Ready to learn Internet of Things? Browse courses like Internet of Things (IoT) Training developed by industry thought leaders and Experfy in Harvard Innovation Lab.
IoY brings relevance to the data that has been collected by IoT, wearable technologies and semantic web technologies in very meaningful ways to every individual at a very personal level
When we think of Internet of Things (IoT), the first thing that comes to our mind is wearables. These sensor-based devices allow us to collect environmental and mobile data, such as location and temperature, as well as new form of biometric data such as heart rate or steps. We can combine these data to make completely new experiences that are more personal to us.
Of late, IoT as a technology has seen quite a few changes, and Internet of You (IoY) could be the latest. With IoY, you will no longer have to stop, think, and decide to take your phone out of your pocket, find and launch the app you want, then take action. Instead, our data and services will come to us when we need them and in the context in which we are currently in.
e27 talked to Sai Prasanth, Co-founder of India-based Conzumex, an IoY startup to know more about this technology.
Edited excerpts:
What is IoY? How is it related to/different from IoT?
IOT is a way to give computers/devices the power to connect data seamlessly by themselves.
However, IoY is a term coined (unknown who coined it first) to bring relevance to the data that has been collected by the IoT, wearable technologies and semantic web technologies, in very meaningful ways to every individual at a very personal level. It combines the ability of understanding the context of who, when, where, what etc. of an individual and provides services to the users proactively.
‘Internet of Things’ is relevant to the users only when it is centred around them, which combined with semantic web technology transforms into IoY. Internet being centred around the user means that there are smart devices that work on our behalf, adapting to our needs, conforming to our personal desires and intents. One key to this is wearable technology that forms a perfect context engine.
At the moment there are 1,000 different apps which have this kind of data and this is very fragmented. Users don’t want 1,000 different apps. Instead, they want one platform that works for them. This is exactly what IoY platform provides.
What are the different applications of IoY?
Internet of You has immense applications. It is a new way of consumer interaction with the internet.
For example, imagine all the things in our smart homes actually knew what we wanted them to do without us having to tell them. Imagine you had a meeting at 9 AM and your watch knows when you have got up and perhaps offers to order a coffee in Starbucks nearby to your meeting location as you wouldn’t have time for breakfast or your car knew if you were agitated or falling asleep, and perhaps wouldn’t even start if you’d had too much to drink.
What if your car music player could play content suited to your mood? Or your personal trainer could see how you slept, moved and ate all day and nudge you when you need it?
This is truly personalised computing. It is technology tailored to you, with your own data driving the experience.
Who are the key players in the IoY segment, globally? Are any major tech companies working on this?
All major tech companies like Apple, Google, Amazon, and Intel are trying to build this technology with users realising it completely. Google is trying to build applications over Android Wear to do things similarly. Amazon is trying to personalise Amazon Echo by connecting it to multiple devices (though they haven’t yet started personalising the tech for the users).
What are the current trends in the IoY industry? Where does India stand vis-a-vis global markets?
At the moment, the trends are mainly in personal health.
For example, Apple health book is a big IoY application. It has all the data collected from multiple apps of the users and they will be able to provide deeper insights in the future with that data. For example, predicting a Heart Attack etc.
Similarly, Nest is an application of IoY, where a thermostat understands the users’ context and works for them.
Indian companies are currently not so focused on such kind of consumer internet products. A few software startups flourishing in semantic web category like Zomato and Ola. However, they are not in the IoY space.
What are going to be the future applications of IoY?
There can be many more applications like personalisation of physical products we wear. Shoes can be custom-designed to every individual based on the activity data, running technique, age, size etc. and cater completely personalised experience. This is possible only with the IoY technology.
Similarly, many other customised products are possible. At Conzumex, we have developed a technology on the same pattern and is in the pipeline as one of our future applications.
Do you want to share with our readers anything else related to this tech?
Internet of You is the way forward to make our lives more efficient. “Internet of You” will coexist with the users and help us in all different ways to improve our overall wellness. For the technology to work, there has to be devices which are very efficient in terms of battery life, are user friendly, less complicated to use etc. High-level machine learning and deep learning algorithms have to be built at the backend level and intelligence has to be provided at the interface level to the users. This way it will appeal to all the tech and non-tech users of the technology.
Photo by Carl Heyerdahl on Unsplash
