How Big Data and the Internet of Things Create Smart Cities

The Internet of Things may be giving over to the Internet of Everything as more and more uses are dreamed up for the new wave of Smart Cities.
In the Internet of Things, objects have their own IP address, meaning that sensors connected to the web can send data to the cloud on just about anything: how much traffic is rolling through a stoplight, how much water you’re using, or how full a trash dumpster is. Cities are discovering how they can use these new technologies and the data they generate to be more efficient and cost effective in many different ways. And it’s a good thing, too; some estimates suggest that 66 percent of the world’s population will live in urban areas by the year 2050. more info...

It may be years before consistent standards emerge for the IoT, but there are plenty of choices in the meantime.

Trying to make sense of Internet of Things standards today is like opening a can of worms. Definitions are still shaking out, consortia are popping up quickly, and everyone is in a mad scramble to capture their piece of the much lauded potential of an intimately connected world of devices.

With so many points to consider, security is a good place to start.

It is obvious from the proliferation of news articles about the latest in hacking successes, it’s not enough just to secure the perimeter of a network and think the devices inside of that are going to be secure.

“To anyone who’s been in the industry and really paying attention it’s clear that having perimeter security, while a critical piece of the security solution, isn’t sufficient,” said Alan Grau, president of Icon Labs. “There have been all kinds of reports in the news where people are able to breach security perimeters. The IoT at some level is no different. You can’t just say a perimeter is going to solve the problem. In another way, it’s an even bigger concern because many IoT devices are going to live out in the world and not necessarily behind a protective perimeter, so they’re going to be easier to attack. There will be people who get physically close to devices to attack them.”

The big change is that many of the attacks that occurred in the past involved breaching secure server rooms from remote locations.

“In an IoT network, they’re probably low-cost devices that you can have physical proximity to, maybe even have physical access to them, so there will be a wider range of attacks you need to protect them from,” Grau said. “They’re also low cost, so you might be able to go out and steal one if they’re out in the world someplace, or buy one, then start seeing what vulnerabilities you can find. As you look at security inside the perimeter, you really need security throughout the network.”...for more Info

Open Standards Will Enable the IoT’s Growth

You hear a lot about the Internet of Things (IoT) these days. It’s a phrase so white-hot that it’s far beyond the realm of a mere buzzword. But how do you define the IoT? Is it a refrigerator that can text you when you’re low on milk? Smart baby diapers? Connected cars? Connected cows?¹ What is it, exactly? And why are standards even part of the conversation?

A good first step is to think about what we mean when we talk about the IoT. At its heart, it is the disruptive convergence of technology, telecommunications, data, and people. It is the humanization of technology, the melding of disparate elements and systems into a unified platform, allowing us to connect more deeply with one another and the world around us. But most of all, the IoT is an opportunity, a chance to make better choices based on these interconnections, improving the quality of not only our own lives, but society as a whole.

Connected things all share five key components: the need for smarter power consumption, storage, and management; the need for stronger safeguards for privacy and security; high-performance microcontrollers (MCUs); sensors and actuators; and the ability to communicate. Without them, all governed by standards, there will be no IoT. To read the complete white Paper ...

Low power wide-area networking alternatives for the IoT

Wireless network technologies such as WiFi, ZigBee, and Bluetooth are fine for consumer applications of the Internet of Things (IoT), but many civic, industrial, and other IoT applications need to operate over vastly greater territory than these technologies can handle. Cellular and satellite machine-to-machine (M2M) technologies have traditionally filled the gap, but cost, power, and scalability concerns make these choices less appealing for the future. A number of low-power, wide-area networking (LP-WAN) alternatives have arisen that need careful consideration by developers looking to address these wide-ranging IoT applications.
The uses for wide-area IoT technology are legion. Civic infrastructure systems such as parking resources, traffic control, utilities monitoring and distribution control, and environmental monitoring are only a beginning. Agricultural uses such as monitoring of crop conditions and livestock movements need wide-area coverage. Asset monitoring and tracking, from taxicabs to refrigerated produce shipments need regional, national, or even worldwide coverage. Transportation infrastructures such as rail lines and roadways need wide-area monitoring. Even consumer applications such as health monitoring could benefit from having an alternative to cellphones for their wide-area connectivity.  More info

What is the Web of Things (WoT)?

As more "things" on planet Earth are converted to the inventory of digitally connected Internet devices, the roles and responsibilities of web developers and technology managers will need to evolve in keeping pace with the ever expanding list of appliances and gadgets that require a web interface. This global trend is known as "The Internet of Things" or IoT, and as a vision has inspired that same premise for "The Web of Things", or WoT, and incorporates similar characteristics and application models. 

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Enabling the Internet of Things

Growth in the number of connected devices is accelerating, driven by a growing range of applications and business models, supported by falling modem costs. A strong foundation for this growth is the extensive cellular coverage, with an estimated 90 percent of the world’s population covered Mobile phones have been the largest growth segment amongst connected devices. Looking forward, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) is expected to show strong growth, driven by new use cases, e.g., in cars, machines and utility metering. The connected home is driving connectivity in consumer electronics – mostly over Wi-Fi or Ethernet. In total, 26 billion connected devices are expected by 2020, of which almost 15 billion will be phones, tablets, laptops and PCs. The total excludes passive sensors and radio frequency ID tags.

For more info  read the "Ericsson Mobility Report"

Source: Ericsson

The Internet of Things is poised to create hundreds of billions of dollars in economic value for cities worldwide

Urbanization will force cities around the world to cope with growing populations, traffic congestion, and pollution in the coming years. Faced with these mounting pressures, city governments are turning to IoT technologies to deliver services more efficiently and improve their citizens’ quality of life. 

Many cities are already connecting their infrastructure to IoT devices like sensors and smart meters. But few cities are as far along in that effort as Barcelona. 

In a new report, BI Intelligence examines how other municipalities can learn from Barcelona’s development into a smart city, how cities’ investments in IoT technologies will grow over time, and how those investments will impact urban economies worldwide......more info

Internet of Things Stack

Many people see the Internet of Things as a daunting terra incognita. The technologies are difficult to understand, the standards are constantly evolving, and the landscape of innovators and players can seem fragmented and bewildering.  

Most companies naturally respond to this fragmented, emergent and chaotic environment by trying to slow the world down so they can understand and control it.  

Understanding the intersection of these dimensions (or layers as we call them) and, more importantly, the impact from their interactions is crucial to creating new value. These “intersections” blend the physical with the digital, they mediate user interactions, business processes, technology architectures, and newly created market forces.

Source: Harbor Research

Global M2M revenues will reach $40 billion by 2019

During the last couple of years, machine-to-machine (M2M) offerings have become a key part of the product portfolio at telecom service providers and a significant new revenue stream for the few specialists.

The management of devices is key to M2M offerings, and it distinguishes the capabilities from the broader Internet of Things (IoT), where any object may be furnished with wireless connectivity on an ad-hoc basis.

Juniper Research has forecast that the telematics sector will continue to outperform all other M2M markets over the next five years, in revenue terms, with one in five passenger vehicles connected globally by 2019.

Smartphone-based models have become the key disruptor for M2M, as sectors such as healthcare, consumer electronics and retail continue to evolve.

According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the M2M sector will generate service revenues of over $40 billion globally by 2019 -- that's essentially doubling the size of today's market.

Juniper observed that the roll-out of smart metering initiatives will see rapid adoption over the next six years, driven in part by government ambitions to increase efficiency.

"Both India and China are expected to see rapid adoption of smart metering as new metering infrastructure is installed and smart cities are created," said Anthony Cox, senior analyst at Juniper Research.

The utility sector, however, is not expected to generate similar revenues to that of the connected automotive sector.

Agriculture and environmental applications are starting to emerge as important new sectors in the M2M market, with applications as diverse as wild-life and farm animal monitoring, and increasing productivity through precise field mapping.

Source: TelecomsTech

TCS Global Trend Study 2015 - Internet of Things: The Complete Reimagina...

Where Internet of Things Initiatives Are Driving Revenue Now

79% of enterprises surveyed have Internet of Things (IoT) initiatives in place today to better understand customers, products, the locations in which they do business with customers, or their supply chains.

Manufacturers expect Internet of Things initiatives to drive an average 27.1% revenue increase by 2018.45% of enterprises use IoT technologies to monitor production and distribution operations.

40% of Enterprises Are Growing Their Services Businesses With Internet of Things Initiatives.

These and many other insights are from Tata Consulting Services’ TCS Global Trend Study 2015 – Internet of Things: The Complete Reimaginative Force (186 pp., PDF, opt-in) published earlier this week.
 You can find the methodology of the report here, and on page 173 of the report. A summarized report of survey demographics are provided here and also on pages 176 – 182. The TCS Global Trend study is based on interviews 795 executives from multinational enterprises operating in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America with average revenues of $22B. The TCS research team created four high-level categories of IoT business usage including premises monitoring, product monitoring, customer monitoring and supply chain monitoring.


Source: Forbes

The Internet of Things: Dr. John Barrett at TEDxCIT

Engineering the IoT - Opening Keynote at Embedded World 2015 by Silicon ...

Amsterdam is set to become a ‘connected city’ with the launch of a new Internet-of-Things wireless network.

The Things Network is a first-of-its-kind system that uses low-power, low bandwidth LoRaWAN technology to cover the city with a wireless signal that allows objects like boats, trash cans and street lights to become tools for developers. Unlike other ‘smart city projects’, this one is entirely crowdsourced by citizens and was put together in just six weeks. 
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IoT Connectivity Solutions

Source: u - blox AG