#52-AI-IoT: Application, Monetization Models and future of intelligent edge
“Only the dead fish goes with the flow, but a lot of stupid fish also try to go against the flow they should not be fighting”
Sidhartha
IoT (Internet of things) is one of the biggest macro-trend of the Digital age
The number of connected devices (internet of things/ #iot) is only going to increase. The number as of 2020 has already crossed 25 billion and thanks to the COVID tailwinds (for digital transformation), the number will easily cross 50 billion by 2030.
Disruption never stops at level one automation, it goes on till 100% automation is achieved. This is why #artificialintelligence will play a significant role in IoT and Robotics powered disruption
Where will AI-IoT generate the trillion-dollar value?
Below are some of the use cases where trillion-dollar monetization opportunities exist for Digital Ecosystems and big platform companies.
- Digital Supply chain and Logistics: IoT sensors enable the companies to track the exact location of the goods, detect delays in delivery and take preventive actions to prevent supply chain failures. In 10–15 years, every user will be able to track through a network of connected relay camera’s the location of shipment on their handheld device or wearable.
2. Smart Homes: Smart Home devices are already here but the consumer adoption is still a few years away. This is primarily because of the fact that customers do not trust the big-tech enough to give them complete access to their day to day interactions.
Intelligent edge and #microdatacenters can solve this ‘customer resistance’. You will be much more open to adopt a hardware (read smart home device)powered by Alexa, Google Assitant, Siri if you 100% sure that data will not leave the device (or the confines of your home). All storage and computation will happen where the ‘smart-home device’ is with only the owner having access to the data.
Also, imagine a sensor on your bed that could tell you how long have you been lying in the wrong posture, or telling you exactly your daily routine data- judging your emotions and helping you correct your physical and mental self and feel good. Data privacy and trust will be the foremost requirement on customers' part to allow the AI-IOT that level of access in their day to day lives.
3. HORECACK (Hotels, Restaurants, Cafe, and Cloud Kitchens): AI alone cannot replace human labor unless it is supported by the IoT and Robotics hardware and platform. As much as we hate to admit the cheapest human labor cannot compete with a smart robot that can work 24 by 7 and without any wages.
The act of maintaining hotel rooms, cleaning and preparing, and serving food can now easily be done by AI enables robots. They are no longer mechanical and learn with every experience.
4. Wearables and carriables- Your smartwatch, earbuds, sunglasses, ring, shoes, and even clothes can be powered by AI-IoT.
The IoT sensor kind may vary depending upon the use-case, but do anticipate a lot of sensors and chips in the coming future. Again the usage/adoption rate beyond the smartwatch and earbuds will be determined by the ‘trust factor’.
Subscription and monetization models will also emerge around the ‘wearable revolution’. For example, Amazon Halo Membership includes body composition, tone of voice analysis, sleep & activity tracking, and more — free for 6 months. Auto-renews at $3.99/month + tax
Smart luggage will solve the fatigue problem related to travel. They will follow you where you go. From the need of being dragged by the traveler, to first become independent companions and it can even offer mobility to the traveler at the airport.
5. Connected Vehicles- V2V (vehicle to vehicle) and V2I (vehicle to infrastructure) data will solve a lot of mobility and traffic-related challenges. The future of mobility is connected and the sensors will get smarter with use and will adapt to the personal requirements of the vehicle owner.
6. Smart City- Facilities management, parking, security systems, and transport infrastructure will be exponentially boosted by the AI-IoT wave. Smart city management require it enabled infrastructure that interacts with each other on crucial data points and culls insights out of huge data sets to drive efficiencies.
7. Smart Factory and production plants: COVID shut down the procurement related supplies and production at multiple manufacturing plants. Full automation is the subtle mandate at many of these manufacturing plants to make them future-proof.
Smart factory solutions, IoT for predictive maintenance, Digital Twins, and thread technology, Computer vision/video analytics for worker’s and production floor safety will be the new normal by 2025–2030. The AI-IoT use cases will also extend to Offices and Worksites (Marine, Oil and Gas Rigs, Branches). Salesforce routes can be tracked and optimized just like the supply chains.
8. Retail and O2O enabled shopping experiences: The entire customer journey of the shopper can be tracked and optimized to make it frictionless with the help of IoT tech and smart cameras.
9. Cargo and commercial travel: The shipping and containers will be smart and connected. They will relay data on excess capacity, location analytics, and route optimization.
10. Nano-tech: Nanotech has multiple use cases in the health space and in the consumer electronics industry. We are still working on understanding the full-blown possibility of chip-powered/augmented humans (humanoids)
There are many other use cases in agri-tech, food management, and renewables space as well. However, in this piece, I do not wish to deep dive at the industry level because we are talking about technology, ecosystems, and platforms.
And all these devices will generate Zettabytes of Data which can be harnessed as ‘Consumer and Business insights’ through Artificial intelligence.
Best regards,
Sidhartha Sharma (views are personal)
Digital, AI, and Platform Strategy expert
