One model of understanding the modern world is through computing paradigms, with a new paradigm arising on the order of one per decade (Figure1). First, there were the mainframe and PC (personal computer) paradigms, and then the Internet revolutionized everything. Mobile and social networking has been the most recent paradigm. The current paradigm is that of the Connected World which includes Bitcoin/blockchain technology as the economic overlay to what is increasingly becoming a seamlessly connected world of multi-device computing that comprises wearable computing, Internet-of-Things (IOT) sensors, smartphones, tablets, laptops, Quantified Self-Tracking devices (i.e.; Fitbit), smarthome, smartcar, and smartcity. Bitcoin and the underlying blockchain technology could be the next major disruptive technology and worldwide computing paradigm, on the order of the Internet in terms of the potential for pervasively reconfiguring of all human activity as the Internet did. Blockchain technology could be deployed and adopted much more quickly too, given the network effect that so many humans worldwide are already linked through the Internet and cellular network technologies.

Figure 1. Disruptive Computing Paradigms.
(Extended from: You say you want a revolution?)
Mainframe, PC, Internet, Social-Mobile, Connected World.

Just as Paradigm 4 functionality (social-mobile (i.e.; mobile apps for everything and sociality as a website property (liking, commenting, friending, forum participation)) has become an expected feature of technology properties, so too could Paradigm 5 functionality. Paradigm 5 functionality could be the experience of a continuously-connected seamless physical-world multi-device computing layer, with a blockchain technology overlay for payments, and not just payments, but micropayments, decentralized exchange, token earning and spending, digital asset invocation and transfer, and smart contract issuance and execution; all as the economic layer the web never had. Apple Pay (Apple’s token-based app-based eWallet) could be the critical intermediary step in moving to a full-fledged cryptocurrency world where the blockchain becomes the seamless economic layer of the web. 

Enterprise IoT: Connected Product User Communities

A key hurdle point for any newtech’s becoming truly mainstream is adoption by the enterprise market. The newtech innovates its way into a variety of business applications geared to improve efficiency and save time and money. This is not just internally to the enterprise, but as a widespread feature of products and services offered. Some examples are the Internet, email, video conferencing, IP telephony, virtual worlds, and wikis.

One big shift is towards making all products connected. This means actually connected via sensors, not just a website to look up for product information and customer services. This is revolutionary to businesses because immediately, every product can be transformed from a one-off shelf purchase to an ongoing service that is part of social community.

Every product can be a relationship with the consumer. 

Connected products can phone home with continuous information about product usage and failure (most ethically with customer opt-in).

Just like the ability to interact with content on websites and engage in social networking with other users became an expectation with web properties, product user communities have already been evolving to be more interactive with product web sites, Facebook pages and likes, Twitter accounts, and sometimes fan fiction. Connected product user communities is the next step and it could be giant. If the requisite infrastructure is in place, connected products could deploy quickly because of the more intimate relationship vendors perceive as attainable with consumers from the high-resolution continuous information exchange.

IoT ecology design is crucial. IoT sensors must operate in concert with other communications networks, but their low power requirements could draw from the existing infrastructure of the user’s wearable ecosystem (smartphone, smartwatch, wearable display (Glass), wifi, cloud), smarthome (Nest, Hive, Tado, etc.), automotive data networks, and other IoT tracking infrastructure. With IoT sensors, the 10:1 ratio of person to connected devices could quickly exponentiate to 100:1. The IoT ecosystem requires an architecture that is quite different from the Internet’s packets, redundancy, lookups, and TCPIP switching, a design that can accommodate higher bursts in traffic, data input from sensor clouds (a sensor landscape acting like a school of fish), and more kinds and types of data transmission, but can also power share, massively distribute, and intercommunicate.

I want my wearables!

The layer of quantified self (QS) gadgetry starting to surround us (but not encircle us in the Heideggerian sense) is driving both the mindset shift (e.g.; disruption in the notion of the identity of the individual) and technical practicalities (e.g.; new health informatics business models and technology tools) required for a next generation of health science and technology innovation.

The adoption of the current cell phone-based QS applications and level-one QS devices (e.g.; Fitbit pedometers, myZeo sleep trackers, and Nike+ and Jawbone UP fitness trackers) could give way to the potentially rapidly arriving era of wearable computing. Mobile phones have been one of the fastest adopted technology platform to date, and the wearable computing platform could have even faster adoption and allow for even more self-quantification.

Big Data Era: Not just More Data but New Kinds of Data

One aspect of 21st century data literacy is realizing that there is not just more data, but also that there are new kinds of data.

There is a significant shift from the model where ‘all data is salient,’ for example, each entry on a calendar is a relevant appointment, to a model of being able to recognize different kinds of data and appropriate actions related to specific data types. The focus level upshifts to the correlation, trend, and anomaly level of big data abstractions rather than on the unitary level of the data flows themselves.

Daily quantified self-tracking data for example may be useful from a longitudinal perspective and might not need to be reviewed unless there is an anomaly. Another example is that the relevant action might be looking for correlations across multiple data streams. There could be potential linkage between coffee consumption, social interaction, and mood per as this Sen.se multiviz project investigates, finding some correlation between social interaction and mood. 

Discussed at greater length in: Swan, M. Sensor Mania! The Internet of Things, Wearable Computing, Objective Metrics, and the Quantified Self 2.0. J Sens Actuator Netw 2012, 1(3), 217-253.

IOT Appliances Blur the Distinction between Matter and Man

The growing wireless Internet of Things (Sensor Mania!) could bring a ‘Cambrian explosion’ in wearable computing and the number and types of Internet-connected sensors, devices, hardware platforms, software programs, and end-user applications.

There could be an adjustment period as humans adapt to an Internet of Things (IOT) landscape with more kinds of data and different mindsets, activities, behaviors, and perspectives when interacting with these data.

Whole fields of study previously limited to self-reported information such as psychology could be radically supplemented and transformed with objective metrics obtained from the IOT.

The IOT is in the early stages of modulating data onto the world of existing artifacts.

Increasingly objects may be able to collect their own data and act on it autonomously with pre-set limits and degrees-of-freedom algorithms.

Eventually, the IOT label could become a redundant demarcation as all human-manufactured matter in the future could have integrated sensors and microprocessors.

A next generation of sensors and microprocessors is already being developmentally fashioned from organic, inorganic, and hybridized material, using cutting-edge technologies for manipulating organic and inorganic matter such as synthetic biology and molecular nanoelectronics.

Distinctions between man and machine, and subject and object could blur further as IOT appliances eventually create a layer of exosenses to greatly extend current human capabilities and the ability to integrate with the outside world.

More information: "Sensor Mania! The Internet of Things, Wearable Computing, Objective Metrics, and the Quantified Self 2.0"

Sensor Mania! The Explosive Growth of the Wireless Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IOT) is the idea of everyday objects being interconnected network devices by having embedded sensors and communicating wirelessly with the Internet. An increasing trend is for real-world objects like buildings, roads, household appliances, and human bodies to become connected to each other and the Internet via sensors, tiny microprocessor chips that record and transmit data such as sound waves, temperature, movement, and other variables. Vernor Vinge has estimated that 5% of human-constructed objects have embedded microprocessors.

Some of the most familiar Internet-connected devices are computers such as laptops, servers, smartphones, and tablets (e.g.; iPads, etc.) but the IOT concept is much broader. One way of organizing the IOT is by market segment where there are three main categories: 

1. Monitoring and controlling the performance of homes and buildings - Some of the basic IOT applications underway in the connected home and buildings include temperature monitoring, security, building automation, remote HVAC activation, off-peak electricity use for non-time critical activities, and smart power meters. The worldwide use of smart power meters is expected to grow from 130 million in 2011 to 1.5 billion in 2020. 
2. Automotive and transportation applications -  Some of the many automotive and transportation IOT uses include the Internet-connected car (syncing productivity, information, and entertainment applications), traffic management, direction to open parking spots, and electric vehicle charging. It is estimated that 90% of new vehicles sold in 2020 will have on-board connectivity platforms, as compared with 10% today. In industrial transportation, train operators like Union Pacific use IOT infrared sensors, ultrasound, and microphones to monitor the temperature and quality of train wheels. 
3. Health self-tracking and personal environment monitoring - One of the biggest IOT growth areas is measuring individual health metrics through self-tracking gadgets, clinical remote monitoring, wearable sensor patches, WiFi scales, and a myriad of other biosensing applications.

The Rapid Approach of the Health Internet of Things

The efforts of the eHealth movement have been quietly gathering steam for the last five years and are finally fulminating into what could be a significant transformation in the management of health and health care. The most encouraging sign of change is that it consists of not just the usual shiny new technology solutions, but more importantly, structural changes in the public health system:

The 80% slim-down of the doctor’s office visit…

• Telemedicine reimbursement: As of March 2011, only 12 states offered reimbursement for telemedicine services (e.g.; telephone, email, video consultation), and at lower rates than in-office visits. Now more payers and states are starting to approve telemedicine reimbursement, which could be a huge cost savings for the industry as it is estimated that 70% of physician consultations could be handled by phone.

• Majority of diagnosis is straightforward: It is estimated that in 18/20 cases (per Singularity University FutureMed), diagnosis is straightforward, and could be accomplished via telemedicine.

• Trend to higher deductible plans: many programs are underway to transfer employees to higher-deductible plans which both reduces costs and puts more of an emphasis on preventive medicine.

Significant progress could be made with these structural changes acting in concert with the new generation of healthtech tools in areas such as:

• Health sensors, examples: continuous glucose monitoring patches, EEG sensors, ambient assisted living
  

• Quantified self-tracking devices, examples: Fitbit, Zeo sleep tracking, Body Media, Pebble Watch, Nike Fuel Band, Basis Watch

• mHealth (mobile health) apps, examples: The Eatery, MoodPanda, Map My Run, Cardio Trainer

Advances in robotics

Robotics can be defined as the integration of sensors, computation, and machine systems to manipulate matter. Some of the most important current applications are in military use, factory automation, telepresence, entertainment, and human interaction. Some contemporary trends include bipedal robots, autonomous robotics, and swarm computing. Walking, instead of navigating around on wheeled or multi-legged bases, could open up a variety of new applications for robotics. Similarly, autonomous robotics could handle tasks at a higher level of abstraction with less of a control burden. Swarm computing could allow the efforts of multiple robots to be coordinated, for example in warehouse automation or RoboCup soccer.

Military robotics
The U.S. military’s current deployment of robots includes 7,000 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as the Predator drone and 12,000 unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) such as the PackBot (P.W. Singer, Wired for War). Boston Dynamics has developed several interesting robots for military use. One is the BigDog, a quadruped robot that can walk, run and climb on rough terrain and carry heavy loads. More recently, the company has been working on the PEDMAN bipedal robot which balances dynamically using a human-like walking motion and is to be used initially for testing chemical protection clothing by walking and climbing like a human. Another example of military robotics is the DARPA Grand Challenge, where there have been three rounds of competition for unmanned navigation vehicles, lastly in an urban environment.

Industrial robotics
A second important area is industrial robotics, extending automated machines by making them mobile. One leader in mobile robotic solutions for warehouse automation is Kiva Systems who uses robots to organize, manage and move inventory. The robots cooperate using swarm behavior by reading barcodes on the floor and other messaging systems. There are other examples of robots for potential use in corporate or health care environments. Willow Garage’s PR2 (Personal Robot 2) can autonomously open doors and locate and plug itself in to power outlets. AnyBots offers a corporate telepresence robot and a bipedal robot under development.

Personal robotics
There is also a research focus on creating robots with emotional intelligence for human interaction. Two notable examples are MIT’s Personal Robots Group and Hanson Robotics. MIT has robots such as Leonardo which has 50 independently controlled servo motors creating a full range of facial expressions. Hanson Robotics’ Zeno and other robots which have life-like skin created from frubber, a nanoporous materials advance in elastic polymers. For consumer use, robots are starting as small appliances such as the Roomba and Neato Robotics unit for home vacuuming and the Rovio for home security, and toys such as the Furby, Aibo, and Kondo.

Expanding notion of Computing

As we push to extend inorganic Moore’s Law computing to ever-smaller nodes, and simultaneously attempt to understand and manipulate existing high-performance nanoscale computers known as biology, it is becoming obvious that the notion of computing is expanding. The definition, models and realms of computation are all being extended.

Computing models are growing
At the most basic level, how to do computing (the computing model) is certainly changing. As illustrated in Figure 1, the traditional linear Von Neumann model is being extended with new materials, 3D architectures, molecular electronics and solar transistors. Novel computing models are being investigated such as quantum computing, parallel architectures, cloud computing, liquid computing and the cell broadband architecture like that used in the IBM Roadrunner supercomputer. Biological computing models and biology as a substrate are also under exploration with 3D DNA nanotechnology, DNA computing, biosensors, synthetic biology, cellular colonies and bacterial intelligence, and the discovery of novel computing paradigms existing in biology such as the topological equations by which ciliate DNA is encrypted.

Figure 1. Evolving computational models (source)

Computing definition and realms are growing
At another level, subtly but importantly, where to do computing is changing from specialized locations the size of a large room in the 1970s to the destktop to the laptop, netbook and mobile device and smartphone. At present computers are still made of inorganic materials but introducing a variety of organic materials computing mechisms helps to expand the definition of what computing is. Ubiquitous sensors, personalized home electricity monitors, self-adjusting biofuels, molecular motors and biological computers do not sound like the traditional concept of computing. True next-generation drugs could be in the form of molecular machines. Organic components or organic/inorganic hybrid components, as the distinction dissolves, could be added to many object such as the smartphone. A mini-NMR or mini-Imager for mobile medical diagnostics from a disposable finger-prick blood sample would be an obvious addition.

Show me the hardware apps!

There is a lot of energy focused on hardware hacking and composable controllable ubiquitous computing but there do not seem to be any usable consumer applications yet. Paul Saffo is somewhat of an ideological leader for the movement in calling ubiquitous sensors the next wave of infotech innovation, on the order of the PC revolution. Mashup culture is becoming more pervasive and the hardware hacking community is getting busy tinkering, inventing and collaborating online and IRL, particularly through Make, Hacker Spaces (165 worldwide), Dorkbot (80 worldwide), Fab Labs (26 worldwide), RepRap and the TechShop.

Where can I get some stuff to try it myself?

Hardware componentry and kits are available from many vendors such as Bug Labs, SparkFun Electronics, Gumstix, MakerSHED, Adafruit Industries and Digi-Key. Some standard building blocks include the Arduino computing platform (which even has a microcontroller board for wearables, the LilyPad) and the BUGbase Hiro P Edition. The TikiTag also looks quite interesting as an RFID reader that can be used to create web services linking physical world objects with the Internet.

Hardware hacking is reinventing everything
The best thing about hardware hacking is that every aspect is up for reinvention, including at minimum, interfaces, signal processing, form factor and power. Additional interfaces are coming, voice (earlier this week, IBM announced a synthesized voice that is nearly indistinguishable from human), haptic (like Anarkik3D) and projection are the most obvious. Another novel interface could be a hack for the rudimentary manipulation of household objects with the Wii hand-held controller. Signal processing could include more options for shifting between and integrating digital and analog signals, Paul Saffo suggests a return to analog computing but hybridization and rapid switching could become standard. Form factors in various stages of maturity include any range of computing via implant (brain-computer interfaces), wearable, adjacent or distributed architecture. Power is a challenging problem to solve; some interesting innovations could emerge from energy-harvesting techniques such as piezoelectronics, optical Wi-Fi and thermoelectrics, converting, respectively, sound waves, light and heat to energy.