Its not going to go away, and neither am I. So if you are sick of reading about the Internet of Things, you are going to have to just shake your head and move along….. I find it interesting, and I blog about things I find interesting… Why am I justifying / excusing / apologising to you lot??
Back to the program.
http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/11/the-rise-of-the-sensornet-4-9bn-connected-things-in-2015-says-gartner/
Gartner is predicting a 30 per cent jump in the number of connected objects in use in the wild from this year to next as sensing connected devices proliferate in an Internet of Things (IoT). In a forecast put out today, the analyst predicts there will be 4.9 billion connected things in use in 2015, up from 3.8 billion this year.
The boom in connected sensing devices will gather pace, with the analyst predicting some 25 billion smart devices in circulation come 2020. In other words, hold onto your breath-sensing seats.
For a little comparative context on the figures, annual smartphone shipments topped 1 billion for the first time at the start of this year, based on IDC’s numbers. Connected things can of course scale much faster than smartphones, being far less complex and having a fraction of the per unit cost.
Gartner expects the automotive sector to see the highest growth rate of installed IoT units in 2015, pegged at 96 per cent, outstripping business and consumer sector growth.
Gartner is a well respected source of tech trends. When they speak, many of us stop what we are doing and listen.
They have updated their prediction of the number of things that will be connected. Its more and sooner than they thought.
There are a few interesting takeaways for me.
1. Smart Power meters lead the charge. So that means real time pricing of electricity is on the way. Once the power utility can provide real time pricing information to the consumer, they can start charging them for the real cost of power. Its been too cheap for too long. You want to run your AC at 6pm, you are soon going to pay for it.
2. Smart street and area lighting. That means LED’s. That means more light pollution (LED’s are more broad spectrum light, yuck for telescopes), but cheaper LED lights for home use (since there will be more of them made).
3. Built in intelligence will be standard in many things. AI. Its coming. I have mentioned it in the past, and will have more to say on it as soon as I can come up for air.
4. Cars. I need to look at this. What aspect of cars will be connected? Will it be like Tesla with their cars, keeping track of owners diligence in charging the battery correctly? Or will insurance providers set their rates based on how aggressively you drive (like they are trialling now with optional add on connected black-box car recorders)? Im wondering what and why this made the list.
5. Its going to be a security nightmare.
You can’t have that many connected things without causing some pretty big waves.
Im getting my surfboard! (Hows that for a call to action!).
