The arrival of a IoT revolution
History of human evolution has shown that human beings have been continuously exploring and expanding their living areas and have also been continuously finding ways to increase productivity. Human beings have made it possible to differentiate themselves from animals by discovering the use of "fire". Further human beings also learnt to control the flow of "water" making it possible to effectively utilize land for habitation and cultivation. Thereafter by discovering the use of "Metal", human beings learned to increased productivity on a scale that was not possible earlier. More recently in the last century, human beings learned to make use of "computers", "Internet" and "wireless communication" creating the possibility of real-time and low-cost information and communication exchange. Today human beings have now been able to start communication not only between people to people but also between people and things & things and things, This will now bring about a new realm of possibilities and this change or movement is also known as IoT (Internet of Things). IoT has revolutionized the Internet and it is expected to improve productivity to a degree comparable to that of the past industrial revolution. Improvement in productivity from IoT is due to the real-time information exchange that can happen between any two connected devices with absolutely no physical constraints of contact, time or distance. This information exchange in turn can generate AI (Artificial Intelligence) which coupled with human intelligence will very soon lead to the next industrial revolution or transformation of humongous proportions.
Automated Driving - The future of automobiles
Due to the massive worldwide popularization of smartphones over the past decade, the prices of key smartphone components such as CPUs, communication modules, GPS modules, sensors, etc. have become inexpensive. Since, these components constitute the key elements of IoT, the spread of IoT has gained momentum and the function of configuring IoT on all 'things' has been started. The automobile industry is one such segment that has seen the biggest influence of IoT, setting an example on the usage of IoT to other industries. Many automobiles already have a communication functions installed, however now, Internet connectivity through wireless communication will become a reality in almost all cars. Automated operation of automobiles has started becoming a reality as information exchange in real-time along with real-time processing of information has now become possible. In the past, automobiles played a huge role in the advancement of the industrial revolution by enabling the movement of human beings from one place to another. However human control over this movement was always necessary, but henceforth we will be able to achieve the goal of movement without human control. In addition, since human beings do not need to use their own control time for their movement, it becomes possible to create a time surplus in productivity even while on the move.
Intelligent transportation becoming an integral component of 'Smart Cities'
While all things are converting to IoT, urban functions provided by administrative agencies such as electricity, gas, water, road transport, and public transportation are also moving to IoT, so as to provide the most optimal service based on the information received from 'things' and exchanged with 'things'. This exchange of information leading to smarter functioning of things is the basis of all 'Smart Cities'. In particular, road traffic such as cars and motorcycles, public transportation such as buses, trains, and subways, can now achieve optimal combinations and become completely multimodal by functioning in conjunction with one another and with road infrastructure. This information will constitute a key input into making Automatic driving a reality in addition to moving in a safe and secure manner that will optimize traffic movement leading to traffic de-congestion in a city. This change will no enable people to switch from transportation mediums that are expensive to mediums that are the most optimal, saving both time and cost of travel.
Rich content & next generation innovation
As we have seen above, with the progress of the IoT revolution, human beings will be able increase productivity and have more time at their hands. This will result in more time for communication between people leading to the possibility of creating rich content as well as having more time in consuming this content leading to the realization of a balanced life. For example, cars will also become interactive allowing users to consume more rich content in their areas of interest. At Zero-Sum, we will enable the business of such IoT services that will help human beings become more productive and help them to lead more fulfilling lives.