Top 5 barriers to IoT adoption — Tesla Model S crosses the US in Autopilot – How the IoT can help emergency responders

Top 5 barriers to IoT adoption — Tesla Model S crosses the US in Autopilot – How the IoT can help emergency responders

BI Intelligence

TOP BARRIERS TO ADOPTION OF THE IoT: The Internet Society, which advocates for public policy and standards that help develop the internet, released a white paper last week detailing the top five barriers to the adoption of the IoT.

• The most significant obstacle to adoption is security, and the paper points out that security vulnerabilities that leave consumers open to attacks will wear down consumers’ trust in the IoT and the internet over time. Studies and hacks by security researchers have demonstrated that IoT devices currently on the market including smart home devices, wearables, and connected cars are rife with vulnerabilities that make them easy targets for hackers. The paper correctly placed the blame for these vulnerabilities at the feet of device manufacturers that often cut corners in regards to security to reduce development costs and get their products to market as soon as possible.
• Privacy is another issue that can damage consumers’ trust in the IoT. Consumers will likely consider data from IoT devices — like health data from medical devices — as very personal, and will want that data to remain private between themselves and their service provider. Additionally, devices like IP cameras or voice-controlled devices could monitor consumers and their conversations without them even knowing it. Legal and regulatory frameworks need to be developed that ensure companies are transparent about what data they collect from IoT devices and how that data is shared with third parties.
• Interoperability is the ability for different devices from different manufacturers to communicate and share data with each other, and it is an imperative if individuals and organizations are to gain the full benefits of their connected devices. The white paper cited a McKinsey study from earlier this year that said that a lack of interoperability would cost trillions of dollars in the potential overall economic impact of the IoT. A number of different companies and organizations are developing different open and proprietary standards that can deliver interoperability between different IoT devices, but these standards have limited adoption right now. Until these standards are more widely tested in the real world and prove themselves technically sound and scalable, this issue will continue to plague the development of the IoT.
• Legal and regulatory barriers still exist to the adoption of the IoT. A good example of this is the lack of standardized regulations around self-driving cars that is inhibiting the development of that technology, as it is unclear who would be liable if a self-driving car were involved in a crash. Data privacy regulations also differ widely across different geographies, making it impossible in some cases to transport certain types of data outside of some jurisdictions. That could make enterprises hesitant to deploy IoT technologies in such jurisdictions if they don’t have the infrastructure in place to locally store and analyze data from their IoT devices.
• The IoT has uniquely urgent applications in the developing world, but economic and regulatory barriers could limit IoT adoption in developing markets. For example, connected cars and connected road infrastructure could help overcrowded cities reduce traffic congestion and air pollution, and smart grids could help cut down on power outages. However, many of these developing economies lack the resources needed to invest in IoT technologies to gain these benefits. Additionally, many developing countries need to improve their internet infrastructure before they can connect billions of new IoT devices.

BI Intelligence agrees that these barriers represent the chief obstacles to the development of the IoT. However, we expect that the enormous economic potential of the IoT will push governments, enterprises, and consumers to deploy billions of connected over the next five years despite these obstacles.

THREE DRIVERS CROSS THE UNITED STATES IN A TESLA ON AUTOPILOT: A trio of drivers set a record for the fastest cross-country trip in an electric vehicle on Wednesday. They drove a Tesla Model S from Los Angeles to New York in 57 hours and 48 minutes, and they drove 96% of the trip in Autopilot, according to WIRED.

The drivers said that they used the Autopilot mode at speeds around 90 miles per hour, which almost led to a couple of accidents. There were a few instances where the car almost spun out and went off the road taking highway bends at such high speeds.

One of the drivers admitted that they set the car’s speed too high, making it difficult for the Autopilot to compensate during turns. However, the drivers also pointed out that the car shouldn’t be allowed to go so high over the speed limit on Autopilot either. The Autopilot software can adjust speed to follow other vehicles at a safe distance, but apparently doesn’t prevent the car from pushing well past speed limits.

Tesla’s Autopilot software beeps at the driver if the driver doesn’t touch the steering wheel every few seconds, and drivers can quickly take back control of the vehicle by turning the steering wheel slightly with both hands. Tesla has also told its customers that they need to keep their hands on the wheel while the car is in Autopilot in an effort to avoid any liability if a Tesla vehicle crashes while in Autopilot mode.

Regulations are still hazy around liability and self-driving cars, with different states setting their own regulations. If an accident occurs, Tesla could still be on the hook, and could have to recall its cars equipped with Autopilot, one legal expert told WIRED. This liability issue is the reason that many automakers that are also working on self-driving cars haven’t released their self-driving technology yet.

HOW EMERGENCY RESPONDERS CAN USE THE IoT: Gemalto announced a new cloud-based platform this week that collects data from IoT devices like sensors and IP cameras to generate insights for law enforcement and emergency responders. Through a mobile app, the platform can provide first responders with alerts about the location and timing of an incident, and continuously update them with more data as they rush to respond.
The platform was developed in cooperation with Intrado, which provides technology solutions for emergency responders, Prodapt, an IT services company, and Commnet, a networking provider that helps connect the sensors and devices back to Gemalto’s platform.

The solution is already being used in parks, where sensor data can provide real-time information on weather conditions and visitors’ location within the park. Visitors can report emergencies to park rangers through SMS texts, and IP cameras can be used to find visitors who are in an emergency or detect trespassers in the park. If someone gets lost or loses their child, geo-fencing technology can be used to help locate them. Additionally, the platform can send real-time updates to visitors about developing emergencies such as a wildfire or approaching storm.

The companies involved will look for more emergency response use cases beyond parks, and as cities begin to connect their infrastructure with sensors and IP cameras, it’s easy to imagine this type of system finding favor with emergency responders in smart cities.