By Harnil Oza, Founder and CEO, Hyperlink Infosystem,
The Internet of Things is the phrase explaining that all items, no matter if they are entertainment or communications devices, can be potentially wired to respond via the internet. Smart items used to be relegated to only a few sectors: entertainment, information and communication. Smart watches and wearable tech are broadening the scope of useful tech, and app developers are taking it much further. Now accessories and household necessities like appliances can be smart app-ready too.
The repercussions are enormous in a field that is already exploding with possibilities. 3D printing is still relegated to high-end industries like manufacturers or medicine. But smart apps for a coffee pot or fridge are geared towards the consumer base. If a home appliance is going to be wired to receive instruction or even send it via the internet, the unspoken fact is that a smart phone or mobile device is the means by which an individual is going to manage it. App development is going to take on new roles with the need to understand home product use and how it impacts an individual.
Questions developers will need to consider are: how often does a consumer need to have the coffee ready from a distance, or the heating bumped up before arriving home? Should music and other ambiance be ready when the home owner closes the garage door? New analytical results of these types of questions could result in a wealth of data that any app development company is going to use.
There is still plenty of room in the manufacturing and medical fields too. Imagine a heart implant that can notify a doctor if it begins to run low on its battery, or a building that notifies the super when the roof leaks. There’s even industrial uses, like monitoring pollution output from factories or high levels of traffic monitored by road sensors that broadcast to smart phones in the area.
Area sensing smart apps are poised for development. Stores could notify sales to nearby passer-bys if their smart phones indicate they subscribe to the catalog. And the opposite could happen as well. Phones could notify users if their favorite store was around the corner by locating the store’s smart sensors. Advertising is likely to be heavily impacted with the ability for inanimate objects to speak to each other in this way.
Inanimate objects communicating is an arena that could provide ease-of-use to consumers. If an appliance could connect to the manufacturer, it could renew its own warranty every year or notify the user of upgrades and resolution of issues or other useful data. This mentality is going to require mobile development companies to look anew at the apps they create.
Mobile app development companies are going to need to hire and fill needs that outpace current applications. The potential is vast for untapped needs that a mobile device is primed for. This is where mobile app developers have the opportunity to grow the field.
About the Author
Harnil Oza is the founder and CEO of Hyperlink Infosystem, a mobile app development company. The founder of the company, he takes care of business development activities and maintains relations with clients.
