Trends in the Valley: the Internet of Things
Although the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) has been around for a while now, it still sounds like the title of a Monty Python-esque comedy sketch to me. The internet is only about things — in fact, full of any and everything you could possibly think of (for better or for worse) — so it’s a bit like saying ‘Speech of Words’.
It turns out the man who originally coined the term — RFID pioneer Kevin Ashton — originally preferred ‘Internet for Things’, which makes a lot more sense; the IoT is actually about extending the Internet’s reach and usefulness outwards to cover physical things in the real world.
Connecting physical devices, appliances and other components to a distributed network enables them to send and receive useful data and so benefit from computer and cloud-based processes. The idea then is to leverage these automatic processes to improve on the item’s efficiency, functionality, cost or required levels of human input.
The thing is… automation rules
The IoT is a very attractive market for tech startups and blue chips alike. Even conservative estimates place the number of connected devices at 30 billion and global market value at $7.1 trillion by 2020.
To put this potential into an everyday context, take a moment to survey your surroundings and consider how many devices could in principle join a connected IoT network. All lights, shutters and windows, for sure; air conditioning and climate control; any audio and display devices; if at home, food storage, or if in consumer space, stock and inventory control. And these are only what you can see — think also of all the data exchanged from your computer, smartphone or smartwatch.
The major draw of IoT is being able to automate processes that would have otherwise proven expensive or even impossible due to the cost of an equivalent human effort. The examples above hold true: think of the labour saving if an automatic process audits stock and orders a resupply.
This focus is even clearer when looking at large-scale, complex industrial activities, which is why many rising IoT stars work in this sector. For example, Augury uses AI to analyse IoT data from machines on production lines to predict malfunctions before they happen, and CyberX does something similar to improve detection of real-time operational threats.
The Internet of Complications
The IoT is still relatively new and so has more than a few teething problems.
Accessing large amounts of system-critical data directly from physical devices — that have immediate, physical consequences — itself exposes a security risk. This has appeared most sensationally in the media with regards to hacking smart cars, but I think far more concerning is the potential to disrupt utilities and infrastructure at the national level. Also, as IoT systems widen and become more complex, data science and human-readable visualisations will need to keep up; otherwise, the risks of something going wrong will only increase.
A less dramatic but still concerning issue is what’s been termed the ‘Basket of Remotes’ (again… it sounds so much like a comedy sketch). As the whole IoT enterprise is new, there’s still a lack of shared protocols and standards to ensure that the wide variety of connected devices— along with the human interfaces to understand and control them — happily coexist. Eventually, standards will appear as with other modes of communication (TV, phones, etc.), but there will likely be a few years at least of conflict.
Applications in art
As a ‘thing’, art is a bit of an odd one. On first inspection, it doesn’t seem to contain any useful data in the way that a fridge might. It lives a generally static and protected life, on a wall in a home or gallery. ‘Protected’ is the crucial word though, as in reality art — as a culturally and financially valuable asset — is as much under threat of damage, theft or fraud as any other.
Consider authentication, which for a long time came down to expert opinion. With advances in RFID, chips and even synthetic DNA, along with blockchain technologies, data about where a work was created, sold and exhibited should become more secure. Discrete connected components affixed to art frames or mounts can also be used in security and surveillance (indeed, a company called Fortecho already offers this).
I think the most interesting application though will be explorations of IoT within art, i.e. connected installations that change depending on some external, cloud-based variable, all for an aesthetic or conceptual end instead of one that’s purely utilitarian.
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