The future of IOT!

The future of IOT!

What kind of future will IOT (connecting things with the Internet), which is currently under development all over the world, see as development progresses? I would like to introduce an article about the future of IOT.

8 familiar cases of IoT! Explaining the future and issues brought about by IoT

Are you thinking "I want to know familiar cases of IoT services"?

The IoT, which creates new value by connecting various things to the Internet, is already permeating our lives. It may become an indispensable part of your life, such as smart speakers and smart locks.

But the IoT is not yet the norm in our lives. I know the word IoT, but I think there are many people who don't have an image of what is actually used in their daily lives.

Therefore, in this article, we will explain the basic knowledge about IoT and familiar cases of IoT. Specifically, it has the following configuration.

・ What is IoT?

・ Examples of familiar use of IoT

・ How will the future change with IoT?

・ Issues left for the spread of IoT

Read this article to get a concrete picture of how people's lives will change.

What is IoT

Before we get to know the familiar cases of IoT, let's first understand exactly what IoT is. IoT (Internet of Things) is a word that means "Internet of Things". Simply put, various objects around us are connected to the Internet.

There are a wide variety of objects that can be connected to the Internet, such as home appliances, stationery, and automobiles. This technology is used in all industrial fields such as agriculture, manufacturing, and medical fields.

What are the benefits of connecting a simple object to the Internet? The big advantage is that you can get information as numerical values ​​that did not exist as data before. Wearable terminals that constantly monitor vital data such as pulse and products that quantify consumer behavior are being developed and put into practical use.

If information that did not exist as data can be obtained, companies can utilize it for marketing. If we can monitor vital data, we will be able to detect life-threatening and health problems at an early stage.

In addition, IoT will enable various things to be operated from smartphones and voice. The convenience of home appliances has also improved dramatically, and it may be better just to talk to everything around us. If that happens, life will become richer.

Familiar use cases of IoT
Fitbit

Fitbit is a wearable device for healthcare purposes. It has the shape of a wristband, and you can measure daily activity and exercise data just by putting it on your wrist. For example, steps, calories burned, sleep, etc. You can check the measurement results on your smartphone. Fitbit will help you with your diet and health care, and will help you stay motivated.

Kyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau

An attempt is being made to eliminate dissatisfaction with bus waiting times using the IoT system introduced by the Transportation Bureau of Kyoto City. When I try to get on the bus, it often happens that the bus does not arrive at the scheduled time. Unlike trains, buses do not know when they will arrive, so passengers may be dissatisfied.

Therefore, the Kyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau has installed a transmitter on the bus and put in place a mechanism to transmit operation data in real time. The information will be examined by an analog flip installed at the bus stop. Passengers can see where the bus they are trying to get on is just by looking at the flip.

MAmoria it

"MAmoria it" is an LED light, but it is not an ordinary light. When an earthquake with a seismic intensity of 4 or higher occurs, it is a light that automatically turns on when it detects the shaking. You can take it from the holder as it is and use it as a flashlight.

If a large-scale earthquake occurs and a power outage occurs, there is a risk of getting injured by stepping on broken glass, and it makes me feel uneasy if the surroundings are surrounded by darkness. Let's do it. Since Japan is a country with many earthquakes, it is essential to prepare such disaster prevention goods.

This LED light is also equipped with a function that automatically turns on the light when the smartphone receives breaking news.

Philips Hue

The smart lighting "Philips Hue" can be said to be an example of IoT that is familiar to our daily lives. You can easily convert your home to IoT. Philips Hue is a light that can be operated from an AI speaker or smartphone. Not limited to ON / OFF operation, you can set the color and brightness of the light to your liking from your smartphone. Equipped with more than 16 million colors, it is an item that not only makes operability convenient, but also enables space exercises that have never been seen before.

Blueair Aware

"Blue air Aware" is an air purifier that can visualize air pollution. It can be said to be an example of using IoT to visualize information that did not exist as data until now. Specifically, it detects indoor air pollution such as PM2.5, Co2, and VOC with a dedicated sensor and displays it on a smartphone. Since you can know that the air is in a bad condition, you can take measures such as cleaning the air and ventilating.

HEXOSKIN

"HEXOSKIN" is a wearable heart rate and breathing measurement device in the shape of a T-shirt. You can measure your heart rate, respiration rate, vital capacity, etc. just by wearing a shirt. Since it can be worn as clothing, it can be measured not only in daily life but also during exercise and sleep at all times in real time. The acquired data can be managed and analyzed on the cloud, so you will be able to manage your health more thoroughly.

FridgeCam

"FridgeCam" is a small camera that automatically recognizes the contents of the refrigerator with its unique tracking function. You can check the image of the contents of the refrigerator from your smartphone. Since you can check the contents of the refrigerator in real time, you can prevent situations such as "buying existing ingredients in duplicate" on the go. Since the ingredients in the refrigerator can be used efficiently, it is possible to prevent accidental rotting of vegetables.

How will the future change with the IoT?
According to IHS Technology, 30 billion devices will be connected to the Internet by 2020. Since the number of IoT devices in 2016 was 17.3 billion, it can be said that the number of IoT devices will increase at an explosive pace in the future.

Looking at the growth of IoT devices by field, the shift to IoT for industrial equipment in the manufacturing industry is remarkable. By installing sensors in devices that did not have communication functions until now, we will create new value in fields that depended on people. It can also be used for management by human hands or management using sensors in situations where work is difficult. It may also contribute to solving the labor shortage that is a concern in Japan.

IoT will continue to permeate our living area. For example, if all furniture appliances are equipped with sensors, it may be possible to acquire and analyze vital data such as heart rate just by sitting on a chair. Sensors will be embedded in the spaces we go to every day, such as washbasins, and the future in which we can measure weight and sleep quality will become a reality.

Issues remaining for the spread of IoT
Shortage of engineers
For the spread of IoT, engineers who can analyze and utilize the data acquired from IoT devices are indispensable. However, Japan is facing a problem of a large shortage of IoT human resources. According to the "2016 White Paper on Information and Communications" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, it can be seen that the percentage of Japanese companies considering human resource development as an issue is higher than in other countries around the world.

In Japan, there is a shortage of human resources who can utilize IT / AI in the first place. According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's "2016 Survey Results on Latest Trends and Future Estimates of IT Human Resources," it is predicted that there will be a shortage of approximately 790,000 IT human resources in 2030.

In March 2019, the Japanese government announced the "AI Strategy," a strategic plan to develop 250,000 human resources who can master AI annually. In order to utilize big data acquired from IoT, human resources who can utilize AI are indispensable, and there are movements to solve problems nationwide.

Security challenges
A thorough security system is indispensable for the spread of IoT. There are various viruses on the Internet. IoT devices connected to the Internet are at risk of virus infection, just like personal computers.

As you get used to IoT devices, the "feeling of being connected to the Internet" becomes weaker. Even if you have good anti-virus measures at the beginning, it is possible that they will gradually become incomplete.

IoT acquires our daily life data and vital data and aggregates them in the cloud. Since we may handle privacy and important data, if information is leaked, the damage will be enormous.

Thorough security is an issue that companies developing IoT devices must solve.

IoT will become familiar and commonplace!
In this article, I explained the following contents.

・ What is IoT?

・ Examples of familiar use of IoT

・ How will the future change with IoT?

・ Issues left for the spread of IoT

In the familiar cases of IoT, I think you could imagine the state where furniture and home appliances used in daily life are converted to IoT. By connecting things around us to the Internet, we may create new value that is completely different from the conventional one.

Since IoT is still a relatively new technology, more and more new IoT devices will appear in the future. IoT I think it will become familiar and commonplace to us.