Did you know that starting this year our home could change radically? Thanks to the Internet of Things, we may not have to worry about filling the fridge, making our coffee in the morning or checking the security of our home. In this infographics we explain to you how the IoT growth for 2016 and how companies are trying to make our lives a little easier.
What IoT growth will look like in 2016
Companies such as Amazon, Audi and UPS are the first to invest heavily in incorporating IoT into their work methodology. Will they manage to personalize their products and improve user service thanks to innovation?
According to the analyst Dianna Labrien, This year, the development of IoT products will be intensified, both for consumption by users and for use in companies and industry:
- Connectivity. It is no longer just a matter of connecting home devices to the Internet, but of interconnecting various objects to make our lives a little easier. For example, let's imagine that just when our alarm clock goes off, the coffee machine starts making us a morning cappuccino. Or, for example, our refrigerator could detect that we have run out of milk and buy it directly through the Internet so that it arrives at our home without the need to order it manually. Although it may seem a little strange, in countries like the United States, most people prefer to buy online so that the products arrive at home.
- Tracking. Although Amazon takes the lead in innovation thanks to its new drones, the truth is that many other companies (such as UPS) are implanting chips in their packages so that customers can make a millimeter tracking to know where the product they have ordered is (and they can also see it from their Smartphone!).
- Collaboration between companies. Although it may seem strange for large companies to collaborate, in the United States there are new links between companies with the aim of offering a personalized and more efficient service to the customer. A good example is the alliance between the household appliance brand Whirlpool and Amazon. When Whirlpool's washing machine runs out of detergent, the user will be able to order more from Amazon with just one click, which will turn this alliance into a Home Automation benchmark (as some media are pointing out).
- Automation. Although the home security industry has come a long way thanks to digitalization, there are still certain functions that require manual activation (such as when we arrive or leave home and have to turn on the alarm). The breakthrough that companies that want to incorporate IoT technology are looking for is that every customer can remotely control their home security system through a mobile device.
- Industry. As we have already mentioned in other items, The future of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) involves automation in factories and the placement of various sensors to monitor several key sectors, such as logistics. There are economic sectors, such as agriculture, that are already placing sensors in the soil to notify what the humidity levels are. When levels drop, for example, the irrigation system is automatically activated.
- Smart Cities. Smart cities are at the forefront of IoT innovation. A good example of what we may start to see in 2016 are road sensors that will report changing weather conditions. This could, for example, prevent roads from freezing due to low temperatures and snow.
- Security breaches. Probably the biggest problem facing IoT device developers. As we explained in other item, Currently, there is no guarantee that the security of our information will be protected. The only thing we can hope for is that companies start to focus on the security of connected devices; otherwise, in 2016 we will surely see new cases of security breaches in the Internet of Things.