the future of it: wearables as human identifiers in iot networks
TRANSCRIPT
The future of IT: Wearables as human identifiers in IoT networks
Pau Vila Garcia, June 2015
The IoT-based society
• Internet of Things (IoT) is starting to become a reality, as multiple devices gain Internet connectivity
• Light bulbs, fridges, thermostats and other devices are already part of the IoT network.
• Humans have multiple ways to interact with this network
Creative Commons
The need for a human identifier
• Most IoT designs react to human presence: lights which turn on/off depending on who's in the room, microwaves turning on when the owner gets home...
• Currently, the "human identifier" is mostly the cell phone: when it's there, the network interprets that the human is there and performs the appropriate actions
Why the wearables?
• Wearables are an important trend of 2015. Unlike cell phones, they are much more personal: we always wear them in our wrists, and no one else accesses them
• This is the reason why they are an excellent human identifier: every person has a wearable assigned which is only with him/her, allowing the network to identify the presence more accurately
Creative Commons
Huawei Watch is one of the few contemporary smart-watches. Image credit: Huawei
Use cases for wearables as IoT presence identifiers
• This approach allows a wider interaction between the IoT network components and humans
• Easier ways to develop location-based events as well as complex events (location & time, interaction with beacons networks...)
• For example, unlocking doors (home or car) and saving energy by intelligently turning off unused appliances
Image use authorized by Volvo
Door unlocking is already advancing faster in wearables than in cell phones
Currently developed IoT presence-based apps
• Starwood Hotels lets Apple Watch users to unlock the hotel room doors by swiping the watch
• BMW lets users unlock the car doors with the Android Wear app. Audi develops the same concept in its app
• Philips turns on and off electrical outlets with its Hue Control app for Android Wear
In those use cases, wearables are more secure than other devices because they are worn by just one person, and wrist detection can lock them when unworn.
Need for a central node/hub
• The IoT devices and wearables interact in a one-to-one basis. There isn't a central node which allows multiple way interactions
• The inexistance of a central node also allows each device to have its own (usually proprietary) protocol, without a true network effect
• Philips turns on and off electrical outlets with its Hue Control app for Android Wear
