Farnell’s second annual IoT survey was launched today, inviting engineers who create IoT and IIoT projects to give their latest insights on the subject.
The survey is open from 18th September to 4th December 2019 and the results will be made available in February next year. All participants can enter a prize draw with the opportunity for one participant to win an iPad Pro, three participants to win a choice between an Amazon gift card of £250 (or local currency equivalent) or a drone of similar value, and six participants to win £50 Farnell vouchers or a £50 Amazon gift card.
The survey results will indicate the growth of existing and emerging IoT applications and reveal the technologies being deployed in IoT solutions.
“I think one of the most exciting IoT industries is the Smart City, with the advent of 5G (and future wireless technologies) allowing for reliable high-speed data between devices. This opens up a new era in areas such as real-time traffic guidance, how busy restaurants/exhibitions/attractions are at certain times allowing for dynamic queue management, street lighting changing brightness when detecting people walking past,” said Lee Morgan, Senior Technical Marketing Manager EMEA, Tektronix, who expects security, energy consumption, predictive maintenance and smart cities to feature prominently in the results.
“Energy consumption is a real hot topic at the moment, we already have mature products in the marketplace that enable energy management in the household (think Hive and Nest), these do not just allow us to control heating, light or appliances at the touch (or say!) of a button, they also allow us to be mindful of wasting energy. Imagine the savings that could be had on a wider industrial or even country wide scale? For example, streetlights that only come on when a car is within a certain distance,” said Morgan.
This is the second year Farnell has run the survey and this time the inclusion of AI-related questions will show how the IoT industry is changing and embracing new technologies. The new questions will reveal where AI is being included in the IoT design process and the ways it is being integrated in IoT products or solutions.
Last year’s survey showed the key requirement to maximise the benefits of IoT was the need for common standards and policies. It also revealed the growing role of hardware in the design process, with engineers using a range of hardware platforms to accelerate development pace and shorten time-to-market, including the Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone Black. Results also highlighted key application areas expected to grow in the next five years, including home and industrial automation and control and AI.
