The Internet of Things is quite possibly the biggest advancement happening in the technological world ever known to man, and it’s happening right as we speak. It’s a revolution that society has seen coming for at least 50 years, and yet, we as a whole don’t truly understand the gravity of this development.
The
biggest advancement in the achievement of the Internet of Things has been,
according to Daniel Burrus of Wired, the rapid advancement of sensor
technology. Much of the hype surrounding the concept of the Internet of Things
has been about the ability of different technologies to interface and
communicate with one another. For example, now when your television stops
working, the television can send a message to a computer at the HQ for Vizio or
RCA (depending on what brand of television you have) and notify them that one
of their units require repair. In the meantime, that television can line up the
programs that you had on TiVo to your tablet instantly without you needing to
raise a finger, so that you won’t miss any of your favorite shows. This is all
fine and dandy, but it’s a drop in the bucket compared to where the Internet of
Things is headed.
You
see, sensors can allow inanimate objects to “see”. This way, when a traffic
accident happens in the backwoods in the middle of the night and all occupants
of both vehicles are unconscious, the mile marker sign can detect the crash
using sensor technology and can call emergency services.
Photo by Bruce S. Cridlebaugh
A bridge can now sense
when it’s becoming dangerously weak via its sensor relay and can then notify
oncoming vehicles to reroute their drivers so as to avoid the risk of a
collapse.
So the question we are left with is this: will the Internet
of Things prevent tragedies in the future?
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