Internet of thing (IoT): what do you know about it?

Friday, May 8, 2015

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical objects or "things" embedded with electronics, software, sensors and connectivity to enable it to achieve greater value and service by exchanging data with the manufacturer, operator and/or other connected devices. Each thing is uniquely identifiable through its embedded computing system but is able to interoperate within the existing Internet infrastructure.

The term “Internet of Things” was first documented by a British visionary, Kevin Ashton, in 1999. Typically, IoT is expected to offer advanced connectivity of devices, systems, and services that goes beyond machine-to-machine communications (M2M) and covers a variety of protocols, domains, and applications.The interconnection of these embedded devices (including smart objects), is expected to usher in automation in nearly all fields, while also enabling advanced applications like a Smart Grid.

Things, in the IoT, can refer to a wide variety of devices such as heart monitoring implants, biochip transponders on farm animals, electric clams in coastal waters, automobiles with built-in sensors, or field operation devices that assist fire-fighters in search and rescue. These devices collect useful data with the help of various existing technologies and then autonomously flow the data between other devices. Current market examples include smart thermostat systems and washer/dryers that utilize Wi-Fi for remote monitoring.

Besides the plethora of new application areas for Internet connected automation to expand into, IoT is also expected to generate large amounts of data from diverse locations that is aggregated very quickly, thereby increasing the need to better index, store and process such data.

Up to now

Anis Uzzaman is the general partner and founding member of Silicon Valley-based Fenox Venture Capital. He serves as the CEO overlooking the firm’s management and operations. At Tech in Asia Singapore 2015 today, Uzzaman took to the stage to deliver a keynote speech on Silicon Valley trends and how they can relate to us over here in Asia.

Now’s the time to put your hardware online

The Internet of Things (IoT) is something that everyone, startups and investors alike, should be getting into, said Uzzaman in his keynote. “With IoT, you can be very different, and you can build a unique product,” he says. He told the audience why they shouldn’t be reinventing the wheel in areas like chat apps, traditional ecommerce models, etc.

In 2014, 14.2 billion devices became connected to internet, says Uzzaman. So far in 2015, that number has grown to 15.8 billion, and will continue to rise quickly. According to him, by 2020, IoT will represent a US$1.9 trillion component of the global economy. Uzzaman says Fenox has made a few plays in this space, one of which was its decision to invest in EDYN, a smart garden system that tracks environmental conditions.

Areas of improvement

Uzzaman says that IoT can help the world improve in many ways. He says that new healthcare IT is the wave of the future in terms of solutions for hospitals, children, and elderly people.

Additionally, the manufacturing industry is teed up to benefit from IoT. Production management is something that can be improved dramatically all over the world. Uzzaman also says the possibilities for IoT aiding retail businesses is nearly limitless.

Wearables are poised to grow wildly in popularity in the US and Asia alike, says Uzzaman. For this reason, Fenox invested in a company called META, a firm that is at the forefront of augmented reality. “This is a startup that came out of Y Combinator about two years ago. They have already become very very big in Silicon Valley,” explains Uzzaman.

Google cancer tech

Uzzaman also believes that wearables are the next frontier. He gives honorable mentions to Jawbone’s fitness band, and to Google for patenting a digital deodorant. Additionally, he laudes Google for looking into a possible cure for cancer in the form of a wearable. He says:

The idea is that you wear the device on your arm and it produces acoustics that hit your blood cells in a way so that they won’t produce enzymes that cause cancer.

 

 reference: http://en.wikipedia.org,https://www.techinasia.com

 

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