I’ve been looking at a number of wireless standards (or de facto standards) and this one is interesting. ANT (http://www.thisisant.com/) is a lightweight wireless technology used primarily by sports and fitness wireless sensor devices:
“ANT was designed to solve real problems – and it does. It is the lightest protocol available that still has the ability to scale into complex network topologies and communication methods. This means that ANT can achieve lower cost and lower power, the most important criteria in mobile personal monitoring technology. ANT achieves this by closely matching the varying requirements of devices in a network to the resources used, right down to the simplest devices. ANT finds its efficiency in scalability and dynamic range while competitive protocols are heavier in meeting the base requirements. Meeting Demands In an April, 2007 Economist report, US based analysts Harbor predicted that over 300 million wireless sensors will ship in 2010. With this significant gain in the ultra-low power wireless market projected, the need for practical wireless solutions becomes obvious. ANT’s proven technology and ANT+ interoperability function will greatly impact this defined market as it is perfectly suited for the applications that will drive its growth. “
“ANT was designed to solve real problems – and it does. It is the lightest protocol available that still has the ability to scale into complex network topologies and communication methods. This means that ANT can achieve lower cost and lower power, the most important criteria in mobile personal monitoring technology. ANT achieves this by closely matching the varying requirements of devices in a network to the resources used, right down to the simplest devices. ANT finds its efficiency in scalability and dynamic range while competitive protocols are heavier in meeting the base requirements.
Meeting Demands
In an April, 2007 Economist report, US based analysts Harbor predicted that over 300 million wireless sensors will ship in 2010. With this significant gain in the ultra-low power wireless market projected, the need for practical wireless solutions becomes obvious. ANT’s proven technology and ANT+ interoperability function will greatly impact this defined market as it is perfectly suited for the applications that will drive its growth. “
Of course there are other competing technologies (Bluetooth low energy, Zigbee, etc.) but the concept remains the same. So, thinking about our market, it doesn’t seem intuitive that connecting to a cycling computer makes sense, but maybe connecting to a heart rate monitor, or pedometer could make sense. That is, our device gathering data that is related to employee health or workload could be beneficial to our customers. Comments / thoughts / applications?
There was a interesting article released last week by the Telegraph UK, that relates to your post.
See link attached: www.telegraph.co.uk/.../Psion-sensor-helps-players-keep-their-cool.html
It is an interesting technology to consider for our devices. I am a technology proponent and by no means a xenophobe, but I suspect that there would be a very vocal, but minor segment that would say that this is an invasion of privacy.
Granted, the act of putting a chest monitor on to communicate the data to a device is an “acceptance act” whereby you are allowing this info to be exchanged.
Just like the equipment in the article Thomas mentions, there are very strong benefits. Certainly in high stress jobs, Fireman, Police, etc this would be valuable. Astronauts have had people monitoring their vitals on missions for years so there is precedent.
Perhaps it would serve as a silent 911, for instance a forklift or bus driver has a heart attack, the device could send that warning.
So, like you Mike, I question; what is the killer app that would best suit this technology and data collection in the work place? Interesting concept, I’ll give it some thought.
I just saw an article describing a system for motorcycle police. Because any distraction while driving is extremely dangerous while operating a motorcycle they use sensors to determine the driver's stress level and how much concentration they need.
cordis.europa.eu/.../index.cfm
If they're deemed too distracted already, the system could choose to keep info from the driver until he's less distracted. It also determines the best form of communication to use at any given time.
Would something like this be useful for a truck driver? Or a forklift driver? If the user's really concentrating on something, you should hold off on messages until they complete their task. Especially when dealing with heavy equipment.
Mike,
Building on the motorcycle example, this may be a great example of extending context sensitive menus in mobility. The device senses when a delivery person is in motion, on foot perhaps via a shoe sensor or by bicycle and provides very basic, turn by turn style navigational info - vs a more detailed map or augmented reality info when stationary.
The needs are truly PAN (personal area network) and might be limited to consent. I could also imagine an industrial use in small teams ( like manhole operations where another worker is assisting / providing safety coverage)
It would be interesting to look at the technology in avalanche beacons to see if there would be an industrial urban search and rescue application ( low incidence but high consequence) for underground workers / firefighters where the technology could use low power modes in normal operation but toggle to a high power (high battery consumption ) given an "emergency" set of conditions. A great partner application (like hot head)