We need to improve the Internet of Things
User Experience
An open solution defining the way we’ll
control tomorrow’s devices
What do people (really) think about IoT?
Everybody in the tech field is talking about the Internet of Things as the solution to all of our problems. Over here I don’t intend to make a statement. This is not the point, because the one I want to focus at is how, based on a Acquity Group study, only 4% of the people use IoT devices while the remaining 87% has never even heard of them. 87% is certainly a huge proportion.
There is an article from Michael Humphrey I really enjoyed when digging a bit further into the issue. His essay titled “The Internet of Things Has an Enthusiasm Gap” calls my attention to the dreamy nature of people working in high tech fields such as the Internet of Things which personally I can agree with. We dream about all the crazy things we can do. All the time. Dreaming in our sector is important, I do it all the time, however, it must be kept within reasonable limits.
If we want the Internet of Things to succed, we need to understand what people need. Easy? More than you expect, because while we are creating smart lights that change colors based on today’s weather, songs rythms or tagged photos, this is just a little part of what people really want. So what do people want?
Being able to access or control objects remotely is the most desired functionality for smart products with 53 percent
of consumers expressing interest.
Could this be all? Of course, besides saving money, this is their main wish. And we need to respect their wish.
IoT startups offers API. What about the User Experience?
Companies in the field like Bluemix, Xively or Spark Core offer APIs and basic dashboards providing the chance to control the physical world easily. With their help, physical objects can be manipulated through the web, which is an big achievement. This is also the idea that brought Lelylan to life.
However, we must all realize, APIs do not solve one big problem: building an extraordinary user experience in the Internet of Things is still not an easy job. Let’s have a look at a short story. The characters are Reggie, the dreamer, and Tob, the businessman.
Reggie — Come on, startups are already shipping cool dashboards.
Tob — Oh yeah? Show me the best Web App with the best User Interface ever so that I can use it to control my new connected light and to astonish my future customers. And, of course, it must work on all mobile and tablet platforms.
Reggie — (silence …)
Tob — And don’t forget! I want an app that delivers the Lifx user experience, the best I could ever imagine right now!
Reggie — (silence …)
The creation of a great app is difficult. It requires a lot of time and good professional skills. Designers, UX experts, and developers, these are just some of the names who should be involved in the process. And even if you do a great job, you are giving “one more app to your customers”. Some rationality is needed to simplify the access to the Internet of Things. This is where Lelylan Device comes to the picture.
Lelylan Device is an Open Source project with the goal of creating
the best User Experience we can imagine for the Internet of Things.
We are in a new era of web development
We are in a new era of web development based on encapsulated and interoperable custom elements that extend HTML itself. Built atop these new standards, Lelylan Device makes it faster to create Apps for the Internet of Things, from a light switch to a complete application across mobile, desktop and beyond.
Lelylan Device comes with a default template that makes it possible to control every device from a simple lamp to a more complex washing machine. It automatically adapts recognizing the device type.
Of course, a default template cannot cater for the needs of everyone. In order to provide the best user experience, Lelylan Device allows for customized templates too. Let’s say you want to control a smart lamp. All you have to do is looking up the desired template and start using it.
Since Lelylan Device is Open Source, customized templates can be shared. Check out the documentation explaining the process and get started on developing the best user experience we can dream of.
Lelylan Device is in Early Beta and a lot of work needs to be done.
If you are a Designer and you want to collaborate on creating an exceptional
User Experience for the Internet of Things, get in touch with us.
This is just the beginning
Talking about the Internet of Things, we must agree that we are only in its early days. Even s millions of developers and designers are experimenting in the field, we have yet to see the emergence of a major platform that will define the User Experience in the Internet of Things as Material Design is doing for the Android world.
May Lelylan Device be the next step? Give it a try.
