
Ask HN: What are some intereting / innovative use cases for IoT? - hazz99
From what I&#x27;ve heard, IoT is just a general term for smart devices. I&#x27;m sure smart devices are great, but it&#x27;s being hailed as the fourth industrial revolution.<p>I can&#x27;t understand how IoT is more than just a consumer convenience. I&#x27;ve tried researching online, but everything is very vague.<p>What are some interesting, and innovative use-cases for IoT? Things cooler than my toaster remembering my preferences, or my lights turning on automatically.
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PaulHoule
It is more useful to turn the lights off automatically when leave the room to
save electricity.

In 2018 there are many Z-Wave and Zigbee devices out there that can be put
together to make an ad hoc alarm system quickly (less than 30 minutes.)

Many business and homeowners have areas they'd like to keep an eye and that
kind of stuff is useful not because it fits a generic need but because
somebody can use them as tools to satisfy specific needs.

Wider than that, using computers to control hardware has been a big thing
since the SAGE anti-aircraft control system in the 1950s. Even if the
"internet of things" in 90% bunk there are big opportunities ahead.

In the case of the car, computer integration reduced some forms of automobile
pollution by 99% and has improved safety. I rolled a 7 year old economy car
and found the onboard computer activated a pyrotechnic device that pulled my
seatbelt tight so I found myself upside down but entirely unhurt. The airbag
computer told the dealer that it wanted to be replaced but it went on to
perform flawlessly when the car was involved in another crash 7 months later.

There are all manner of places where electronics can go and work wonders even
if people aren't aware of it.

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dubyabee2
My opinion is that in commercial space there is a dramatic cost savings to be
able to control power, HAVC, and other OPEX which is easy to understand.

However for the consumer I also feel we haven't seen a killer IoT device yet,
and who knows when we will..

I do think the power of IoT is the ability to improve your quality of life or
remove repetitive tasks. Right now it's in it's infancy...someday soon that
iwatch or alexa will be very human like and instead of # of steps etc...it
will soon see your blood pressure and heart rate not that healthy...and it
will begin to suggest things to do that correct the issue..maybe never telling
you it's exercise...more simple...why do I have to set the sprinkler schedule,
the sensors know the weather..

I think there are amazing opportunities in answering your question...making
ioT more humanistic...making it almost disappear..do you think much about the
LTE version used in your mobile anymore?

Great Question..

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hazz99
Ah, I didn't even consider the commercial space! That's a good point - at
enterprise scale, there are definitely huge cost savings. Smart factories or
offices, for example.

I'm really curious about the killer app for consumer IoT. Maybe we're just not
advanced enough yet?

