Road
to 5**：Internet of Things
【明報專訊】As defined by the Office of the Communications Authority, Internet of Things(IoT，物聯網)is the connection of devices and equipment through the internet. The idea of IoT was first proposed by the International Telecommunication Union in 2005. Through base stations nearby, equipment with communication chips can send data to an information processing centre or the cloud for real-time analysis, responses and applications. Together with artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, driverless cars and biotechnology, IoT is regarded as part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution which will change the way corporations, businesses and consumers interact.
Experts: beware surveillance
Shoshana Zuboff, professor emerita at Harvard Business School, describes the ways internet giants collect, analyze and sell users' information for profit as ''surveillance capitalism''. She says that smart home devices have become the tools for surveillance capitalism to find its way into every aspect of our daily lives.
Barcelona's smart city initiative
Barcelona is at the forefront of Europe's development of smart cities. According to Research Report on Smart City, a paper by Hong Kong's Central Policy Unit in September 2015, Barcelona had put in place a series of smart city functions and services, including remote-control LED street lighting, building energy management, greenbelt irrigation, district heating and cooling system, public transport, zero emission on roads and open government.
CLP's smart meters
To become part of the development of a smart city, CLP(中電) said that beginning from November 2018 it would replace traditional meters with smart meters over the course of seven years. This would involve around HK$2 billion. CLP said that with smart meters, customers would be able to use a smartphone application to check and manage their electricity use and adopt a low-carbon lifestyle. It would also be easier for the group to collect electricity use data in different districts so that it could make adjustments more easily during peak seasons. The meters would also allow the group to identify the exact locations of regions affected by typhoons or electricity system problems.
AIoT
Since the twelve five-year period, the mainland government has been actively promoting the development of the IoT industry. One highlight of the thirteenth five-year period policies is the speeding up of the creation of smart city clusters and promoting the use of IoT in traffic, environmental monitoring and municipal management.
Lei Jun, chairman of Xiaomi, said in November 2018 that artificial intelligence would be integrated into all IoT equipment, making it possible to control home appliances via voice without using a phone. He predicted that in the coming three to five years all smart devices would be equipped with AIoT(人工智能物聯網) modules and the costs related would be ''ridiculously low''.
Translated by Terence Yip
[通通識 第641期]
