Ubiquitous computing seems increasingly to be moving out of the conference halls and into the world around us.
Last wUbiquitous computing seems increasingly to be moving out of the conference halls and into the world around us.
Last week a few of us (no ‘FewofUs’ jokes please) went down to London IA where we saw a chap calledBen Bashford talk about his passion for connected things. Ben is a member of Council – a think tank for the Internet of Things.
He gave us some new terminology to use in the context of a ubiquitous network of objects, people and data, like ‘Fabricators’ (Things that we make. Think 3D printing) and ‘Actuators’ (Things that move in the real world. Think robotic arms in manufacturing). By the end of the talk he was asking us to imagine a future where we would have to create personas for robots! Check out these lovely notes on his talk byEva-Lotta Lam.
The NEST
In the week following the talk, we’ve seen a very nice example of a connected thing in The Nest, the revolutionary new thermostat designed by Ex-Apple iPod/iPhone man Tony Fadell.
The thermostat learns your heating and air-con habits and automates it, while encouraging you to increase your energy efficiency in the process. You can also control it from your phone and manage your preferences online. That is one connected thing! Find out more from the Wired article, “Brave New Thermostat: How the iPod’s Creator Is Making Home Heating Sexy”.
via allofusid: