Internet of Everything - SmartHome and more

2nd half 90’s, four product managers, each with their own expertise, of Lucent Network Systems International – EMEA at Hilversum, The Netherlands, who I believe were smart guys, have a brainstorm session concerning the need for and what it should consist of, a product they call a “Residential Gateway”. Thinking out loud and using the white board to come up with i.e. devices that should be connected, the different protocols to be dealt with and the way to inform the resident or consumer.

Thinking about connecting i.e. utility meters, climate controls (for heating and airco), smoke detectors and carbon dioxide detectors and with a bit of a laugh, the refrigerator informing the consumer that it is out of milk. At the early stage of mobile phones, potentially SMS could be used to inform the consumer, after all the data from the residential gateway was first send to a switch at a provider’s location.

As mentioned, brainstorming, the future of how consumers/residentials like you and me would live at their homes with devices creating all kind of data and consumers receiving all kind of information ………

And now the SmartHome is there and it’s (r)evolutionizing; and we also have Smart Cars and early starts of Smart Cities.

It’s the time of Internet of Everything, as I like to look at it in a broader aspect than Internet of Things.

The SmartHome is there; it finally got there for about three years ago, since a white board brainstorm session 2nd half 90’s of four smart product managers ……….

Giant technology companies have introduced their devices and gateways for at home, privacy and security are important to be noticed (not part of this article), starting the creation of the SmartHome.

What more can we expect at

Consumer and City level

We will witness more consumer devices connected to the internet (although no refrigerator in the near term reporting a lack of milk), the rise of AR and VR, the increasing demand for higher speeds and more and more data usage resulting in smarter devices and gateways for a smarter SmartHome.

At city level, given the challenges we are facing today, we will see more devices and tools focusing on safety and security; think for instance with regard to safety about camera-controlled traffic lights activated based upon traffic and concerning security about smart camera’s recognizing certain behavior and movement.

Provider level

Providers both fixed and wireless will face the demand for higher speeds and the increase of broadband data on their networks by both the consumers and the cities. At their turn they will use smart tools to be able to manage this and keep the cost down.

Regulatory level

Expect, moving into the future, even more stringent directives and laws following up the present directives and laws on i.e. Net Neutrality and the recently implemented General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) within the European Union and European Economic Area.

Conclusion

Keep on the lookout for what will happen within the market of technology giants, smart consumers and Smart Cities creating a need for smart regulators within the next two to three years, as consumer, provider and regulator, in some cases both as consumer and provider or as consumer and regulator, and act upon it accordingly.

I will, as the next innovations in Internet of Everything – SmartHome and more won’t take 20 years, like to get from a white board “residential gateway” to SmartHome devices/gateways!