10 technologies that will make the Internet of Things a reality

10 technologies that will make the Internet of Things a reality 

1) Smart energy management

Energy management was one of the original focuses of Internet of Things development, with smart thermostats like Google Nest (above), Hive, Tado and Honeywell offering systems that allow home owners to adjust their temperature and hot water settings from a smartphone. Some of these systems also learn the user's habits and gradually adjust their settings to fit the users' preferences.

2) Smart lighting

Smart lighting systems like Philips Hue (above) allow users to adjust the colour and brightness of the lighting in their home from a smartphone, according to their mood. Similar lighting systems from companies like LG can also be programmed to act as an alarm clock, for example, getting gradually brighter from a chosen time in the morning, or blinking when the user gets a phone call.

3) Connected appliances

Being able to control your home appliances from your office has become a big area of growth for the Internet of Things. For example, users of Electrolux's CombiSteam oven (above) can turn the oven on, adjust the temperature and humidity, and watch their food cooking from their smartphone via an interior-mounted camera. Smaller appliances like Smarter's WiFi coffee machine, let you make a cup of freshly ground coffee while you are still in bed.

4) Smart security

Mobile devices are increasingly used for identity management. The Goji Smart Lock (above) bypasses the need for keys, allowing you to gain access to your home with the simple tap of a smartphone or electronic fob, and sends you a text when the locks are activated. Meanwhile, the Bluesmart suitcase can be unlocked from your phone and automatically locks itself when its built-in proximity sensors detect it is no longer near you.

5) Self-driving cars

The Internet of Things is not just about making things smarter in your home but also in your car. Google kickstarted consumer interest in self-driving cars last year, when it began testing its driverless vehicles in Silicon Valley. Since then, Mercedes (above), Audi and BMW have all announced their own self-driving car prototypes, some of which can be controlled using smartphones and even smart watches.

6) Self-tending gardens

Out in the garden, Parrot has been making a splash with its Flower Power H2O (above), which autonomously waters your plants using exactly the right amount of water at exactly the right time and gives you personalised advice through a smartphone app. Meanwhile, a smart garden system from Edyn monitors and tracks environmental conditions, helping you make your plants thrive.

7) Wearable health and fitness monitors

Wearable devices are often thought of as separate from the Internet of Things, but the health and fitness data from these gadgets is increasingly being fed back into the wider network. For example, Jawbone's Up fitness tracker (above) monitors sleep patterns and can set the alarm on your smartphone to go off at the best time, based on your body’s natural sleep cycle.

8) Drones

Drones are also often put in a category of their own, but beyond being amusing toys, they could also form an integral part of the Internet of Things. At CES, Intel showed off the anti-collision feature of the company's AscTec Firefly drone with Intel RealSense camera (above), proving that drones could soon be capable of autonomous navigation. Amazon has already shared its ambition to use drones for deliveries; other uses include watching live video feeds from the air.

9) Smarter city infrastructure

For the Internet of Things to really become a reality, the connectivity has to go beyond the products we use and become integrated into the environment around us. From traffic lights that adjest their waiting time based on congestion levels to parking systems that help drivers find a free parking space using a smartphone app (above), cities are becoming smarter by the day.

10) Faster, more intelligent networks

Beneath all of this lies the networks on which the Internet of Things will run. Huge investment is being made in networking technologies like 5G, ZigBee, and 'white spaces' to ensure that this infrastructure will be fast enough and affordable enough to support the influx of connected devices. Only when this is in place will the Internet of Things become a reality.

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