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How Paper Batteries Charged by Bacteria Could Power the Internet of Things

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Re: How Paper Batteries Charged by Bacteria Could Power the Internet of Things

#21

Post by TeMPOraL »

blairbeckwith wrote: post #19
wmnwmn wrote: post #7

Guess what, we don't need an internet of things. It's not going to happen and you can tell that because it's been hyped for a decade now and has not produced any product that anyone buys.

I'm not sure that this is at all true. Maybe I'm using too broad a definition of IoT, but most people I know have some kind of IoT device. Admittedly, my direct friends are probably representative of a specific group, but... My apartment a few years ago (wasn't a luxury place) came with a Nest thermostat. My parents have a Nest thermostat as well as a smart lock. My sister has a smart toothbrush. My friend uses Tile…

> My sister has a smart toothbrush.

What could there possibly be for a tootbrush to do that would require an Internet connection?

Re: How Paper Batteries Charged by Bacteria Could Power the Internet of Things

#22

Post by amelius »

jillesvangurp wrote: post #16
truculent wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't mean it can't be a pollutant. To take a simple example, fertilisers are biodegradable and yet run off + eutrophication is incredibly ecologically damaging.

Sure, but why would you assume it is? Also, you'd need a lot of this stuff to do any damage even if it was that much of a pollutant.

> Sure, but why would you assume it is?

If somebody puts a bunch of unknown chemicals in water, is it not normal to question the safety of that?

Re: How Paper Batteries Charged by Bacteria Could Power the Internet of Things

#23

Post by m00dy »

sidstling wrote: post #2

Danish muniplacities are installing IoT devices in a long range of things, from monitoring when a trash can is full, keeping track of parking, creating rfid tours with bits of historic-info showing up in an app as you travel around the city to monitoring high-pressure wells for leaks. Most devices have batteries that last 5-10 years though, and often it’s the device that needs to get changed, not the battery. Like th…

Im the developer that working in the company making those iot sensors for trashbins. You can shoot me questions if you guys have any.

Re: How Paper Batteries Charged by Bacteria Could Power the Internet of Things

#24

Post by bookofjoe »

jillesvangurp wrote: post #16
truculent wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't mean it can't be a pollutant. To take a simple example, fertilisers are biodegradable and yet run off + eutrophication is incredibly ecologically damaging.

Sure, but why would you assume it is? Also, you'd need a lot of this stuff to do any damage even if it was that much of a pollutant.

2 words: contact lenses

Re: How Paper Batteries Charged by Bacteria Could Power the Internet of Things

#25

Post by hippich »

maxxxxx wrote: post #18
hippich wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not trying to nitpick, but we live in our current house for 8 years. And when we moved in we "inherited" city-provided trashcan, which was probably there for another 8 years easily if not more. It is a plastic one. Why does trash can need to be replaced every 5-10 years?

In LA they pick up trash with trucks and a mechanical arm. This seems pretty hard on the trash cans. Mine tend to break in some way every 3-5 years.

In my case it is picked up either by mechanical arm, or by a guy bringing it to the end of the garbage truck and truck doing the rest (did not find why they run different trucks each time) Seems to last just fine.

Re: How Paper Batteries Charged by Bacteria Could Power the Internet of Things

#26

Post by watchdogtimer »

m00dy wrote: post #23
sidstling wrote: post #2

Danish muniplacities are installing IoT devices in a long range of things, from monitoring when a trash can is full, keeping track of parking, creating rfid tours with bits of historic-info showing up in an app as you travel around the city to monitoring high-pressure wells for leaks. Most devices have batteries that last 5-10 years though, and often it’s the device that needs to get changed, not the battery. Like th…

Im the developer that working in the company making those iot sensors for trashbins. You can shoot me questions if you guys have any.

I'm curious what technology is used to sense when the can is full and needs emptying?

Re: How Paper Batteries Charged by Bacteria Could Power the Internet of Things

#27

Post by perl4ever »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #21
blairbeckwith wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure that this is at all true. Maybe I'm using too broad a definition of IoT, but most people I know have some kind of IoT device. Admittedly, my direct friends are probably representative of a specific group, but... My apartment a few years ago (wasn't a luxury place) came with a Nest thermostat. My parents have a Nest thermostat as well as a smart lock. My sister has a smart toothbrush. My friend uses Tile…

> My sister has a smart toothbrush. What could there possibly be for a tootbrush to do that would require an Internet connection ?

It can record your brushing and harass you if you're not doing it right. What else?

Re: How Paper Batteries Charged by Bacteria Could Power the Internet of Things

#28

Post by jillesvangurp »

bookofjoe wrote: post #24
jillesvangurp wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but why would you assume it is? Also, you'd need a lot of this stuff to do any damage even if it was that much of a pollutant.

2 words: contact lenses

At less than a gram per lens, there's only so much damage those are going to do. I looked it up, we're talking about 23 tons worth of lenses for the US. A lot, but it pales in comparison to other stuff we do to the environment. Like traditional batteries for example, which we're talking about replacing with something bio degradable.

Re: How Paper Batteries Charged by Bacteria Could Power the Internet of Things

#29

Post by TeMPOraL »

perl4ever wrote: post #27
TeMPOraL wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My sister has a smart toothbrush. What could there possibly be for a tootbrush to do that would require an Internet connection ?

It can record your brushing and harass you if you're not doing it right. What else?

I hope it doesn't need an Internet connection for that.

Re: How Paper Batteries Charged by Bacteria Could Power the Internet of Things

#30

Post by anitil »

adrianN wrote: post #8
wmnwmn wrote: post #7

Guess what, we don't need an internet of things. It's not going to happen and you can tell that because it's been hyped for a decade now and has not produced any product that anyone buys.

While I don't really see the use case for private individuals, IoT technology is very interesting on the factory floor. Tracking parts and getting sensor data from all kinds of machines is quite useful.

Yeah I don't really buy the retail argument for IOT, but for large organizations it can make a ton of sense. I previously worked for a company [0] that did remote sensors for water meters - they saved a fortune on sending out technicians to read the meter, and avoided all the problems with usage estimations.

[0] - http://www.taggle.com.au/

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