Sensors II: Usecases
This vignette is Part II of a series “Data as Oil; Sensors as Mines.” I suggest reading Part I for context: https://medium.com/@collindyer/data-as-the-new-oil-sensors-as-the-new-mines-2622af18e1b4.
SmartParking is one usecase highlighted in Part I. Here are a few more I think are cool:
Usecase 1: FitBit for Chickens
In the first usecase I want to highlight, a Chinese company is using sensors like a FitBit for farm animals: farmers can track a chickens position and movement throughout the day.
“ZhongAn Technology, based in Shanghai, has a platform called Bubuji that puts sensors on chickens when they reach a certain size. The sensors not only track the location of the chicks, it also allows customers to see how much they moved on a daily basis (think of it as an exercise and location tracker for chickens).” — Alicia Noel https://medium.com/cultivati/six-ways-blockchain-is-being-used-in-food-and-agriculture-supply-chains-68a7305fd533.
Usecase 1.1: Motion as a Proxy for Health
It is forseeable that such sensors could be used for a range of farm animals — from beef to fish — and that the animal’s movement could be a proxy for health conditions (a chicken or pig with limited movement in a day may be an early indicator that it is sick, while a cow with increased movement in a day may be an early indicator of BCE/Mad Cow Disease). It is forseeable that such sensor data could give early indicators of health issues in people (anxiety, depression, dementia). On the subject of health, the use of Ruuvi sensors to monitor drugs in a hospital has also been proposed. (https://f.ruuvi.com/t/ruuvitag-at-hospital/630)
Usecase 1.2 Swallowable Sensor
MIT researchers have developed a sensor that sits in the human gut and transmits data by bluetooth:
For more on this cool device: https://medium.com/hacksters-blog/mit-researchers-develop-an-ingestible-sensor-capsule-that-communicates-over-bluetooth-d9c09d6f4285.
Usecase 2: Auto-Greenthumb
The second usecase is a ‘ripeness-meter’ for fruits and vegetable. Collecting collecting data points such as light, humidity, air temperature, tomato color, salt, sugar content, and pH levels and entering these data into the blockchain, Ripe.io is able to determine the ideal ripeness date for fruits and vegetables. They started with tomatoes as a test case.
As in the previous example, the sensor data may be useful as an early predictor of disease, pests, or nutrient deficiency. In combination with auto-watering technology like Garden Space, modern egarden, elandscapes, and efarms are possible.
Using such technology for cash crops like cannabis and tomatoes makes sense initially, but eventually it could be used on all kinds of farms. For a deeper dive into sensors + iot on farms checkout the work of Decartes Labs. Such technology can also be employed in water with temperature, food, and waste sensors in a fish tank, aquarium, or fish farm, though beware hackers if your network data is highly-sensitive (e.g. a fish tank in a casino).
Usecase 3: Selective Doggie-Door (or any other Door)
The third use case I think is cool is to tag your pet with an RFID chip and put a sensor in the doggie door.
This way the door only lets in your pet, not other pets or wild animals. You can track on your phone/computer as Furry comes and goes all day. Plus you could control the cat door with your phone, for example to close it remotely during a storm so Fluffy can’t get out. Reduced in-and-out traffic could be an early sign of health issues, as above.
Usecase 4: Autonomous AirBnB, Uber
Slock.it is using blockchain technology for sharing of IoT-enabled objects or devices. Visions include an apartment that leases itself, and renewable energy tracking. Another player in renewable energy tracking that has had some early success is Power Ledger (POWR).
This is much like iota’s vision of a car that leases itself (autonomous Uber). Such a car could use a cryptocurrency protocol to pay for electric charges.
That’s all for now, I am le tired. More later…
