The Internet of Things... Bristol leads the way

These days the talk around “the next big thing” is quite subjective, and it can be difficult to quantify in tangible terms, what it actually means. What quantifies big to some people may not be to others.  Of all the technology trends that are taking place right now, perhaps the biggest one is the Internet of Things; it’s the one that’s going to give us the most disruption as well as the most opportunity over the next five years.

The Internet of Things allows objects to be sensed and controlled remotely across existing network infrastructure, creating opportunities for more direct integration between the physical world and computer-based systems, resulting in improved efficiency, accuracy and economic benefit.

Imagine walking down the street at night and the lights flicking on as you approach. Or sitting on a bench that chats to you. In this alternative world, cycle paths would make power, cars would be driverless and bins would tell the council when they needed to be emptied.

Fantasy land? Not any more, thanks to the Internet of Things, which is enabling inanimate objects to communicate, leading to the creation of so-called ‘smart cities'. Unlikely as it might seem, Bristol is emerging as one of the smartest in the world, thanks to a Joint Venture by its University and Bristol City Council, which has constructed a huge, high-speed digital network that's turning the city into an enormous lab.

"Other cities are doing smart traffic or lighting or parking,” says managing Director Paul Wilson. “We're making an environment that can manage all of them at the same time.”

This network of underground fibre-optic cables and wireless connections will create an enormous amount of data, which will be made accessible to inventors, businesses and artists to test out their ideas. It is described as a citywide operating system - akin to Apple's Mountain Lion or Yosemite. However, rather than inviting third parties to make apps, they will be asked to find solutions to various urban problems.

“Some of this will be trivial, silly stuff,” says Wilson, “and some of it will be big and very serious, like managing traffic and better provision of the health service.”

Driverless cars are being trialled; as is Arqiva, a radio communication system that allows objects to ‘talk' to each other over radio waves. Then there are the air monitors fixed to lampposts, so businesses can - hopefully - use data to help improve air quality. How? Well, that's down to those who take up the challenge - and anyone is welcome to try.

“If this Internet of Things is going to happen, we'll all become slightly nerdy. We're starting already, monitoring our houses from our phones, monitoring our cars,” says Wilson, who expects the first results next year. “What we're trying to do here is foster a cluster of innovation, but there's a whole journey to go on first.” Watch this space.

In the programmable world all our objects will act as one, so through imagination and observation, the future is always within sight. It is clear the buzz surrounding the Internet of Things is very likely to be something that is coming to us all, in some way, very very soon.

Chris O'Connell