Rise of the machines - 4th May, 6-9pm, London

Internet of Things (IoT) is the combining of the physical and virtual worlds to drive improvements and benefits.  It is time to focus on why IoT is emerging (again).

IoT is, in its simplistic form, tiny sensors that are being embedded into physical things which are connected (wireless or wired) to create benefit from process change or data analysis.  Underlying the IoT are technologies such as NFC, sensors, and smartphones.  IoT focuses on either services that collect data and analyse the data and the output is information or services that collect data but also close the loop and affect the physical world.

So what has changed since the ITU report on IoT in 2005 and why has it become trendy again? The emergence of new research, Smart Grids, cost advantage, data analysis, device proliferation and the fact that yesterdays science fantasy is now possible, make IoT hot.  

The best or worst example of the IoT benefit is the colloquial Internet fridge that monitors the food that goes in and out and what is left, enabling this intelligent fridge to:
·         order milk when you are low
·         buy electricity for cooling at the best rate
·         monitor food websites to gather recipes and add the ingredients automatically to your shopping list.
·         know where the food came from and can trace it
·         learn what food you like to eat, based on the ratings you have given to your dinners.

mashup* will bring together people who are deploying the Internet of Things and are focused on where the value is, where your privacy ends and who is liable.