Smart this and smart that! Every device and machine with us and around us is adopting a smart layer and will soon enable us to live in a completely connected ecosystem. But getting 'Smart' means more than being able to run apps and act as a platform, it means sensing the environment, communicating with other smart agents and acting in response to the above.
Many dub this development as 'Internet of Things' but trying to constrain our devices to communicate only through the internet or some form of pre-established infrastructure could be a limiting factor for this whole thing. We may be ignoring the potential in peer to peer ad-hoc communication between our devices.
'Spontaneous Ad-Hoc Networks' are much more efficient for communication in close proximity and the technology required to enable such activity is already available and mature. WLan Ad-Hoc Mode or IBSS Mode essentially allows P2P communication between devices/agents in range and can bring interesting possibilities to our digital ecosystem. Completely dynamic and completely set-up free!
Imagine cars on the highway exchanging information for a safer commute! Imagine your TV automatically muting itself or your DVR pausing the show when your mobile phone rings; it may even show the caller details for you! Things will be even more interesting when they can learn to cooperate and serve us better!
Many dub this development as 'Internet of Things' but trying to constrain our devices to communicate only through the internet or some form of pre-established infrastructure could be a limiting factor for this whole thing. We may be ignoring the potential in peer to peer ad-hoc communication between our devices.
'Spontaneous Ad-Hoc Networks' are much more efficient for communication in close proximity and the technology required to enable such activity is already available and mature. WLan Ad-Hoc Mode or IBSS Mode essentially allows P2P communication between devices/agents in range and can bring interesting possibilities to our digital ecosystem. Completely dynamic and completely set-up free!
Imagine cars on the highway exchanging information for a safer commute! Imagine your TV automatically muting itself or your DVR pausing the show when your mobile phone rings; it may even show the caller details for you! Things will be even more interesting when they can learn to cooperate and serve us better!
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We already have wifi enabled games(Wii,Xbox,PS),which runs without internet..can we treat them as examples
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This is not about the ubiquitous Wifi we all know of. Not even the Virtual AP and Wifi Direct modes available in consumer devices. There is a special mode, IBSS, in the 802.11 spec which enables spontaneous networks. Devices in range can communicate freely without any setup. Secure p2p communication is also possible. Imagine two cars approaching one another, they can exchange information readily with IBSS but with other modes elaborate setup is required before they can communicate.
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Contd. In the above case the cars are in range only for few seconds and only setup free wireless networks can help them communicate. Think of our devices discovering and talking to other device in close range by themselves. Imagine walking into a store and the store automatically identifies you through your smartphone and suggests new discounts for you based on your purchase behavior. This can be achieved via cloud too but involving a broker service is neither required nor efficient.
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So what if a program running in one car malfunctions, and receives the wrong information from the wrong area due to infrared refractions and reflections of rain and snow respectively, how would one implement safeguard protocols to prevent misinterpretation of information? more so how big of a user interface are we talking here? With the advent of cell phones, driving has become more dangerous than with just bad drivers, how would the driver interact with the information involved?
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Firstly, this is for communication in immediate vicinity, hardly more than 100 meters at max. IBSS takes care of all interference and noise! Its reliable! Secondly this technology is not for drivers to talk to each other but for the cars to talk to one another. Just like the parking sensors, this technology could alert/warn the driver when there is a potentially important consequence. The most important application would be for interaction between self driving cars, co-operative gadgets, etc.
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I see, I was imagining something along the lines of a touch screen similar to that of the Ford Focus model here in america, but that is extremely dangerous because it distracts the driver. Its almost like people here cannot appreciate the simple physics of driving. How would the future self driving car work?
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Here is an interesting post about self driving cars - http://www.talkonomy.com/topic/innovations-galore/post/13541446688747 . Any self managing entity has to sense its surrounding and make an informed decision about its course of action. Self driving cars are no different. Google's prototype uses scanning lasers to continuously monitor its surroundings. Other approaches such as RADAR, Doppler/Ultrasound Sensing, etc. are possible too. contd...
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But as of now these cars do not interact! Lets say you enter a narrow lane where only one car can pass through and you notice another car approaching in the opposite direction. There is a contention here and it is difficult to manage without interaction. One has to backoff and the other has to proceed forward and a dialogue is necessary. Current self driving cars will find this difficult as they have no interactive mechanisms per se and this is where the above Wireless Technology comes handy!
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