The Internet of things requires us to make face time
By Alexandra Reid
I watched a mesmerizing documentary the night before last called Future Intelligence that examined how smart technology will eventually be embedded everywhere, including our clothing, furniture, cars and even our contact lenses. Futurists, including Ray Kurzeil, predicted that within 50 years, entire cities will be connected to the web and things will communicate with each other with their own artificial intelligence. Yesterday, as reported by ReadWriteWeb, Cisco stated that by 2020, there will be 50 billion “things” connected to the Internet, including everything from your body, car and alarm clock to cows.
We are already inventing technology that is smarter, stronger and faster than us, and giving it the power to communicate. Cisco is currently developing connected city buses that will communicate with the Internet to give passengers information on location, estimated time of arrival and the ability to surf the web through touch screens. Soon, the buses will be equipped with smart technology to reduce collisions and emissions and help drivers avoid congestion, locate points of interest and contact emergency services.
