The near-future Internet of (retrofit) Things
In my current project at MOO, I’ve been thinking a lot about potential future scenarios for printed electronics (e.g. embedded NFC chips), connected products– and as of yesterday a colleague put the term ‘intelligent materials’ on my radar.
All of these technologies form the ‘small data’ fringe of what is popularly referred to as the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) — although perhaps more appropriately named, ‘ubiquitous computing’.
This is the current incarnation of my obsession with all things Hypercontextual beginning with my exploration of the subject in 2009. Now in 2015, we’re starting to get to the point where we’re surrounded by hypercontextual signals and we all have the means of personalised sense-making through our smartphones.
I’ve been tracking the progress of the Internet of Things, and I can report that we have yet to achieve the IoT dream of every atomic particle being self-aware and broadcasting its sensory data into a Matrix-like mesh of our reality.
However, I recently made a Stacks collection of IoT products related to Home Automation, and I noticed a trend. While the Futurists are futurising– the Makers are getting on with the near-future reality of building things that work.
Rather than waiting for the 5–10–20 year timeline for manufacturers to put smart products through research and development. (I think we’ve just about got that smart refrigerator we’ve been waiting for.) The kickstarter-fueled product designer have been launching practical ‘hacks’ to retrofit existing appliances to augment them with ‘smart’ abilities.
Here are some of my favourite examples:
Fit a device over your existing door lock and now you can open your door with your smartphone.
People have tried WiFi-enabled lamps, lightbulbs and sockets, but perhaps the simplest solution is to fit a device on your light switch and you’ve got automated home lighting.
Specialised devices for your kitchen appliances to help you decide what’s for dinner.
Not so much a retrofit as a re-imagining — as we begin to collect disused mobile devices, why not turn them into a home CCTV system.
Perhaps the largest scale home automation hack ever launched. Rather than ask white goods manufacturers to connect to home wifi networks, and integrate with Amazon to easily re-order supplies, Amazon has designed a ‘smart-button’ that you can stick on to your appliances.
Get the latest information on Internet of Things , Printed electronics and ubiquitous computing on my LinkyDink digest or follow me on Twitter — @kaigani
