Choosing a home automation network standard can be a hassle. It’s too bad there isn’t a ubiquitous network standard to use in plug-and-play modules. Oh wait: what about Wi-Fi? Belkin’s new WeMo products use Wi-Fi, which may help move home automation from geeks to the mainstream. Read more »
By 2020 it is estimated that 20–50 billion devices will be connected to the Internet. Many of these devices will be collecting health data or will be connected to health and medical devices in the home, the hospital or the wider environment. The Internet of things (IoT), meanwhile, refers to the growth of sensors and things that connect to the Internet via RFID, Bluetooth, ZigBee and satellite. In health care, its growth is likely to open new disruptive business opportunities for services that add value to the data collected. This paper provides a preliminary overview of the landscape of opportunities and drivers in the current health and health care environments and highlights some of the challenges that remain. Companies mentioned in this report include IBM, Arrayent Health, Kaiser Permanente and Ford. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The broadband-enabled smart energy home finally started to make some initial headway as the new year ushered in 2011, and if the news trickling out from the massive wireless conference Mobile World Congress this week, is any indicator, this trend will only continue throughout the year. Read more »
Did the proprietary wireless technology Z-Wave just do a leap frog move into the smart energy home over a more standards-based approach like ZigBee? Verizon confirmed with me late last week that its inaugural smart home energy pilot will initially be based around Z-Wave. Read more »
Could proprietary Z-Wave be gaining ground on standards-based ZigBee in the home energy networking space? Here are a couple of recent developments that indicate Z-Wave could have a role to ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Could proprietary Z-Wave be gaining ground on standards-based ZigBee in the home energy networking space? Here are a couple of recent developments that indicate Z-Wave could have a role to play. Read more »
The “Internet of Things” (IoT) will likely be one of the most important technological advances of this century. The emergence of Cloud computing, meanwhile, has created the application and device management backbone needed to scale to and support billions of connected objects. Consumer, governmental and business trends are also pushing us toward the IoT. And despite inhibitors to growth, such as privacy issues and creating sustainable business models, we will see increasing benefits in our personal and community lives as the IoT takes hold. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Last month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas featured a flood of new connected devices catering to needs as diverse as entertainment, personal security, home energy efficiency and biometric monitoring. Each of these devices is intended to improve its owner’s quality of life — but it’s ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Smart energy has become a household term, but smart energy technology still has a long road ahead before it actually reaches most U.S. households. However, the residential market is ripe with opportunities (and challenges) for both established and new technology innovators to revolutionize the ways in which we use energy. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
