When IoT Stops Being a Buzzword

By now everyone has heard of the Internet of Things, but the average person doesn’t know what to make of it. In tech circles we’ve been discussing IoT for years and know that the technology will become an important part of our lives, but we still haven’t seen widespread adoption of IoT devices.

The Nest Learning Thermostat is the most well known IoT device so far and gets me excited for the future, but it mainly stands alone. I can’t wait for IoT to stop being a buzzword and start being a real part of our daily lives.

When speaking about IoT many talk about “Smart Devices”. While I like the idea that devices will have some intelligence built in, they become much more powerful when they coordinate with data from other device types and allow input from more powerful computers in the cloud. A learning thermostat like Nest is great in that it starts to recognize patterns of usage and adjusts accordingly, and the network connection is interesting because it allows remote control, but the real power of IoT will come from interconnectedness. Imagine your AppleTV learning viewing patterns and knowing that you’ll be home at 9p on Sunday for Game of Thrones and the thermostat anticipating this and adjusting even though you’re usually out on Sunday nights.

As soon as we start seeing real interconnectedness from our “Smart Devices” IoT will stop being a buzzword and start having a real impact.