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Just what is the Internet of Things?
It’s exactly what it sounds like really – connected embedded devices that are sensed and controlled remotely. Smart devices with sensors on them that store data in the cloud like the FitBit or the Jawbone UP are the most popular example currently, but you’ve also got devices that track weather, help with baby monitoring, heating your house in the most energy efficient manner and practically anything else you could imagine by using the Arduino board to create your passion project.
The Internet of Things is about making our lives that much easier.
And then Bluetooth?
Bluetooth is a Near Field Communication standard. It enables devices to share information over a close range of up to 10 metres. It’s the technology used to connect your headset with your phone. Combined with Bluetooth Smart, a technology that allows Bluetooth to operate on a device for a very long period of time at low battery output, it makes the obvious partner to Internet of Things devices.
However this means that these devices have to be within a 10 metre range of either the controlling device or a traditionally networked device (to a line out) that can transfer the data elsewhere.
What next?
The Bluetooth Special Interest group is now pushing to add mesh technology to Bluetooth Smart. Mesh technology is becoming more and more prevalent, and Bluetooth are seeking to add mesh capabilities to the standard in 2016.
Mesh technology would allow information to be passed along close devices until it found the recipient it was looking for. For example, your Jawbone Up wants to upload its data to the cloud, but the only device available to pass it to is the baby monitor. It passes through the baby monitor but then the only devices it can see are the Jawbone Up and the garage door, so it passes the information to the garage door. The garage door can see the baby monitor, the fridge and your iPhone. Because the iPhone has traditional internet capabilities, the garage door sends the information to your iPhone. The iPhone then uploads your Jawbone Up data to the cloud.
If this mesh technology is included in the next Bluetooth standard, which we’re guessing it will be, you can look forward to an explosion of smart devices in a huge range of areas.
The future looks bright!
