The core of the Internet of Things** is "net"

Gartner predicts that the number of objects accessible to the Internet in 2020 will reach 25 billion. After this data was released, many companies launched new systems for the Internet of Things, such as Samsung's Artik, Huawei's LiteOS, and yesterday's Brillo. These new systems will allow more objects we use every day to access the Internet, thus making the Internet of Things richer.

But simply by increasing the number of connected devices, it is not the way to truly revolutionize the Internet of Things. When it comes to the Internet of Things, we always pay more attention to the "material" part. However, in fact, the true foundation and core of the Internet of Things is actually the Internet. Only by developing a good network can we achieve interconnection.

Connectivity is a good thing but limited

Before discussing this issue, let us first look at our current situation. Under the concept of the Internet of Things, connecting objects together is connectivity. In other words, we want to give network connectivity to everything. Today, when we talk about IoT devices, we think more about devices that can be controlled remotely using smart phones or other computing devices. This kind of remote control makes our life more convenient. For example, if your family has forgotten to bring keys, you can open the door remotely in the office; or install a WiFi camera at home so that you can view the home at any time on your mobile phone. Does the pet have any damage when you are not at home?

In March of this year, we saw an interconnected device that changed the lives of a woman who traveled abroad frequently. With two smart motion detectors and a mobile phone, she can monitor the situation at home from anywhere. Once a thief broke into her home, she quickly received an alarm on her cell phone, and she immediately called the police. When the police arrived, the thief was still in her home and she was eventually brought to justice. You know, this woman was 700 miles away from home.

Whenever this happens, no one will question the role of this networking device. However, nonetheless, these devices still have their own limitations. First of all, the above-mentioned security system requires the user to stay online all the time in order to work smoothly. If your cell phone happens to have no signal when the thief breaks in, then this system is equivalent to nothing. In addition, although this intelligent detection sensor can be used with many other devices, it is still necessary for ordinary users, especially users without any technical background, to successfully install it to a designated location and successfully complete debugging. Take a lot of effort.

It is for these reasons that the Internet of Things revolution has not arrived yet. Although today's "smart" devices are more useful than their ancestors, what they can do is actually far from our true intelligence devices. Yes, Google's Brillo and its competitors may be able to keep the Internet of Things going. But we have a long way to go before the real explosion of the Internet of Things. Because everyone has their own expectations and requirements for the Internet of Things, you can't make device manufacturers meet everyone's needs.

The way to solve this problem is also very simple: to provide users with programmable devices, allowing users to customize the device's functionality through simple operations, rather than handing over the work to the system itself.

Only users know the user best

I do not mean that every user must learn to program, nor does it mean that every user must understand the unique API of each system. What I mean is that we should adjust a "logic layer" for each device so that users can simply manipulate the device at this level. Just like an intelligent thermostat, the structure and working methods of this device are complex, but it has a very user-friendly interface. For ordinary users, the interface to manipulate the device is as simple as making a call. This friendly interface allows users to make complex settings in a simple way. After all, ordinary users do not need to know how the device works. They just need to know how to use it.

With such an interface, even users who know nothing about technology can easily use the Internet of Things (IoT) devices and customize their own smart home environment. For example, when someone enters a password three times in succession on your door, you can connect it to your webcam, turn on the camera, and shoot, in addition to the automatic lock. Or, when your home's motion sensor detects an intrusion, it can immediately notify you and your neighbors and connect the smart light bulb in your home to let all the bulbs flash together to attract the attention of people outside the house.

The battlefield of the Internet of Things is not only the living room

You know, the Internet of Things can not only play a role in the living room in your home, but it can also be used in all aspects of your life.

For example, when your favorite team wins the championship, this message will be automatically pushed to your phone. Then your phone will automatically open the screen of your home computer and display the team logo on the screen; then your phone will automatically Find other contacts in your contacts who like the same team and send a greeting message. Even automatically ordered beer from the bar. As long as your imagination is rich enough, the role of the Internet of Things will be infinite.

Of course, it's not just the users that benefit from the IoT revolution. Enterprises can also use this technology to transform their operations, such as real-time monitoring of product inventory, output and equipment failures, so that business operations will be more stable. There are similar enterprise systems, but the maintenance and operation of such systems is very complex and usually requires a team of experts to maintain. If you add a simple interface to this system, then there will no doubt that the operating pressure of the enterprise will be even smaller, and the cost of using and maintaining the system will also be reduced.

The true potential of "smart"

The computer has changed every industry again and again, and we have experienced this kind of thing many times. But every change that comes with it comes from the pain of competition. Just 20 years after the birth of the Internet, we ushered in the browser battle. Now we have ushered in the Internet of Things operating system battle. It is this competition that constantly pushes up the standards for computing devices.

What we need today is a unified programming standard, just as HTML has unified all browsers. However, we need to add an IoT device with an interface that everyone can operate on. When a unified standard and highly accessible interface arrives, it is the time of the revolution in the Internet of Things.