Interconnection I The Internet of Things
At CES 2014 the future is everywhere
Eric Braddom offers his highlights of IoT technologies at the Consumer Electronics Show and discusses the implications for component manufacturers
F
or years, we have been talking about the dawn of the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) but after attending this year’s Consumer Electronic Show (CES 2014), I can tell you that the Internet of Things is now upon us and it has the potential to dramatically change our lives at a dizzying pace. According to some experts the IoT could replace the web and become more central to society than the Internet as we know it today.
While attending CES 2014 I was taken by the pervasiveness of IoT technology. Many connected products may be in the nascent stage, but the products on display showed that the Internet of Things will change the way we live and do business. Especially interesting to me were the technology areas of “wearables,” “the connected home,” and “the connected vehicle.”
IoT highlights at CES Wearable products, from augmented reality glasses to fitness and activity trackers, to medical devices and smart watches, dominated the show. One of my favourites was the Razor Nabu fitness band that combines a smart watch with a fitness wristband. There was also the Muse brainwave- sensing headband which was positioned as a relaxation device, but I think possible future uses could be even more interesting. There was also a second generation of smart watches and fitness devices that moved beyond the first- generation plastic models, such as the new Pebble Steel smart watch – the first generation of which sold over 300,000 units.
Another interesting example was the Mimo baby monitor by the company Rest Devices. Exemplifying the increasingly popular “mommytech” trend, the exhibit showed an infant (doll) wearing a “onesie” bodysuit with a turtle applique
22 February 2014
on its front that contained sensors to monitor an infant’s breathing, temperature, motion and sleeping rhythms. In the demo, the information collected by the monitor was then communicated, in real-time, to a coffee cup with green LED lights that rose and fell with what was being monitored. As reported by the research firm, Canalys, one of the key themes of CES 2014 was the connected home, and in what they called the “biggest announcement” in this category was Samsung’s Smart Home initiative that “connects and manages home appliances through an app that can be downloaded to its Galaxy smart phones, tablet PCs, smart TVs and Gear smart watch.” This initiative enables connected appliances so that customers can remotely control their appliances from anywhere and view their homes while away using integrated cameras. It also allows the appliances themselves to monitor for problems and then communicate what kind of service or repair they need.
In the past at CES, I had grown accustomed to seeing products resulting from alliances with the wireless protocols Zigbee and ZWave, but this year was more about simple upgrades to the home. For example, in addition to traditional home automation alliances, Arrayent, an IoT company, announced a new app framework for controlling all of your existing appliances with your smartphone. This app would, for example, allow you to buy an upgrade kit for a garage door opener directly from the manufacturer. Then using the applications from Arrayent to control the opener, you could make sure the garage door closes when leaving your house. To illustrate the importance of these types of alliances, immediately after the show Google announced that it had agreed to purchase NEST Labs, the company that
Components in Electronics
makes Internet-connected thermostats and smoke alarms. I saw more cars at this year’s show than I have ever seen before at CES. In addition to the exhibit hall normally set aside for vehicles, the central hall included exhibits for dashboards and advanced controls. This increase can be attributed to another key theme of the show: the connected car. At CES Google unveiled its collaboration with the car manufacturers Audi, General Motors, Honda and Hyundai with the visual computing company, Nvidia, as part of the Open Automotive Alliance (OAA). This group will create a platform to integrate with in-vehicle control, communications and infotainment systems, as well as enhance integration with the driver’s and passengers’ Android- based smart devices. Mercedes announced that it will be adding the support of Nest’s connected thermostats. According to Canalys this integration “will enable the control of home and office temperature systems from within the vehicle, which demonstrates the true meaning of the Internet of Things.”
Component trends One enabler of the Internet of Things is the trend of sensors – which translate the real world into virtual data – becoming smaller, cheaper and requiring less power. Moreover, miniaturisation is driving new form factors in other components like internal connectors and antennas. Antenna technology has also advanced to where we can print antennas on many different surfaces; which means we have to get very creative about where we put them. An example of how miniaturisation is affecting IoT, is Intel’s new Edison Development board. This PC computing platform integrates WiFi, low-power Bluetooth and an app store, all in the form factor of an SD card, which can be put into a plethora of products, including wearables.
Components used for IoT products have benefited from the same trend that drove the miniaturisation of mobile phones. In fact, the first generation of wearables largely used “off the shelf” connectors that strove to combine the best possible
set of features into the smallest possible package. But the next generation of components for these tiny products is driving new levels of integration to reduce size, lower cost and simplify assembly. We have seen the volume of consumer products drive the miniaturisation trend from PCs to notebooks to tablets to smart phones. Wearables and other devices included in the Internet of Things are the next step in this evolution. The Internet of Things adds the connectivity that will allow a broad ecosystem of connected products to communicate. For example, the farmer of the future will be able to place sensors in the soil to check for sun exposure and trigger irrigation. Economists and corporations will also be able to go online to view the sun exposure in every farm in the U.S. to predict crop yields. Apparently, this world is the not-too-distant future, as evidenced by Cisco’s concept of the ’Internet of Everything’ which they define as: “bringing together people, process, data, and things to make networked connections more relevant and valuable than ever before –turning information into actions that create new capabilities, richer experiences, and unprecedented economic opportunity for businesses, individuals, and countries.” The Internet of Things is clearly upon us and is already changing our lives. This technology trend combines all of the elements of small size, lower power and connected solutions that have been shaping the electronics industry for years. Using all types of low-power and tiny , low-cost sensors, and using control supplied by applications, with data stored in the cloud, IoT provides the data that will increasingly give us new insights into ourselves and the world around us. Many observers and attendees at CES 2014 bemoaned that fact that the show lacked new and exciting technologies. I disagree. I saw the future at CES – and it was everywhere.
TE Connectivity |
www.te.com
Eric Braddom is Sr. Director of Global Marketing and Strategy for TE Connectivity
www.cieonline.co.uk
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