Ask HN: Object you'd like to see connected to the internet?

#1

Post by shervinshaikh » Wed, Aug 06, 2014, 4:39 PM UTC

There is all this talk about the "Internet of Things" and how it's going to be one of the largest industries soon.

So I'm curious, what is something around you that you wish was connected to the internet(ex: Physical mailbox at home/work, desk chair, etc)? Or is there a product out that that you wish was improved(ex: smart lights, internet connected cars, etc)?

This devices can have sensors or actuators, but I want to know why you believe it'll make your life easier by connecting it to the internet.

Re: Ask HN: Object you'd like to see connected to the internet?

#2

Post by swah » Wed, Aug 06, 2014, 5:01 PM UTC

Its "small stuff", but if many objects in my house published their state and events, I could do lots of little things, insignificant as "no need to check the mailbox because the little door was not opened today".

Re: Ask HN: Object you'd like to see connected to the internet?

#3

Post by shrike » Wed, Aug 06, 2014, 5:03 PM UTC

My fridge. A simple barcode reader I can scan an item with when I use the last of it. We could develop applications that add it to a offline or online shipping list, track the amount of 'item' we eat every month, our spend etc.

We could complicate things a bit more with two barcode readers, one when we add an item to the fridge, another when it's empty. That would let us find recipes based on what's available in the fridge or even what's available and likely to expire soon.

Barcode readers everywhere! Extend the same idea to the pantry, under the sinks, etc.

This is the closest I've seen to date - https://fresh.amazon.com/dash/

Re: Ask HN: Object you'd like to see connected to the internet?

#4

Post by byoung2 » Wed, Aug 06, 2014, 5:03 PM UTC

Technology is getting so cheap that eventually we'll have everything connected and wonder why it wasn't always that way.

First, I'd like my sprinkler system connected so I can see and adjust the schedule, check current soil moisture levels, etc. Better yet, let the system adjust itself based on current conditions, forecasts, etc. I would use this mainly for my vegetable garden, not so much fo

Second, I'd like my refrigerator to track and record historical internal temperature. The fridge should be below 40 degrees at all times for food safety, and I have a thermometer inside that is 40 or below whenever I look at it, but recently I went home during the day when it was 96 degrees outside, and I saw that the temperature in the fridge was almost 50. It cooled back down in the evening, so if I hadn't gone home to check I would never have known.

Cars are getting more connected (particularly GM cars with OnStar). File this under "obvious" but new GM cars will have an 8 device LTE hotspot built in that is on whenever the car is. My brother has an Escalade and he has an app that can tell him stats about the car like tire pressure, etc. It would be nice if every car had this feature.

It would be nice to have more data about water usage inside the house, so I'd like a sensor on every water fixture. It wouldn't be too difficult in theory to add a meter at every water supply line and have that connect to WiFi or Bluetooth to report hot and cold water usage. It would be interesting to know that the dishwasher used 15% of the water, while the showers use 36%. I'm not sure it would be super useful, but definitely cool to see.

Re: Ask HN: Object you'd like to see connected to the internet?

#5

Post by wsinks » Wed, Aug 06, 2014, 5:03 PM UTC

It's not adding things to the internet that excites me, it's the context you can put into them as well.

For instance, right now I move between work in San Jose, my parents house, and my SF house. The context and control changes in each place - my family, my roommates, my corporate policy and teammates.

I generally don't care about connecting things to the internet unless those things are also taken care of. I just need a couple knobs to turn.

Re: Ask HN: Object you'd like to see connected to the internet?

#6

Post by jrvarela56 » Wed, Aug 06, 2014, 5:04 PM UTC

shrike wrote: post #3

My fridge. A simple barcode reader I can scan an item with when I use the last of it. We could develop applications that add it to a offline or online shipping list, track the amount of 'item' we eat every month, our spend etc. We could complicate things a bit more with two barcode readers, one when we add an item to the fridge, another when it's empty. That would let us find recipes based on what's available in the…

Check out https://github.com/danslimmon/oscar if you're interested in working on a prototype!

Re: Ask HN: Object you'd like to see connected to the internet?

#7

Post by fla » Wed, Aug 06, 2014, 5:06 PM UTC

Not my door-lock !

Re: Ask HN: Object you'd like to see connected to the internet?

#8

Post by ww520 » Wed, Aug 06, 2014, 5:08 PM UTC

Cars. I'd like to turn on the AC afar remotely 15 minutes or half hour before get into the car on a hot day, or heat it up remotely on a freezing day. Some might already be doing it (Tesla).

Watering system. It can look up the season/weather and adjust the amount of water to sprinkle.

Battery. So that it can send out a signal when it's low on power. I know it's probably impractical but we are talking about ideas for the future.

Credit card/smart cash card. Yes, I want to look up balance/transactions, transfer money, and be alerted on charges on the card itself with the screen and network on it.

Re: Ask HN: Object you'd like to see connected to the internet?

#9

Post by ErikRogneby » Wed, Aug 06, 2014, 5:09 PM UTC

I would love for my breaker panel to be smart. Knowing the power draw of different breakers and being able to trend those. Analytics could alert me to a slowly failing compressor on my fridge or a burnt out element in my hot water tank.

Lots of other cool features that could come with a smart panel a well.

Re: Ask HN: Object you'd like to see connected to the internet?

#10

Post by eps » Wed, Aug 06, 2014, 5:09 PM UTC

A big neon sign that says "I am on the Internet of Things" that would flash every time it gets an ICMP ping and do nothing else. This would capture nicely the essence and general usefulness of an average IoT device :)