The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicks off today in Las Vegas. The show will attract 150,000 techies, VPs, and everything in between to check out the latest and greatest in cutting-edge technology. You know all the catch phrases that’ll be covered: wearable technology, 3D printing, smart devices, disruptive technology, Internet of Things (IoT).
And if there are 150,000 attendees (Link Labs will make up a solid .003% of that crowd), then there will most likely be about 1.5 million “things.” That’s because the Internet of Things is hot right now, or as Gartner said, it’s at the peak of its hype cycle.
As we see it, there will be three important trends and topics that shine through at CES, when specifically talking about the Internet of Things:
No one really seems to like the term, Internet of Things. So there has already been a movement just in the last few days about a new term: the Internet of You. The idea, as outlined here, is that these smart products need to be built with the consumer or end user in mind, not just built because they are cool.
Brian, CEO here at Link Labs, talked about this just a few days ago on Bloomberg TV. Brian mentioned that he’s hoping to see products that have a ton of value for consumers, not just ones that seem interesting and fun. We’re hoping to see this shift at CES.
SEE ALSO: WATCH: CEO Brian Ray On Bloomberg TV Talking IoT
In the past, CES was about showing off really cool gadgets. That’s still the focus, but a major trend has started to occur: these cool gadgets no long function by themselves in their own little worlds. They are starting to be connected. These “connected devices” open up an entire new opportunity for cyber criminals to hack into baby monitors, home security systems, and your smart refrigerator. How will companies protect your data and your privacy once everything is collecting data about the world around you and sending it to “the cloud?”
SEE ALSO: The 2 Hows Of IoT Security
That doesn’t sound too sexy. But it’s a really important concept to keep in mind when talking about connecting devices. The LoRa Alliance will be getting together at CES to discuss standardizing wide area, low power networks. These types of networks, like cellular, can cover a long range but for a fraction of the cost. Streaming voice and video still needs to happen over cellular networks, whereas wide area, low power networks only need to handle simple communication from sensors and controllers out in the field. For example, a water meter can’t easily use a cellular modem to send data every hour, but a wide area low power network can provide a new way for these devices to easily communicate.
So that’s what we’re looking forward to hearing about at CES. Are you heading out to CES? What’re you looking forward to? You can check out some of the IoT sessions here if you’re wondering where we’ll be, or see which IoT products will be shown off here. See you in Vegas!