### Open Hardware

# Mixed realities 

**When “your” hardware lives—and dies—in the vendor’s cloud**

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### # Mixed realities 

Modern IoT gear often won’t store data locally or accept direct connections.
The cloud account *is* the product. That design brings two systemic risks:

* Data hostage-taking
* Single point of failure	


Note:

* Data hostage-taking
   * Telemetry, user settings, even basic on-device functions sit behind the vendor’s login. If the account, API or certificate vanishes, owners lose historical data and live control

* Single point of failure	
   * When the provider turns the servers off (bankruptcy, acquisition, strategy shift), the device can’t boot, phone home for crypto keys, or accept commands—so otherwise-healthy hardware becomes e-waste overnight.

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### Mixed realities 

##  A big graveyard 

* 2023 *Amazon Halo* fitness bands & bedside sleep tracker
* 2024 *Google Nest* Secure home-alarm system
* 2022 *Insteon smart-lighting hubs*
* 2018 *Logitech Harmony Link* universal remote puck
* 2016 *Revolv smart-home hub* (acquired by Google Nest)

Note:

* 2023 *Amazon Halo* fitness bands & bedside sleep tracker
	* All bands and the Halo app stopped working.
   * Health data deleted after deadline unless manually exported.
   * Amazon suggested recycling the still-working hardware.	
* 2024 *Google Nest* Secure home-alarm system
   * No arming/disarming, no phone alerts, no lock bridge.
   * Google offered an ADT kit or €200 voucher; data and automation vanished.	
* 2022 *Insteon smart-lighting hubs*
   * Cloud switch went dark without warning; apps & some wall keypads dead.
   * Users had to reverse-engineer local control or replace entire setups.	
* 2018 *Logitech Harmony Link* universal remote puck
   * Logitech email: “device will no longer function.”
   * Initial plan was no replacement; backlash forced the firm to swap in a newer model—proof the brick was purely a licensing choice.	
* 2016 *Revolv smart-home hub* (acquired by Google Nest)
   * $300 hub and app permanently bricked.
   * Case became the textbook example of a company “reaching into your home and pulling the plug.”

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### Mixed realities 

## Moxie

<img width="70%" data-src="/images/06-mixed-realities/sad_moxie.png">

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### Mixed realities 

## Moxie / 2020-2025

<img width="10%"  data-src="/images/06-mixed-realities/sad_moxie.png"> 

Moxie, an expressive table-top robot marketed as a social-skills “mentor” for children. Intro price: US $1,500, later cut to $800. All speech recognition, personality data and progress tracking live on Embodied’s servers.

Nov 2024 – shutdown e-mail

Early 2025 – service blackout	

Note: 

* 2020 – launch
* Nov 2024 – shutdown e-mail
   * funding round collapsed, the company will “wind down operations” and shut off the Moxie cloud “soon.” A link to a “farewell letter” helps parents explain to kids that their robot friend is “going away.” 
* Early 2025 – service blackout	
   * Cloud endpoints time out; Moxie units stall on startup or report server-error codes. Amazon and other retailers pull remaining stock.

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### Mixed realities 

## Moxie / Why it failed

* Total cloud dependence
* No escrow / open-sourcing plan 
* High ongoing costs 

Note:

* Total cloud dependence – every wake-word, behavioral script and user log resided off-device.
* No escrow / open-sourcing plan – when funding vanished there was no legal path to keep servers or firmware alive.
* High ongoing costs – speech-to-text, emotion analysis and safety moderation are compute-heavy; with only ~15 k units sold (est.), subscription revenue never covered the bills.

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### Mixed realities 

## Moxie / Lessons highlighted

* “Smart” toys must offer local-first operation or a published contingency (open-source firmware, community server code) to avoid instant obsolescence.
* Regulators are beginning to act
* Consumer awareness

Note:

* “Smart” toys must offer local-first operation or a published contingency
   * (open-source firmware, community server code) to avoid instant obsolescence.
* Regulators are beginning to act
   * forthcoming EU Ecodesign and US state “Connected Devices” rules would obligate a guaranteed service period or mandatory refunds for cloud-tethered products. Moxie shows why such safeguards matter.
* Consumer awareness
   * Buyers should treat cloud-bound hardware like a subscription, not a durable good—unless the vendor can prove the device remains useful offline.

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### Mixed realities 

## Broader implications

* Security & privacy
* Cost shifting to consumers
* Regulatory spotlight
* Design takeaway

Note:

* Security & privacy
   * Continuous cloud dependence gives the vendor perpetual access to raw sensor streams (sleep patterns, door-open events, health scans) with no on-prem option. A shutdown can wipe user archives or expose unmaintained endpoints to attack.

* Cost shifting to consumers
   * Owners pay twice: once for the device, again through mandatory subscriptions or forced upgrades when support ends.

* Regulatory spotlight
   * The EU’s proposed Right-to-Repair and Product Sustainability regulations would require a “minimum service period” and clearer data-export paths; several US states already obligate notice and refunds when a cloud shutdown bricks hardware.

* Design takeaway
   * Devices that can operate locally (local API, LAN fallback, open firmware) not only respect user autonomy but also outlive corporate pivots.
   * Home assistant!!

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### Mixed realities 

* Open data
* Open protocols
* Open APIs