To date, the world has deployed about 5 billion "smart" connected things. Predictions say there will be 50 billion connected devices by 2020. How things are fundamentally deployed today is a barrier to realizing those numbers. The industry will only achieve the reality of 50 billion connected devices by simplifying how things connect and communicate today.
Mobile devices currently use the 6-axis data from acelerometers and magnetometers to enable key functions that make consumer electronics interfaces easier and more intuitive to use. Next-generation devices are moving to 9-axis sensor fusion employing gyroscopic capabilities to further improve the user experienc.
The car has evolved from a basic transportation machine into a full-fledged mobile entertainment and communications platform. Today’s feature-rich cars pack multiple wireless radios to stream entertainment from outside the vehicle, provide location information via embedded GPS navigation systems, and offer keyless entry/starting systems, and wireless tire-pressure sensors. In the future we will see wireless capabilities such as car-to-car communications to help smooth traffic flow and further reduce accidents.
New product features, certification, increased performance and quicker design cycles are pressuring device manufacturers to reduce costs and still meet time-to-market requirements. Considerations like balancing increased performance and demands for lower design, manufacturing costs, freeing up engineering resources, or selecting the right OS and BSPs complicate the decision-making process. Sign up now for an innovative webinar using an on-line tool that calculates when and if you should buy or build.
The Space and Systems Development Laboratory (SSDL) develops innovative technologies for robust distributed systems, with special interest in space environments. The current satellite mission under development at the SSDL is the KatySat satellite, which provides a powerful educational outreach tool for K-12 students that can be readily expanded for future missions. To facilitate the KatySat mission, SSDL partnered with Total Phase, to provide students the tools necessary for embedded system development.
Developing smart connected products for the IoT creates a unique set of challenges for product development. Simultaneously, time-to-market pressures make switching to a modern 32-bit architecture challenging. More powerful devices and new tools must be mastered and this can work against timely execution of a product development cycle. This is a common scenario that mbed™ can address. mbed represents a paradigm shift for developers, allowing seamless transitions in the product development lifecycle.
When the news broke in January that Google was buying Nest Labs, Inc. for $3.2 billion, the eye-popping valuation indicated the acquisition was about more than just pretty thermostats and smoke detectors. While speculation about Google's intentions has run rampant since then, in my mind it's a clear sign: the Internet of Things (IoT) is finally upon us.
Since 1882, when Thomas Edison fired up the world’s first commercial generator, the networks that carry electricity from the power source to the consumer have been confined to a one-way path. In recent years, pressure to cut labor costs and address evolving environmental concerns and regulations have forced utility providers to rethink this aging infrastructure.