Who has the killer app for IoT?
All we need is readily available and affordable: sensors, microcontrollers, the network, the cloud platform. But there’s one last thing that makes the difference. Who has an idea to transform data into information?
Do we live in the data age? I beg to differ. As far as I’m concerned, we live in the information age. Of course, data is the raw material used to produce information. And there’s more and more data coming our way. By 2030 some 500 billion devices are expected to be online, all of them producing and handling data. Now that it is pretty clear how we can capture data and collect them in the cloud, the million dollar question remains: what do we do with it? The added value lies in the transformation of this data into valuable information. So who has the killer app for the Internet of Things?
The availability of sensors, microcontrollers, low power networks and the IBM Bluemix cloud platform puts everything in place to make IoT a reality today. Sensors on public litter bins, for example, allow for the more efficient planning of waste collection. Bins are collected only when they are full, avoiding the abandonment, dumping or uncontrolled disposal of waste. Sensors on containers may make it easy to track and trace transportation or to schedule the handling of goods.
In the city of Aarschot, sensors detect the availability of parking space in the streets. The data is collected and processed in the cloud. Drivers using the smart parking app know in real time where they can park their cars. A sensor in a shopping cart collects data about the route the customer followed through the shop and the time he or she spent in the shop’s product areas. Analysis of this type of data offers insight in customer behaviour. It is the kind of information the shop can use to improve the customer’s shopping experience.
The examples clearly show how fairly easy IoT applications can help you make the difference. Would you like to learn more about the Internet of Things and build your own applications using IBM Bluemix? Visit us at IBM BusinessConnect 2016.