The Internet of Things: Marrying Satellite, Wireless and Fiber in a Hybrid World was a joint SATCON and CCW session. The description posted about the session read:
The Internet of Things (IoT) represents the idea that more and more items in our lives, including our bodies, will be connected to a sensor, data will then be transmitted via those sensors through various pipes, to servers which will then act upon that data, ideally to better all our lives. Yet a huge part of that process remains undetermined....
Goldman Sacks has estimated that this mega trend will generate $24 Trillion by 2020. By then 85% of the world population will be impacted by The Internet of Things (340 million people) and 98% of the U.S. population (333.2 million people). So what does this mean? Massive amounts of data will be compiled rapidly. My question was what kind of data? I'm not expert of course but I can share what I learned. To get more information you'll have to conduct your own research but here's some of what I found.
IoT be used?
- Heart monitoring implants.
- Biochip transponders on farm animal.
- Cars with sophisticated built in sensors.
- Earthquake and Tsunami warning systems.
- Field operating devices for fire fighters, law enforcement, the military, etc.
- The development of Smart cities and Smart buildings connected to the Internet.
- Washers and dryers that use remote monitoring.
- Wearable computing.
- Intelligent shopping systems.
The list goes on. If you saw the movie Minority Report, remember when Tom Cruise's character entered the shopping mall his face appeared on the screen and an automated voice called him by name, then proceeded to tell him what items were available for his specific tastes. This was an example of an intelligent shopping system. This movie came out in 2002! When I read wearable computing I thought about the Terminator movie. Does this mean we will be able to see things as the Terminator did with the ability to gauge a person's weight, distances and various other bits of data via a device attached to some part of our bodies?
It was also said that IoT, the media and Big Data are interconnected. For all the good that IoT can do, the scary part is the massive amounts of money to be made. The American Civil Liberties Union has voiced concern about the prospect of corporations having immense powers over our lives while making huge financial gains. If we are wired to the Internet and emanating data that is being collected as we wake up, walk down the street, use the bathroom, interact with our lovers, etc. that means the sparse privacy we now have will become a memory.
I'm not knocking IoT just asking questions and trying to understand its implications. As a writer I find this fascinating. Its important that we have a working knowledge of these speed of light technological changes so we can understand our world and how we fit in. I am so glad I attended this session.
From Me To You.
