Why the “Internet of Things” is not a thing yet
2015- the year that Back to The Future portrayed in shoulder-padded, futuristic glory- is quickly heading for its second half, and although Marty McFly would most likely be disappointed by the lack of flying cars, there’s still plenty of cool technology around to impress. Of all the tech buzzwords being bandied about this year so far, one of the most interesting must surely be the elusive “Internet of Things.” In our quest to achieve this futuristic vision of ubiquitous technology and invisible design, the tech industry has, to a sometimes ridiculous degree, begun to grant “smart” status to even the most mundane objects. From fitness trackers and smart watches, to intelligent cookware and self-tightening belts, the market has been flooded with objects, both weird and wonderful, jostling to join the technological eco-system. The adoption of smart everyday objects has, however, been surprisingly slow. I believe that this is due to a combination of lack of trust, and a perceived lack of value, caused by the following 5 factors:
People like to be in control.
One of the core principles of user experience design centres on the concept of user control. In short, people like to be the ones controlling the system and making decisions, and generally find products that take action without their consent unsettling. The entire concept of an intelligent network of products using data to automate actions undermines the user’s sense of control, and understandably, makes them nervous. In order to the win the trust of users, intelligent products need to be designed with the principle of user control in mind. Provided that users understand what the product can and cannot do on its own, and are able to switch automated actions on and off, they may eventually build the trust necessary to allow the product to function optimally and make decisions on its own.
People are nervous about handing over their data.
2.7 Zettabytes of data exist in the digital world today. That’s enough to fill about 84 billion 32GB iPads. Every second of every day we are generating millions of bytes of data about ourselves, our preferences and behaviours. With this much data being generated on a daily basis, it is not surprising that people are beginning to wonder what the impact of sharing their personal information might be further down the road. Digital privacy is becoming an enormous concern, with hacking, identity theft and data exploitation on the rise. Yet, in order for the internet of things to exist, we have to allow ourselves to be monitored, tracked and analysed. Again, this is a matter of trust. Unless users are confident in the safety of their data, and the ethics of the companies holding that data, the future of the IoT might not be so bright.
Smart devices are not solving real problems.
I recently wrote a post about “Fit-Tech” (health trackers, fitness bands and the like) and why I think the industry still has a way to go before it begins to provide real value to users. The points that I made in that article are applicable not only to to Fit-Tech, but to smart devices in general. There is a perception that most smart devices verge on gimmicky- providing lots of “wow-factor” but very little functionality. Yes it’s cool that the Apple watch will tap me on the wrist when my significant other is thinking about me, but after the first few taps are over, what value am I really left with? While the frenzied rush to join the smart-tech boom has resulted in a plethora of new products, many of them don’t provide real value because they don’t solve real problems.
Smart devices are not using data effectively
Most of the wearables and smart technology out there at the moment track, in amazing detail, almost every facet of your life. Yet they fail to use the data they gather in an engaging way. Simply gathering statistics and showing people a ton of graphs and charts is not ultimately useful, and that’s why people are getting bored with the likes of FitBits very quickly. The industry needs to start looking at ways to use data to help people make decisions and take positive actions that improve their lives. Only then will we begin to perceive real value that outweighs the concerns mentioned above.
Smart devices are not playing nicely together.
The last obstacle standing in the way of the technological future of our dreams is the lack of cross-compatibility amongst smart devices. Some watches work with iOS, others work with Android. Almost none of them work with Windows. My FitBit will sync with my fitness tracker app, but my Vessyl won’t sync with my smart scale and my scale won’t sync with my Nest. For the Internet of Things to become a reality, the boundaries between proprietary systems and devices need to be broken down. Our devices need a way to interface, allowing them to communicate and provide value that is greater than the sum of their parts. Until such time as there is a unified way for these devices to communicate and access data, we will continue to live in a world containing a haphazard collection of smart devices, rather than an effective network of devices that collaborate seamlessly to create something amazing.
Can we expect our sci-fi dreams of pervasive technology to come true in the next few years? Absolutely- provided designers and developers find a way to provide enough compelling value to outweigh the issues of trust that many users still harbour when considering smart devices. Only when the perceived value is so great that it cannot be ignored, and trust issues have been mitigated, will the tide turn and the adoption of smart tech sky-rocket. At that point the sky (complete with flying cars) will be the limit.
