ChapterUK extractEdition Ambient computing Putting the Internet of Things to work Ambient computing Ambient computing Putting the Internet of Things to work Possibilities abound from the tremendous growth of embedded sensors and connected devices – in the home, the enterprise and the world at large. Translating these possibilities into business impact requires focus – purposefully bringing smarter “things” together with analytics, security, data and integration platforms to make the disparate parts work seamlessly with each other. Ambient computing is the backdrop of sensors, devices, intelligence and agents that can put the Internet of Things to work. HE Internet of Things (IoT) is maturing the IoT, but some only vaguely understand Tfrom its awkward adolescent phase. its full potential. To realise that potential, More than 15 years ago, Kevin Ashton organisations should look beyond physical purportedly coined the term he describes as “things” and the role of sensors, machines the potential of machines and other devices and other devices as signals and actuators. to supplant humans as the primary means of Important developments, no doubt, but collecting, processing and interpreting the only part of the puzzle. Innovation comes data that make up the Internet. Even in its from bringing together the parts to do earliest days, its potential was grounded in something of value differently – seeing, business context; Ashton’s reference to the understanding and reacting to the world Internet of Things was in a presentation to a around them on their own or alongside their global consumer products company pitching human counterparts. RFID-driven supply chain transformation.1 Ambient computing is about embracing And the idea of the IoT has existed for this backdrop of sensing and potential decades in the minds of science fiction action-taking with an ecosystem of writers – from the starship Enterprise to things that can respond to what’s actually The Jetsons. happening in the business – not just static, Cut to 2015. The Internet of Things is pre-defined workflows, control scripts pulling up alongside cloud and big data and operating procedures. That requires as a rallying cry for looming, seismic IT capabilities to: shifts. Although rooted more in reality than hype, these shifts are waiting for simple, • Integrate information flow between compelling scenarios to turn potential into varying types of devices from a wide range business impact. Companies are exploring of global manufacturers with proprietary data and technologies 1 Tech Trends 2015: The fusion of business and IT • Perform analytics and management of the • Physical attributes: Monitoring the world physical objects and low-level events to surrounding the device, including altitude, detect signals and predict impact orientation, temperature, humidity, radiation, air quality, noise and vibration • Orchestrate those signals and objects to fulfill complex events or end-to-end • Functional attributes: Higher-level business processes intelligence rooted in the device’s purpose for describing business process or • Secure and monitor the entire workload attributes system of devices, connectivity and information exchange • Actuation services: Ability to remotely Ambient computing happens when trigger, change or stop physical properties this collection of capabilities is in place – or actions on the device elevating IoT beyond enabling and collecting New products often embed intelligence as information to using the fabric of devices a competitive necessity. And the revolution and signals to do something for the business, is already well underway. An estimated shifting the focus from the novelty of 11 billion sensors are currently deployed connected and intelligent objects to business on production lines and in power grids, process and model transformation. vehicles, containers, offices and homes. But many aren’t connected to a network, much What is the “what”? less the Internet.2 Putting these sensors to work is the challenge, along with deciding The focus on the “things” side of the which of the 1.5 trillion objects in the world equation is natural. Manufacturing, materials should be connected and for what purpose.3 and computer sciences continuously drive The goal should not be the Internet of better performance with smaller footprints Everything; it should be the network of some and lower costs. Advances in sensors, things, deliberately chosen and purposely computing and connectivity allow us to deployed. Opportunities abound across embed intelligence in almost everything industries and geographies – connected around us. From jet engines to thermostats, cities and communities, manufacturing, ingestible pills to blast furnaces, electricity retail, health care, insurance and oil and gas. grids to self-driving freight trucks – very few technical constraints remain to connect the balance sheets of our businesses and our Beyond the thing lives. The data and services available from Deliberate choice and purpose should any individual “thing” are also evolving, be the broader focus of ambient computing. ranging from: Analytics is a big part of the focus – turning data into signals and signals into • Internal state: Heartbeat- and ping-like insight. Take transportation as an example. broadcasts of health, potentially including Embedding sensors and controls in 24,000 diagnostics and additional status reporting locomotives, 365,000 freight cars and (for example, battery level, CPU/memory across 140,000 miles of track supporting utilisation, strength of network signal, the United States’ “Class I” railroads only up-time or software/platform version) creates the backdrop for improvement. Moving beyond embedding, companies • Location: Communication of physical such as General Electric (GE) are creating location via GPS, GSM, triangulation or predictive models and tools for trains and proximity techniques stockyards. The models and tools optimise trip velocities by accounting for weight, 2 Ambient computing From the Internet of Things to ambient computing: A concentric system The Internet of Things lives through sensors and actuators embedded in devices interacting with the world physically and functionally. Ambient computing contains this communication at the core and harnesses the environment for business processes and insights. Sensors & Temperature, location, sound, motion, light, vibration, pressure, torque, electrical current. connectivity Valves, switches, power, embedded Underlying components controls, alarms, intra-device settings. allowing intelligence From near- to far-field: RFID, and communication to NFC, ZigBee, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, WiMax, cellular, 3G, be embedded in objects. LTE, satellite. Device Smartphones, tablets, watches, glasses, dishwashers, washing machines, thermostats. ecosystem Construction machines, manufacturing New connected and and fabrication equipment, mining equipment, intelligent devices across engines, transmission systems, warehouses, smart categories making legacy homes, microgrids, mobility and transportation objects smart. systems, HVAC systems. Ambient Messaging, quality of service, reliability. Complex event processing, rules services engines, process management and automation. The building blocks of Baselining and anomaly monitoring, ambient computing and signal detection, advanced and predictive modelling. services powered by Encryption, entitlements management, sensors and devices. user authentication, nonrepudiation. Business Efficiency, cost reduction, monitoring and a tuning, risk and performance management. use cases Innovation, revenue growth, business Representative scenarios insights, decision making, customer engagement, by industry to harness product optimisation, shift from transactions the power of ambient to relationships and from goods to outcomes. computing. Inventory Worker and asset management, Personalised treatment, safety, remote trouble- Connected machinery, fleet monitoring, route remote patient care. shooting, preventative automation. optimisation. maintenance. Source: a Deloitte Development LLC, The Internet of Things Ecosystem: Unlocking the business value of connected devices, 2014, http://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/technology-media-and-telecommunications/articles/internet-of-things-iot-enterprise-value-report.html, accessed January 7, 2015. 3 Tech Trends 2015: The fusion of business and IT speed, fuel burn, terrain and other traffic. management practices that allow sharing and The gains include faster-rolling trains, pre- provide strategies for sensing and storing emptive maintenance cycles and the ability the torrent of new information coming from to expedite the staging and loading of cargo.4 the newly connected landscape. Objects can The GE example highlights the need for create terabytes of data every day that then cooperation and communication among need to be processed and staged to become a wide range of devices, vendors and the basis for decision making. Architectural players – from partners to competitors, patterns are emerging with varying from customers to adjacent parties (for philosophies: embedding intelligence at the example, telecommunication carriers and edge (on or near virtually every device), in mobile providers). The power of ambient the network, using a cloud broker, or back computing is partially driven by Metcalfe’s at the enterprise hub. One size may not fit Law, which posits that the value of a network all for a given organisation. Use cases and is the square of the number of