Talk delivered at The Things Conference. Discussing the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful ways in which data traces from digitised physical interactions can be converted into actionable insights…
On 15th October 2018, I delivered a talk titled ‘How Sensor Data Gets Smart’ at the Things Conference held in Norwich in the UK. The majority of the conference was focused on the hardware for creating an Internet of Things (IoT) and the deployment of low-powered wide-area networks to connect sensors, particularly in areas not well served by traditional communications networks. My talk was exploring what can happen next, how data traces emitted by sensors can be turned into actionable insights.
The short version is visualised in the graphic below, drawn live during the talk. A detailed summary is available in the PDF to view and download at the bottom of this page. If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment. Enjoy!
The talk outlined three areas where sensors can have an impact on decisions and actions: augmented cognition, autonomous vehicles and smart spaces, outlining the current position and developments in each area. It introduced two research examples showing the benefits of analytics at the edge, and combining sensor data with traditional data sources to improve the robustness and relevance of sensed data. And the talk touched on data challenges and opportunities, not least the need to consider data ownership, provenance and informed consent in an increasingly digitally-mediated world.
A huge thank you to Emily Crittenden for inviting me to talk, to the conference sponsors who made the event possible, to Rebecca Osborne for her amazing live drawing all the talks, and for the hard work by Emily and the team in organising a great event full of insightful conversations.
Download the paper -> How Sensor Data Gets Smart (PDF)
Header image: Balloon tribute during performance by Public Service Broadcasting at the Larmar Tree Festival, July 2018. The (source: author)
Joining Dots 