Vodafone has developed Internet of Things (IoT)-driven connected products that can protect consumers against UV, keep children safe on the beach and locate lost luggage.
UV sensors, which are part of the Vodafone Smart Summer bikini and men’s swim shorts, track exposure to sunlight throughout the day. Mobile users can get notification from a smartphone app when they have too much exposure to UV light.
These are proof-of-concept products, said Vodafone.
The swimwear contains a small vibrating alert built into the waistband and strap. The Smart Summer child’s sun hat contains a UV sensor plus a low-powered Vodafone SIM and tracking device which sends a warning message to the parent’s smartphone if the child wanders beyond a pre-determined distance. The Smart Summer suitcase includes embedded tracking technology to enable the owner to geolocate missing luggage via their smartphone.
Internet of Things revolution
Vodafone said its Smart Summer concept designs use IoT technologies to demonstrate applications for network intelligence in consumer devices. The bikini, swim shorts, sun hat and suitcase contain embedded hardware with a battery life of around one week.
Vodafone executives feel that the launch of new Narrowband IoT networks next year will take the IoT business to a new level.
The hardware within Narrowband IoT devices will be ultra low-power (typical battery life will exceed 10 years on a single charge), small, very cheap (typically costing no more than a few dollars each) and will use very little wireless bandwidth. Recent research found that Vodafone’s IoT networks will be able to support more than one million devices simultaneously per square kilometre.
A research from Vodafone recently indicated that IoT is already entering the mainstream for many companies. More than three-quarters of 1,100 enterprise and public-sector executives across 17 countries said that IoT technologies will be critical for future success. More than half of consumer technology companies said they intended to bring new IoT products and services to market within the next two years.
Vodafone Group Director of IoT Erik Brenneis, said: “The Vodafone IoT products illustrates how the Internet of Things has the potential to reshape every aspect of our daily lives.”
