Imagine a “smart” Capitol Hill, where smart parking, driverless cars, and interactive dining and fitness areas make doing business much easier and better.
It is 5:30 a.m., Congresswoman Smith checks into the Rayburn House gym via biometrics. Before she starts her workout, she records her health vitals at an intelligent-equipment station, which develops today’s personalized workout based on past performances.
{mosads}Afterward, she stops by the Longworth House Office Building cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee from a smart coffee machine. The machine tracks the daily consumption of users, making sure that by the time the congresswoman arrives, her favorite coffee blend is available.
Midday, she jumps into her driverless car to welcome veterans as part of the Honor Flight program.
As the lawmaker returns to Capitol Hill for votes, she opens her smart-thermostat app to begin cooling down her office.
While all of this is a fictional scenario, it’s not farfetched.
At the 2015 CES, produced by CEA, the world’s gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies, Samsung CEO and President B.K. Yoon announced his company’s vision to connect all of its devices by 2020. In a few short years, the congresswoman’s fictional driverless car will talk to her smart thermostat, sensing when to turn on and off the air-conditioning in her office based on her car’s proximity. How cool (pun intended) is that?
While these innovations will save time and reduce stress, these technologies will be a game-changer for seniors and people with disabilities. What’s not to say that a few years down the road, a person in a wheelchair visiting Capitol Hill won’t have a sensor that communicates with all the doors, lights and elevators? There will also be a day when a blind person’s cane will have embedded sensors and an Amazon Echo-like program that will allow him or her to talk to their cane to get around Capitol Hill.
All of this is possible. However, the general public is unfamiliar with the concept of the Internet of Things, including many policymakers. In fact, a recent in-depth look at the Internet of Things by Politico, a Capitol Hill newspaper, revealed most members of Congress were unfamiliar with it, too.
Although they were unaware of some of the terms or specific products and systems, they understand the value of it; namely, increased efficiency, improved safety and security, and faster and better decision-making.
Today, brands like Lowe’s, Samsung, Amazon, Lutron and many others offer a slew of innovative, connected appliances and home-automation services that control door locks, lighting, security cameras, window treatments, pools and entertainment system components. Even cooktops, coffee machines, toilets, faucets, bathtubs, showers and mattresses are programmable, based on an individual’s or household’s lifestyle and routine.
The booming connected home technology industry is expected to reach $967 million in revenues in 2015, jumping 32 percent over last year, according to CEA’s U.S. Consumer Electronics Sales and Forecasts.
As the sector grows, the effects and benefits will be exponential. At CES, more than 900 exhibitors displayed IoT devices — a hint of the innovation and imagination to come. And the IoT also holds remarkable economic power.
A Federal Trade Commission report noted there are now 25 billion devices connected to the Internet, a number that will double to 50 billion by 2020.
Our research shows that unlicensed spectrum — delivering the Wi-Fi connections that power so many of our IoT devices — generates $62 billion annually for the U.S. economy.
In this young, exciting and expansive marketplace, it’s important for policymakers to take a close look at the technologies available and the benefits, and think of the unimaginable. That’s the only way regulators and legislators will be able to lead the nation and create a 21st century that is truly smart and truly digital.
Shapiro is president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®, the U.S. trade association representing more than 2,000 consumer electronics companies, and author of the New York Times best-selling books, Ninja Innovation: The Ten Killer Strategies of the World’s Most Successful Businesses and The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream . His views are his own. Connect with him on Twitter: @GaryShapiro