At some point in the future, many more everyday objects will have tiny embedded chips that can communicate with networks. But just as we?re debating net neutrality and the value of the open web vs closed client applications, we will have to decide who will control the internet of things, too.
Lines are already beginning to be drawn. Ashlee Vance, writing for the New York Times? Bits blog, profiles chipmaker ARM?s efforts to bring the internet of things to the masses with its mbed project.
The goal of mbed is to make building prototype objects and programs easier for people who aren?t necessarily used to writing programs or hacking at the guts of electronic devices. It has two main components: a simple $59 microcontroller, and an online drag-and-drop program compiler. This user video by steveravet shows mbed in action, rewiring a Billy Bass novelty talking fish to say funnier things:
Ultimately, though, the idea is to create practical applications to help users in the field. ARM?s Simon Ford told the Times: ?I want to see how you get people to experiment. Maybe a washing machine repair man will figure out how to get the machines to report back to him and revolutionize the machines to get a competitive advantage. The point is that I don?t know what they?ll be used for.?
Now, at Adafruit Industries? blog, DIY-engineering all-star Limor Fried counters the Times? warm enthusiasm for ARM?s approach with some ice-water skepticism: ?mbed requires an online compiler, so that you are dependent on them forever. You cannot do anything without using their online site, ever.?
Fried adds: ?We like the hardware in the mbed, the cortex series is great (it?s why we carry an ARM Cortex M3 board now) ? but the ARM compiler used with mbed costs about $5,000 so maybe it will never be anywhere but online.? Adafruit notes that similar ARM boards are available with entirely open-source libraries.
Free and open-source vs. ready-for-anyone-to-use out-of-the-box: we?ve been down this road many times before. I doubt this argument will have a clear winner and loser, but it?s important that it?s clearly framed and articulated now, before any one approach gets locked-in as the default option.
See Also:
A Visit to Adafruit Industries: the Model for Fab-it-Yourself Gone ?
Lego TARDIS With Lights and Sound
ARM's New Chip Leaves Everyone Else in the Dust, Again
Spime Watch: why the Internet of Things is a fiasco
Spime Watch: Shipping Containers and the Future Internet of Things ?
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