IoT Missing Pieces - WorkFlow and Rules

So we are all experts on IoT and can not see where it fits in our daily life. There must be something we are missing. Yes there is.

When people talk about IoT they focus on the "Connected Internet" but that's not always possible. Some devices are only available when turned on, others just don't have an internet connection.

So, we can kinda see where WiFi fits into the IoT but where does BLE fit in?

What about iBeacons and such?

Whats this M2M about and how can it be put together?

For these answers I think we need to look at whats missing. Simple rules and aggregation.

Lets look at a simple home. You want to drive up in your car and be able to open your garage door, OK simple we can do that many ways, we can even open the door from across the world with a Wifi relay. This is nothing new. But its not the correct way for safety reasons.

So now that we can open the door what about checking if the door is open or closed? If a cat runs in after you select the door to close it may reverse and now be open.

We do our laundry and dry our clothes, our dryer does not have an internet connection, how can be make this work?

I want to walk from room to room in my house and have the lights turn on and off, what a way to save energy. But I don't want my dog to be able to do this only someone with my cell phone, maybe we can use iBeacons for this as well.

I go to a new hotel and I want to be able to be checked in without having to talk with anyone, isn't the point of the internet to become anti-social?

What are we missing? Where are the pieces?

Its pretty simple, you have to accept that not everything is connected to the internet and does not need to be. Lets talk about the garage door opening, it should be integrated with BLE that way there is a local physical-ness within it, no reason to open to door from miles away. Now that the door is open and we are sure we are near the door, we want to get notified if the door does not close when we ask it too so we need an interface to the door position sensors, not complex but many people forget these pieces.

Now back to the idea of turning on the lights when I got to each room and turning them off when I leave the room. I could use simple motion but I don't want my large dog to turn the lights on and off all day, so how about iBeacons, you can track that you are near a room and thus turn on only the correct light, then you can track when you leave the room and turn them off. Now thats a mix of Wifi and BLE.

Maybe one more thing missing. Its the most important part. WorkFlow, yes I said it WorkFlow. Remember way back when people started using BPM with SOA and created some flexible high end systems. The everything went to point to point web services and we lost the tools of orchestration. How about bringing back some of the basics.

A Simple Rules Engine can help from basic "If this then that" concepts but integrated with a true WorkFlow you can take it to the next level.

So think of the idea of using an app to open your garage door, anyone allowed can open the door if they are near the door. The server knows who you are and your permission, maybe a dog walker can only open the door in the afternoons and if you fire them you just remove their access rights. You also now get tracking since its more of an enterprise solution. Moving from room to room is now simple using the Rules and WorkFlow together, you even know what rooms you spend the most time in so your HVAC can adjust based on usage.

IoT is all about things and how they can communicate or be commanded. Sensors and Controllers, its that simple.

Using these building blocks is difficult without a solid way to control the flow and WorkFlow solves that problem.

Its time to create a great Rules Engine for Mobile and WorkFlow that is enabled on an Open API system.

Simple SMS and Push Notifications are nice but add Rules and WorkFlow and now you have products. Heat up the house as I come home, Know when the Laundry is done, Check In your hotel just because your there, so many things are now possible and they are no longer custom one off projects.

Thanks, Tom Jay (IoT Architect) [email protected]