标签: internet

The world of IoT fascinates me for its potential to impact everyday life by extracting the immense power hidden within data and inference based actions. IoT infrastructure is a complex dynamic network of diverse intelligent devices, leading to interoperability and privacy issues. Data could be very privy and the implications of misuse so high that this disincentivizes users. The scale of deployment and diversity of devices, data types and infrastructure demands a strong standard for effective deployment and economics. As a solution architect, I would like to discuss the security risks and maturity of existing standards and possible solutions for a meaningful IoT solution. IoT solutions comprise of data collection, analysis and inference based actions. The value IoT brings is through the scale of solution, something like economies of scale in a business sense. A set of sensors monitoring human lives might help in reducing health care costs through early warning, or a set of sensors inside vehicles can help reduce traffic jams and create an efficient transport system, thereby reducing fuel costs. Two concerns that stand out among others for IoT implementation are data security and inter-operability. Who among the entrenched solution provides contributes how much to provide the required data security? Is it the silicon vendor, network infrastructure provider, or data aggregator and analyzer? How much between hardware and software? Does the cost of security displace the value of IoT? These questions are only partially answered today. Silicon vendors provide security solutions like AES encryption, dedicated security controllers, secure boot, turnkey authentication solutions etc. Network infrastructure providers provide security solutions like reputation analysis, malware protection, and cyber security across network, endpoints, web and email. Additional security solutions include secure booting, access control, device authentication, firewall and deep packet inspection, secure updates and patches. Research anticipates that there will be 212 billion connected devices by 2020. Whatever the numbers, this scale requires strong standards and process for a meaningful implementation without cacophony. Some of the questions that need to be addressed are how deep should the standard go? Should the inter-operability be at the physical layer or upper layers? There are multiple consortia backing different standards and technologies. AllSeen Alliance backed by Microsoft, Qualcomm and Panasonic provides a secure, programmable software and services framework for applications with connectivity over WiFi, WiFi-Direct, Ethernet, Powerline, Bluetooth LE, 6LoWPAN, ZigBee, and Z-Wave for platforms like Android, iOS, Linux, OpenWRT, Windows, and OS X. It also backs the AllJoyn open source alliance. OIC lead by Intel, Broadcom, Dell and Samsung drives standards for interoperability across all IoT devices. OIC releases open source frameworks like IoTivity and reference implementations. Thread driven by Google's Nest, Samsung, ARM, Silicon Labs and Freescale is driving towards a standard for smart homes based on 6LoWPAN. Apple's HomeKit is driving a "Made for iPhone" standard based on Zigbee or Z-Wave. In addition to these, there are consortiums like IIC, IETF, ETSI, IEEE and ITU that are contributing to standardize IoT. Proprietary visions of IoT from Apple, Google, Cisco etc. also does not help. We need to find the right mix of security and standards for a feasible and fool proof IoT implementation. We should discuss this in the context of deploying IoT solutions for real life problems like irrigation and traffic congestion from an Indian context where value for money is important. Finally, it looks like a mix of open source standards and industry standard technologies will enable a stable solution. IoT brings a lot of hope, but has the technology matured to deliver a solution and make money for the entrenched while bringing value to the user? Why do silicon vendors seem to be backing out? This is what we need to explore.   Can we answer these questions? 1.) A gauge of complexity of IoT implementation and possible solutions. 2.) How much is a silicon vendor geared to the task? 3.) How much can a solution provider bet on the existing technologies? 4.) IoT implementation from an Indian perspective.  5.) Does IoT make true sense? Article by: Avinash Babu, Senior Project Manager, PES-HW, Mistral Solutions Original Post: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/challenges-mass-adoption-iot-security-avinash-jois?trk=prof-post    

Sensors form the edge of the electronics ecosystem, in which the physical world interacts with computers, thereby providing a rich array of data to be available at a click of a mouse. We have had sensors, actuators and RFID tags around for a couple of decades now which has made our lives easier to a great extent. From identification and tracking of objects while managing inventory to even the miniscule sensors present in our cell phones, gaming consoles and automobiles, Sensors have become quite ubiquitous. With the “Internet of Things” era being ushered in, the potential of sensors have grown multi-fold. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the networked interconnection of objects through identifiers such as sensors, RFID tags and IP addresses. The Internet of Things aims to interconnect all things around us and ensure intelligence. There are several reasons why the IoT has become the flavor of the day; Internet Protocol Version 6 extended the number of unique Internet addresses making it possible for trillions of objects to connect to the net. This along with the ascent of cloud computing and the depreciating cost of sensors, have contributed to making the world a much connected and smaller place to live in. Some of the standard sensors include movement (via accelerometer), sound, light, electric potential (via potentiometer), temperature, moisture, location (via GPS), heart rate, GSR (galvanic skin response/ conductivity) and more. These sensors are included in a variety of devices and solutions. The trend is moving towards multi-sensor platforms that incorporate several sensing elements. Here is a look at how sensors are relevant in our day-to-day life: Sensor and Medical Electronics: Advanced development in sensors has enabled the design of miniature, cost effective smart medical devices. Medical professionals today require real-time, reliable and accurate diagnostic results which are provided by devices that are available either at hospitals or with patients at home being monitored remotely. There are developers constantly working towards incorporating sensors into the lives of patients which can capture both beneficial and detrimental health factors. Imagine physiological data being collected without your realization. Sensors embedded in the floor mat can measure your weight and gait; an arm patch can detect heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar, while sensors in your toothbrush can detect cavities that would require attention or early signs of ulcer. Though these examples seem surreal, there are several of these sensor embedded devices already available in the market. The medical sensors in wearable devices are being used to build applications which can detect panic or medical emergency and which will notify friends, family or emergency services for help. Approved in 2011, digestible sensor is another interesting development in healthcare. A digestible sensor is a sensor (similar to a pill) that transmits information about a patient to medical professionals to help them customize the care to the individual. Digestible sensors will monitor your bodily systems and wirelessly transmit what’s happening in your body to another device like your smartphone or computer for your own review or the review of your doctor. With the advent of IoT, health records are getting networked and vital information can be made available to patients and his/her practitioner at any point of time and location. The various sensors that find application in healthcare include pressure, temperature, chemical flow, level, position and image and biosensors.   Sensors and Home Automation: Smart buildings or homes are now the order of the day for those looking at convenience, security and a green environment. Networked homes automatically dim or turn off lights when people leave and adjust energy use based on physical presence. Such networked homes depend on a network of sensors to determine people’s usage of resources along with environmental factors like temperature, humidity and the time of the day. One of the most popular use of sensor technologies is the motion detector. These sensors can sense when there are people entering or leaving the room. The benefits are two-fold – to switch lights on and off when entering or leaving a room or to trigger a burglar alarm when the house is empty. Light sensors or photosensors as they are commonly called monitors ambient light levels and reports them back to the automation controller. These are used in conjunction with motion sensors to switch lights on automatically when someone enters a room. They can be also used to ensure few lights only operate after dark. Temperature sensors are usually embedded into a thermostat unit or radiator actuator valve, but there are sensors that can be easily embedded into walls as well. Combined with a humidity sensor, these sensors can be used to automatically control air conditioners or de-humidifiers or even to control windows (automatically open or shut).   Sensors and Industrial Automation Sensors play a very important role in the Industrial automation segment by making products or systems highly intelligent and automatic. This allows one to detect, analyze, measure and process various changes occurring in the system. These sensors also play an important role in predicting and preventing future events. The type of sensors used in Industrial automation include proximity sensor, vision sensors, ultrasonic sensors, position sensors, photoelectric sensors, temperature sensors, inclination sensors etc. At the heart of industrial automation is a new generation of advanced intelligent sensors and motor drives which are connected through low-latency and real time networks to high performance performance programmable logic controllers (PLC) and Human-Machine Interface (HMI) systems. In order to be beneficial, sensors must be fast and reliable to be able to monitor or measure conditions in a fast paced industrial environment. The network should then be able to communicate this information with minimum latency and interruptions to ensure response in real time.   Sensors and Wearable Electronics: A few years ago, it was difficult to integrate sensors with wearables because of the size of the sensors. With the advent of miniaturized, high-quality sensors, wearables can now be easily deployed for gathering physiological and movement data (gesture and voice recognition). Most wearables use multiple sensors that are typically integrated into sensor networks. In the case of body-worn sensors for medical purposes, data can be gathered and uploaded to a remote site such as a hospital server. Sensors in wearables allow continuous physiological monitoring with reduced manual intervention and at a low cost. The explosion in Internet-connected sensors means that new classes of technical capability and application are being created. Seeing how sensors have progressed in the last decade, it is exciting to think of the new sensing capabilities that will become widely available in the future. Authored by: Sachidananda Karanth, Lead Architect, Mistral Solutions

I am not inclined to dispatch the butler to fetch my angry trousers, but I do feel moved to say something. More and more these days, I am noticing people wishing their lives away and/or moaning about "how hard things are" (and not in a good way).   I know it's easy to dwell in the past ("We'll never see days like that again"). I also know it's easy to long for the future ("Just a few more days, and it will be the weekend.") The problem with both of these scenarios is that we end up missing out on the moment.   If all we do is long for days gone past or things to come, we neglect the good things going on all around us. When you come to think about it, for the vast majority of human existence on this planet, our species has lived in horrendous conditions and painfully eked out a pitiful existence. To this day, a tremendous number of people around the globe live in abject poverty, and many of them live in fear of their lives.   When my mother was a young girl, her family didn't have air conditioning, central heating, or hot running water. All they had was a single cold water supply to the tiny kitchen, along with an outside toilet at the far end of the yard. Any hot water was heated on the coal-fired stove in the kitchen. They took a bath only once a week. This involved bringing the tin bath up from the cellar and slowly filling it pan by pan with hot water. My mom's grandfather would have the first bath, followed by her mom and dad, followed by my mom and her sister and brother... all in the same water.   They lit the house using candles and gas lights. They didn't have electricity installed until 1941. I'm sure the delight of getting electricity was offset by the fact that my grandfather, who was in the Royal Navy, was busy being sunk on a series of ships (he was not considered a good luck charm), and bombs were falling whenever the Germans had a spare moment. As a major steel producer, our hometown of Sheffield was a prime target.   Today we have the most amazing medical facilities and capabilities. Our homes are heated and cooled. We have hot and cold running water, and we can take a shower or have a bath multiple times a day if we so desire. We have high-definition color televisions in almost every room of the house (living in the hope that one day there will be something worth watching), and we have access to cheap and plentiful food beyond the wildest dreams of our ancestors.   Once again, I know that an uncountable number of people still live in the direst of circumstances. When I paint my rosy picture, I'm talking about the people I know in America, Australia, Europe, and many other places around the world -- the sort of people who have access to the Internet and the time to read this blog.   Many of us are truly living in the golden age of humankind. The vast majority of our ancestors -- and the vast majority of people living in the world today -- would say we're enjoying the lives of emperors and empresses.   Life is very short. We diminish it by wishing our hours away and belittling our lot. We should all begin each and every day by reflecting on our blessings. I, for example, have my extraordinary good looks, incredible sense of fashion, extreme intelligence, and cutting wit, to name but a few. (You, for example, have my columns to enjoy.) After that, we should seize each moment and enjoy it to the fullest, remembering that these moments are finite in number, and that others are not as fortunate as we are.   Wake up and smell the bagels. {Pontification mode = OFF}      

When I'm driving back and forth between my home and my office, I usually tune in to the National Public Radio (NPR) . One of the topics that's been bouncing around for the last few months is that of "net neutrality" (or lack thereof).   The idea behind net neutrality is that everyone's data on the Internet should be treated equally. Specifically, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and governments should not discriminate or charge differently based on things like the user, content, site, platform, application, type of attached equipment, and modes of communication.   There are, of course, both proponents and opponents to this concept. The problem is that every time I hear someone talk about it, what they say seems to make sense. For example, a speaker the other day made the point that if someone's vital signs are being monitored remotely in a life or death situation, then you really wouldn't mind if they paid more in order to get guaranteed quality of service (QoS), even if that slightly impacted your online movie viewing pleasure.   The end result is that I no longer have a clue which side I'm on. My head hurts. All of which brings me to the fact that someone called Vi Hart is pretty definite as to which side she's on. I just saw an amazingly clever video presentation that explains net neutrality -- and a whole lot more -- in terms that even I can understand.       According to her website , "Vi" usually rhymes with "Hi," but the non-English pronunciation is often like "Vee," and she will also answer to "Six" and "Not-Emacs."   One thing I can safely say is that Vi has certainly given me a lot to think about. I see that she also has some other topics and videos on her website. I can feel myself being drawn to the one titled Happy Pi Day? NOPE as we speak.   In the meantime, what's your take on net neutrality? Should people and companies be allowed to pay more to get a better QoS? Should they be forced to pay more? Should ISPs be allowed to charge different customers differently in general? How about giving their partners' companies preferential service and/or rates over those partners' competitor companies?

In my opinion, a disruptive technology is the bearer of tremendous opportunity and equally a harbinger of obsolescence. Technology's impact on society and business is substantial, if not underestimated. The most profound technological changes are those that weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it. Although product cycle times are accelerating, the underlying technologies unfold over many years. Within each trend there are multiple enabling technologies, all at various stages of maturity and adoption. Promising to be the most disruptive technology since the World Wide Web, the Internet of Things (IoT) is predicted to result in up to 100 billion Internet-connected objects by 2020. Relying on embedded computing and sensors, and driven by smartphone and tablet adoption, IoT in 2013 will witness an explosion of new uses by consumers and enterprises alike. "IoT," a concept that originally sounded like something out of sci-fi movie is, in fact, a reality, and one that is bound to become even more widespread. I believe that the Internet of Things, or the ability for consumer devices and appliances to communicate with one another via Web access and a complex system of embedded sensors, will "enable a wide range of new applications and services while raising many new challenges." Among these up-and-coming possibilities is the ability for smartphones to communicate via NFC and Wi-Fi to a range of devices, including wristwatches, healthcare sensors and home entertainment systems. The public is captivated by the vision of being able to control everything in their homes and offices, from temperature, lighting and security to using devices to brew cups of coffee, program entertainment, check health records, and conduct a myriad of other tasks. Enterprises are also beginning to embrace IoT for tracking physical assets, managing customer relationships, and creating efficiencies in business operations and supply chains. Yet many technological hurdles must be passed before this vision becomes a reality. New types of sensors, new ways of connecting devices, and new strategies for embedded computing must be rolled out to bring IoT's vision to the forefront. Formerly known as machine-to-machine communication, IoT until recently has been the province of large companies, such as Microsoft and Cisco, seeking to stake their claims to the technology. However, with IoT perhaps the most talked about technology trend for 2013, the year ahead should see an explosion of start-ups, applications and research projects aimed at leveraging IoT's vast potential to change human lives. Enterprises are still in the early stages of implementing IoT solutions. A recent Forrester Research survey noted that 15 per cent of surveyed companies currently have an IoT solution in place. However, 53 per cent of companies surveyed said they planned to implement an IoT solution in the next 24 months, indicating that there is interest in a much more-connected future. IoT will digitize all businesses. The challenge will be making sense of all the data from image recognition, embedded sensors and other information related by physical objects. By 2015, 70 per cent of companies will have one executive in charge of overseeing Internet-connected devices and objects. The payoff will be in the supply chain, control and information services. "The Internet of things has applications across multiple industries." New companies and applications will bring the long-held vision of the Internet of Things closer to reality. - Narang N. Kishor Mentor Principal Design Architect Narnix Technolabs Thirty-five years back when I chose design as my profession and further back in 1981 when I started my design and technology consultancy (Narnix Technolabs), instead of an industrial or commercial enterprise, the real driver was my passion for new technologies and design. I wanted to always stay on the forefront of technologies and a few steps ahead of the market. I have never regretted that decision and no professional or financial hardship has been able to deter me from this very exciting, though tough, career in design and technology.