M2M beyond the hype - Connect-World

M2M Networkto a specific application in a given targetmarket. The issue with some of these earlierproprietary implementations is that they areclosed to other systems and uses.It is not possible to make use of theseapplications or the data they generate forother purposes, or even interact with similarsystems. A glucose meter that communicateswith my smartphone and stores the data ona server somewhere in a format not readableby other systems is of limited use. Given theneed to respect a patient’s privacy, the datashould be available to authorised doctors, thelocal hospital or health care system that havean electronic patient record.Applications with similar purposes shouldbe interoperable with similar sensors,independently of the brand or application.To accelerate the development of customsolutions, we need software and hardwareplatforms that maximise the reuse ofstandardised key components and usestandard protocols to remain interoperable.The use of standards such as TCP/IP, WebServices and communication technologiessuch as WiFi, NFC, and ZigBee is essentialto produce standard and interoperablesolutions. The use of open source hardwaresuch as Arduino or Raspberry PI allows forrapid prototyping and low cost solutions.The goal should be that the rest of thenetwork sees each object as a service - inparticular, a web service, so that manydifferent simpler services can merge or meshtogether to seamlessly create higher level,more complex, services.By 2020, billions of devices willcommunicate, interact and most likelyhave a digital image of their status onthe network. This will not only create amassive amount of data, but also the needfor powerful engines to make sense ofthis staggering quantity of heterogeneousinformation. The latter has been thedriver of the development of contextawareness technology, which we believeto be the essential attribute of a trueInternet of Things.Context and location are fundamental inputsto make sure the billions of connecteddevices collaborate to produce value addeddata for higher-level services. Sensors,objects and their services generate data inneed of correlation and contextualization.For example, the temperature going up in aroom can mean completely different thingsdepending on the context: an alarm if it isrising at an unusual rate; the fact there is ameeting, if a projector is functioning andmore people are inside, etc. Understandingthe context, and automatically takingdecisions derived from the analysis of datacoming from different and heterogeneoussources, is at the root of M2M technology.In the aforementioned example, based onthe context, the central building automationsystem can decide to intervene with a fireprevention action or simply turning up theair conditioning. Imagine a smart irrigationsystem capable of deciding on its own notto water one day because of forecasts of rainthe next. This system puts together sensors inthe garden with weather info web services.Imagine a painting in a museum, or your ownTV, communicating with your smartphoneto enhance your viewing experience andproviding additional, personalized andcontextual information. All of this is not farfetchedand has been part of the deploymentof IoT commercial solutions.The above examples show how the Internetof Things is closer to reality than mostpeople think. The journey ahead is still long,but many solutions have real commercialviability now. Take mobile payment platformsas another example. The idea that, dependingon the situation I find myself in, differentways of paying for goods or services willbe presented, is a great convenience for theend user. If close to a bus stop or at a movietheatre my digital wallet proposes the optionto buy a ticket for that specific use, theticket is immediately delivered in its digitalform to my wallet. Utilising this method, Ihave greatly simplified my purchasing andpayment habits and, at the same time, createdan opportunity for a business ecosystem(banks, credit cards, services, business,loyalty programs) to develop.Cars are another interesting and concreteexample of smart objects, which will gofrom just receiving information (GPS, radiobroadcast), to becoming two-way smart nodesof our cities. Next generation infotainmentsystems already on the market willcommunicate with central data aggregatorsor vehicle-to-vehicle, to exchange criticaldata and services. From CO2 emissions tobattery status, from remote door lock/unlockto remote maintenance, to e-call in the caseof an accident, these are all real life examplesof the value of a connected car. We alreadypay tolls electronically on many highwayswithout stopping, or congestion charges inmajor metropolitan areas and using the samesystem to pay when parking our cars.Today, connected vehicle systems integratesmartphones and tablets with the local carnetwork, allowing the exchange of services.Compatibility among systems is insuredby common operating systems. An LTEsmartphone connection to the network willallow us to enjoy our favourite streamingradio broadcast or movie in the backseat, whilst the modem inside the car willcommunicate mission critical data, such asmalfunctions, or will connect to the PublicService Access Point to get help in the caseof accident.Furthermore, another large part of thisinvisible digital layer, on which we arebuilding the cities of the future, is the SmartGrid. The network infrastructure that willclose the gap between the utilities networkand the Internet, allowing energy to begenerated, transported, stored, when it’sneeded and where it’s needed, and boughtand sold at the best possible price. The datarelated to this process will follow the samepath and serve both businesses and privatecitizens at the same time.Smart electrical meters are already a reality,gas and water smart meters will followshortly; in home displays will aggregate andgive feedback to us as accurately as possibleon how much, and how, we are using ourenergy in real time. The very next step willbe to implement demand/response systemscapable of closing the gap between whoproduces energy and who uses it, takingaction on the feedback received. Profiling theenergy user and controlling the environmentaland climate parameters allows the generationof energy only when it’s needed and also tocoordinate and manage the distribution ofenergy coming from different, preferablyrenewable, sources. The availability of thiskind of data generates new commercialopportunities for agents, such as traders andvirtual energy operators.We think of the Internet, in all its differentforms, as the operating system of oursmart cities and therefore, our lives. Thisoperating system will continue to evolve andbecome part of our daily life, connecting all‘things’ around us. It’s up to us to build itsapplications and services to make it serveus better. We are working hard at building aliving network! •16 • Europe II 2013