The IoT gets a lot of attention, but what does it really mean for our everyday lives? We’ll walk you through a typical day.
We hear a lot about the Internet of Things these days, but what does having practically everything connected to the internet actually mean for our everyday lives?
As it turns out, the IoT can actually make our lives easier, from the moment we wake up until it’s time to call it a day. In fact, you might be surprised at how “connected” you actually are when you look at a typical day in the life of the IoT.
6:00 AM: Wake Up!
Time to rise and shine! Your alarm goes off, and before you can even get out of bed, your coffee maker starts your morning brew thanks to a command you sent from your smartphone. With the touch of another button, you open the blinds in your bedroom and turn on the lights. Once you get out of bed and enjoy your coffee, it’s time to hit the gym.
Your wearable fitness tracker keeps track of all of your steps as you run on a preset course on the treadmill; the haptics technology on the screen allows you to change the view with just a tap of your finger. Once your workout is over you, sync your tracker to your phone to log the workout, and get ready for the rest of the day. Before you leave, you put some chicken in the slow cooker, and set the timer so it’s ready when you walk in the door.
8:30 AM: Head to Work
This morning you have a breakfast meeting with a client at a new restaurant, so you type the address into your vehicle’s GPS. During the drive, you listen to an audiobook that streams from an app on your phone, which is connected to your vehicle’s stereo via Bluetooth. Along the way, your favorite traffic app alerts you to a crash ahead, so you opt for a different route and arrive to your meeting right on time.
After breakfast, you head to the office. Throughout the day, you wirelessly send a number of reports to the copier down the hall — and log more steps on your fitness tracker as you retrieve them. At midday, you receive an alert on your phone that the doorbell is ringing at home. Using an app, you are able to see via a webcam that a package has been delivered. It’s your spouse’s birthday gift, so you call your neighbor and ask her to retrieve it for you. She does, and you’re able to confirm via webcam.
While you’re checking on things at home, you also decide to check on the slow cooker — and realize that you forgot to turn it one. Thankfully, there is still time for your chicken to cook, so you set the temp from your phone and get dinner ready.
5:00 PM: Quitting Time
As you leave work, you remember that you planned to stop at the market on the way home. But you forgot your list, so using another app on your phone, you connect to your refrigerator to see what’s inside. After grabbing the eggs and milk, you drive home, where the lights are on and the temperature is perfect, thanks to your internet-controlled thermostat.
While you finish preparing dinner — which was saved thanks to your slow cooker app — you catch up on some news on the built-in television in your refrigerator, which connects to your satellite TV service via an app. After everyone eats, you settle in to relax, and using your smart TV, set the DVR to record a network show while you watch a few episodes of “The Queen” on Netflix.
10:00 PM: Time for Bed
Before heading up to bed, you prepare the coffee maker for tomorrow morning, leave a few notes for the kids on the refrigerator’s family message center, and adjust the settings on your thermostat. As you settle in for the night, you realize that you forgot to turn off the outside lights and lock the door, so using your phone you take care of both tasks with just a few taps. You set the alarm for 6 a.m., and as you drift off to sleep, your fitness tracker monitors to quality of your sleep, so you can be sure you are getting enough rest.
It’s actually quite amazing how many connected devices we use every day — and how much more efficient they can make our lives. From avoiding traffic jams to saving dinner to preventing impulse purchases at the grocery store, the IoT can truly make life better.
