Imagine a situation. After a long day at work, where you needed to deal with a not much pleasant boss and even more irritating clients you are coming back to your home. You are opening the door, taking off your shoes and coat, and going to the fridge to feed your cat. He welcomes you with a loud “meow” clearly stating, that he didn’t have a much pleasant day either. After giving him a few spoons of dog feed (it’s much cheaper than the one designated for cats!) all you can think about is taking a nap. You are entering your bedroom, taking off your clothes and hopping under the warm blanket. You feel that your eyelids becoming heavier and heavier…
Suddenly!
A hurricane of thoughts come up to your mind, destroying your blissful moment. Did I remember to close the entry door behind me? And the fridge, did I remember to close it as well? And those blinds… Why didn’t I think about closing them BEFORE laying up in bed? You can’t get rid of that thoughts, so after just a few minutes of beating with them, you are throwing the blanket away, getting up and starting a round-check of all of these things that you forget to take a closer look into before. Your cat is accompanying you with a great disappointment written all on his face: he just got a clear confirmation, that he is the most clever person in the whole household.
What could you do to avoid it?
A network of connected devices called a smart home would be a perfect solution here. If you would have a special mobile app connected with your entrance doors, fridge and blinds, you could take care of all of these things remotely, still laying in your warm bed. How is that even possible? Thanks to the Internet of Things technology, which smart homes devices are just one of the many, many possible applications. Kevin Ashton, a famous British technology pioneer who co-founded the Auto-ID Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology even claims, that
The Internet of Things has the potential to change the world, just as the Internet did. Maybe even more so.
Feeling thrilled to know more about this fascinating technology? Great! It happens to be, that we have collected a pretty sweet compilation of Youtube channels covering that topic in a very informative yet pleasant way. Check them all out now to make sure that when it comes to the newest technology trends you won’t EVER be left behind!
#1 Kevin Wallace
If you never heard about the Internet of Things before, you should start with some basis presented in an accessible way by this well-known Cisco technology expert Kevin Wallace. He has a true gift of explaining even the most complicated technical issues in the way that after all, they will seem like a piece of cake to you. He uses real-life examples to boost your imagination and feel like he is not talking about the distance future – but about something that is happening here and now. In this particular video Kevin is explaining how you can use the Internet of Things in cars, what are these technology other applications examples and how does the whole thing exactly works.
#2. Shots of Awe
Thanks to Kevin we now know what are the examples of the Internet of Things technologies and how do they work. But what exact kind of impact can this technology have on the whole human race? Jason Silva from the Shots of Awe channel claims that it’s not possible to overestimate it. In his fascinating, beautifully shot video he explains that Internet of Things won’t stop at “things” – it will become the Internet of Everything, and someday, maybe even our bodies will have chips making us possible to communicate with other objects and people. “Black Mirror” tv series fan much? If you are, you know exactly what he is talking about. Let’s just hope that if this will happen, it will end up much better than in the TV show…
#3. Kevin The Tech Ninja
Hungry for some really cool Internet of Things devices? Kevin Nether will satisfy your need with his divided in parts videos about smart home essentials. Smart homes remain the most popular example of the Internet of Things usage nowadays, giving their users an opportunity to control ALL of their smart devices remotely from their phones. And Kevin has got a pretty sweet kit of that kind of devices, which have different functionalities and purposes. But they have one thing in common – they all have a truly beautiful design. So if you were scared, that smart devices look like ugly, industrial boxes – you don’t need to worry about it anymore. When you will see the Nest Thermostat in Kevin’s video you will believe me, that they usually look very nice and tasteful.
#4. DailyTekk
If you are new to the Internet of Thing technology, probably there is one question popping up in your head from the beginning of this article. Is having a smart home safe for me? Cannot hackers or anyone familiar with coding break into my house and steal my things? Being honest – you are right, it’s possible. So what can you do to avoid it? There are certain devices built to raise the level of security of your smart home. One of them, presented in this Daily Tekkvideo is Cujo – a device, with a nice, friendly design which aim is to make your smart home network much more secure. If you want to know, if it’s worth buying one for yourself you should definitely see the video! Plus the device really looks extra cute, so you have to see it.
#5. MS Tech
Enough about smart homes. After all the Internet of Things is not only about turning your lights off without leaving out your bed. Another fascinating implication of this technology is connected cars which the most advanced version are autonomous vehicles. In this video, Matt Schaefer from MS Tech takes us on a spin in a Tesla S autonomous vehicle. Those kinds of cars are truly larded with electricity and devices, and they all need to communicate with each other efficiently to make sure, that the driver is completely safe. Wanna see how it feels like to drive a car like this? Check the video as soon maybe they will dominate our roads.
#6. EEVblog
Did you know that you can make your own Internet of Things device in 5 minutes in your own basement? At least that was the challenge that Dave from EEVblog YouTube channel decided to uptake. He got the parts from BOLT IoT and he needed to put them together (and programme them!) to make a fully functional IoT device. Interested did he succeed? Check the video and find out!
#7. Chris Pirillo
Ok to remain the balance, we need some IoT skepticism as well. Chris Pirillo explains in his video, why the Internet of Things is one of the 3 technologies he is not excited to see or use. He raises the problem of neglected security and too much haste connected with releasing those kinds of devices to the market. Watch the video and decide for yourself whether his arguments speak to you.
Internet of Things new implications appear almost every day. It’s nothing surprising as nowadays, with just a small bit of a technology you can connect with each other almost anything. Smart homes, autonomous vehicles, wearables – they are all working on the same rule of communicating with each other and in most cases – also with your smartphone, where a dedicated app will be able to present to you data collected by those devices in an understandable way. When you deeply think about it, Kevin Ashton’s words sounds really reasonable. The Internet of Things devices CAN revolutionize our world as much as the Internet did. And it’s truly fascinating that we can experience that with our own eyes.
Now as you find out what Internet of Things is really about, you should definitely check other technology phenomenons going on right now, like blockchain technology and its applications in mobile apps.
