While I’m a bit tired of the buzzword “The Internet of Things,” I am intrigued by the concept. Cheap radios and microcontrollers are making it affordable (almost) to connect our things to the network. At first it was the big ticket items like security systems, programmable thermostats, and media sharing. The list of connected things is now expanding to include individual light bulbs, door locks, temperature sensors, and sprinkler systems.
Now the Internet of Things is expanding to holiday decorations and allows the innovative geek to put together a scary combination of light, sound, and motion, easily controlled from any device with a web browser. Texas Instruments has put together a cool video showcasing some of their wireless technologies and how they can be used to scare your Halloween visitors this year. It’s a bit corny, but worth the time.
You had better be prepared to be a lot more tired of it. It’s only going to affect every aspect of life in the future.
I bracing myself. A few studies indicate that IoT will be a multi-trillion dollar industry in a few years. It’s not going away, but maybe we can find a better buzzword for connected objects.