Fundamentals of IoT and Wearable Technology Design. Haider Raad. Читать онлайн. Newlib. NEWLIB.NET

Автор: Haider Raad
Издательство: John Wiley & Sons Limited
Серия:
Жанр произведения: Техническая литература
Год издания: 0
isbn: 9781119617556
Скачать книгу
connecting billions of “things” worldwide.

      The year 2005 witnessed the first Internet‐connected robot, the Nabaztag rabbit. The bunny‐shaped robot is capable of gathering weather reports, news, and stock market updates through Wi‐Fi connectivity and reading them to the consumer. Despite its retirement in 2015 due to technological impediments, Nabaztag proved that IoT can be integrated into everyday lives.

      The First International Conference on the Internet of Things took place in Zurich, Switzerland, in 2008. The event was the first conference of its kind with participants from 23 countries. The same year marked the first time where more “things” are connected to the Internet than people. A year later, Google started the first testing of self‐driving cars while St. Jude Medical officially became an adopter of IoT for healthcare.

      By the year 2013, IoT had evolved into a system that utilizes multiple technologies, ranging from embedded systems and wireless communication to electromechanical sensors and control systems.

      In 2014, Google Inc. acquires Nest after spotting the potential behind IoT and smart home devices in particular. Moreover, Google's self‐driving car prototype was ready for testing on public roads but would not perform the official test drive until the following year.

      On the 6th November of the same year, Amazon releases Echo, the first commercially successful voice‐controlled ambient device and IoT hub. It is also anticipated that Amazon's device will be one of the most disruptive technologies in the next generation of enterprise IoT solutions.

      The Global Standards Initiative on IoT takes place in 2015. The event's main objective was to establish a unified approach to the development of IoT technical standards and to support the adoption of the technology, globally.

      In 2016, the automotive giant General Motors invests $500 million in Lyft aiming at developing a network of self‐driving cars. In the same year, Apple showcases HomeKit products at the Consumer Electronics show. HomeKit is a platform that allows developers to utilize a comprehensive list of software tools for smart home application. In the meantime Google releases Google Home, another smart ambient device competing with Amazon's Echo. This year also witnessed the emergence of the first IoT malware.

      In 2017, Microsoft launches Azure IoT edge that allows IoT devices to deploy complex processing and analytics locally, while Amazon offers advanced security features, Google releases Cloud IoT Core which allows an easier connectivity to the cloud. Witnessing such initiatives from giant technology leaders, one can realize that IoT is here to stay.

      1.1.4 Wearable Technology: Historical Background

      The beginning of this decade has surely witnessed the increasing number of wearable devices where one can spot numerous variations of smart watches, health assistive gadgets, fitness trackers, and smart clothes on the shelves. The growing number of these sleek devices since then along with their expanding applications clearly indicates that wearables are thriving. But one may ask: When and how did it all begin?

      Previously, in 1938, Aurex Corp., a Chicago‐based electronics firm, developed the first electronic hearing aid device, marking one of the first innovations in the biomedical wearables industry. In 1958, the world's first pacemaker was invented by Earl Bakken. One might argue that these are not “smart technologies” since they are not based on a digital computing system; however, they gave rise to their smart counterparts we know today.

      Some might argue that the iconic Walkman music player was the first ever wearable technology that truly went mainstream. The Japanese brand SONY launched the Walkman in 1979 and was followed by a triumphant commercial success as it significantly transformed the music listening routines for millions of consumers around the world. SONY's Walkman production line was discontinued indefinitely in 2010 with over 220 million machines sold worldwide.

Photo depicts the pulsar calculator LED watch released in 1975.

      Source: Photo courtesy of Piotr Samulik.

      In the realm of health care, the first practical and fully digital hearing aid device was invented by Engebretson, Morley, and Popelka. Their patent, “Hearing aids, signal supplying apparatus, systems for compensating hearing deficiencies, and methods” filed in 1984 served as the basis of all subsequent digital hearing aid devices, including those produced today.

      The mid‐1990s marked the brainstorming period for wearable technology where conferences and expos on wearables and smart textiles began to see a rise in popularity. The DARPA held its forward‐thinking workshop in 1996 entitled “Wearables in 2005.” One of DARPA's galvanizing predictions included computerized gloves that could read RFID tags. However, wearables were overshadowed by the smartphone revolution between the late 1990s and mid‐2000s, smartphones were simply the consumer's gadget of choice, due to obvious reasons.

Photo depicts Steve Mann wearing one of his wireless wearable webcam.