a home full of children who probably love tech at least as much as you do. 

This is probably the first smart-device that will not get broken due to being dropped out of a car seat on to the parking lot blacktop, but it will not go unnoticed in your home.  Its hard enough to keep kids from playing with the light switches that you have explicitly labeled to not be touched (so that the lights stay powered).  This screen absolutely needs to have some kid-proofing, or lock out pin, or something to manage the access it inevitably offers to tiny fingers. A wise person once said, "You've built a great tool, now tell me how it can be abused".

Baring the child-aspect and the cost, I can appreciate the utility of a readily available screen.  I do tend to carry my smartphone with me throughout the house, out of necessity as I run my business from my home.  But I cannot express the aggravation that I've experienced when I have forgotten my phone (or one of them) upstairs.  At one point I put an old tablet downstairs on the TV cabinet so that if i did neglect the phone upstairs I had something down there.  Not everyone is willing to carry their phone with them all over the house, especially into the restroom.  But I'd wager that once the price point comes down that this tool might find a place in many homes that have shifted to Smart.

Tesla Model Y is the Model X of the Model 3

Y? Tesla Y!

Thursday, March 14th, at 8:20 PM (PDT) Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla announced the latest edition to the line up of electric vehicles that has been a long time coming.  This most recent vehicle completes the line of vehicles' whose model names spell out the word S3XY (sexy).  The announcement comes on Pi Day (March 14, or 3.14), but also culminates the 11th anniversary of Tesla's first vehicle release; the Roadster.

A Re-iteration of an Iteration

The Model Y met with great fanfare to those fans in the audience, but was met with disappointment by shareholders on Friday, March 15th.  Tesla stock dropped 5%

For ages Tesla has struggled to impress those who would short its stock, even getting Musk into trouble when he attempted to combat the practice.  But the trouble lies not in the fickle stock holder, but in the perception of the thing.

Y = X of 3

The model Y is the Model X, but the Model 3 version.  Its obvious on multiple levels.  The oddly curve nose of the Model 3 is apparent on the Model Y.  The much taller roof on the Y mirrors the X.  Although there are definitely no gull-wing doors on the Y, the added seats and even the pattern of the seat position is similar to the X.  The mere fact that the Model Y is priced similarly to the X as a version of the 3 (10-20% more) is yet another comparable factor. 

An Unfair Comparison

Investors and Fans might well be disappointed by the presentation of the Model Y if they compare it to the presentation given by Musk in the debut of the Tesla Semi truck.  That show demo'd more than than just a new tractor / trailer combo, but the updated version of the Roadster.  The Roadster 2.0 is definitely much more "sexy" than the Model Y, despite it's offerings.  

In this day of instant gratification, online sales of motor vehicles, and persons of power using twitter as their billionaire platform, is it any wonder that reactions and comparisons are made so hastily? The model Y was an inevitability, not merely to fill the position in the proposed term (sexy), but as a way to complete the line-up.  Tesla now has one of each; the Luxury sedan, the SUV, the Standard sedan, and the Crossover.  Most manufacturers, if they even have an electric vehicle, have one at this point.  The serious competition is yet to come and Tesla isn't just on the bleeding edge, they've manufactured the edge.

Tesla Supercharger V3 vs. A Gas Pump

Filling the Tank (Battery)

How long does it take to gain a full tank of fuel, be it Gasoline or Electricity? 
Well, Tesla is boosting the fill rate of it's Superchargers to a much greater capacity starting this week. They claim that a Tesla Model 3 can get up to 1000 Miles of Range per Hour of Charge.  A Model 3, has at the most a range of 325 miles, so the new charger can fill the battery in about 20 minutes.

Is that good?

The video at the top of the page is only 2.5 minutes long and it started at 9 gallons out of a possible 25.6 gallons.  So lets say that it actually took only a total of 4 minutes to fill the whole tank from empty.  The video was of my Chevy Avalanche and it could get about 500 miles of range on 25.6 gallons. So that means that the fill rate of Gas Station is 7500 Miles of Range per Hour of filling (charge). 

What does this mean?

The result is that Electric Vehicles will need, yet still a faster charger than this new improved Supercharger V3 to compete with Gas Stations on fill speed. Although, compared to the prior Supercharger V2, which only charged at a maximum of 500 Miles per Hour of Charge, this is an improvement. 

However, if you compare the Supercharger to nearly any other charger for Electric Cars in the US, the best in Electrify America at 1500 Miles per Hour of Charge.  The only vehicle that can handle that high input is the Porsche Taycan.

What remains to be seen is how quickly other electric vehicles adopt this faster charging.  Many manufacturers do not worry about fast charging since the bulk of EV Drivers charge at home.  This is mostly useful to those who take long road trips or who commute longer distances.  And if the EV ever can get solid, universal adoption it will have to meet the needs of most drivers.