Sunday, November 7, 2010

Our Networked World - - The Cow


Over the next week I will be addressing several important advances as we start the process of hooking up the virtual world with the physical world. A world of senors and networks that combine for an interconnected world of smart systems. Look around your house and daily life - - we hare created a world where we are in a position to collect a huge amount of data. It can be collected and analysed and acted upon. This process - - from collection to analysis to action - - provides civilization and individuals with the opportunity to be more efficient with resources and constraints. It allows us to be smarter while making smarter decisions.

From aircraft engines to home appliances to automobiles to public infrastructure - - connecting machines with people makes for "smart engines", "smart appliances", "smart automobiles", and "smart cities." Look at the future of our cites - - some 350 million people are expected to move into cities in China alone by 2025. Smart electric meters and variable pricing will be key to monitoring and reducing peak demands. Imagine a world of sensors and data in the smart cities of the future. In the U.S. - - making our electric grid 5% "smarter" would save the equivalent of the greenhouse-gas emissions of 53 million cars. Smart systems will have a huge disruptive influence on companies stuck in the past while creating opportunities for those that embrace a more sustainable world of doing more with less.

And the cow? A Dutch start-up called Sparked has developed a system that keeps track of a cow's health. A sensor attached to the ear of the animal reads it's vital signs and transmits a mass of data wirelessly to a computer, which crunches the numbers and sends a message to the farmer if, for instance, the cow is about to give birth.

If we can successfully make the cow-farmer system smarter and more interconnected with the ability to make smarter and more efficient decisions - - look to the building-building manager system also becoming much smarter in the years to come.

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