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Introduction

The Internet of Things (IoT) connects everyday objects with the internet, allowing the objects to send and receive data. IoT targets physical objects that are around consumers, such as computers, mobile phones, watches, and thermostat. Service providers can harness this data to understand consumer behaviors and a life cycle, specifically when and why consumers use a device or service.[1]

Internet-of-Things-01 (1).png

History

Although the concept wasn't announced until 1999, the Internet of Things has been in development for decades. The first internet appliance, for example, was a Coke machine at Carnegie Melon University in the early 1980s. The programmers could connect to the machine over the internet, check the status of the machine and determine whether or not there would be a cold drink awaiting them, should they decide to make the trip down to the machine.[2]

IoT: Smart Home

Home is perhaps the best make-it-real example of the IoT in the consumer conscience. Consumers are most aware of products available for the home than other areas of IoT. Even though consumers are concerned about privacy they are still willing to share private information to automate everyday processes. This moves the perspective from point-of-sale to point-of-consumption leading to higher retention and upsell.

Google Home

Google Home products

The Google Home line of products come in an array of sizes that are all used as smart speakers and home assistants. [3] Not only do they play music, but they can also process verbal commands to execute different actions. Examples of requests include "Play 'The Longest Time' by Billy Joel," "What's the weather like today?," and "What does the word 'entomophobia' mean?" Google Home is able to process all sorts of commands and questions like these and respond back using Google Assistant technology. It can also be integrated with numerous other IoT hardware and software, such as Netflix, TVs, Hue, and Wemo.

Google recently underwent a controversy for its new Google Home Mini product. In order to activate the Google Home to listen to a response, users have to trigger it by saying "Okay Google" or "Hey Google." The product doesn't record and process requests until these words are spoken. However, when the Mini first came out and was sent out for review to a handful of tech bloggers, they had found that it was recording audio all the time -- even when it wasn't triggered by the command. [4] This was a hardware flaw that they have since then fixed, although it caused an uproar on the internet over the violation of privacy and omnipresence by Google.

Amazon Echo

Amazon Echo

The Amazon Echo is a product offered by Amazon that is similar to the Google Home. It is a smart speaker and home assistant that uses Amazon Alexa artificial intelligence technology to process requests. [5] Similar to the Google Home, the Amazon Echo was recently under fire for a controversy. In order to trigger the Echo, users have to start off their command with "Alexa." People found that when they were having normal conversations with others, Alexa would laugh out of nowhere. [6] Eventually, the cause of this found to be that something in their conversations sounded similar to the command "Alexa, laugh." This command has since then been replaced with "Alexa, can you laugh for me?" Although the Echo is not a new product, smart home assistants can still face errors such as these.

Nest

Nest products

Nest Labs is a company that produces home automation products, such as thermostats, security camera, doorbells, alarm systems, locks and smoke & CO detectors.[7] These products can be controlled not only manually, but also on smartphones and through smart assistants such as the Google Home and Amazon Echo by connecting to Wi-Fi. The company was founded in 2010 by Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, former Apple employees.

The company is most known for their groundbreaking first product, the Nest Learning Thermostat, which was released in October 2011. [8] The Thermostat automatically controls the temperature in homes based on various factors such as the current season. It also automatically changes the temperature accordingly when the owner is in and out of the home and when they are coming home based on the owner's temperature preferences. It determines the owner's location based on geolocation technology on their phones but also uses AI to learn the owner's schedule. With its built-in sensors and geolocation technology, the thermostat puts itself into an energy-saving mode when nobody is home. The product is used via a touchscreen and the company sends updates, notifications, and bug fixes through its internet connection.

The next product Nest released was the Nest Protect, a smoke, and carbon monoxide detector. [9]The product illuminates color depending on its notifications, such as yellow for an early warning and red when the alarm goes off. Nest Protect can also communicate with the Nest Learning Thermostat by providing the same information of the home owner's schedule and when they're present in the house as well as a Wave Silence feature where the alarm will stop ringing when it senses a waving motion in front of the device in case of a false alarm.

The company's Nest Cam Indoor, Nest Cam Outdoor, and Nest Cam IQ are all security camera products based on its $555 million acquisition of Dropcam in June 2014. [10] Another product called Nest Secure was released in 2017, which is a home security system that consists of features such as Nest Guard and Nest Tag. Nest Hello [11] contains an HD video camera with 24/7 live streaming and 3 hours of viewing history that uses person, motion and sound alerts to trigger your phone. It also uses facial recognition software that can be connected to smart home assistants to recognize and announce family and friends.

Philips Hue

Philips Hue starter kit

The Philips Hue is a smart lighting system that can be controlled via smartphone, smartwatch or voice. [12] It can change between over 50,000 shades of white light and over 16 million colors of light. It offers many different features, including light schedules, lighting up slowly to gently wake up users in the morning, and syncing with music and videos. It also uses phone geotechnology to turn lights on and off when users enter and leave the home.

IoT: Lifestyle

Wearable Technology

Smart Watches

A smart watch is like a traditional watch in that it features the time and is worn on the wrist. But it boasts many more features, such as a touchscreen display, connectivity to the user's phone and apps, heart rate tracking, pedometers, and the ability to reply to texts via voice transcribing.

Apple Watch
Apple Watch

One of the most popular smart watches is the Apple Watch.[13] It debuted in April 2015 and is in its 3rd iteration of the product.[14] It is able to connect to user's phones via cellular network, so users are able to use it even when they don't have their phone on them. On the Apple Watch, people are able to call and send texts, stream music, use the Siri smart assistant, get notifications from their phones, track their fitness, and receive smart coaching. It is also waterproof. Apple has collaborated with different brands to come up with new models of the Apple Watch, including Nike and Hermes.

Fitness Smart Watches

The Fitbit collection

Fitness smart watches are a form of smart watches that primarily have health-related features, such as pedometers, heart rate monitors and distance travelled tracking. These smart watches connect to people's phones so that they are able to better monitor their health. One of the most prominent fitness smart watch brands is Fitbit [15], which offers an array of products to cater to different needs. Its Fitbit Flex 2 is a new version of its classic product, the original Fitbit Flex. [16] The Flex 2 offers a slim, waterproof band that tracks sleep patterns, has reminders to move after the user has been stationary for a while, tracks exercise, and notifies users for calls and texts. It comes in many different styles, so buyers are able to customize their Fitbit's appearance to a style that suits them.

The Fitbit Versa is much more like a traditional smart watch as it boasts more features and has a touchscreen display. [17] Like the Flex 2, it is waterproof, tracks fitness & sleep and monitors the user's heart rate. It also displays the owner's phone notifications and offers personal fitness coaching. For example, if a person is close to their steps per day goal, it will display how many more steps they need and encourage the user. For female users, it will also soon offer period & ovulation cycle tracking. Through the Fitbit phone app, users are able to see and monitor their stats that the Fitbit collects more in-depth.

Google Pixel Buds

Google Pixel Buds

In October 2017, Google announced its new Pixel Buds product. [18] Pixel Buds are wireless earphones that offer quick access to not only Google Assistant, but also Google Translate. With regards to Google Assistant, commands include asking the Assistant to play music, make a call, get directions or read out loud text messages. As for the Google Translate technology, Pixel Buds are able to translate over 40 foreign languages in real time. For example, users can activate Google Assistant and ask it to translate a certain phrase. The translated phrase will then play on the connected phone's speaker. Pixel Buds currently retail for $179. [19]

IoT: Travel, Transport, & Hospitality

For travel, transport & hospitality mobile apps provide data to create personalized marketing and driving consumer loyalty. Also, sensors in vehicles and buildings help businesses optimize their services.

Travel

In air travel we can see IoT solutions already being deployed in various airports, one of them is the Miami airport which uses approx. 400 IoT sensors to help customers navigate the airport and provide them with accurate direction. This in turn, makes lines shorter and the whole "check in" process a lot more efficient. Also, we can see many companies in the race to develop an economically efficient GPS luggage solution to track your belongings any time, any where. [20]

Transport

IOT could help us in ways like: Your Alarm Clock Will Set Itself, Cars Will Gain Situational Awareness, Traffic Lights and Traffic Control Devices Will Become Smarter, Your Vehicle Will Become A Personalized Assistant, Public Transportation Will Become More Efficient, Drones Will Provide Basic Highway Enforcement, Future Transportation Plans Will More Accurately Anticipate City Needs.[21]

Hospitality

In the hospitality field, IoT has a big role in transforming our exprience to a seamless interaction between the guest and the host such as: Guestroom Automation, Predictive Maintenance, Mobile Engagement, Hyper-Personalization, Location-based Interactions[22]


iRobot Corporation

iRobot Corporation

iRobot Corporation [23] was founded in 1990 by Rodney Brooks, Colin Angle, and Helen Greiner, three MIT graduates. During their time at MIT, they designed robots for military defense and space exploration in MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab. The company designs robots that clean homes, such as the Roomba and the Braava, and has sold over 8 million products. In 2001, iRobot designed ts PackBot that was for military use in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's represented as a life-saving device that aided in situations such as looking for debris of the World Trade Center after 9/11 and being the first to assess the site after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. In 2002, iRobot launched its first Roomba. [24] It's a self-vacuuming device for the floors and detects dirt and dust through its sensors. Over the years, the Roomba had upgrades and improvements. The Roomba has a three-stage cleaning system where it sweeps corners and edges, grabs the debris with its two brushes, and suctions and filters the dirt. The device can be controlled through the iRobot HOME app with start, stop, and pause cleaning cycles. The app displays the device's cleaning history and is compatible with other smart home assistants, such as the Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. iRobot also released the Mirra in 2013, which is a robotic pool cleaner. [25] The device removes large and small debris particle from the surface of the pool and water. It also scrubs the pool's floors and walls and comes with an optional carrying caddy for easy storage. In 2016, the iRobot Braava was released. [26] This device mops and sweeps the floors and includes washable and disposable pads. The pads perform wet mopping, damp sweeping, and dry sweeping. Like the Roomba, the Braava is also compatible with the iRobot HOME app and has the same features available as the Roomba.


Neato Robotics

Neato Robotics

Neato Robotics [27] was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Newark, California. It's a robotics company that specializes in robotic vacuum cleaners called BotVacs. Their products weren't for sale until 2010 and later versions of the BotVac were produced throughout the years. [28] Their vacuums are similar to the iRobot Roombas, however the difference between the two vacuums is that the Roomba cleans and travels randomly around the room whereas the BotVacs travel in straight line patterns, overlapping on certain occasions. The BotVac does this with its "LaserSmart Navigation" that assists itself with the floor plans and maps out its respected travel. Neato products are shaped in the letter "D" in order to reach the corners of rooms better and allow for a larger front cleaning brush. The products also sync to the Neato Robotics app that shows the BotVac's coverage maps and cleaning histories. They're also compatible with other smart home devices such as the Amazon Echo and the Google Home, and messenger apps such as Facebook Messenger and WeChat. The user would simply communicate through these products to the BotVac on when to clean the place and how often. In addition, the BotVac is also compatible with Nest products and can start the cleaning cycle when the user leaves its home. [29] The user can schedule the bot to clean the room up to seven days a week if they'd like. After the BotVac is finished cleaning the room, it returns to its charging base and commences its auto charge feature. A few retailers that carry and sell the Neato products include Amazon, Best Buy, Khol's, Walmart, and Target. In September 2017, Vorwerk Group, a company that specializes in the distribution of household appliances, acquired Neato Robotics. [30]

IoT: Data Science

Big data enables business to get the largest ROI and benefits from IoT. All the connected devices will collect data, but IBM estimates that 90% or more of the data may never be analyzed. Big data software, such as streaming analytics software, would increase the amount of data analyzed and available to decision-makers

References

  1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2015/08/17/3-ways-the-internet-of-things-will-change-every-business/#5f9b33919816
  2. http://internetofthingsagenda.techtarget.com/definition/Internet-of-Things-IoT
  3. https://store.google.com/product/google_home
  4. http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/11/technology/google-home-mini-security-flaw/index.html
  5. https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Echo-And-Alexa-Devices/b?ie=UTF8&node=9818047011
  6. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/08/business/alexa-laugh-amazon-echo.html
  7. https://nest.com/
  8. https://nest.com/thermostats/
  9. https://nest.com/smoke-co-alarm/overview/
  10. https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/20/googles-nest-to-acquire-dropcam-for-555-million/
  11. https://nest.com/doorbell/nest-hello/overview/?alt=3
  12. https://www2.meethue.com/en-us
  13. https://www.apple.com/watch/
  14. https://www.apple.com/apple-watch-series-3/
  15. https://www.fitbit.com/home
  16. https://www.fitbit.com/flex2
  17. https://www.fitbit.com/versa
  18. https://www.geek.com/tech/googles-159-pixel-buds-are-your-smartphones-babel-fish-1718440/
  19. https://store.google.com/product/google_pixel_buds
  20. https://www.ibm.com/blogs/internet-of-things/smart-air-travel/
  21. http://www.govtech.com/internet/8-Ways-the-Internet-of-Things-Will-Improve-Your-Commute-In-The-Future.html
  22. https://www.hotel-online.com/press_releases/release/7-trends-for-the-internet-of-things-in-hospitality
  23. http://www.irobot.com/
  24. http://media.irobot.com/2002-09-18-iRobot-Introduces-Roomba-Intelligent-FloorVac-The-First-Automatic-Floor-Cleaner-In-The-U-S
  25. http://media.irobot.com/press-releases?item=122415
  26. http://media.irobot.com/2016-03-15-iRobot-Grows-Consumer-Product-Lineup-with-Braava-jet-Mopping-Robot
  27. https://www.neatorobotics.com
  28. https://www.neatorobotics.com/robot-vacuum/botvac-connected-series/
  29. https://www.neatorobotics.com/smarthome/
  30. https://www.neatorobotics.com/press/vorwerk-acquired-neato/