Internet is not just for the web browsing any more. The web of things will also rely on the internet to convey information between our environment, things and ourselves.
Now, the question raised is how things will access the internet, what will be their gateway.
For now, let’s narrow down the problem to the home monitoring vertical which leads to two different approaches:
- rely on the computer connectivity to convey data( PC, Mac,…that is ).
- rely on the router ( by the way, check out MyOpenRouter)
In either case, a piece of software and a connectivity add-on will have to be installed on the gateway.
Please refer below to the diagrams below explaining the two designs.
I think that the web of things will very likely bypass the personal computer and will leverage routers for connectivity and mobile handsets for user interface.
This design should dominate the market for two reasons:
- energy consumption: routers are much less energy-consuming than a PC. If one appliance needs to remain on
- browser is the new desktop: energy management softwares are always implemented as software-as-a-service. Therefore the computing power of the personal computer will not be utilized.
- mobile application: It’s never been so easy to provide application to monitor the home. I think that every environment monitoring products will come along with a mobile application to download.
- reliability: a router is always on, always connected and more importantly dedicated to one task
- router usb connectivity: the router provides a way to get enhanced in functionality thanks to usb dongle. The usb dongle can be the piece of software and the connectivity add-on to communicate with things around us.
In conclusion, the web of things will definitely foster the home router breakthrough as the centerpiece in smart home.
Most importantly, check out MyOpenRouter to understand the future of routers and how they can be tailored for the smart home.