IoT describes the communication among multiple physical devices, embedded in vehicles, buildings and equipment. These devices contain software and sensors that can exchange data over networks. IoT is in many of the tech toys that run our homes and lives. From high-tech thermostats and wireless cameras to voice-activated artificial intelligence, IoT, once a futuristic concept, is now very much a part of our present.
Wireless Technology
Think back to just 10 years ago, right before the first iPhone. Our home technology was contained to a cable box plugged into a wall outlet, a phone plugged into a landline jack, and a home security system wired to a dedicated security network. All of that is almost completely gone in 2017.
For example, take security camera systems. You can still pay a monthly fee for a legacy service to monitor your home, but many opt out of subscriptions for a one-time purchase of a wireless security system. With cameras available from Lorex Technology homeowners can record to a DVR with the images accessible by smartphone or tablet.
Lighting
Lights haven’t changed much in the last 50 years. Our bulb choices may burn longer and use less energy, but we still flick the same manual switches as our parents and grandparents before us. We have dimmer switches for mood lighting but even those are managed manually. And when our day is done we go around turning out the lights.
Today all that can happen automatically. Light systems like Philips Hue are connected to a hub using a Wi-Fi network so that every bulb can be controlled through a smartphone interface. You can dim the lights, change their color, and assign settings all through your phone. And you are not limited to bulbs. Light fixtures, desk lamps, and even LED strips can be connected to the hub and can be controlled by phone. You still have the old switches, but you won’t need to use them unless you can’t find your phone.
Automation
Like the lights and manual switches that controlled them in the last century, many of our other home systems required us to intervene by hand. If you left the house on a cool morning and it turned into a hot day, too bad. Your house when you got home would be roasting.
The Nest and other smart thermostats have changed all that. They learn your daily habits. They track your comings and goings. They are connected through your local Wi-Fi hub to your H/VAC units that provide heating and cooling. When you are out your smart thermostats left on their own can control temperatures in your home. Or if you choose you can use a smartphone app to control your H/VAC remotely. Any way you use them, these automated IoT devices save money by reducing your energy use.
Voice Command
In the last two years, this has become a game changer. Voice command hubs like Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple’s HomePod do everything from playing your favorite music to ordering products, to reminding us of appointments, and keeping us up-to-date on the latest news of interest. And all of this is controlled by your voice.
Voice command interfaces are the stuff of science fiction or so we thought. Our imagination about the voice-controlled home, or a voice-controlled spaceship such as in the series Star Trek, suggested a technology that would be ours sometime in distant future. But no, it’s here now. Through IoT today we are living in that Star Trek future, whether it is using your voice to command your security system, lights, thermostats, or to recall favorite music, the daily calendar, and the latest information and news. All of these Wi-Fi interconnected smart systems are accessible by voice creating lives in our home that can be managed hands-free.
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While smartphone and tablet technologies are making small incremental technological advancements, wearable tech is making giant leaps with innovative products and features you didn’t even know you wanted. While Apple Watch and other smart watches were featured at this year’s Consumer and Electronics Show in Las Vegas, many more wearable technologies were also on display. It’s not a stretch to say that in just a few years you’ll be covered head to toe in gadgets (and they’ll look great).
If you want to be one of the first to wear the latest look to these industry changing trends.
Clothing
While Apple and Google are scrambling to make the best new devices, such as smart watches and augmented reality glasses, other companies are looking at items you already wear every day: shirts, shorts and socks, all being transformed into technology pieces that assist in everything from fitness to daily life. For example, Sensoria Fitness produces socks that use anklet and textile sensors to detect foot pressure, cadence and how you land with each stride. The data is analyzed through an app on your smartphone to determine if you need to change your running game and to provide tips to improve your workouts. Ralph Lauren makes a man’s shirt called the “PoloTech” that uses silver fibers to measure your heart rate, breathing depth and other metrics to evaluate the quality of your workout. With Ralph Lauren on board it shows that big names are taking wearable fashion seriously.
Jewelry
The FitBit is one of a number of dedicated devices revolutionizing personal fitness but not everyone wants to wear such overt technology. That’s why companies like Cuff and Misfit are creating smart fitness devices that fit inside pieces of stylish jewelry. These startups are following in the foot steps of Apple and Google to make wearable technology more attractive.
Solar
The more wearable tech you add to your wardrobe, the more you have to think about power and charging your devices. So solar power is being integrated into wearables. One example comes from Tommy Hilfiger who in 2014 launched a jacket with built-in solar panels so wearers could charge their smartphones while they were out and about. The solar panels on the jacket are easily visible, but clothing makers are working to make solar less obvious in the same way Cuff and Misfit are working on their fitness product lines.
Audio
Even headphones are making a fashion statement while improving their sound quality, function and features. Sony is getting rid of wires with Bluetooth noise-canceling headphones that connect to your smartphone or audio system. Headphones like these are perfect for long flights, lounging around the house and working out at the gym.
Watches
And finally we come back to smart watches, where it all started. The smart watch remains the premier wearable technology with the big players, Apple and Google, fighting hard for the top spot. Apple Watch took the biggest chunk of market share so far and a sequel is planned for launch later this year. On the other side, Google is no slouch with great pieces like the Samsung Gear 2 that Android users are happy to wear on their wrists.
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Tell us about your wearable technology experience. Or if you are a product developer maybe you want to let us announce your latest invention in our Gizmos & Gadgets feature postings.
