The Internet of things is the sort of game-changing trend that seems like it’s just in time. The Internet is fast enough and everything is connected to everything. Whether it’s on a personal level allowing you to control your heating from an app on your phone, or it’s on a much larger scale where there’s remote monitoring of every element on an offshore oil rig all the way down to the NEK606 cables that connect key equipment. This sort of connectivity begs the question – when will all devices be hooked up to the Internet?
The answer to that question is probably coming pretty soon. Although most people haven’t heard of IoT yet, it’s likely the technology will be as widespread as cloud computing and smartphones in the coming decade. Next year, there’s likely to be more Internet-connected devices on the planet than human beings. Gartner expects the number of devices to exceed 20 billion by 2020.
But just because a device is connected doesn’t make it great. The Nokia 7600, for example, was connected to the Internet and that was the worst phone ever made. So, here are the top five best IoT products on the market now:
- PrecisionHawk
This company has a patent pending for LATAS or Low Altitude Traffic and Airspace Safety. That sounds boring and technical, but it actually deals with integrating drones. Drones and small and nimble, which makes them easy to fly but hard to keep track off. With this tech, drones can interact with each other and create a special network to avoid obstacles and locate other drones.
- Mellow
CEO Zé Pinto Ferreira was frustrated when he found out that only 25% of home meals are actually made from scratch. Instead of go on an online rant about it, Ferreira developed a connected sous-vide machine. In other words, it’s a machine that makes fresh food before you get home. The machine connects to a smartphone to locate you and start cooking poached eggs before you get home. It has sensors to check for weight and temperature.
- MistBox
Can’t live without air conditioning, but it’s probably the most energy hungry device at home. Mistbox is a smart sensor that makes the AC more energy efficient. It uses water vapour to cool the outside air before it’s sucked into the AC. The company claims it can cut energy use down by one-third.
- Ôasys
This nifty device is wall mountable and tracks water use at home. It checks to see if the weather patterns, watershed levels, and home temperature all align perfectly to use just the right amount.
- Netvibes
Finally, all these Internet-connected smart devices add on to the number of interfaces you have to manage. Netvibes seeks to eliminate that by integrating all IoT products onto one dashboard. It’s easy to control everything from the air conditioner to the fridge, and you can even set certain triggers for certain actions with connected devices. It’s a way to control everything in a smart house and automate the chores.
Smart devices are soon going to be everywhere and if they are all as helpful as these, it’s likely to be the next game-changing trend.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
