Call it IoT (Internet of Things) or IoE (Internet of Everything), it’s the next battleground for consumer electronics because it’s going to be HUGE!
Almost every 3,600 CES (Consumer Electronics Show) exhibitor had their vision of how they’re going to play a pivotal role for consumers.
Those who weren’t involved offered stuff.
Cisco has projected there will be more than 50B things connected to the Internet by 2020 – obviously, using their gear.
Raising the reward higher, IDC projects that by 2020, there will be 220B connected devices.
John Chambers, Cisco CEO, has said it’s going to be a $19T market and no one has disagreed with that mind-boggling number.
The device makers are just trying to figure out how they get their unfair share; and which smart-home platform(s), protocols, wireless standards, APIs and vendors they should entrust their future to.
And all consumers really wanted was a thermostat to cut their home heating bill!
Therein lies the problem, according to Patrick Morhead, head of Moor Insights & Strategy, “It’s not IoT or IoE. It’s hundreds of niche products – thermostats, lightbulbs, locks, watering cans, beds, appliances, radios and TVs as well as sensors of all shapes, sizes, functions and costs. And the consumer is left to put the jigsaw puzzle together and hope they all work together.”
It’s completely different from the connected cars that were highly visible at CES because you buy a “complete” car, not a body from him, engine from her, wheels from them, ignition, brakes, entertainment system, seats and information system then assemble it yourself.
Since things like easy-to-install, simplified instructions, easy integration and instant customer support (from Bangladesh) are relative terms, consumers have been buying individual solutions (products) to meet specific requirements.
To help people get their home connected, contractors are now offering system integration services for DIY (do-it-yourself) outlets like Home Depot, Lowe’s, Best Buy and Staples to bring the key components together for folks: security, entertainment, energy and health.
We’ve been talking about the connected home for decades (The Jetsons in the ‘60s), so engineers, marketing, management and industry analysts are sure the market is on the verge of exploding like smartphones did when Apple introduced the touch screen iPhone.
The mere fact that Apple didn’t formally participate in CES didn’t slow the speculation that when they enter the market, order will come out of chaos.
Of course Google, with its Nest investment, is certain that its version of open platform and motto of don’t do evil will lead the way.
Everyone at CES had the answer.
The problem was it wasn’t the question consumers were asking.
All of the exhibitors and industry analysts know that someday, consumers will come to realize that what we really want is a combination of smart rooms and robotics. You know, everything connected to a central hub that will “take care of you.”
People want to incorporate different things, depending on their short-term goal; i.e., a couple of robots scurrying around doing stuff, an intelligent home that tells you when to mop the floors, clean the windows, cook a meal or a really intelligent home that does it before you ask.
Right now, people don’t know what they want or what they don’t want.
It’s a lot like CES – choices, choices, choices.
After all, how can you not be interested in a smart bed that tells you that you slept well or a smart toothbrush that tells you that you cleaned your teeth, smart eating utensils that tell you to stop stuffing your face or a grill that tells you your food is done and cleans up after you or even a thermostat that tells “someone” how many people are in the room, what they’re carrying, what they’re doing?
The technology can do all that and more for you!
The problem is there’s a big divide between what folks are sorta’ kinda’ interested in and what they buy.
Forrester reported that only two percent of the people in the U.S. have tried energy management systems and only five percent have tried remote security systems.
The biggest issue is that every decent-sized company wants to be the gatekeeper to people’s IoT.
As a result, consumers sit on the sideline until “those guys” understand it’s all about consumers … not them.
More than a few are waiting for Apple to unleash HomeKit, their home automation platform.
But of course, Samsung isn’t waiting. They unveiled their new SmartThings at the show.
Boo-Keun Yoon, Samsung’s president/CEO, discussed their open platform approach and said his firm was going to invest $100M this year to get things rolling.
The company showed off a mind-boggling array of home, on-the-road and personal intelligent assistant solutions that can help get people there and back, pay attention to your health and make your home uniquely yours … regardless of whose devices you use.
Yoon emphasized that IoT isn’t some pipe dream or wild technology whipped up by a few people.
He said it can deliver experiences that can change folks’ lives.
And to make it happen, Samsung will invest more than $100B in the developer community to fund others – startups/incubators – around the globe.
“This is not just a digital lifestyle concept but practical execution,” said John Curran, Accenture’s managing director of communications, media and technology. “The Internet of Things is touching almost every aspect of your life, and it’s bringing in a host of new opportunities, new companies and new partnerships.”
In order for its success to be guaranteed, the biggest issues that need to be addressed are security and privacy.
“In the not-too-distant future, most aspects of our everyday lives will be digitally observed and stored,” said Edith Ramirez, chairwoman of the FTC (Federal Trade Commission, at CES. “That data trove will contain a wealth of revealing information which, when patched together, will present a deeply personal and startlingly complete picture of each of us.”
She emphasized that the FTC (and every government on the globe) is taking a long, hard look at companies’ consumer data collection activities and will soon be producing a detailed report on privacy and security.
She is a vocal advocate of “privacy by design,” in which privacy controls are built into a product from the outset instead of as an afterthought. She has speculated that 2015 could be the year that “smart-home hacking” becomes real!
“Any device that is connected to the Internet is at risk of being hijacked,” said Ms. Ramirez, who added that the large number of Internet-connected devices would simply “increase the number of access points.”
She commented that most of the firms on the floor hadn’t spent enough time and talent to secure their products/services from hackers and that they needed to pay more attention to data minimization – collecting data for a specific purpose and then deleting it.
“I question the notion that we must put sensitive consumer data at risk on the off chance a company might someday discover a valuable use for the information,” she noted.
Independently, panelists of the Smart Home session moderated by Grant Clausers (editor of “Electronic Home magazine”) agreed with Ms. Ramirez’s concerns and some of the possible solutions.
"Your home, that's your castle, the last bastion of privacy," said Bosch Software's Dr.-Ing. Rainer Kallenbach.
The panelists all said they need to protect the consumer data they collect to make smart-home systems work better and assure people their data is safe.
While security and privacy are universal pain points for the market, the panelists added that other issues of consumer concern were energy management, ensuring everything works together plug-and-play and how/what it is doing and why.
In her wrap-up column for the show, Molly Wood, of the “New York Times,” noted that the Internet is the special sauce for making IoT and IoE a reality. She observed that most of the ideas for the stuff shown at CES had been around for a long time.
The emphasis today is to make them technologically meaningful and useful--not by themselves, but as a part of someone’s personal environment.
She reminded us that:
- Autonomous cars were first shown at the 1939 World’s Fair by GM on an automated highway
- At the 1934 World’s Fair in Chicago, folks showed a prototype home automation system
- Cinematographers and scientists have been building VR devices since the ‘60s; and in 1962, Morton Heilig patented the Sensorama – an immersion viewing system with a moving chair, a head-mounted display, stereo speakers and odor emitters
- Wearable technology started with glasses, which were first mentioned in 1268
- In the 1600s, Robert Hooke said people could augment their senses with medicine and external technology
- 3D printing technology was developed back in 1984
What is making them all suddenly viable and indispensible is the Internet.
While the heady buzz of how the new technologies will reshape your business; at some point, regular people have to just accept the magic technology and start buying it.