The term ‘internet of things’ is now something everyone knows about – smart TVs, fridges, baby monitors, and thermostats are only a few of the items that will be in all homes in the next few years. It’s a scary thought (Terminator, anyone?) But there’s good and bad with everything, especially in regards to the internet collecting data from your daily habits such as brushing your teeth.
The IoT can be very valuable especially when it comes to your safety. Nest is a an app that connects to your thermostats and smoke detectors and can notify you via your tablet or smartphone if one of your smoke detector’s batteries is low or if an alarm is going off and your kids are home alone. This connected device is becoming a big deal so much that Google recently purchased the company for 3.2 billion.
The internet of things also can help save your newborn with the new wearable tech onesie called the Mimo Baby. James Day mentions the great value of the Mimo in his article from METRO:
Intel has some wonderful ideas. The Mimo Baby is a connected onesie that monitors a baby’s vital signs. Instead of merely sending the data to your smartphone, it can display the readings on the outside of an LED coffee cup instead, even pulsing to match your child’s respiratory patterns.
Although the IoT will help improve your health with fitness wearables and smart fridges that notify you if your food has expired, it also has its concerns. Hacking is becoming more and more prevalent from traditional connections like Target, SnapChat, to newer innovations like smart fridges.
Privacy is another concern to many. The security and privacy of users is crucial when creating apps and smart devices. If your device becomes hacked – you lose thousands, if not millions of customers. When those devices are tied into users’ everyday lives so intimately, the damage can be even greater.
Another issue with smart devices in the IoT will be testing. In order to make sure your device and its corresponding app operate as intended, you will need to test in-the-wild. These devices need to work in every home and on every device.
The internet of things is sure to bring a lot great possibilities in safety, health and efficiency into your daily life. But it also brings many risks and concerns.
What do you think about the IoT? Tell us in the comments below!