Internet Of Things (IoT) Cisco CES talk

[Update: One of our most shared posts, although sharing counts were lost during the site migration.]

Internet of Things and Home Automation big at CES this year

Some of us were at CES looking at exhibits.

Internet of Things (IOT) was hot this year. The home automation space was hot; home automation products are being increasing advanced and more app-integrated.  (Currently available home automation offerings include Mi Casa, Smarthings, and revolv.) Of course, just after CES closed Google announced it was acquiring IOT play Nest, makers of an Internet-connected thermostat and smoke alarm.

But there were plenty of other large players dangling in this space (none of them yet focusing much on air quality, although Cisco had a presentation which touched on allergies, home automation, and the Internet of Things).

Cisco had a large exhibit there promoting the Internet of Everything (IOE), Cisco’s marketing term for IOT.

Cisco explained that under Moore’s law, sensors will become cheap and ubiquitous. (No argument there; they’re right about that.)

We’re going to make a killing selling Internet of Things products to … wait for it … cash-starved school bus managers?!?

But, the examples from their presentation perhaps leave something to be desired. 

In one example, sensors in a school bus track children, and the school district has an app where by a student can request to be redirected to another students home (for a sleepover). The district superintendent is then notified by the app (or needs to approve).

Next, mommy Sharon (we don’t remember if that was her fictitious name in Cisco’s presentation, but we’ll use it here) has a dashboard app at work, where she is alerted that her son has a guest. And, this guest has apparently put all of his medical information in the cloud, so Sharon’s dashboard app knows her visitor is allergic to gluten. Finally, her dashboard app is integrated with sensors in her pantry and refrigerator, so she can query her inventory for gluten free items, and learns she must order some.

Now how realistic is all of this?

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