2013: The Year of the Sensor – Your Year to Innovate in the Physical Realm

The One Word Answer

“Sensors…” It was the one word start of an answer he gave as he reached into his pocket for his mobile device. Sitting in a conference room at the start-up incubator – LaunchBox Digital located in D.C. – I remember thinking, he reminds me of “House M.D.” minus the cane, and nicer. The question he began to answer was a simple one: “What’s the next big thing in technology?”
The date was Summer 2009 and the answer was delivered by Tim O’Reilly.
It hit the room and resonated in such a way that it reminded us of another very famous one word answer – enjoy this iconic clip from 1967 Dustin Hoffman classic, “the Graduate”.
Tim continued, fumbling a bit to get his phone in hand and went on to delicately describe the sensors he was now holding, what these fairly limited sensors were measuring and providing for him in real time and how these sensors (and many, smaller and highly sophisticated ones) were about to permeate every piece of our public life. From the clothes we wear, to the packaging holding the food we will consume, to the streetlights we cross under, the world was about to receive a new layer of “skin”. A digital layer where data was generated, collected, and manipulated by tiny sensors… and now, it is coming to pass. It seems 2013 is the year of the sensor. If resistance is indeed futile, then how can you out innovate your competition and gain competitive advantages in this collective “Borg” that is the emerging 3.0?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PSxihhBzCjk#t=0s

 

It does not matter if you call this sensor-laden future (and in many ways, our sensor laden present) the 3.0, the Industrial Internet, the Internet of Things, the era of the Quantified Self, the era of Big Data or all of the above! The reality is simple. Technology is moving into physical “things” at an incredible pace and because of this, new opportunities to innovate in the physical realm are re-emerging. This new convergence of data, sensor technologies and your ability to create innovative interfaces successfully blending the digital and physical worlds is your opportunity to succeed and out innovate your competition in 2013.
Need some inspiration to get going? Here’s just a few articles from the last 2 weeks that showcase some brazen innovations happening in this new frontier of the blended digital-physical realm. 
Sensor Equipped Snowboards Teach You How to Carve the Slopes 
Cruise Control App Changes Music Based on the Pace of Your Run - What a simple way to create a new experience for these users.