Tag: Internet of things

CES 2015 : Samsung Eyes The Internet of Things as its New Cash Cow

Samsung hasn’t had a good time with its smartphone business in the past couple of years. As the smartphone market gets more saturated by new players, Samsung is looking for a new arena’s to assert its dominance before the other players catch-up. The company says that by 2020, all its devices will connect to the internet and to each other, thereby creating an internet of things ecosystem.

During its presentation at CES, Samsung showed its dedication to the cause of the Internet of Things (IoT). Samsung, of course, is one of the biggest manufacturers of consumer electronics and hence it has a massive research background to play around with the technology. The company wishes to grab a big portion of the IoT market which is estimated to be worth $7.1 trillion by 2020.

Samsung acquired SmartThings last August which makes hubs that allow various devices to interact with each other.

If you don’t already know, Internet of Things is a concept where all devices are interconnected and provide intuitive functionality and provides immense convenience to the users. For example, if you run out of milk, your refrigerator will recognize it and order milk for you. Another example could be that your keys can recognise when you have left the house and power down the house and when you are coming back it can set the lighting and temperature according to your needs.

Samsung bought a company called SmartThings, last year in August. SmartThings makes hubs that allow internet connected devices to interact with each other. This is what Samsung is banking on for setting up its initial IoT infrastructure. But a proper channel and language for interaction between the various different kinds of devices is still in the process of development. There are some equipments in the market that provide limited experience of IoT, for e.g Google Nest, but a seamless interaction between the devices is still a few years away. Google Nest has an initiative called ‘Work with Nest’ where they are currently working with many companies including LG and Samsung to make the companies devices “smart.”

One good act on the part of Samsung is that it has decided to keep this ecosystem, meaning that the devices will not be locked inside the Samsung infrastructure. This might help the devices to gain more acceptability in the market as people won’t be enthusiastic about investing in Samsung devices only for their houses.

The arena of the Internet of Things is wide open for companies and innovators to plant a flag. This industry is still in the beta stage but once IoT is unleashed to its full potential, it will radically change the way we interact with technology. We hope Samsung does a far better job in this arena than it has done with its popular smartphone arm in the last few years.

January 6, 2015
Intel Gives a Boost to Internet of Things with its Own Platform

Internet of Things (IoT) will be the next big gift from the technology industry for consumer electronics. It will take interconnected devices to the next level and bring immense convenience to the consumers. Several big name brands are working towards making it a reality but Intel is working towards being a leader in the field by providing the backbone to the industry. The company will bring a line of chips, security features and softwares to boost the IoT ecosystem.

With this approach, the company will be at the forefront of the IoT revolution. It will provide a base for the next generation consumer as well as enterprise devices. The company intends to make it easier to connect to its data centers so as to make it easier to analyze data from the sensors of the connected devices.

The company is already at the top of consumer electronic chip market with the massive array of PCs which use its processors. The company has also made its foray into the smartphone and tablet market. However with IoT, the industry would need a massive number of chipsets. They can be used in sports shoes to huge industrial establishments.

The possibilities in a future IoT market are endless, and we can easily expect some fierce competition coming our way. After smartphones, watches and other electronics, it’s time for your fridge, iron, water purifier and other electronics to go smart. And if you think you have the technical might to create products for IoT, then this is the right time to get into the game.

December 10, 2014
5 Super Cool Home Automation Gadgets You Need to Add to Your Wishlist

Want to pimp up your home and make life easier? Well, thanks to our smartphones, wireless internet and companies that make some awesome innovative gadgets, we can now control everything in our homes anytime and most importantly, from anywhere. The smart home automation industry is still in its nascent stage, however, there are some devices that are already making our lives easier.

Here’s a wishlist of new home automation gadgets that you would love to have in your bedrooms:

1. Belkin WeMo Light Switch

Are you one of those who always forgets to switch off the lights? Well, then this one is for you. Belkin WeMo Light Switch connects to your home Wi-Fi network and you can control the lights using your iOS or Android device. Control options include switching lights on/off and scheduling lights to go on and off at specific times.

2. Philips Hue Personal Wireless Lighting

Well, this light is available in the Indian market; however, you need to shell out almost Rs. 30,000 to get one kit. The whole kit will give you amazing lighting experience in your bedroom. This kit includes 4 LED light bulbs that can be controlled wirelessly using a smartphone or a tablet. But here’s the actual fun part – you can change the hue of the light by picking any colour from a picture. Also, the brightness level can be easily controlled through the app as well.

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3. Nest Smoke Alarm

Nest Protect is a smart and quiet alarm that will give you a heads-up before it goes off. Also it can identify the part of the house from which smoke is coming. A convenient way to ensure that your iron is not burning your house down.

4. Belkin Conserve Socket

Here’s one if you tend to forget to turn the socket off after you’re done charging your phone. This smart outlet automatically turns off after a set amount of time has elapsed. Use this simple, handy tool to prevent mishaps and save money on your monthly electricity bills.

5. iRobot Roomba

Roomba is a solution for all those who totally rely on technology to solve their problems. iRobot has developed this product that will clean your apartment at the touch of a single button.

December 8, 2014
Indian Government Plans to Lead Internet of Things Race

The Internet of Things (IoT) is where the tech world is employing immense resources. It is an ecosystem in which everyday devices can converse with each other and make human lives easier. It will be the next generation technology revolution. It seems like the present Indian government recognizes the massive benefits of raising this futuristic industry. It is planning to set up a $50 billion industry by 2020.

The Internet of Things will make everyday devices which require human input into almost sentient interconnected objects. These devices will coordinate together and process the situation, and will provide solutions to human issues in an efficient manner. It will decrease human errors by using algorithmic capabilities to streamline human life. For example, your fridge will recognize that the milk will soon run out, and it will order a carton for you. There can be large scale application of this technology in the fields of medical, transportation, retail, industrial, communication and energy.

Here is a video from intel that explains some city-wide benefits of connected devices:

IoT will also bring immense safety and convenience in the daily lives of the public. The devices would still take human input. So you can imagine a thermostat in your house that recognizes that you are arriving home by tracking your GPS and will set a comfortable temperature inside. How cool does that sound?

This is a great new field that will also bring in thousands of technology jobs. So if you are in the technology field or a budding engineer, you know which area of study to concentrate on. This new industry can easily give way to the next generation of Eric Schmidt’s and Mark Zuckerberg’s.

There will be a lot of privacy concerns though, for which the government has to provide a clear privacy document that could be understood by all. In an age where data is power, it’s absolutely important to safeguard it. 2020 is six years away, and this is the right frontier to point towards.

October 27, 2014
ARM Unleashes Cortex M7 Chip To Make Smart Devices More Powerful

Internet of Things is the buzzword of this decade, turning everything around us into interconnected computers. Well, every computer needs a processor to run, which in turn consumes power.

The processors for various smart devices need a whole different class of chip as they don’t have a traditional interface. Usually, for a devices to become smart, they need to be user friendly and convenient. Hence, the most popular smart devices are generally small in size which means they need smaller processor with equal power. This is achieved by special type of microprocessors called Embedded Processors.

But, until now, these embedded processors were still low on power and needed an upgrade to meet the need of the consumers. ARM, the company that has its chip tech in almost every smartphone today, just gave the category a big upgrade.

The company announced the latest processor in its M-series. These are a set of low-power processors capable of handling embedded devices like smart home appliances, drones, automotive and wearables. It is focused on making these devices more powerful. The company’s 32-bit Cortex-M7 chip architecture is a big step up from the previous top-of-the-line, the M4.

Being able to perform twice as well, while consuming the same battery life as previous chips will have benefits to many wearables. The M7 comes with a 400MHz processor, packing more than twice the punch as the 168MHz M4 that came before it (and will continue to be available to manufacturers). It comes with support for more displays, motors, voice controls, connectivity, audio performance and improved GPS accuracy.

The company said that manufacturers are already building devices with the chip embedded, so it won’t be long before we get to see if the extra power actually makes a difference in our everyday lives.

September 24, 2014