就算冒著聽起來(lái)有些小家子氣的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，我還是得坦承，雖然關(guān)于物聯(lián)網(wǎng)(IoT)肯定還是有一些正面的題材可談，我個(gè)人還是忍不住抱持懷疑態(tài)度，對(duì)這整個(gè)概念感覺意興闌珊。除了數(shù)字規(guī)模龐大的預(yù)測(cè)(如Cisco預(yù)測(cè)2020年全球?qū)⒂?00億物聯(lián)網(wǎng)設(shè)備)可能吸引人們支持物聯(lián)網(wǎng)，我還沒看到一個(gè)可能吸引普通消費(fèi)者投入物聯(lián)網(wǎng)浪潮的可靠應(yīng)用情境。 老實(shí)說(shuō)，物聯(lián)網(wǎng)一直讓我聯(lián)想到我家的各種電子設(shè)備會(huì)彼此交談，在不需要我插手的情況下自己做事，甚至?xí)诒澈笙蚰吧?如廣告商、服務(wù)供貨商或者是其他的機(jī)器)談?wù)撐业牧?xí)慣──無(wú)論好壞；這實(shí)在讓人不舒服，一點(diǎn)也不。 而我想你可能也看到不久前的一則報(bào)導(dǎo)，指出智能LED燈泡泄漏了Wi-Fi密碼；這跟科幻小說(shuō)或電影的情節(jié)有點(diǎn)類似──當(dāng)智能設(shè)備(在上述案例中，只是一顆小燈泡)透過(guò)網(wǎng)絡(luò)鏈接被啟動(dòng)，就變得比主人更聰明，開始會(huì)做一些沒人交代它們做的事情。 一 家安全方案供貨商Context Security 就示范過(guò)能如何輕易地入侵連網(wǎng)LED燈泡，在遠(yuǎn)程進(jìn)行開關(guān)控制；該公司拿來(lái)實(shí)驗(yàn)的LIFX燈泡配置方式很常見，就是一個(gè)主燈泡會(huì)接收來(lái)自智能型手機(jī)應(yīng)用程 式的指令，并將之透過(guò)無(wú)線網(wǎng)狀網(wǎng)絡(luò)傳遞給其他的燈泡。而黑客則能透過(guò)一個(gè)“冒充”的新燈泡，取得燈泡所聯(lián)機(jī)的住宅無(wú)線網(wǎng)絡(luò)用戶名稱與密碼。 智能燈泡方案供貨商LIFX表示，自從以上的安全漏洞被發(fā)現(xiàn)，該公司已經(jīng)更新了軟件，但這讓人不由自主想象，家中的連網(wǎng)智能家電要是有一天也突然自己開關(guān)──被一個(gè)不知名的陌生人在遠(yuǎn)程操控──那該有多恐怖？ 為此，我開始向產(chǎn)業(yè)界消息來(lái)源詢問(wèn)物聯(lián)網(wǎng)的可靠應(yīng)用情境──那些物聯(lián)網(wǎng)設(shè)備究竟能如何透過(guò)彼此“交談”來(lái)改善我的生活？如果你有比較好的例子也歡迎提供，請(qǐng)說(shuō)服我，為何我家的洗碗機(jī)需要跟我的烤箱聊天？ 可靠的物聯(lián)網(wǎng)技術(shù)應(yīng)用情境？ 來(lái)自市場(chǎng)研究機(jī)構(gòu)IHS Technology的分析師Bill Morelli，跟我分享了幾個(gè)他從供貨商那邊聽來(lái)的物聯(lián)網(wǎng)應(yīng)用案例： ˙當(dāng)感測(cè)到用戶正在客廳的大屏幕電視看影片，房間內(nèi)的燈具會(huì)自動(dòng)調(diào)整亮度； ˙當(dāng)屋子里有小嬰兒在睡覺的時(shí)候，門鈴會(huì)自動(dòng)調(diào)整成靜音模式，用室內(nèi)的燈光閃爍來(lái)代替門鈴聲，以免吵醒小寶寶； ˙當(dāng)使用者在夜晚開車回家卻忘了關(guān)車子大燈，車庫(kù)內(nèi)的傳感器會(huì)自動(dòng)送出警告簡(jiǎn)訊到使用者的智能手機(jī)上； ˙與上一個(gè)案例類似，當(dāng)使用者離家卻忘了關(guān)閉電熨斗，警報(bào)簡(jiǎn)訊會(huì)立即送至智能型手機(jī)。 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 第2頁(yè)：家庭自動(dòng)化更重要是讓消費(fèi)者感覺無(wú)后顧之憂、生活也更有保障 第3頁(yè)：基礎(chǔ)建設(shè)應(yīng)用的物聯(lián)網(wǎng)

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{pagination} 在6月初舉行的蘋果(Apple)開發(fā)者大會(huì)上，該公司發(fā)表了HomeKit ，即是能協(xié)助使用者建立并設(shè)定特定的物聯(lián)網(wǎng)使用情境。例如用戶能將家庭網(wǎng)絡(luò)設(shè)定成“夜間模式”，家里所有的照明就會(huì)被關(guān)閉，并鎖定不被開啟；當(dāng)設(shè)定“度假模式”時(shí)，照明則是會(huì)隨機(jī)開啟或關(guān)閉以防盜，花園里的灑水器則會(huì)定時(shí)運(yùn)作，保全傳感器系統(tǒng)也會(huì)觸發(fā)。 也許以上這些應(yīng)用案例確實(shí)是很有智能，但各位看官，你覺得這些就是能說(shuō)服消費(fèi)者對(duì)物聯(lián)網(wǎng)買賬的殺手了嗎？早在我們過(guò)去談“家庭自動(dòng)化”的時(shí)候，那些就已經(jīng)是老把戲了，已經(jīng)賣出去過(guò)的相關(guān)產(chǎn)品搞不好都進(jìn)了垃圾回收?qǐng)觥? Envisioneering Group 研究總監(jiān)Richard Doherty 則對(duì)可靠的家庭物聯(lián)網(wǎng)應(yīng)用有不同的看法： ˙有許多國(guó)家在目前都有電價(jià)優(yōu)惠，吸引民眾在用電離峰時(shí)段才開啟洗碗機(jī)；很多區(qū)域基于電壓考慮，民眾會(huì)注意不在同一時(shí)間開啟微波爐、冰箱或是洗碗機(jī)馬達(dá)，以避免保險(xiǎn)絲燒斷并延長(zhǎng)家電使用壽命； ˙物聯(lián)網(wǎng)需要提供“無(wú)后顧之憂”的便利性，例如讓使用者知道家中老人的電器使用情況； ˙物聯(lián)網(wǎng)將創(chuàng)造與保險(xiǎn)業(yè)之間的連結(jié)，例如使用者每天只要達(dá)到一定的運(yùn)動(dòng)量，就能享受保險(xiǎn)費(fèi)的優(yōu)惠； ˙物聯(lián)網(wǎng)可提供公共服務(wù)，例如限制空調(diào)的使用以達(dá)到節(jié)約用電的效果。 以上Doherty 的物聯(lián)網(wǎng)應(yīng)用觀點(diǎn)主要是針對(duì)現(xiàn)有方案的改善，我也看到了目前物聯(lián)網(wǎng)概念的一些進(jìn)步，也許沒有物聯(lián)網(wǎng)也不會(huì)讓家庭自動(dòng)化的設(shè)置更容易，更重要的是要讓消費(fèi)者感覺無(wú)后顧之憂、生活也更有保障。 另 一個(gè)藉由物聯(lián)網(wǎng)技術(shù)使家庭自動(dòng)化老把戲升級(jí)的功能，是用戶可利用智能手機(jī)來(lái)操控所有的家電；透過(guò)那些自動(dòng)發(fā)送的簡(jiǎn)訊，你家的電器絕對(duì)會(huì)變得很“聒噪”。不過(guò)我覺得這種功能總有一天會(huì)變成雞肋，IHS分析師Morelli也同意，他預(yù)見未來(lái)消費(fèi)者會(huì)開始忽視那些從家電自動(dòng)送出的訊息，就像現(xiàn)在大家也 不會(huì)想聽語(yǔ)音信箱那樣。 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 第3頁(yè)：基礎(chǔ)建設(shè)應(yīng)用的物聯(lián)網(wǎng)

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{pagination} 基礎(chǔ)建設(shè)應(yīng)用的物聯(lián)網(wǎng) Morelli預(yù)見在未來(lái)的三到五年內(nèi)，家庭應(yīng)用導(dǎo)向物聯(lián)網(wǎng)方案將會(huì)起飛，不過(guò)更大范圍的物聯(lián)網(wǎng)應(yīng)用──針對(duì)公共基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施的物聯(lián)網(wǎng)方案──則還需要10~15年的發(fā)展時(shí)間。他指出，物聯(lián)網(wǎng)要真正發(fā)揮重要性，必須要在進(jìn)駐大樓、城市、汽車與公共基礎(chǔ)建設(shè)之后。 那 些使用案例包括交通號(hào)志管理，協(xié)助緊急救護(hù)車輛更快速到達(dá)定點(diǎn)，與醫(yī)療網(wǎng)絡(luò)的鏈接，以及疏散參加大型體育賽事的散場(chǎng)群眾、在特定時(shí)刻暫停某些路段的收費(fèi)以 疏導(dǎo)交通等。這些應(yīng)用聽起來(lái)規(guī)模龐大，也意味著若想要實(shí)現(xiàn)，會(huì)需要完全不同的支持力量，包括政府機(jī)關(guān)、私人企業(yè)以及民眾的配合，這并不是簡(jiǎn)單任務(wù)。 而 物聯(lián)網(wǎng)設(shè)備之間的通訊規(guī)格也是個(gè)大問(wèn)題；最近英特爾(Intel)主導(dǎo)成立了一個(gè)物聯(lián)網(wǎng)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)推動(dòng)組織──開放性互連聯(lián)盟(Open Interconnect Consortium ，OIC)，與高通(Qualcomm)率領(lǐng)的AllSeen 陣營(yíng)似乎有相互較勁之勢(shì)。 不 過(guò)Morelli指出，目前那些不同的物聯(lián)網(wǎng)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)團(tuán)體成員都是以設(shè)備供貨商為主，缺少服務(wù)業(yè)者如AT&T、Time-Warner等等；此外擁有 Nest Labs、Dropcam等物聯(lián)網(wǎng)概念產(chǎn)品的Google，在物聯(lián)網(wǎng)領(lǐng)域的經(jīng)營(yíng)策略究竟為何也還不清楚，很難相信Google會(huì)放棄透過(guò)物聯(lián)網(wǎng)來(lái)獲取更多 廣告利潤(rùn)的機(jī)會(huì)：“這些不同的物聯(lián)網(wǎng)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)團(tuán)體活動(dòng)仍看不出差異性以及實(shí)際作為?！? 至于家用物聯(lián)網(wǎng)設(shè)備的互操作性問(wèn) 題，Envisioneering Group 的Doherty則指出，不會(huì)有人想重復(fù)花費(fèi)大筆認(rèn)證費(fèi)用；他表示，目前消費(fèi)性電子產(chǎn)業(yè)協(xié)會(huì)(CEA)正準(zhǔn)備成立一個(gè)針對(duì)物聯(lián)網(wǎng)的工作小組，透過(guò)中立產(chǎn)業(yè) 團(tuán)體所舉行的插拔大會(huì)，可望能催生讓消費(fèi)者信任并安心、能相互溝通的正確產(chǎn)品。 要說(shuō)物聯(lián)網(wǎng)能為電子產(chǎn)業(yè)帶來(lái)的商機(jī)有多大很容易，困難的是在消費(fèi)者心目中建立可靠度。Doherty表示：“對(duì)企業(yè)、服務(wù)業(yè)、政府機(jī)構(gòu)與大多數(shù)消費(fèi)者來(lái)說(shuō)，物聯(lián)網(wǎng)要能順利運(yùn)作并擴(kuò)大規(guī)模，建立公信力是最重要的；”他認(rèn)為，若缺少這個(gè)關(guān)鍵，恐怕馬上就面臨失敗。 本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載 編譯：Judith Cheng 參考英文原文：Convince Me Why Washer Must Talk to Grill，by Junko Yoshida

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{pagination} Convince Me Why Washer Must Talk to Grill Junko Yoshida, Chief International Correspondent Talking back to IoT devices that talk behind my back MADISON, Wis. — At the risk of sounding a bit curmudgeonly, I have to confess one thing. While there’s certainly something positive to be said about the Internet of Things (IoT), I can’t help feeling suspicious, weary, and a bit turned off by the whole idea. Aside from big-number projections (e.g., Cisco predicts 50 billion IoT devices by 2020), which would tempt anyone into becoming an IoT cheerleader, I haven’t seen a single credible-use scenario that might lure the average consumer onto the IoT bandwagon. Honestly, it creeps me out to think about my devices at home talking to one another, doing stuff without my involvement, and talking about my habits -- good and bad -- to total strangers (advertisers, service providers, or just more machines), behind my back. There’s nothing warm and fuzzy about this. At all. Smart LED lightbulbs hacked I’m sure you’ve all heard about an incident, reported last week, in which smart LED lightbulbs leaked WiFi passwords. This is a classic case that hearkens back to Asimov or 2001: A Space Odyssey. Once empowered by its network connection, the “smart device” -- in this case, a lowly light bulb -- outsmarts its human “host” and starts doing things nobody ever asked it to do. Security experts at Context Security have released details on how easy it is to hack network-enabled LED light bulbs, showing how hackers could eventually turn the lights off and on remotely. The way an LIFX light bulb, used by Context Security for this demo, is set up sounds all too familiar. The master bulb receives commands from a smartphone application and broadcasts to all the other bulbs over a wireless mesh network. WiFi and 802.15.4 6LoWPAN Mesh Network. (Source: Context Security) The hacker was able to obtain the WiFi username, and password of the household the lights were connected to, by posing as a new bulb joining the network. LIFX said it had updated its software since being notified of the vulnerability. But it’s not far-fetched to imagine that my networked smart appliances at home could suddenly get turned on and off remotely, by a total stranger, without my knowledge. Credible scenarios? With this in mind, I’ve started asking industry sources for credible scenarios under which IoT devices improve my life by talking to each other. Readers are welcome to chime in below. Give me your best shot. Convince me why my washing machine needs to strike up a conversation with my gas grill. Bill Morelli, associate director at IHS Technology, shared with me some use cases that have been presented to him by vendors. ? Room lights automatically get adjusted, sensing that I am watching a movie on a large-screen TV in a living room. ? Somebody rings a door bell when my baby is asleep. The bell, however, is set up to flash the room lights instead of ringing, leaving the baby undisturbed. ? If I accidentally leave my car’s headlights on when I come home late at night, a sensor in the garage automatically messages my smartphone, which, in turn, sends me an alert SMS. ? Similarly, if I left the iron on when I left home, I get an alert on my smartphone. Early in June at its Worldwide Developers’ Conference, Apple unveiled what the company calls HomeKit, which reportedly helps users create and set up a specific “scene.” ? Users can put the home network into "night mode" so that lighting throughout the home can be turned off and all locks turned on. ? When "vacation mode" kicks in, lighting goes on and off randomly, sprinklers follow a schedule, and the motion sensor system is triggered. Maybe there are brilliant ideas I haven’t heard before. But come on, guys. Is this the best you can do to talk consumers into IoT nirvana? These scenarios are straight out of the old home-automation catalogue. They’ve been shopped around and recycled for years. Richard Doherty, research director of the Envisioneering Group, however, has a slightly different take on credible home-front IoT ideas. ? Even today, in many countries, there are attractive discounts for starting dishwashers during non-peak hours. In many areas, ensuring that your microwave, refrigerator, and washing machine motors do not activate simultaneously enhances longer appliance life while preventing blown fuses and tripped circuit breakers. ? IoT will need “peace of mind” allowances. For example, IoT could let us know if Grandma opened the fridge this morning or used her Bluetooth toothbrush. ? IoT will also create insurance access. Did Rick walk his requisite one mile a day to earn his present insurance discount? ? IoT offers public services. Are enabled air conditioners being throttled back 10% for brownout prevention? Next page: IoT for infrastructure Doherty’s points are an improvement on the usual stuff, and I do see some advancements in today’s IoT ideas. Setting up home automation couldn’t have become easier without IoT. But more important, it might even offer consumers some peace of mind, and a little more safety. Texas Instruments supports Apple's HomeKit. (Source: Texas Instruments) Another big IoT improvement over the old-fashioned home automation is that you can use your smartphone to control pretty much every home appliance. Your appliances are definitely getting chattier, with all those SMS alerts. But this, I think, is a mixed bag. IHS's Morelli agrees. He envisions a future of consumers ignoring a flood of messages from their machines at home, just as they ignore voicemail now. IoT for infrastructure The IHS analyst foresees home-oriented IoT taking off over the next three to five years while a broader realm of IoT -- in the infrastructure -- will take another 10 to 15 years to get up and running. Morelli acknowledged that the power of IoT gains significant importance when intelligent connectivity starts getting implemented in buildings, cities, cars, and the infrastructure in general. Examples include traffic light management, routing first responders' vehicles faster, connections to hospital networks, funneling crowds to less crowded roads after a big sporting event, and forgoing payment at toll gates in special circumstances to ease traffic. As significant as these applications sound, however, before making all these scenarios work, “you need to get different stakeholders -- including different agencies, private entities, and citizens -- to come to a table, sign off with the idea, and agree on the terms,” says Morelli. No easy task. Competion over device-to-device communication specs We should all step back and take a breath when we look at the industry’s positioning today in device-to-device communication specs for IoT. I don’t think I was the only one rolling my eyes when I learned about the Intel-led Open Interconnect Consortium (OIC) unveiled earlier this week, obviously an answer to the AllSeen effort started by Qualcomm. Morelli points out that these rival groups mostly consist of device vendors. No service provider, such as AT&T or Time-Warner, is included, he says. Further, he notes, we know little about Google’s plans on IoT, including the company’s intentions for such IoT properties as Nest Labs and Dropcam. It’s hard to believe that Google, armed with a wealth of IoT-fed information, will gladly forgo the opportunity to sell more ads. For example, if a Nest thermostat knows you’re cold, suggests Morelli, Google can relay a promotion aimed at selling you a sweaters. Doherty notes, “What is missing from these seemingly rival initiatives is the difference between standards and recommended practices." When it comes to the interoperability of IoT devices at home, he says, “No one wants to pay for a repeat of the CableLabs certification fees (HUGE!) nor HDMI certification (expensive!).” Noting that the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) recently started a new working group on IoT, says Doherty, “Things like a CEA plugfest may serve to deliver confidence and peace of mind that the right products talk to each other.” It’s easy to talk about how big an opportunity IoT could bring to the electronics industry. Harder is to formulate a credible pitch for consumers. “Business, services, government, and, most of all, consumer citizen mindshare of trust is needed for IoT to work and scale,” says Doherty. Without it, “massive failure is looming.”