It's Time to Arthur C. Clarke the IoT and Make the Tech Magical

The IoT, like any rapidly evolving industry, is the natural home of the engineer, the geek, the techie and the early adopter. In other words: folks who like their tech raw and bleeding edge. Well, it’s time for a change. It’s time to make it just work.

Several developers out there, across several of the IoT verticals, have reached the same conclusion and started releasing products that take the technological gadgets that power the IoT and introduce user-friendliness and simple controls, without sacrificing the underlying power. This is the kind of thing we’ll be teaching you how to do and take advantage of at the IoT Evolution Expo Developer’s Conference, coming up in January. Check it out, and check out these developers that are doing it right, right now. 

CommScope
The first step in adoption has to be discovery. Right now, finding any IoT-enabled service takes a team of well-trained bloodhounds or regular readership of IoT Evolution (ahem). That’s not even to mention determining if the service found is a quality, safe, effective and efficient one. Now, CommScope has introduced its Redwood Application Marketplace and Developer Program, designed to help software providers deliver space utilization, workforce productivity and energy efficiency apps for office building managers to put into effect – easily.

The App Marketplace offers Redwood customers a collection of building applications loaded with Redwood sensor data and supported by the Redwood platform. This partnership will give users access to actual, measured usage data from a network of Redwood sensors within a building so they get actual answers to common questions like: Are there enough conference rooms? What is the right ratio of workers to unassigned desk spaces? Is furniture being used in the most efficient way?

The Redwood platform automatically feeds building occupancy sensor data into compatible building management systems or cloud-based tools. This enables end-users to find available desks and conference rooms in real time while providing real estate leaders with insights into space utilization and optimal space design.  Integrated building systems can also provide the capability to automatically shut off energy-consuming assets, such as lights and HVAC, when not needed.

TempoIQ
As I wrote last week, TempoIQ is rocking the user-friendly scene with its no-code-required application development platform. The “IQ” suite of products makes it super easy for asset owners and operators to quickly build custom apps, real-time dashboards and data visualizations. And what’s more, once the tools are built, TempoIQ is also making the analytics a plug and play dream for users. Nice.

“Our conversations are about insights, not the development process, not the gearing behind it,” said Steve Subar, CEO, TempoIQ. “The whole point is to get from the fire hose of data: Do we have anything going on right now?”

Just making it work. Nice.

Bluetooth SIG
Bluetooth is widely applauded as the way of the future for very short-range M2M applications, despite its potential security risks, because the ease of use, ubiquity and multi-faceted abilities make it a tempting platform for building. That said, it can be tough for a novice to get started in development. To fix that problem, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has released a free tool designed to speed development and make it easier for folks to get their hands dirty. It’s called the Bluetooth Developer Studio (BDS).

The software-based development kit is designed to help aspiring developers learn Bluetooth technology quickly and bring products to market faster than ever. The idea is to let developers jumpstart their projects by focusing on building the product or app rather than trying to learn the nuances of the technology. BDS includes a drag-and-drop user interface, sample code, virtual and physical device testing and built-in tutorials for faster deployment.

“The Bluetooth Developer Studio arms developers with an all-in-one, cost-efficient, and easy-to-use tool to turn their ideas into reality. With it, they can create products and applications that make our lives easier, better, smarter,” said Steve Hegenderfer, director, developer programs, Bluetooth SIG. “With Bluetooth Developer Studio, not only will we see more smart gadgets enter the market, we will see quality products that ‘just work,’ delivering the IoT experience consumers actually want.”

Easy, fast and good beast hard, slow and good every time.   

Yonomi
In Connected Home, like wearables and connected cars, the consumers are the target audience and they need the tech to be easy and reliable, or they will bail so fast you’ll think you sold a controlling share of Apple the day before Steve Jobs came back. To help, Yonomi offers its free mobile app designed to make connecting the consumer home as easy as crushing candy. The real power of the app is that it takes the hub out of the connected home equation by making the mobile device act as that piece of the communications fabric.

“Yonomi is a first-of-its-kind app to enhance and coordinate your connected devices without the need for an expensive controller hub,” said Kent Dickson, co-founder and CEO of Yonomi in a statement. “We’ve always wanted to focus on the connected devices and automated routines that can most impact people’s lives.”

It is compatible with dozens of smart devices, including Sonos speakers, Nest thermostats, Nest Protect smoke detectors, Jawbone UP line of products, Philips Hue lights and Belkin Wemo switches, light switches and motion sensors, the Mimo Baby Monitor, Switchmate lighting device and the Notion multisensor. And that’s just for starters.

 “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” Clarke famously said. I think it’s time we get sufficiently advanced, don’t you?