There are multiple opinions on from different sources which make the world so obsessed with the IoT. But really, Internet of things is far bigger than anyone realizes. Some people tell that it’s the term given to the connected things and it’s just about providing IPv6 to any “thing” that is available in the vicinity.
“Total Number of internet connected devices reached 8.7 billion in 2012” – X source
“The growing network of connected objects referred to as the “Internet of Things” is estimated to be in the billions by 2020.” – Y Source
“The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the fastest growing areas of tech – covering everything from consumer wearable devices to high-tech industrial systems.” – Z Source
“IoT is completely a disruptive technology according to analysis.” – Z’ Source
Be it the massive infrastructures, be it your pillow, be it your home, or be it your clothes, it’s not about connecting the sensor to the multiple Arduinos and RaspberryPis and connecting it to the internet, It’s about building the ecosystem. It’s not about connecting relay to the Internet to control the appliances, but It’s about the intelligent architecture that very well suits the need of the users, may it be using artificial neural networks or may it be using the multiple algorithms for enhancing the user experience. Honchos are building the Skytranand that is the kind of solutions the world really wants. “Air” is built with the same vision and philosophy. We are here to deliver the extra mile!
When developers are talking about delivering an extra mile to enhance the human living experience, they’re still not thinking big enough to justify the needs of the world. It’s not a lack of creativity; it’s a lack of scrutiny. Future is always within our vision, and you don’t need to visualize or build what’s already there.
3 essential rules for IoT Businesses
Here is my take! There may be many rules for the successful IoT business, but I would like to encompass these three as the essentials to build the successful IoT product. It’s about M2M and IoT (It took me long to understand difference between M2M and IoT, and if you don’t know, Here is a good article) therefore it’s all on us, to understand where it’s leading to.
Rule 1: Data
It’s just not about delivering the product, It’s about leveraging the data which is created from millions of end nodes. Obviously, we would require powerful data storage capability and tremendous remote processing power to understand the sheer amount of collected data and to build the intelligence in the system for better predictions and controls.
Rule 2: Security and Robustness
Who likes it when connectivity becomes unstable? Nobody enjoys the interrupted signals and improper codecs. Thus the connection protocol aspect of IoT is incredibly critical to give users that seamless, “always on and interacting” feel — what’s the point of always having technology with you if it isn’t going to be always connected? Consumer devices in particular – from fitness trackers to home appliances – are generating more granular information. And when that information is about people or their health, it’s more sensitive.
Rule 3: User Interface/Experience
Similar to the previous point, nobody enjoys the broken user experience. Be it developers or the product end users, they need a flawless system to hack and play around with minimal hassles.
“IoT is not the ‘Thing’ that gains the Internet, It’s that the Internet gains from the Thing.” – Patrick Isacson
Accessories
There is an idea of many developers who are working for IoT, to build an ecosystem(SDKs) for the developers to build on their own platform. It may take many skills with many skill resources to design and deliver a successful IoT platform that is both scalable and extensible to be versatile. According to the Reuters “The IoT Platform Companies Database 2015“, there are 250+ platforms available to start development on IoT so there are 180+ startups, 45+ SMEs, and 25+ MNCs which offers such platforms. This is really alarming! Who will connect these all platform to make the “ONE internet of things”? This is really needed to leverage the data mining and to provide better analytics. “ONE Internet of things” not only can make businesses more efficient but makes the businesses ready for future!
Why do I call it an accessory? Because, this is currently “announced” as an add-on to almost every internet of things product sold! It is treated as an accessory! As the Internet of things is said so abstract and developers and designers are busy creating their own hardware and software platforms with different open/proprietary protocols, and shouting that their platform having cool X-Y-Z features is too much obsession for the people. This will ignite developers to start talking about the Web of Things! Similarly to what the Web (Application Layer) is to the Internet (Network Layer), the Web of Things provides an Application Layer that simplifies the creation of Internet of Things applications. Web of Things reuses existing and popular Web standards. But I am still concerned at the common/cross-platforms solutions on which multiple devices can communicate. It is an open discussion, though!
Security
As everyone started turning to Internet of things and as everybody is talking about the IoT, the term “Security in Internet of Things” has become too popular to discuss on every IoT tech geek’s breakfast table. Some devices fall short of enough stack in the tiny microcontrollers used as an actuator end-point, or some devices are just about being low power without any security engines running. As users become more reliant on smart devices and wearables, an increasing amount of sensitive data is being accessed through these devices and transferred among them. The developers must strengthen the defenses by taking clues from the smartphone developers and industry. But it is not easy as to just talking about the security. There’s much more work needed for low power and low memory embedded devices.
Product development—at least for products that anyone expects to be successful—has always been iterative, incremental, and collaborative.
Now, it’s upon us being the builders, the innovators, the creators or the end user to bring the IoT to a stage where all work on a unified platform. It’s a big task to create “ONE internet of things” but filled with too many opportunities for everyone around us to change the world we see today!
Thanks in advance for your Likes and Shares. It would be great to have your added thoughts on this.
Rushi Gajjar
Next Generation of Systems Design at Siemens