This article outlines the Internet of Things and discusses advances in Physical Computing. Author: Mark Butt    

The Internet will turn 44 this year, with the anniversary of the first email message from UCLA to Stanford. The Internet’s first evolutionary leap came in the form of the World Wide Web with the first commercial browser in 1994. This year, advances in physical computing give an indication of how the Internet is about to radically change our lives, again.

Physical computing means bringing interactive connectivity and logic systems to the common objects around you. Imagine the convergence of robotics, engineering, the web, and common household appliances. Physical computing involves tactile interactions, home automations, and interactive installations.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is here.

The Internet of Things is a term that arose from a presentation by Kevin Ashton in 1999. He was discussing how radio frequency identification (RFID) chips, which have processors for decision-making and communication transmitters, can be embedded into almost anything. Any object in your environment now has the ability to interact with each other and transmit data. Combined with near infinite information processing capacity provided by a wireless Internet signal, every object can have access to all the information we can imagine.

Near infinite information processing may sound like hyperbole, but it is made possible by the distributed computing capacity made possible by web servers. There have been thousands of projects like SETI@home, where individuals connected to the Internet allowed access to their personal computer’s processor. This creates a massively parallel meta-processor to crunch seemingly impossible math problems. In the case of SETI, over 200,000 processors worked simultaneously to scan radio signals from space, searching for signals from extra-terrestrial life.

In recent years, there have been several prototypes of self-driving cars that use road sensors with satellite data to avoid crashes and maintain free traffic flow. M2M (machine to machine communication) will form the backbone of the Internet of Things. For example, your car will radio your kitchen to alert you what to buy on the way home and your lights and heat settings will spring to life as you pull into the driveway. Don’t worry about forgetting your keys because the front door identifies you by the pattern of blood vessels under your face from 6 feet away.

According to Cisco Systems, there will be 25 billion devices connected to the Internet by 2015 and desktop computers will be the minority. If we include near field communication (like Bluetooth and contactless payment systems) and private networks, there will be over a trillion connected devices within two years.

Kansas City, USA, home to outlaws and desperadoes of the Wild West just over 100 years ago, is now on the frontier of the Smart Planet movement. At the end of last year Google went live with experimental free Wi-Fi in Kansas City that runs up to a blinding speed of 1 Gbps. That’s about 1000 times faster than the average smartphone download rates. The test has been so successful that they are rolling-out free Wi-Fi to New York City later this year.

The high speed and low cost of Wi-Fi means more devices will be able to come online sooner this year. One technology that relies on this level of connectivity is the 0.18-micron CMOS image sensors from Medigus. Essentially, this is a disposable miniature camera that you can swallow as a pill and they will wire an individual internal map to your doctor. This is happening right now around the world. Don’t be freaked out, embrace it

Spring Rocket is a Melbourne based Interactive Design & Creative Technology Agency, specialising in interdisciplinary engineering & physical computing.

One of our approaches to rapid prototyping is using a 3D printer that can make a working model of just about anything that can be designed. 3D printers have recently made headlines by producing such imaginative devices as a replacement hand and a biodegradable bicycle. Now anyone can access our fabrication workshop to create small-scale digital displays, web-enabled electronic devices, or cutting edge new forms of media and tech.

The Internet of Things Initiative has collected the latest knowledge and research on the coming revolution in physical computing. In June this year, Helsinki will host Internet of Things week, showcasing advances in physical computing and interconnected devices. We can expect to see designs for a smart-city, with sensors that adjust bus and train schedules immediately based on traffic and usage, business applications for intelligent supply chains, and consumer-friendly devices that learn and adapt to user behaviour. You can expect to see the Internet of Things enter mainstream consciousness this year, and we may begin to wonder how we ever lived without it. “The Internet of Things has the potential to change the world, just as the Internet did. Maybe even more so.” Kevin Ashton. 

While there’s nothing new about augmented reality as a technology, it is definitely becoming a highly sought after request when it comes to content & application design. AR is making waves in the mobile development community as more and more programmers utilise AR as the interactive weapon of choice. For the uninitiated, augmented reality (AR) is technology that blurs the line between computing environments and the real world. Not to be confused with virtual reality where a user is fully immersed into a virtual world, AR is primarily creating an environment that emulates the real world. Imagine walking down the street with a pair of AR glasses on, and while you’re looking at landmarks in your town, links to a restaurant review on Yelp pop up, or there are suddenly characters that appear and begin interacting with you or your phone. This is essentially what AR is all about – augmenting the real world with virtual applications to enhance the real world & the user-experience.

It’s not surprising that augmented reality is being so heavily utilised in IOS  & mobile development. Mobile is clearly the hardware preference of choice when it comes to campaign planning and design for marketers and technologists. I-phone developers have hit the ground running in the IOS dev game. Why? Because Apple’s IOS-based gadgets are getting smarter by the day, transforming what was once a sluggish enterprise – augmented reality apps for IOS  – into lightning fast, “smart” application environments.

IOS Programmers are wasting no time at all jumping on the AR bandwagon. It shouldn’t surprise that the bulk of IOS-powered AR apps are of course games. As the IOS app world becomes more interactive, AR integration into iPhone gaming environments makes complete sense, but it doesn’t stop there. Business and e-Commerce app developers are making use of the AR phenomenon. Realty companies and user-generated review app developers are using AR to create a more active and engaged environment. The bottom line is that AR is opening an exciting, unchartered app market for IOS designers & developers.

Getting to the Bottom of the New Age of IOS Augmented Reality Programming.
The big question is, what exactly sparked this transformation? Well, technically speaking vibrational gyroscopes. Since Apple started putting them in the iPhone 4, a whole new world has opened up to IOS app developers everywhere. For the uninitiated, the vibrational gyroscope tells your iPhone which way is up, down, left and right. The gyroscope phenomenon coupled with a built-in GPS and a compass, and you have all the right ingredients to make powerful augmented reality apps for many creative industries and applications.

 Five Cool Augmented Reality Apps That You May Not Know About:

 1. Wikitude – The big idea behind Wikitude is fairly simple. It uses your phones gyroscope, compass and GPS to point you to relevant Wikipedia entries for nearby landmarks and locations. It makes sense why the developer refers to the app as the “world browser.” You simply open the app, hold your phone up in the air, and watch as nearby Wikipedia entries populate your screen. Naturally, the app works best in big cities with lots of famous points of interest. But you just may surprise yourself with what you don’t know about your hometown.

2.Spyglass – Spyglass is an augmented reality app built specifically for geeks. It’s essentially  a                                      compass, GPS and rangefinder all rolled up into one. The app gives you more detailed compass                    readings than anyone would ever need. You can check the exact location of the sun and moon, and      you can also  check the incline on a steep hike.

3. ZipReality – ZipRealty is quickly becoming the premieir augmented reality IOS  app for real estate. According to BusinessInsider.com, ZipReality has over a million listed homes for sale in upwards of 25 different major markets. Through the app’s homescan feature, you can get info on homes for sale in real time as you’re strolling through your favourite neighbourhood.

4. MetroAR – MetroAR is a Godsend for hipsters who rely heavily on public transportation in major cities all over the world. The app’s purpose is simple but incredibly useful. It helps you find all the nearest public transportation stops in your city.

5. Yelp –You’ve probably heard of Yelp. But it’s likely you aren’t using the app’s augmented reality features. All you have to do is open the app, tap on the “monacle” feature, and nearby restaurants and businesses will appear on virtual floating business listings with ratings and their approximate location.

What This Means for IOS Development:

As with anything to do with new technology or mobile, it comes down to proper planning/design & technical validation pre-production. But the big idea is that IOS technology is changing. iPhones are becoming smarter, and apps are expected to keep up. Since augmented reality is all the rage, it’s no secret that the iPhone app store will continue filling up quickly with apps boasting top of the line AR features throughout. One thing’s for sure, mobile developers will need to develop these capabilities in-order to stay competitive. We love AR for mobile, out of home & In-store.