Earlier today, I was quoted in Drew Turney‘s Tech giants get ready for Internet of Things operating systems article for The Age.
The article explores the relevance of ‘dedicated’ IoT systems, like GE’s Predix.
I’d like to expand on this quote:
“The opportunity of IoT lies in integrating physical intelligence right through to business processes, and back out again”
Much of the current discussion around IoT is focussed on cheap sensors, platform interoperability, and data analytics. These are all important building blocks, but they don’t really talk to the power of IoT for me.
We’ve spent two decades mashing up databases. Disconnected datasets now annoy even our least technical friends.
We spent the last decade mashing up web services. It’s mind boggling that I can add a high-quality, interactive map with global coverage straight into an app, and then spend longer trying to generate all the different icon sizes required to publish it.
We’ll spend this decade mashing up the physical world. We’re nearing the point that it’s as easy to connect to your toothbrush as it is to connect to a web service.
Software remains at the heart of all this: it’s just that we can now reach further than ever before. Rather than waiting for input data, we can just go and get it. Rather than sending an alert, we can just go and start/stop/repair/move/etc. whatever we need to.
Separately, it was encouraging to see security raised several times. A device that’s too small and dumb to run the math required for encryption is probably not something to be exposed to the public internet.
And of course, it’s always nice to see Readify’s name alongside the likes of Intel, GE, and CSIRO. 🙂
Tatham Oddie 