The Internet of Things makes connection so much easier, globally as well as in our day to day lives. With the vast data available and high performing processing possible, we’re finding new connections every second. And though social media is often branded anti-social and repressive, we’re now able to connect with the world like never before through applications such as Skype, Facebook and Twitter, while wearable technology connects us with our intrinsic body functions, and household technology keeps our lives running smoothly.
Singapore’s prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, is transforming Singapore into the world’s first “smart nation”, wanting everyone connected to everything, everywhere, all the time. IBTimes UK reported that Lee is looking to improve efficiency with innovative IoT solutions, starting with infrastructure that will eradicate traffic jams through opportunities such as autonomous vehicles.
However, one of the biggest challenges is apparently mind-set with the serious issues of privacy and security to be surmounted.
Cisco asserts that ‘amazing things happen when you connect the unconnected.’ Their Connected Athlete uses a network of sensors to connect athletes to the cloud, giving athletes real-time data on pace, power and drive, and helping them optimise their performance. Harvard Business Review reports that smart, connected products offer both opportunity and threat, and are reshaping industries entirely. Coupled with the vast amount of data now available, IT is becoming an integral part of many products, with embedded technology and connectivity allowing remarkable improvements in functionality and performance.
By 2020, Samsung expects all their devices to be connected. MIT Technology Review details some of Samsung’s ideas, including office furniture that knows how you feel and responds accordingly, and finds that many connected devices are focused on a smart home. Light sensors, smart TVs, and internet-connected security cameras are popular and appeal to a broad market, but the trick is to build an ‘ecosystem of gadgets’ that work together.
With the dramatic leaps technology has made over the past fifteen years, who can imagine where the next fifteen will find us? How long before the world is just one global village?
By Jennifer Klostermann
