"Once our possessions can both sense and respond, and are directed for the most part by computers, the world becomes something like a living creature.”
In a recent piece in Quartz, Christopher Mims makes a strong case that the internet of things will not only become more pivotal than ever before, but it will soon overshadow the web itself. Mims doesn’t believe the web will disappear altogether, but rather that “its role will be reduced to that of a language for displaying content on screens, which are likely to be more ubiquitous but less necessary.”
Here are a handful of trends that Mims predicts will contribute to the internet of things’ expansion, including one that is close to our heart: anticipatory computing.
- "Invisible buttons:" The term, coined by Amber Base of Esri, acknowledges a space that becomes activated when a person interacts within it. Objects and spaces that are contextually aware “quickly become a means to program our physical world.”
- Anticipatory computing: Anticipatory computing happens when contextual software makes meaning out of things like “invisible buttons” and serves up the things you need before you have to ask for them. MindMeld and Google Now are examples of this kind of predictive technology.
- Wearables & Sensor Fusion: When sensors are embedded into our clothing, it means that there is more data available to power contextually aware software. Anticipatory computing works when all of that personalized data is brought together, in a process called sensor fusion.
The article is a thought-provoking read in its entirety. Check it out here along with the entire Internet of Things series.
(Source: Quartz / Image via Philips)
