Everyone has made the joke one time or another the robots would take over the world someday, but in today's day in age where every object in our home has some sort of computing power could we be nearing that fateful day we have all joked about? I mean, have you ever thought about what items in your home have computing power? You ever wondered how you are able to start your coffee machine from your phone while you're still laying in bed in the morning or how your washing machine can text you tell you your laundry is done? This phenomenon is called the "Internet of Things", or IoT for short. In the Internet of things, everything has some sort of computing device that allows it to be synced up with the world and used to make life easier for us lazy humans.
According to Gartner Inc., a technology research and advising company, the IoT is estimated to have over 26 billion devices connected to it by the year 2020. That means there will be over 3 times as many "smart" devices on the planet than there are humans. So if you ever were more worried about robots taking over the world, the time us now!
Something really cool about the IoT, however, is that although some people fear smart devices invade privacy or make us dumber, they really do provide efficient and effective solutions that can save people money. Now, a washing machine that texts you when your laundry is done isn't going to save you money, but there are solutions that allow for more accurate control of energy consumption in homes, monitoring of water quality in your home, monitoring of your health, and many other things that can provide practical use in the average person's every day life.
So although there is more and more of a chance we will see the age of robot rulers as we add more and more smart devices, the IoT provides some pretty cool stuff too and you should take advantage of the solutions that are avaliable out there.
I agree with and love the idea of items being connected via the Internet of Things. Many things are small in terms of benefits - such as a washer and dryer that can text you when they're done...but others have large benefits. The most popular that I can think of off the top of my head would be the Nest thermostat. It's expensive, but since it is also extremely efficient at what it does. You could possibly even make back the cost within in a year or two of use due to energy reduction and savings. Google just recently announced Brillo, which is an operating system for home appliances and the like which provide them with connections and the ability to integrate into iOS and Android phones and applications. I agree with the timeline that Gartner has developed - although it might take a tad longer, but not by much.
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