Almost every physical object can be connected to the internet.
We are racing forward to an era of hyper-connectivity. Objects now have the ability to communicate with each other, all using DATA!
The Internet of Things is happening now!
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a term that has been thrown around for a few years now, but many of us may still not fully understand what it means.
The IoT refers to a network of physical objects or “things” that have the capabilities to both collect and exchange any amount of data. They do this through a variety of software, electronics, sensors, and network connectivity.
So many devices that we own are connected to this “Internet of Things”, and we are using this network of data everyday to make our lives easier. This includes everything from cell phones, coffee makers, washing machines, headphones, wearable devices and almost anything else you can think of. If it has an on and off switch, then chances are good that it is connected to the IoT.
Now that more and more objects are connected to the IoT, those objects can all communicate to optimize day-to-day practices, create new opportunities, and save us money!
This is a great video looking at 7 bind-blowing facts of the Internet of Things.
“In 2008, there were already more objects connected to the internet than people.”
“The ATM was one of the first objects of the Internet of Things, dating back to 1974.”
“This year we will have 4.9 Billion connected things.”
“By 2020, we will have 6.1 Billion smartphone users.”
“The global market for wearable devices has grown 223% in 2015.”
“By 2020, a quarter of a billion vehicles will be connected to the internet.”
“All of these devices collect and transmit data, contributing to our Big Data world!”
With today being “Future Day” due to October 21, 2015 being “the future” in the movie Back To The Future directed by Robert Zemeckis, it has got me thinking about Big Data and the future.
Without Big Data would we have achieved many of the predictions of the future made in the Back To The Future movie?
Where will Big Data take us by 2030?
With Big Data infiltrating most industries these days, we can bet that it will greatly effect the way we live by 2030. Healthcare is being revolutionized with better patient records, communication between hospitals and the CDC to control the spreading of epidemics, and even the race to cure cancer s being aided by big data. Transportation is evolving with better taxi apps and the beginning of self driving cars. Our own homes are even being upgraded by big data, with an improving real estate system and the ongoing progress in the idea of a “connected home”.
These are just a few of the different areas Big Data is making an impact, so what does this mean for our future?
What will daily life be like?
Are our jobs going to be taken over by computers?
My predictions for 2030 are as follows,
Doctors will have access to thousands of patient records with the touch of their finger. There will be a digital library that can analyze symptoms and present multiple similar cases, the steps taken and the percentage of positive outcome. This will decrease the amount of tests needed to diagnose symptoms and ultimately save the patient a lot of money and the doctor a lot of time.
Houses will be equipped with smart devices that communicate with one another to save energy and control routine actions such as turning a light on or off automatically. Houses will be able to tell when the owner is about to be home and automatically kick on the heat or air, turn on the lights, unlock the doors and who knows they may even make you cup of coffee!
Transportation will be drastically improved with self driving cars and more efficient taxi services such as Uber. Uber will be able to track a frequent customer’s debit transactions to know when they close out a tab close to closing time in a bar. This will allow the Uber driver to be outside of the bar and ready for when the customer stumbles out.
Shopping will be more than likely completely different. With the way large stores track consumer habits I wouldn’t be surprised if the stores could communicate with our smart homes to determine which foods or household products we are low on and automatically deliver them to our front door by most likely a drone.
Does this mean we are going to start losing our jobs to automated technology? Yes and no. Sure some jobs will be taken over by computers because it makes the most sense, it is most efficient. That doesn’t mean everyone is going to be out of work. All of these technologies and programs must be monitored and serviced. I think in the next fifteen years we are going to see a major shift in our educational departments towards more technological training. We will need to have more people who are proficient in the new technologies to keep up with any of them. There will be a lot of jobs created to both monitor and service these technological advances.
Will any of this happen by 2030? Will it happen at all?
Who knows, but humans have never ceased to amaze me with their ability to create new and exciting things.
Let us know what you think, where will our world be in 2030?
There is data that can be found in every industry and profession out there- from healthcare to professional sports. If the legal profession is meant to be involved in all of these as well, one question comes to the front of my mind: how can big data help the legal profession?
Let’s start of by stating that there is so much data being collected around the world, and depending on how it is stored, catalogued and indexed, it can take a person days or weeks to sort through. Thankfully in today’s world, however, we have the luxury of programs and computers- computers that can go through this data instantly. Having these programs and applications accessible to us can instantly bring down the cost of analyzing the data, provided you get it into the right format.
Let’s take an example of a case involving product liability. There is a product that is defective. Where does big data come in?
Well now you have all of the records from the creation of that product: the memos, the mockups, and drawings. You have everything that had to do with the end product. You may even have the reviews and testimonials- good or bad. What would have taken months to go through by hand may now take an hour with some computer application. This is because the computer is going to search for certain words, and if the attorney picks the right words and the data is set up in the right format, the attorney now has everything they need at their fingertips. And all in a matter of minutes!
One may think it would be enough as an attorney to go out there and say ‘this product is defective and here are 500,000 complaints about it.’ The reality is that you can actually go one step further with the tools that are now given to us. The attorney can go back into all of the 500,000 complaints and determine what the common component is- and maybe that common component is user error. Then the tables suddenly turn and it is not the product- it is the user!
Big data can now help lead attorneys to answers that they may have never gotten a chance to come to with time and money constraints. Whatever side may be benefitting, information is power and big data is providing just that!
Everyone wants to save money. I have never heard someone say they would like to pay more for something. What is one great way to save money? Lowering your energy bill of course. Everyone has got one- wouldn’t it be nice to have a lower energy bill and use your extra money on things you actually want to pay for? Better yet, wouldn’t it be awesome to save money on your energy bill AND help save the planet?! You would feel like a great person- a great person with a little extra dough in your pocket.
We all like to think that we are doing all we can to help conserve energy and save the planet, but there is a lot of wasted energy we do not see. Through the use of Big Data analytics, energy companies can receive information on the amount of energy each household is using and send the consumer a usage report. This report can highlight wasted energy and inform the consumer of better ways to conserve their energy. By informing the consumer of their wasted energy, they will be able to adapt their habits to reduce their energy use and also save some money on their bill.
Another way to reduce unnecessary energy use in the household is to install a thermostat that is connected to the internet such as the Nest. Nest is a “smart” thermostat that learns the habits of the household and adjusts the temperature to ensure optimal efficiency. For example, a family may like their house to be sixty-five degrees in the summer while they are home, but when everyone leaves for work and school for the day, does the air conditioning need to keep the house at sixty-five degrees? No, unless you think your couch will get too warm without it. This is where Nest would turn off the air conditioning for the day, saving energy and money, and then return the house to your preferred temperature shortly before you return home.
These big data devices like Nest are a great way to ensure you are conserving energy without having to do the work yourself. I’m sure it also does a great deal to lower your bills as well, only using energy sucking devices when they are most needed. America has a long ways to go and much to change before being recognized as an energy efficient country, but these are some simple changes the energy companies and average families can do to help the cause!
Ecova is buying Retroficiency. Ecova specializes in software and services to help large companies save energy or to help utilities launch programs that will help their customers reduce energy.
Calling All Building Owners – Crunching Big Data Can Save Energy
Researchers tell us that, in the United States, 20 to 30 per cent of a building’s annual energy bill is wasted.
Building operators walk a thin line. Operating a building requires that a perfect balance be struck between heating, cooling and ventilation. It also requires repair and maintenance of all the equipment and systems that allow that delicate equilibrium to exist.
Duke Energy says new sensors and ‘big data’ save millions in plant repairs.
And it allows Duke to use data analytics for everything from scheduling routine maintenance — learning how to read actual wear and tear on equipment instead of relying on rough operational hour estimates for needed work — to anticipating problems rather than reacting to them.
Using Cheaper Batteries for the Power Grid and Buildings
Utilities can use batteries to make the grid more stable, and to avoid building new expensive and dirty power plants that they only operate during times of peak power demand.
Building owners are also interested in buying batteries so that they can run buildings off of battery power when electricity rates from the power grid are high. Building owners can lower their monthly energy bills by switching onto battery power periodically.
Use Big Data to make information transparent.There is still a significant amount of information that is not yet captured in digital form
As organizations create and store more transactional data in digital form,they collect more accurate and detailed performance information on everything.
Have you been noticing how the internet seems to know you? It is almost like you two are friends, knowing each others likes and dislikes. I guess it is kind of a one sided relationship, as the internet probably knows much more about you than you know about it. But that is a much more creepy analogy so let’s stick with the friends one.
Friends help each other out and always suggest products or places to each other, sharing information that would benefit one another. This is sort of what happens with the internet. The internet keeps track of what you buy or look at so it knows what products or interests to advertise to you.
Personally I find this saves me a lot of time. I have recently been planning a wedding and Amazon became my best friend. We would get together everyday. Amazon would listen to what I wanted to buy and then recommend other products I was completely forgetting about that went perfectly with the theme of my wedding. Amazon made it very quick and easy recommending the best products and even remembering my information so I didn’t have to find my credit card number for every purchase!
The reason Amazon is such a good friend is because ofBig Data, they collect my data like a dear friend listening to my needs and save it to better know me. I hate to say this but I’m not Amazon’s only friend, they have a lot of friends they do the exact same thing with! Thanks to Big Data, my relationship with Amazon has been an effortless joy.
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