A project by Ground Labs and Lion Guardians is creating an open source wildlife tracking collar system to safeguard the Maasai herders cattle and protect the last 2000 lions living Southern Kenya. The system consists of a tracking collar that utilizes a GPS/GSM module to locate and track the lions and communicate their coordinates to researchers and Maasai herders via SMS.
This smart lighting system from Echelon allows a city to intelligently provide the right level of lighting needed by time of day, season, and weather conditions. Cities have shown a reduction in street lighting energy use by up to 30% using solutions like this.
Using a device like the ConnectSense and its range of add-on sensors you can track if a water pipe has burst in your basement, if there is motion inside your home while you are away, and have it automatically send you a notification by email or text message when it happens.
Take a look at real world IoT use cases, products and applications.
The Proteus ingestible pill sensor is powered by contact with your stomach fluid and communicates a signal that determines the timing of when you took your meds and the identity of the pill. This information is transferred to a patch worn on the skin to be logged for you and your doctors reference. Heart rate, body position and activity can also be detected.
Using networked sensors, cameras, and lasers to analyze manufacturing processes like those from SightMachine you can determine if a part is good or bad based on its physical characteristics; identify if it is the right component for the job and monitor trends, variations, and relationships in the system over time.
The University of Loughboroughs Acoustic Landslide Detector system called ALARMS (Assessment of Landslides using Acoustic Real-time Monitoring Systems), detects high-frequency stress waves produced by soil movement. They can be used to calculate soil movement in real time and send out alerts to communities before an event occurs.
Enguage offers an electronic system that notifies authorities when a fire extinguisher is blocked, missing from its designated location or when its pressure falls below safe operating levels. Alerts can be sent directly through an instant email, phone call or pager notification to proper agencies and supervisors.
Invisible Tracck is a wireless device being used in pilot programs to help combat illegal deforestation taking place in the Amazon. The battery operated devices are installed on select trees and as soon as the logged trees are in transit and able to connect to a mobile network (Up to a 20 mile range), an alert notification with location coordinates is sent to the Brazilian Institute of Environment so they can take action.
Smart outlets like the WeMo allow you to instantly turn on and off any plugged in device from across the world or just your living room. Save money and conserve energy over time by eliminating standby power, measure and record the power usage of any device, and increase its operating lifespan through more efficient use and scheduling.
Using a wearable alarm button and other discrete wireless sensors placed around the home, the BeClose system can track your loved ones daily routine and give you peace of mind for their safety by alerting you to any serious disruptions detected in their normal schedule.
In a report by GE on industrial applications for intelligent machines they say with efficiency gains for systems of just 1% could result in 15 year savings of:
The Narrative clip is to be worn on your body to capture your adventures as they happen. Automatically send the best shots to be framed or printed.
Retailers can run real-world A/B tests using networked cameras and sensors like those in the Shopperception system to detect how customers are engaging with specific products and the stores layout.
AirCasting is a platform for recording, mapping, and sharing health and environmental data using your smartphone. Each AirCasting session lets you capture real-world measurements (Sound levels recorded by their phone microphone; Temperature, humidity, carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) gas concentrations), and share it via the CrowdMap with your community.
$63 billion in global health care savings with more optimized treatments, patient flows, and equipment use in hospitals.
Engage with the data exhaust produced from your city and neighborhood
Whether taking care of a small hydroponic system or a large backyard lawn, systems like GreenIQ with their suite of sensors and web connectivity help save you time and resources by keeping plants fed based on their actual growing needs and conditions while automating much of the labor processes.
The IoT is expected to also make impacts in government, education, finance and transportation. On the consumer side there are nearly endless combinations of applications. As an example, is there a reason why when a fire alarm goes off in your home it just beeps, instead of talking to your gas appliances to shut them off and making sure you wake up with an alert sent to your household phones?
It will use the Internet as a scaffold to support and transmit its sensations.-Neil Gross 1999
Intended for individuals with cardiac arrhythmias the BodyGuardian is an FDA cleared wearable sensor system that can remotely read a patients biometrics (ECG, heart rate, respiration rate and activity Level), sending the data to the patients physician and allowing users to go about their daily lives outside of a clinical setting.
The OnFarm solution combines real-time sensor data from soil moisture levels, weather forecasts, and pesticide usage from farming sites into a consolidated web dashboard. Farmers can use this data with advanced imaging and mapping information to spot crop issues and remotely monitor all of the farms assets and resource usage levels.
Aimed at helping to prevent SIDS, the Mimo monitor is a new kind of infant monitor that provides parents with real-time information about their babys breathing, skin temperature, body position, and activity level on their smartphones.
We are in the early stages in the creation of an Internet of Things and the above examples provide just a glimpse into what is possible when you combine sensors, actuators, and networked intelligence.
Optimize operations, boost productivity and save in resources and costs
You can easily track down those lost keys or cell phone in your house using Bluetooth and other wireless technology devices like the Cobra Tag.
When data is removed from siloed warehouses and is able to be identified and shared between products and services like it is within the current Internet architecture a true Internet of Things can emerge.
Web enabled lights like the Phillips Hue can be used as an ambient data displays (Glow red when my bus is 5 minutes away). These multi-functional lights can also help you to reduce electricity use (automatically turn off the lights when no one is in a room) or help to secure your home while you are away by turning your lights on and off.
With the use of installed sensors, mobile apps, and real-time web applications like those provided in Streetlines ParkSight service, cities can optimize revenue, parking space availability and enable citizens to reduce their environmental impact by helping them quickly find an open spot for their cars.
Understand and better manage what we currently have
In the next century, planet earth will don an electronic skin.
Sensors installed inside equipment will monitor if any parts have exceeded their designed thresholds, and will automatically send reports to owners and manufacturers if they have. Early predictions on equipment malfunctions can be made with parts and service maintenance can be automatically scheduled ahead of a an actual part failure.
Nik Sargents Bumblebee project sheds light on how the environment influences bees activity patterns and behaviours using sensors (visual, audio, temperature, sunlight, weather) and web technology to monitor and record their daily lives.
The Air Quality Egg is a community-led air quality sensing system designed to allow anyone to collect high resolution readings of NO2 and CO concentrations outside of their home using an RF transmitter and ethernet driven base station. The data can then be shared to create a network of readings to be used by the community and general public.
The SenseNET system uses battery-powered clamp sensors to quickly measure current on a line, calculate consumption levels, and send that data to a hosted application for analysis. Significant financial and energy resources are saved as the clamps can easily identify meter tampering issues, general malfunctions, and any installation issues in the system.
Products like the cellular communication enabled Smart Belly trash use real-time data collection and alerts to let municipal services know when a bin needs to be emptied. This information can drastically reduce the number of pick-ups required, and translates into fuel and financial savings for communities service departments.
The University of Berkeleys Floating Sensor Network project uses motorized drifters (Outfitted with cell communication, GPS, temperature, and salinity sensors) that can be quickly deployed in response to unanticipated events such as floods to track the movement of water, contaminants, and other conditions in waterways.
GlowCaps fit prescription bottles and via a wireless chip provide services that help people stick with their prescription regimen; from reminder messages, all the way to refill and doctor coordination.
Smart Structures SmartPile technology is an example in action that uses wireless sensors embedded within concrete foundation piles to ensure the quality and integrity of a structure. These sensors can provide load and event monitoring for the projects construction both during and after its completion.
Remotely monitor and manage your home and cut down on your monthly bills and resource usage
Smart thermostats like the Ecobee use remote sensors, real-time weather forecasts, and the actual activity in your home during the day to reduce your monthly energy usage by up to 30%, keeping you more comfortable, and offering to save you money on your utility bills.
The DontFlushMe project by Leif Percifield is an example that combines sensors installed in Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) with alerts to local residents so they can avoid polluting local waterways with raw sewage by not flushing their toilets during overflow events.