Hacking on the Internet of Things

I just wrapped up presenting at the Internet of Things World Event and being the Master of Ceremony for the event's hackathon here in San Francisco.

For those that don't know, the Internet of Things (IoT) describes the network of physical objects or "things" embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and connectivity to enable it to achieve greater value and service by exchanging data with the manufacturer, operator and/or other connected devices. Each thing is uniquely identifiable through its embedded computing system but is able to interoperate within the existing Internet infrastructure.

Watch this video from Mashable below for a very basic explanation.


More about the event can be found at the event's webpage and while I did get a chance to walk to the expo floor, most of my time was spent in the hackathon area. The IoT hackers were going after two categories, Best Consumer IoT Project and Best Industrial IoT Project.

Participants were encouraged to use a variety of hardware resources provided by some of the following sponsors.

 And the winners are...

Best Industrial IoT Project:
Team iTrashed created a robotic trashcan. This autonomous device knew via sensors when it's full, can open a garage door and drive itself to the curb. When it is empty, it opens the garage and drives back inside. The team demonstrated the garage door opening with an automated mini door a teammate held.

Best Consumer IoT Project:
Team Silent Safety created an application for deaf people that used the Philips Hue smart bulb colored light and its different colors to indicate when someone was knocking at the door or when a window or door was opening.

This was a super fun event and I highly recommend it for roboticists, makers, and IoT developers.