News & Analysis
Photos from the frontier: The Internet of Things
Rick Merritt
4/11/2012 9:01 AM EDT
Networked sensors are finding their way into an increasingly broad set of applications marketers have dubbed The Internet of Things. The following photo gallery provides a few glimpses of this diverse frontier in electronics and distributed computing.
At its core, the Internet of Things is all about the mote, the tiny module that combines some sort of sensor and communications, and perhaps a bit of memory and computing capability. One example (below) is a mote designed by IBM using the network technology of startup Dust Networks, recently acquired by Linear Technology.
The devices are appearing where once no semiconductors were found, in everything from hydraulic pumps to wristwatches, board games and bandages. Indeed the apps frontier is almost comically diverse.
In a keynote at the Mobile World Congress earlier this year Ralph de la Vega, chief executive of AT&T, talked about wireless sensor networks measuring both the moisture content of farm fields to automate irrigation systems and the fullness of dumpsters to calculate the most efficient routes for garbage trucks.
“If you think about our future think trash, think dirt—there’s money there,” he quipped.
Chip makers pursuing these apps include nearly every microcontroller maker, broad analog companies such as Maxim and Texas Instruments and niche players such as Ember Corp. (whose development kit is shown below). A host of mainly wireless networking options are making claims to this territory from Bluetooth to Zigbee.
One hot debate is whether today’s Internet protocols are just fine for this work or specialty energy-saving techniques are needed. Both are in use or in development now.
In any case, all sides agree the end goal is to deliver the smallest possible motes with as much smarts as possible with what little energy can be harvested or stored in tiny batteries that typically must last for years.
We welcome you to this tour of a few frontier towns in the Internet of Things. We’d love to hear about what new technologies or applications you may be pioneering at other points on this horizon. Much of the future of electronics is being written in this new Wild West.
Next: Smart cities
At its core, the Internet of Things is all about the mote, the tiny module that combines some sort of sensor and communications, and perhaps a bit of memory and computing capability. One example (below) is a mote designed by IBM using the network technology of startup Dust Networks, recently acquired by Linear Technology.
The devices are appearing where once no semiconductors were found, in everything from hydraulic pumps to wristwatches, board games and bandages. Indeed the apps frontier is almost comically diverse.
In a keynote at the Mobile World Congress earlier this year Ralph de la Vega, chief executive of AT&T, talked about wireless sensor networks measuring both the moisture content of farm fields to automate irrigation systems and the fullness of dumpsters to calculate the most efficient routes for garbage trucks.
“If you think about our future think trash, think dirt—there’s money there,” he quipped.
Chip makers pursuing these apps include nearly every microcontroller maker, broad analog companies such as Maxim and Texas Instruments and niche players such as Ember Corp. (whose development kit is shown below). A host of mainly wireless networking options are making claims to this territory from Bluetooth to Zigbee.
One hot debate is whether today’s Internet protocols are just fine for this work or specialty energy-saving techniques are needed. Both are in use or in development now.
In any case, all sides agree the end goal is to deliver the smallest possible motes with as much smarts as possible with what little energy can be harvested or stored in tiny batteries that typically must last for years.
We welcome you to this tour of a few frontier towns in the Internet of Things. We’d love to hear about what new technologies or applications you may be pioneering at other points on this horizon. Much of the future of electronics is being written in this new Wild West.
Next: Smart cities
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iniewski
4/11/2012 10:32 AM EDT
Very cool pics Rick...I wonder what the debate about IP protocol is all about...clearly low level control has to be done using energy efficiency protocol (Zigbee etc)...but equally clearly the only reasonable way to gather all sensor traffic is to use existing TCP/IP infrastructure...do people propose building their own energy efficient networks? Kris
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saniws
4/17/2012 11:38 AM EDT
tcp/ip for certain applications can become an IT burden with high overhead and maintenance. Various protocols that can create knowledge clouds of information that are client specific (proprietary)- while also possessing the capability to communicate to the web show promise and flexibility. i.e. Sensor Webs for one from sensorware systems
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rick.merritt
4/11/2012 11:37 AM EDT
The folks at IPSO are advocates of using existing IP/IETF standards and protocols for compatibility with the rest of the Net/Web. They say these can be implemented in energy efficient ways today for any embedded app no matter how constrained.
The folks at Zigbee and elsewhere say new kinds of protocols need to be created to meet the energy needs of deeply embedded apps.
It's a huge debate!
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docdivakar
4/16/2012 5:42 PM EDT
It is not a either / or proposition, ZigBee and WiFi can co-exist. They each have their advantages but low power WiFi will win. There are already radios available for two-way transparent conversion of between Zigbee and WiFi.
ZigBee-networked devices will not have backwards compatibility. Every time the M2M networks are upgraded, cost may therefore become a concern.
MP Divakar
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iniewski
4/11/2012 12:12 PM EDT
Very interesting Rick, you would think there enough networking protocols and standards already...personally I know over 100 of them and getting lost already (and I used to edit networking books for Wiley and CRC Press)
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rick.merritt
4/11/2012 6:44 PM EDT
Yeah everybody wants to come up with a unique protocol...what's with that? Net result: market fragmentation, lack of interoperability...and stories and books we can all write ;-)
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junko.yoshida
4/11/2012 3:24 PM EDT
Internet of Things (IoT) is such a catch-all phrase. It's used way too often, it has turned into a marketing jargon we all love to hate. And yet, it's a fascinating area because of the promises and potentials that can be brought by wireless sensor networks. View examples here and let us know what other potentials you think IoT can bring to us.
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t.alex
4/11/2012 6:38 PM EDT
These technologies have been around for sometime. Now, with the booming of mobile devices, it is time for them to bloom.
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iniewski
4/11/2012 7:04 PM EDT
Yes, the smart technologies have been in development for a while, and it is time for them to bloom..also, perhaps it is the time to drop the "smart" adjective...we already have smart phones, smart grid, smart cars and now smart cities, smart factories, and smart buildings...what happens when everything on earth becomes smart? what would become of the meaning smart in that case? ;-)...Kris
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prabhakar_deosthali
4/12/2012 1:41 AM EDT
When everything around us becomes smart we the humans are going to be reduced to dumb animals because we may not have left much to do with our own hands.
Just Obey the machines ! ( or the hackers behind them ! LOL)
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GREAT-Terry
4/12/2012 11:39 AM EDT
Nice pictures and some nice ideas. Yep, the IOT is good business opportunities for many IT and electronics related companies. Hope this can help a bit for them to come out of the economy downturn.
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selinz
4/12/2012 1:24 PM EDT
I'll take one Dick Tracy watch, please...
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joyhaa
4/12/2012 11:45 PM EDT
have been working on zigbee products for more than one year, i have to say that zigbee is terrible in design, for example, it's IP unfriendly, and i can not have two profiles co-exist on one node...
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iniewski
4/12/2012 11:52 PM EDT
What is better than ZigBee @joyhaa?
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denis.lachapelle
4/13/2012 2:02 PM EDT
We at Sysacom have a products line we call the Total Sensing Solution; it mostly enable any sensor to be connected to the Internet providing access to the data through WEB interface and also providing email and sms alarms. www.sysacom.com/cst
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Luis Sanchez
4/22/2012 4:07 AM EDT
those game cubes are interesting. though a little uncomfortable to require the PC being connected to be able to play. A whole new set of games can be developed with the SDK! And educational ones for kids too!
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