I was invited to attend the Digital Policy Alliance Internet of Things scoping meeting at the Houses of Parliament last month and put my hand up to try to help write up some part of a possible report to MPs about the Internet of Things. Here are some loose notes I wrote down on 2 strands (business & funding/dissemination) of what was a very rich discussion with some extremely senior people in technology. (This might seem a little simplified for most tech-savvy professionals but this is meant for politicians mostly.)
How is the Internet of Things good for UK business?
Historically, the UK have been leaders in the roll out of innovative methodologies to industry. Regardless of the press, there are a lot of centres of manufacturing expertise, along with a strong high tech sector that came with blue chip manufacturing and a competitive telecommunications industry. The Internet of Things embodies an active collaboration between these sectors. As the potential for traditional products and infrastructures to be embedded with connectivity is explored, the UK has a unique opportunity to be the frontrunners of this development. When a smart product (let’s pick an internet-connected clock) is developed, the product can be made with UK plastics manufacturers in Wales, the chip designed around Cambridge, prototype circuit boards made there, a cloud service designed by developers in East London and a GSM service provided by a telco’s M2M (Machine to Machine) service.
Why would we need an internet-connected alarm clock? Well The Internet of Things hints at a new wave of consumer products currently best found in the Apple store or on crowd-funding platforms but will probably soon be available in larger retailers under the descriptor of “Connected Home” (Argos has a page in their catalogue with that heading already). It will start with wifi-connected TVs and sound systems and swiftly move on to connected scales, fitness arm bands, washing machines and more.
At an industrial scale, buildings will be monitored and controlled more efficiently instead of on pre-set programs. Lights could be switched off as people leave a building, decreasing energy expenses. Supermarket goods could be re-ordered automatically as a shelf empties and a sensor is exposed instead of manually taking stock. Industrial farming could be done more effeciently as humidity sensors in the ground show the farmer where the ground is in more need of watering and watering could be targeted, decreasing his water bills. As we walk the streets, our footsteps could generate electricity, or smart meters could tell us when we could be selling energy back to the grid and help us map this online and share it.
The Data implications
Connectivity in everyday objects will lead to the development of mobile apps that connect to those products and help us use them better, maintain them better, troubleshoot, or gather data and visualise it. We will see data being gathered by small sensors (sound, air quality, movement…) and we will see data being pushed to small actuators (microphones, motors…) Data will influence our daily life and we will produce data with our daily gestures.
The Internet of Things will therefore affect the understanding of where data is coming from for future versions of the Communications Data Bill as data can be produced, gathered or broadcast by objects, buildings or any physical infrastructure. Data concerns will extend beyond that of a device (laptop, tablet, mobile phone) to become a more ubiquitous activity which will call for more public education to be produced to explain the consequences of this. As we find that large corporates are responsible for most of the public education around privacy, perhaps there is the need to return to a Ministry of Information-like campaign to educate the public about these new uses of data. Anonymity of data, data ownership, openess of systems will become heavily debated subjects as the user experiences extends into the streets of cities and not just in homes or offices. The meaning of “things” will have to be well defined to prevent misuse or confusion and the differentiation between the owners of the data, the gatherers of the data and the producers of the data will need to be fleshed out as their rights and responsibilities will be defined.
Funding the Internet of Things
Invention and innovation will come about from a mix of SMEs and large corporations collaborating & working together. Right now big (often American) businesses like IBM,Cisco,Intel, and GE have been putting a lot of their efforts in owning most of the PR conversation around the internet of things, but UK companies like ARM, Neul and more importantly, SMEs have to be actively championed, showcased and exhibited. This means connecting the creative industries, high tech and telecommunications providers as well as larger players and the defense sector is key to fostering innovation. The Technology Strategy Board’s demonstrator programs have had a positive effect on increasing the visibility of the internet-of-things but like EU-funded projects do very little to support the commercialisation and the opportunity for an idea to subject itself to market forces which is the next big step. With a high street in crisis , there is a great opportunity for the UK to showcase the most innovative connected products considering it is the host of the most startups around this area at the moment.
Although talent is available from the creative industries, the technology sector & financial services, access to capital for SMEs around the development of internet of things products for the consumer market specifically is difficult and pushing companies to relocate to the US’s Silicon Valley or sell their IP to large, often European or Asian consumer goods manufacturers. These are missed opportunities for the UK which has the largest number of startups in this area in Europe (see this map I’ve put together) and the only incubator program for internet-of-things startups (based between London & Cambridge). Funding these consumer-facing SMEs through government-supported venture schemes would be a great way of keeping those ideas and talent locally and championing an environment of collaboration & innovation that is unique in Europe.