Much like its worthy opponent, the Year of the Mobile, the phrase Internet of Everything (IoE) has become a fairly redundant one – quickly losing broad appeal due to overuse and an unclear understanding of what is actually meant by the term for both consumers and businesses.
I for one will continue to rebel against the idea that we need connected fridges: do I really need a machine to remind me that yes I have indeed eaten all the pies? No, I think I can live without.
However, given the level of investments that businesses are ploughing into IoE solutions, it’s only a matter of time before this comeback kid starts making serious waves in our everyday lives and it’s definitely an interesting area of growth.
And as such, I wanted to share three of the key areas of growth that caught my attention.
Intel – Real-time Inventory Monitoring
Across the pond, Levi’s and Intel have been collaborating in order to align the tech and retail worlds by creating a proof of concept that delivers real-time inventory monitoring.
Essentially in a nutshell, through the use of RFID tech within the Levi’s test store in San Fran, with the touch of a button the store team have visibility on exactly where each item of clothing can be located within the store, will flag if stock is running low and general making the process of inventory management more effective.
Take it from someone who used to have to work until 3am doing monthly stock checks that this a going to make retail workers happier the world over.
Ericsson- Connected Vineyards
The premise is simple, if grapes aren’t growing then there is no wine to be drunk and that’s just a crying shame for everyone.
Ericsson is working on a project that links internet software with large scale vineyards so that winemakers can monitor how certain plots of land are growing crops (e.g. is there the right soil, sun and climate), and the IoE tech can then alert winemakers should there be an issue/ let them know when it is the optimum time to pick the grape.
Who knew there was a science in the art of cultivating grapes? Wine not I guess?!
TEC (Tech Enabled care)
Connected Health/ Tech Enabled Care is a quite rightly an area of focus from across the IoE solutions sector as the benefits for individuals in need of care and the families who can’t always be there for constant care giving is huge.
At this stage there isn’t a definitive solution on how IOE could change the face of care giving, but there are a number of different tech providers who are partnering with hospitals/ care homes to trial different solutions;
- Healthcare bio sensing wearables: from measuring real-time blood pressure to exact readings of when someone has taken their prescription, thus allowing doctors/ families to check up on their loved ones without invading their privacy.
- Mobile App Prescriptions: Ordering your prescriptions at your convenience.
So I urge you to rethink about mentally switching off when someone starts rambling about all things IoE and give it a second chance. It’ll certainly be interesting to see where we go with this topic, and how it could quite frankly revolutionise the way we go about our daily lives.
