by Bryan Bergeron, Editor by Bryan Bergeron, Editor
DEVELOPING
Since the birth of the Internet, there has been talk of
total connectivity — between people, people and their
possessions, and things to things. Up until recently, the
reality has been that such ecosystems existed only in
academic and corporate research centers. Today, the
Internet of Things (Io T) is a practical reality in many
settings.
Let's start off with consumer goods. For the well-heeled, there's the Philips hue connected bulb ($60). It's a
wireless bulb that screws into a regular light bulb socket.
The difference is that you can control color and intensity
via your iPhone or iPad from across the room or across
the globe. If light bulbs aren't your thing (they don't do
much for me), then another example of a commercially
available Io T device is the Nest Protect smoke and carbon
monoxide detector. No more surprises when you return
from vacation to find all of your belongings smoldering
from a house fire.
Then, there's the Parrot flower pot moisture sensor
($60) so that you know exactly when to water your roses,
even when you're away from home. I haven't yet made the
move to keyless locks. The Kwikset Kevo wireless deadbolt
($220) — while expensive enough to suggest it isn't a
toy — leaves me a bit uncomfortable, knowing that a
hacker could unlock my front door from his desk in some
other country.
I'm partial to the web-enabled wireless cameras that
can be accessed from anywhere. Check who's at the front
door, keep an eye on the sitter, make sure the kids are
doing their homework — the list is almost endless. Sure,
this sort of snooping has been available for years, but
never so "plug and play" with a smartphone.
On the non-commercial end of things, I've had the
pleasure of working with some expensive gear that has yet
to trickle down to the consumer market. My favorite is the
pallet tracker. It's an RF unit that not only broadcasts the
GPS location of the tagged pallet, but informs the receiver
about handling and environmental conditions.
For example, it can be set to sound an alarm if the
internal accelerometer reads over 3 s, or, if the orientation
of the tracker is shifted — as in flipped over. With such a
device, it's possible to track a shipment across the globe,
monitoring not only the location of the pallet but how it's
been handled. (Be sure and check out the article this
month by Ron Newton on a three-axis hockey puck
accelerometer data logger that can be used for just such
an application.)
I'm still waiting for a pair of running shoes that tell me
not only how far and fast I've run —
those have been available for years
— but when it's time to buy a new
pair of shoes based on impact
sensors. It's the same with my
toothbrush. I'm never certain
exactly when to toss my brush for
a new one. A connected brush that
sends me an email after, say,
10,000 brushes would be helpful.
I expect to see such a brush in my
local CVS or Walgreens pharmacy
within a year or two.
Best of all, I expect to see Io T
kits that allow anyone to put
anything on the Internet. Simply
glue or nail it on whatever or
whomever you want to track or
control, and go about your
business. One thing's for sure. With
a mature Io T, I'll have to upgrade
my data plan on my smartphone to
avoid overuse charges. NV
PERSPECTIVES
6 November 2014
The Internet of Things
