14 DAY TRIAL // Smart TVs and monitors were the fad last year, and now wearable gadgets are taking their turn, but their hype will settle down soon enough, as was the case for PCs and TVs before them. That means that the scientific and technological community will have to play in another sandbox fairly soon.
As is almost always the case, though, the sandbox has already been prepared. After all, Intel, Samsung, HP, Panasonic, and many others have been talking about the Internet of Things for years now (IoT for short).
A clear view of what is coming might not be as easy to gain as some may think, however. Especially with how sporadic progress seems to have been so far in this segment.
Still, the world has been unerringly heading towards a time when every electronic device that is part of a household (from light bulbs and coffee machines to ovens, washing machines, and refrigerators) will be, to some degree, interconnected and accessible, even controllable, remotely.
So, for all those of you who are dreaming about being in touch with your homes from everywhere you go, here is how it’s going to happen.
Step one: buy a good server
This is frankly the only step anyone seeking to enjoy “The Internet of Things” can actually take right now. You’ll probably have the option of renting some cloud server space when things start rolling, but nothing beats a nice blade server or NAS device when it comes to setting up a makeshift mainframe and backup system for your network.
Network-attached storage devices with above average processing technology might be the best idea, since they come in all shapes and capacities. And if they have what it takes to stream Full HD or 4K media, they can handle some centralized command queues.
The server/NAS will have to store the main software connecting the various home appliances, computers, and entertainment electronics in the house.
Sure, you’ll use a phone, tablet, laptop, or PC app to send commands and watch camera feeds or what have you over the web. But it’s the software installed on the server that will ultimately do all the legwork.
It’s a good idea to stock up on a good server now, since you’ll need the money for other things once the Internet of Things starts to spread around. Which brings us to step two.
Step two: start setting money aside if you’re not the sort that swims in cash
None of the existing home appliances, or even most consumer electronics like media players, set-top boxes, and TVs (with some exceptions of course, particularly in terms of Smart TVs/Monitors) will work as part of IoT.
They just don’t have the software or drive space to store the required apps. Also, their hardware might not be up to the task, and even if it is, firmware updates might not cut it when it comes to integrating your stuff into a smart ecosystem.
Also, when everyone and their mother starts releasing “smart” stuff that doesn’t yet exist, like smart fridges, smart washing machines, smart coffee machines, and smart tables or chairs (trust me, it'll happen), it’ll all cost a fair bit of cash when it piles up.
So start setting aside money now and only splurge if you’re going to buy a huge LCD or something (most of which are already “smart”) while you still have time. And so we come to step three.
Step three: try not to twitch too much while you wait
Because, sadly, you still need to wait for a few years before the mass transition begins. Despite how IT companies have been waxing poetically about device interconnectivity, little has been done besides that (smart TVs and web-connected entertainment devices notwithstanding).
The one big step in the right direction was the creation of the Consortium for Device Interconnectivity Advancement, and that only happened this week. And getting the general, budget-conscious public sold on the concept will probably take more than a bit of brainstorming on the part of Intel, Samsung, Broadcom, Dell, Atmel, and Wind River.
The list of companies will probably grow over the next few months, but we still have until 2015-2016 to wait before the common man is faced with something that is both intelligent and affordable. And the incentive will have to be high indeed, since IoT is, at the end of the day, ultimately unnecessary.