What’s Today’s Forecast?
Are you familiar with the four ways the Internet of Things will change your life this year?
Get to know the top industry verticals driving the Internet of Things in 2015.
The Internet of Things presents a whole new class of smart objects and applications that are ushering in novel forms of automation. Industry analysts project a steep growth trajectory for connected devices, with a range of totals that underscores the newness of this phenomenon: Gartner forecasts 26 billion IoT devices by 2020, meanwhile ABI Research projects more than 40 billion and IDC has estimated the figure to exceed 50 billion. Whatever the case, there are already a handful of industry verticals being significantly impacted by the IoT.
1. Smart fitness and health care
More and more people use so- called “wearables” to collect information about themselves and positively impact their lives. Current wristband monitors and mobile apps track performance metrics. The next generation will be more integrated and reveal valuable new fitness patterns. On the other end of the spectrum is an array of implanted medical devices creating new opportunities to serve patients by dispensing medications, providing electronic and motor stimuli and monitoring critical biometrics.
2. Programmable homes
IoT is also making inroads in this sector, with solutions ranging from smart thermostats and security systems to many different types of appliances and energy management products controlled from remote locations.
Connecting major consumer appliances like water heaters has already started paying off for utility companies. Doing so improves the economics and performance during peak usage periods when electricity is most expensive.
3. Media, entertainment, social networking
The IoT is breaking down barriers between professional and user- generated content as never before thanks to higher quality data capture and display capabilities. Accordingly, media entertainment and social networking are becoming a seamless continuum. To illustrate the possibilities, say you are watching a cooking show. You could connect your TV to a smart refrigerator integrated with a supermarket that delivers, enabling quicker access to needed ingredients. You could also remotely activate your smart oven and social network to share the recipe preparation to fellow foodies.
4. Geolocation services and vehicular automation
Connected cars now feature enhanced entertainment, communications, diagnostics and driver- assistance features. Semiautonomous vehicles can park themselves in parking garages, and fully self- driving commercial passenger vehicles are imminent within a few years.
Meanwhile, airborne drones with an enormous array of payloads— from agriculture to mining to package shipments to restaurant deliveries— are now a reality, with regulatory concerns lagging behind avionic technological capabilities.