Designing Connected Products

Chapter 2. Things: The Technology of Connected Devices

BY CLAIRE ROWLAND

This chapter looks at the technology needed to create the “things” in the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT is creating an explosion in the diversity of devices connected to the Internet. We’re seeing familiar objects gain connectivity and increased computational power, as well as new categories of device that can only exist as a result of the network. Sensors and actuators create new possibilities for bridging information and actions in the real and digital worlds. But many of these devices will have to make careful use of energy and computing power. These technical constraints are the root cause of some design challenges that UX designers will encounter when working with connected devices.

This chapter introduces:

• The different types of IoT device, and the technology they contain (see Types of Connected Device)

• How sensors and actuators bridge the physical and digital worlds (see Bridging Physical and Digital: Sensors and Actuators)

• The challenge of powering IoT devices and how this shapes the technology (see The Challenge of Powering Devices)

This chapter addresses the following issues:

• How the computer hardware and software technology inside specialized embedded devices—the novel devices of the Internet of Things—differs from multipurpose computers (see Embedded Devices)

• How objects with no onboard computing power can nonetheless have an Internet presence (see Passively Trackable Objects)

• How sensors can be used to ...