Cambridge Consultants has launched a guide to help demystify the connected world
So you think it’s time to jump on the Internet of Things bandwagon but you don’t entirely understand how you can ‘get connected’. Well, there are many resources out there to help. To start, here are three.
Cambridge Consultants has published a Top 10 issues guide to help you through the most important things to consider if you are to make a successful connected device.
The guide is aimed specifically at companies that are new to creating connected products – identifying the potential pitfalls and how to avoid making costly mistakes.
Take batteries, for instance, – each battery only contains a certain amount of energy from each charge, so deciding how to use it is key. Can the device be charged daily or is the preference for a monthly (or longer) charge? This power ‘budget’ will be affected by a whole host of things. A blinking LED, for example, will eat battery life.
“We created this guide to help companies understand the 10 most important things for creating a successful connected device system that will add value to their products and open up new revenue streams,” says Rob Milner, head of smart systems technology at Cambridge Consultants.
“It’s been written off the back of our successful product developments for clients around the world, which sometimes involves picking up the pieces of earlier failed attempts by others. We hope this report helps companies avoid the most common – and costly – mistakes.”
The second resource is Internet of Things Boost. Organised by the Connected Digital Economy Catapult, this one day event takes place on Friday 3 October at DoES Liverpool and is aimed specifically at SMEs and start-ups who want to develop connected consumer or industrial hardware products.
A host of ‘experts’ will be offering free one-to-one clinics to attendees in a range of topics including manufacturing, engineering, embedded software, big data, wireless connectivity, marketing, user research and security.
You’ll need to pay a £40 deposit, which will be refunded on arrival to ensure everyone who books an expert clinic attends.
Following the clinic sessions, there will also be a showcase where start-ups can demonstrate their prototypes to some of the Catapult’s corporate partners.
The third resource, and a good one if you don’t want to actually leave your seat, is a host of useful webinars and webcasts on ThingWorx’s website. You may remember from DEVELOP3D’s announcement back in January 2014, that PTC acquired ThingWorx, a software platform that builds and runs applications for the IoT.
As a starter, watch the short video below where Russ Fadel, president of ThingWorx, offers a brief introduction to smart connected products and the IoT.
Don’t forget that our very own guide to the IoT for designers, which you can read here.
