When people describe the Internet of Things, they’re referring to a network of Web-enabled devices that speak to one another. In the home, that could mean a phone that talks to a garage-door opener or a thermostat that talks to motion detectors. While these smart devices might represent someone’s preferences (I want my lights to glow blue), they don’t necessarily represent needs (I’m tired, I’m hungry, I’m drunk). For a heater to know we’re cold or a vending machine to know that we need an apple and not a bag of Funyuns, those devices need to talk directly to us. And for that to happen, we’ll need a wearable network of gadgets, an Internet of You.
Much of the groundwork is in place already. Inexpensive health and fitness monitors are gaining in popularity. More than 100 million sensors were sold worldwide in 2012, and that number will rise to more than half a billion within five years, according to the technology research firm ON World. Nike alone boasts 18 million users on its Nike+ network, which includes the FuelBand tracker and a sneaker line. And there are dozens of other kinds of monitors out there, including bottles that record our water intake and forks that warn us when we’re eating too fast.
Wearable screens are proliferating too. The Pebble smartwatch, which displays e-mail and text notifications, raised more than $10 million from backers on Kickstarter. Samsung recently debuted the Galaxy Gear, a watch that runs on Android and therefore syncs easily with sensors and other accessories. (Apple even hired one of the key engineers behind the Nike FuelBand, so an iOS smartwatch probably isn’t far behind.) And then there’s Google Glass, which puts information just above eye level.
The combination of personal monitors and connected screens will form the backbone of a new system. The next step is to take the user out of the loop and connect our personal data to the world around us. In September, Nissan introduced the NISMO smartwatch concept, which provides a glimpse of the possibilities. The device uses biometric data, such as heart rate, to tell users whether they’re too tired—or too wired—to drive. One day, a car’s internal computer could tap into that same data. Given a driver’s anxiousness, sleepiness, or drunkenness, the car could modify its performance—or disable itself entirely. Rather than ask you to make data-based decisions, your own personal Internet will make them for you; all you will have to do is show up.—Corinne Iozzio
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