Remember when FitBit was the hot holiday product flying off the shelves? And though I’m embarrassed to admit this, I had never heard of “Alexa” two years ago when it was among the choices for a holiday gift raffle at a previous company.
In three short years, consumer electronics manufacturers have embraced IoT with gusto. And, we as consumers want more!
One of the biggest opportunities for consumer electronics is in the home setting – automating domestic chores. Consider this:
In the United States alone, household activities (cleaning, washing, preparing food, gardening, caring for pets, etc.) …require 230 billion labor hours per year. McKinsey estimates that devices such as self-guided vacuum cleaners and lawn mowers can cut this time by 17 percent.
IoT examples present in today’s consumer electronics are only the beginning. Going back to the household chores example, IoT will not only be valuable for offloading household chores, but it will also integrate with cognitive technologies to predict what the homeowner needs and begin scheduling their own routines.
IoT Accelerates the Digital Transformation of Consumer Electronics
Consumer electronics is estimated to become the third-largest industry segment for IoT by 2020. With increasing demand for digital assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home, consumers and businesses are quickly embracing IoT in their daily lives.
Additional examples include:
- Smart refrigerators/pantries that use weight-based sensors and re-order food items
- Amazon Dash (Wand and Button) used to inventory items in the house and programmed to order items by integrating with AmazonFresh
- Fitness trackers (Fitbit/Garmin) include GPS devices that sync with scales and training programs as well as provide data and/or suggestions to the user
- Smart homes equipped with home automation systems, mobile apps, Nest, etc. to control lights and heat/air conditioning remotely
- Security systems for the home with facial recognition to gain entry, access personal safes, televisions, or computers
- Smart offices with sensors that detect conference room and bathroom availability, printer mapping to the nearest printer or conference room based on location within an office building
IoT solutions will benefit your organization when you’re thoughtful about the purpose and role that they play. When you build integrated platforms for the full IoT life cycle – data management, analytics, and decision support – the opportunities are endless.
Learn more about The Why, What, and How of IoT: 50+ Examples Across 11 Industries. This guide reveals 5 considerations for establishing IoT solutions and outlines a strategic process for implementing IoT.
