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WE’RE HEARING A lot about the Internet of Things (IoT) these days and it can be difficult to understand what it is, how it positively impacts our lives and where the opportunities and benefits lie. Far from being something complex or intangible, the Internet of Things is actually something that many of us are already well-engaged with.
The Internet of Things can be described as the intersection between the ‘virtual’ (internet) world and our physical world, via ‘things’ or devices. These connected devices are enriching our daily lives, in everything from entertainment and home, to energy, transport, healthcare and diet.
The most obvious IoT device is a smartphone, which allows users to check the weather, see what time the bus is coming, translate words to other languages and bank online. Smart TVs are also connected devices, allowing viewers to watch TV online and switch between screens. Other common connected devices include games consoles that allow us to connect to the internet and watch Netflix, for example or GPS systems that not only show us where to drive, but provide real-time traffic reports and weather updates.
Delivering real benefits
The Internet of Things is already delivering real benefits in almost every area. Remote sensors and monitoring devices are being developed that can help us with our fitness, health, energy management, diet and travel. They could help medics to remotely monitor intravenous drug delivery and test for diseases through ‘smart’ tattoos on the skin and help car manufacturers to create sensors that monitor and report on air quality within the car.
They can also help policy-makers and, in this regard, Dublin is leading the way. For example, with the help of Intel, Dublin’s streets, parks and buildings will soon be seamlessly linked with high-tech sensors capable of gathering information such as air quality, noise levels and microclimate data. The project will initially focus mainly on environmental data, but the smart network is designed to implement a range of other applications in the future, from citizen feedback to guiding tourists. The pilot project will use Intel Quark technology developed in Ireland, which allows for low power usage. The City Council hopes the futuristic network will attract interest from investors and startup companies looking to innovate in the city.
Business potential
Dublin City University is similarly working with Intel in the IoT space, with some exciting announcements planned in the coming weeks. There is a huge opportunity in IOT for Ireland. Not just for citizens and the research sector, but also for small businesses and start-up entrepreneurs. Gartner, the leading technology research institute, predicts that in the next six years, 30 billion mobile phones, tablets, computers, wearable technology devices and other types of connected device will be in use. This compares with six years ago, when there were only 2.5 billion connected devices in use, and they consisted mainly of mobile phones, tablets and PCs.
With this growth comes significant business potential, particularly for small and medium enterprises. It’s predicted that between now and 2020, half of the business opportunities within the Internet of Things will be attributed to startup businesses.
How do start-ups capitalise on this opportunity in the current business environment? We’ve already seen that with crowdfunding campaigns for example, getting started in IoT is becoming much more accessible. In Dublin, there are many digital incubators and accelerators like the National Digital Research Centre, Wayra and Dogpatch Labs, as well as significant work underway at our universities.
For example, in my own institution, Dublin City University, we will welcome ‘TechShop Dublin’ which will open in 2015. TechShop is a membership-based, DIY workshop and fabrication studio providing access to a community of creative people and more than $1 million worth of high quality machines, tools and software for prototyping and development of connected devices. Having such a workshop in Dublin will be a fantastic boost for our IoT capabilities. One IoT device to emerge from Techshop has been the ‘Square’ card reader which has revolutionised digital payments.
Creating prototypes of new connected devices over 56 hours
DCU is also partnering with PCH, the company founded and led by Irishman Liam Casey that designs custom manufacturing solutions for startups and Fortune 500 companies, on supporting IoT startups in in Ireland. PCH is an excellent example of a company leading the charge in this area. Through its Highway1 incubator and PCH Access programme, successful Irish startups like Drop, an iPad connected baking device and LumaFit, the world’s first wearable fitness tracker for body and mind, have been born.
This weekend with PCH, Web Summit and the National College of Art and Design, the Innovation Campus in DCU will host Ireland’s first Design and Hardware Hackathon. This event will see engineers, makers, creatives and designers come up with ideas for, and design and create prototypes of, new connected hardware devices over 56 hours.
At a similar event in September, it was hugely encouraging to see innovative IoT devices move from idea to physical functioning prototype all over one weekend when PCH and DCU sponsored the first Hardware Hackathon in Ireland. Prototypes included: a smart connected pharmacy fridge which automatically monitors use-by dates for refrigerated medicines; a smart home delivery box that alerts you via SMS when your package has been delivered to your home; a smart water quality device; a sensor to monitor when livestock stray and smart sensors for fire safety.
It’s an exciting time for the Internet of Things in Ireland, for our tech sector and particularly for startups. We have the ideas, the talent and the support of the academic and business communities, to fully capitalise on the opportunities that exist. I look forward to seeing the results.
Professor Brian MacCraith, President of Dublin City University.
The Design and Hardware Hackathon takes place at DCU Innovation Campus in Glasnevin this weekend 1-3 November. Tickets cost €40 and are available at www.hwhackathon.com. Free, open public workshops take place at 1:30pm on Saturday and will feature a screening Maker: The Movie.
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So it is accepted he killed her but the question is “did he mean to”!
@mike its not acceptable that he killed her but there is a huge difference between killing someone willfully and internationally ie. Premeditated and accidentally killing someone. Dont you think?
@ my politics …. If they catch the killer of the Garda who was killed recently and he says he did not mean to kill him its ok if he gets bail despite all the evidence stacked up against him ? I don’t think so . In my opinion this man is being treated differently because he is a ‘sports star ‘ and ‘white ‘ !!!!!!
@mary im not sure if you are intentionally being ignorant or not. The guy who killed the garda was in the middle of committing a crime and put the gun to the gardas head and shot. Waking up to noises in the middle of the night and shooting in the dark to protect your home and occupants is different. Thats why this trial will be so interesting.
Mypolitics1, how do ya kill someone internationally?
That’s exactly what mike said he killed her but now the question is was there intent to kill her.
Yes it was intensional
I wonder if Pistorius was black, from a poor ghetto area, would he have been bailed never mind remanded to a police station for a week?
Bail is a right. The court has to grant it unless;
1. There is a risk of flight
2. There is a risk that witnesses will be interfered with
3. There is a risk of serious offences being committed by the accused while on bail
Surely they were asleep in the same bed? If you hear a noise in the middle of the night the first thing you do is look to see if your partner is there. How do you wake up, strap your legs on, get your gun and not notice that the person you were sleeping with has left the bed? Sounds a bit suspect to me.
Yes, and that’s why he’s been charged with murder
There is no evidence he put his prosthetics on before shooting. The prosecution even admitted during the bail hearing that the trajectory of the bullets is consistent with his version of events. The forensics will provide actual evidence as opposed to theories. Either way we’ll know more free June. For now getting bail is the correct ruling as he poses no threat of disappearing and he is innocent until they can prove he is guilty of premeditated murder …
Here we go… O.J. all over again..
What are you on about? There hasn’t even been a trail yet.
Ok
… or even a trial!
Disgrace!
Innocent until proven guilty, remember that its very important!
Looks like the South African legal system is just as much messed up as ours!!!!
In fact , John, it seems to be more modern. Compared to our more cumbersome system it seems far more modern and fair that an accused person can get the bail issue sorted out so fast in the summary court on a return for trial hearing. There is little justifiable reason for hold a person for months without bail under close conditions. Flight risk or the risk of re-offending would be two reasons. If a person is innocent until found guilty, then why should they be licked up [subject to reason , as I mention] ?
We could learn from this.
He only got bail because he is another famous person. If that was an ordinary Joe Soap They would be refused bail. I hope he spends time in Jail for what he done.
How much time is the question
He’s not even had a court case and you are not even aware of all the facts,
This is going to be a difficult trial. Both sides to the story could have happened.
When you wake during the night and need the toilet. Do you lock the toilet door?
I think she was locking herself in…..
It’s a good point Scott but I’ve often found myself locking the bathroom door when I’m the only one in the house out of sheer force of habit.
He was never ever a flight risk, for a number of reasons:
- He’s far too well known to be able to simply hide
- They can take his passport
- He has to take his legs off going through airport security in fairness!
Just google “South Africa’s violence towards Women”. Accident My arse. what an absolute joke system they have in RSA, even the Judge is milking the media attention, Do they realise that he Shot someone four times.
What an ignorant view! South Africa hates women so of course he murdered her, your name sounds German so you must be a frugal man with no sense of humour and a superiority complex! Some people really don’t deserve to have opinions
… ah lads
That’s a joke sure every murderer can say they accidentally killed them? Influence has a major role, if he was an ordinary Joe Soap would they get bail? Doubt it.
Alan Tormey , most murderers do not say it was an accident. Most say they did not do any killing at all.
Pistorious does not deny the killing.
Yeah but If he mistook her for a burglar and shot 4 times he went to kill the person regardless if it was a burglar or his girlfriend! End of the day a killer got granted bail
He says that he mistook her for an intruder, shot through the door and then knocked door open with the cricket bat…
who gets up in the middle of the night for a wee and locks the en suite door?
I do, not intentionally, force of habit
I do and I live on me own….
I’m relieved that he got Bail. Now for the long road ahead.. He has a lot to answer for and there will be consequences for his actions and in the end.. Justice will prevail. A lot of comments on here from people who have NO idea what it’s like to live in a crime riddled country. Start educating yourselves instead of walking around with blinkers on all day.
It’s true Debi, we have no idea what is like, but I’m Italian and I have a very clear idea unfortunately of how a woman gets killed in Italy every 2 or 3 days by their husbands/boyfriends/lovers/someone they trusted like family. More than 100 women killed last year only.
Sorry, I would like to believe he’s innocent and he definitely deserves a fair trial, but I heard and read this type of story too many times before and very rarely it ended up to be an accident…
Probably not a flight risk
But may do a runner.
All this oh he lived in South Africa he needed to have a gun is bullshit,I lived in a country that makes south Africa’s crime rate look like Norway,I’m not judging him but being from a middle-upper class African family I know what being a victim of armed robbery is like in Africa and pistorious version of events is very dodgy here is why
1. Highly secured African houses always have alarms tall fences barbed wires and that’s outside,there is usually a steel gate in the main entrance of the house,looking at pistorious house it fitted that description surely it would have been hard for a burglar to breach all that security
2. The first thing a burglar does is switch off your light so pistorious argument of not turning the light on doesnt make sense surely it’s make more sense to have the lights on if you want to alert the neighbours it’s easier for someone to rob you in the dark with a torch
3. Based on personal experience the one thing you would do if you hear someone coming up your stairs is lil yourself in the room and ring for help not going out to meet danger especially if you are vulnerable like pistorious he is never going to win a battle with able bodied burglars with guns is he so if he felt vulnerable why not lock himself up and call for help
4. Im sure there are 24 hrs security in his estate as it usually is in Africa with high profile celebrities and I’m sure he has access to inter communication with private security I have read about the are he live in!
Any person out there that was planning or trying to murder their spouse can copy this now and just say he/she thought it was an intruder.
I know the trial is to come but I’ve been following it closely so far and it seems like he will be acquitted come the trial.
If so, yet another “celeb” to get away with cold blooded murder. He’s not the first and certainly won’t be the last.
He will be able to command whatever fee he wants to star in films after this as his acting skills so far have been incredible! Watch out for him in the best newcomer category on Sunday night at the Oscars.
Such ignorant uninformed rubbish!!!!!!!!!!
There’s no best newcomer category at the Oscars.
Is joke .because his rich nd white so simple .money .money
@mypolitics1 think you meant intentionally!
@paddy indeed I did. This predictive text on the galaxy s3 sucks.
So you’re blaming the phone and not yourself. . Hmmm interesting.
Why did he have a gun at home in the first place? People usually buy property alarms / CCTV for warning of intruders. Nope Pistorius keeps a big ole firearm! Who knows when you might need to use it.
Shooting someone three times though the bathroom door is hardly considered self defense. Even if it turned out to be a burglar and not his girlfriend, it is still murder. Trying to defend yourself and your property from attack is one thing but surely blasting a firearm through your bathroom door claiming you thought there was a burglar in your bathroom is just mad! Shocked with the outcome.
Why do American’s have guns at home when they can also have alarms etc?
Because they can, the laws allow it.
Rebecca, due to the high crime levels in SA it’s normal to have firearms in ones home, nothing odd there at all!
Sorry Rebecca but you have obviously never lived in SA. I left 8 years ago. Both my husband and I carried weapons and had no choice but to have them in the house. I can fully understand the need to have one and a policy of shoot or be shot.
Exactly Carmen. Hierdie mense verstaan dit nie.
Ich schon :-)
What my nephew refers to and what Ms. Rathbone-Rentzke means is that we here will never understand the situation below in Pretoria whereby it is necessary to fire guns through closed doors on the off chance there is one of them fellows inside. Oh I don’t know. As the gentleman in The Commitments said, the Irish are the blacks of Europe.
You sir are an idiot
Love the way everyone is suddenly a South African bail law expert … I was listening to sky and judge came to his conclusion after looking at flight risk , interference with state witness danger to public , connection to SA etc all pointed to bail subject to conditions
Bail is a normal part of criminal law and courts will be prone to grant bail rather that not based on the presumption of innovence and it is only that this is a public case and that there is a perception that he’s getting off when most non celebs would get it too!
Shouldn’t comments be disabled as this is still pending trial?
The poor man obviously thought there was a coloured gentleman with a machete in the toilet. If I broke into a very rich person’s home however, I would not be found rummaging in the jakes.
@mypolitics1 no worries, I’m just bored
Most of Rich guys gets away with murder, he is about to do the same
How about this scenario. They argue, he gets mad. She runs and locks herself in the bathroom because she’s afraid of him. He tries to open the door, fails, gets his gun and fires four shots at the lock but misses and hits her. Murder or manslaughter?
Definitely murder
Dit is inderdaad ‘n eventuele. Isteach sa leaba liom mar sin.
Living up to his name a great actor.
What I dont get is why he is being charged with Premeditated Murder rather than Murder or Manslaughter. If it is proved that he did not plan to murder, does he go free ?
You mean that the gun kinda went off while he was meditating on what to do next. Yes, I suppose there is that.
Oh yes it looks like he will go free,are u surprised. Coz I’m not. Typical
Judge should’ve took he legs off him as part of his bail so he couldn’t do a runner!!!
Wahey!!!!
No?
Anywhere money talks
Yeah Barbara don’t get they pre meditated thing at all…unless ‘they’ know more than we do?
Is no-one wondering what happened to this paragraph?
“The defence team also pointed to Pistorius’s fame and disability as reasons he would not flee the country if granted bail. He”
You left me hanging, Sinéad! Please re-read before you post!
Said the service advisor clown at sky!
Oh.
have your say