Mint IOT

BY LESLIE [email protected]

As the world moves towards converg-ing technologies, analysts predictthat billions of devices will be ableto communicate with each otheran abil-ity that has the potential to dramatically enhance the quality of living and changethe way we experience products around us.

The Internet of Things, or IoT, is definedas a worldwide network of things thatinclude identifiable devices, appliances,equipment, machinery of all forms andsizes with the intelligence to seamlesslyconnect, communicate and control ormanage each other to perform a set oftasks with minimum intervention.

The goal of IoT is to enable things to beconnected any time, any place, and with anything or anyone.

IoT is not a single technology, but a con-cept. IoT research has its roots in several domains, including Radio-Frequency Iden-tification (RFID), Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication and Machine-TypeCommunication (MTC), Wireless Sensorand Actuator Networks (WSAN), Ubiqui-tous Computing, and the Web-of-Things(WoT).

This is perhaps one reason that analystsalso prefer to call it The Internet of Every-thing, or IOE.

Regardless of the nomenclature, IoT orIoE is rapidly emerging as a third, and likely bigger wave in the development ofthe Internet, according to a 15 Decemberreport by consulting firm KPMG.

With the advent of the Personal Compu-ter (PC), the number of active Internet con-nections swelled to the millions. Thencame the second wave as smartphones andtablets were introduced and quicklyadopted, and all of a sudden a single per-son could have multiple devices connected to each other.

We are now at the beginning of the thirdwave as wearable devicesfitness bands, watches, and eyeglasses, automobiles,appliances, and sensors connect to theInternet, bringing the number of con-nected devices into tens of billions, said thereport.

While the fixed Internet connected 1 bil-lion users via PCs, and the mobile Internet connected 2 billion users via smartphones(on its way to 6 billion), IoT is expected to connect 28 billion things to the Internetby 2020.

This rapid growth is being driven by asteep decline in prices of components suchas RFID chips and the increasing ubiquityof broadband access.

The government of Indias Departmentof Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) released the first IoT policy frame-work proposal for India, in October. This policy document related to the IoT frame-work is part of the broader Digital India vision shared by the central government. The government envisions creating a mar-ket of $15 billion by 2020 in India, increas-ing connected devices from the current 200million to 2.7 billion by 2020. Along withtax incentives and duty rebates on imports (up to 100%) and domestic purchase of rawmaterials required for IoT products manu-facturing, the government also proposes incentives for development of IoT compa-nies incubation centres and funding Indian IoT companies travel to interna-tional exhibitions and industry forums, in its draft policy framework.

The government has proposed an allo-cation of $21 million on a public-privatepartnership basis as 50% funding for at least five projects each from different cate-gories such as smart cities, water, environ-ment, health, waste management, agricul-ture, safety and supply chain or similar IoT applications/projects over a period of three years.

Indias mobile app developer commu-nity of a little over 2 millionexpected to increase to 3 million by 2017also makes it the largest base of mobile app developersin the world. An increasing portion of thesedevelopers could potentially focus on IoT apps and innovations, according to aDecember report by Bengaluru-based tele-com research and advisory firm Conver-gence Catalyst.

But there are challenges too, the reportpoints out.

For instance, India has its own cultural,market and structural challenges that could potentially hinder the growth of anIoT ecosystem in India, both as a market and an innovation hub. Moreover, most of the Indian technology companies (prima-rily in the IT and Telecom domains) areprimarily service businesses and are not

product or platform companies.While service-based businesses ensure

early revenues, they lack scalability and have lesser competitive advantage, In orderto lead the IoT space, and leverage the domestic and global market opportunities and most importantly compete with global companies, Indian technology-based com-panies need to evolve into product and platform developers, the Convergence Cat-alyst report says.

The IoT value chain in India is also dis-connected and fragmented. There is a lack of component players, which is a key hin-drance for design, testing and developmentof IoT products in India.

Sourcing these components (mainlyfrom China) is a time consuming process, which could extend the product develop-ment cycle, and could also introduce potential quality issues.

Another key issue in India is the fewernumber of large-scale electronics and sem-iconductor products manufacturing facili-ties. Also, wireless data connectivity is not ubiquitous in India. This is a fundamentalstructural issue for deployment and adop-tion of IoT applications and services in India.

And, as digital infrastructure goes main-stream, there can be challenges like secu-rity, data breach, interoperability and pri-vacy which may pose barriers to the overallframework, note the KPMG analysts intheir report. Security could be of the utmost concern, as data would beexchanged over connected devices andunderpinned by data breach of personalinformation. The consumer could be oneof the most important stakeholders in this scenario, the report notes.

Data privacy in digital infrastructureholds a high value as it is directly related to personalization and real-time insight gen-eration.

According to the Department of Elec-tronics and Information Technology (DeitY), the IoT industry in India is expected to be a $15 billion market by 2020. It is expected that India would have a share of 5-6% of the global IoT industry.

Digital infrastructure is expected to cre-ate tremendous opportunities for technol-ogy companies across verticals and in keyapplications like smart cities, smart utili-ties, smart healthcare and smart transpor-tation. Technology visionaries and severalstart-ups are already flooding the marketwith smart devices and are intent on takingit to the next level where these devices would be collectively intelligent, notes thereport. According to software industry lobby group Nasscom, over 400 start-ups ofthe current total of 3,100 (over 800 getadded annually), deal with disruptive tech-nologies like wearable tech, home automa-tion and fleet management, 3D printing,payment solutions and automation, bigdata and social media analytics.

India, with an enhanced focus on digitalinfrastructure under the Bharatiya JanataParty-led government, can look forward to addressing the current social economicchallenges faced by the people, leveraging the power of digital infrastructure, notesthe KPMG report, adding that digital infra-structure can also be expected to play a big role in the success of the Make in India programme.

STAY CONNECTED

WHY THE INTERNET OF THINGS MATTERS

The Internet of Things seeks to enable things to be connected any time, any place, and with anything or anyone. It is rapidly emerging as a third, and likely bigger, wave in the development of the Internet, where consumers could be one of the most important stakeholders

A CONNECTED WORLDBy 2017, there will likely be 1.4 billion mobile sensing health and fitness app downloads worldwide. The use of health apps is expected to increase the fastest over the next five years.

While the fixed Internet connected 1 billion users via PCs, and the mobile Internet connected 2 billion users via smartphones (on its way to 6 billion), IoT is expected to connect 28 billion things to the Internet by 2020.

The government of Indias Department of Electronics and Information Technologys IoT policy framework proposal, released in October, envisions creating a market of $15 billion by 2020 in India, increasing the number of connected devices from the current 200 million to 2.7 billion in five years.

Indias mobile app developer community of a little over 2 million, which is expected to increase to 3 million by 2017, makes it the largest base of mobile app developers in the world.

sources: kpmg, nasscom, convergence catalyst

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nomic, an IT infrastructure manage-ment services firm.

GetActive, which started selling itsproducts in 2012, claims to have acustomer base of 20,000 in India across the corporate and retail sectorin the age group of 30-40 years. Prod-ucts are sold via the official website,as well as through more than 100partners in India across e-commercesites such as Flipkart.com and alsothrough offline retailers such asCroma, SPORTXS and Religare Well-ness. GetActive is hoping to go globalby the second half of 2015 in neigh-bouring countries in South-east Asia,Australia, New Zealand and the Mid-dle East. GetActive is also looking atstarting a marketplace for health spe-cialists to provide expert assistance to users, and also offer them a cus-tomized health package that they canchoose. The company also plans toexpand its current offerings and hasfiled for three provisional patents lastyear. To take their plans forward,GetActive is looking to raise $3-5 mil-lion via institutional funding fromventure capitalists.

get rewarded with virtual currencyfor meeting or exceeding their pre-programmed fitness goals from theapp, which could be redeemed forreal gifts at retail stores or a freehealth check-up.

The three products include awristband called GetActive Tapp,priced at `4,999. The band trackssteps taken by the user, body massindex, provides personalized healthupdates using data analytics con-nected through Bluetooth to a smart-phone.

The other two products currentlyavailable include GetActive Slim, adevice priced at `2999, that has abuilt-in sleep monitor and a fitnesstracker and GetActive eZ, which sellsat `1,999 and is a fitness tracker witha large LCD display. GetActivereceived funding from ex-Infosysexecutives T. Mohandas Pai, andSharad Hegdethe two had previ-ously worked with Naseem at Info-sys; as well as from Kiran Anan-dampillai, co-founder of OnMobile,a mobile services company, and P.Rangarajan, co-founder of App-

BY BERYL [email protected]

GetActive was started by twofitness enthusiasts who weredetermined to make peopletake their health seriously. Onreturning to India in 1998, afterspending four years at GE MedicalSystems, I realized that people tendto ignore their health after joining acorporate job. This made me thinkof doing something that could makepeople take their health more seri-ously, said Mohammed HussainNaseem, a self-confessed fitnessfreak who at 50 still participates inlong-distance running. Naseem, anIIT Bombay mechanical engineeringgraduate, spent 20 years workingacross various roles in companiessuch as GE, Wipro, Infosys and IBMbefore finally deciding to set up a fit-ness-based start-up after working ona whitepaper on how technologywould play a disruptive role inhealthcare, as part of his role ashead of the healthcare vertical atIBM in 2005.

2mpower Health ManagementServices was started in 2009 byNaseem and his longtime familyfriend, Murtaza Beawerwala, ownerof a family-run retail business whowas keen to aid Naseem in doingsomething to spread health aware-ness after seeing the positivechanges in his own familys lifestyle,based on Naseems advice.

The first two years of 2mpowerwas as a wellness centre in Banga-lore where a team of doctors, physio-therapists, and nutritionists went tocorporates to get employees enrolledin a typical fitness programme with apersonal health coach. While weearned 2,500 clients with this initia-tive, with an 80% dropout rate fromthe programme, we learnt that peo-ple are willing to take initiativestowards better health, but hate athird person regulating their life-style, said Naseem. The solution tothis problem came in the form ofGetActive, which came out withthree smart health monitoringdevices. These could be connectedto a smartphone app through abuddy programme for users to trainand compete with each other. Users

The serious business of health

THE GAME CHANGERSMint profiles some entrepreneurs who have used the Internet of Things to take their startups to the next level

ENTERPRISE NAME: 2mpower Health Management Services Pvt. LtdENTREPRENEURS: Mohammed Hussain Naseem (50) and Murtaza Beawerwala (53) FOUNDED: September 2011LOCATION: BengaluruBRAND NAME: GetActive


LeChal is the brainchild of Krisp-ian Lawrence, an electronicsengineer-turned lawyer-turnedentrepreneur, who left his job atWashington D.C.-based law firmFinnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Gar-rett & Dunner Llp. He started hiscompany specializing in interactive footwear based on haptic technologythat recreates the sense of touchthrough vibration, along with hisfriend Anirudh Sharma, an ex-teamleader for MIT Media Lab India Initi-atives.

LeChal is a Hindi phrase meaningtake me along. I was always pas-sionate about haptics right from myengineering days, and althoughthere wasnt much buzz aroundwearable technology in 2011, westarted working on a prototype shoe that had sensors and vibrationmotors embedded in the soles, thatcould connect to a phone app viaBluetooth and direct the person wearing the shoes, as to which direc-tion to move, by vibrating inresponse to simple foot tapping orgestures, and which could also beprogrammed to perform specifictasks, says Lawrence. While initiallythe shoes were intended for the visu-ally impaired, the founders later real-ized that the shoes could be benefi-cial to others as well. The companyreceived 50,000 pre-orders from agegroups of 20-40 year olds around theworld for the two productsshoesand in-soles, both priced at $149.99.

LeChal was started with an initialinvestment of $250,000 from thefounders themselves, and in Novem-

ber 2013, it got $2 million in fundingfrom angel investors. Lawrence andSharmawho now have a team of 53people, 12 vendors, and a 40-year-old shoe manufacturing companyworking with themare looking toraise another $2 million from thesame group of investors or otherventure capitalists, retail and tech-nology companies who could bringmore value to LeChal. The additionalcash will be used to scale up opera-tions, expanding to 70 countriesworldwide, as well as for researchand development, to introduce otherhaptic-based wearables. LeChal has filed for 24 patents and is looking tolaunch one more wearable device bySeptember 2015. The company isalso in discussions with an interna-tional sports brand to sell its prod-ucts by next yearas the companywhich specializes in productsaround the technology of touch,believes that the touch and feel ofa product that is possible in anoffline model, is as important as sell-ing through an online model.

Shoes that show the wayENTERPRISE NAME: Ducere Technologies Pvt. LtdENTREPRENEURS: Krispian Lawrence (31) and Anirudh Sharma (29)FOUNDED: September 2011LOCATION: Secunderabad, TelanganaBRAND NAME: LeChal

ENTERPRISE NAME: Diabeto MedTech India Pvt. LtdENTREPRENEURS:Amir Shaikh (45), Hemanshu Jain (29), Shreekant Pawar (32)FOUNDED: January 2012LOCATION: MumbaiBRAND NAME: Diabeto

Sugar monitoring made easy


After my dad lost a file with over a100 blood sugar readings, care-fully collected and manually storedover the 30 years that he has beenbattling with diabetes, I decided tocreate a wireless device that couldread and store blood sugar readings,and that is how the idea for Diabetowas born, said Shreekant Pawar, 32, a former B.Pharm student at Univer-sity of Mumbai and MBA from Uni-versity of Northampton, UK, who co-founded three technology start-upsbefore Diabeto.

Pawar roped in childhood friend,Hemanshu Jain, a mechanical engi-neer from Visvesvaraya Technologi-cal University, who co-founded start-up Farasbee focused on digital marketing with Pawar in October 2010. Amir Shaikh, an electrical engi-neer from McGill University, Canada,and Diabetos third co-founder, isbased in the US and is himself aserial entrepreneur-turned angel investor. After working with Pawar atdigital technology start-up, YouSen-dIt Inc. that Shaikh co-founded, heinvested in Pawars earlier animationstart-up, Toon Media in 2009. Shaikhinvested $30,000 in Diabeto in Janu-ary 2012, helping the company toprototype the product.

Diabeto is a non-intrusive Blue-tooth-powered fist-sized device that enables the transfer of glucose read-ings from a glucometer into a mobiledevice and displays and stores theinformation on a cloud server, whichcan then be sent to a smartphoneapp, to be shared with a doctor, elim-inating the necessity of a clinicalvisit. In November 2012, Diabetoreceived a $40,000 grant after it was selected in Start-up Chile, a start-upincubation programme started by theChilean government. This helpedmake Diabeto launch-ready, allow-ing the founders, along with a team of five, to outsource production of the device to a 3D printing companyin Mumbai. Diabeto then went intoalpha-testing mode in July 2014, when Diabeto partnered with the University College of London (UCL)to distribute a few devices for trials, and also launched an online trial campaign around the same timewhich saw 200 people from 22 coun-tries volunteer to test the product. While these initial trials helped fix anumber of bugs, Diabeto will next launch a campaign on start-upcrowdfunding platform Indi-egogo.com, from which it hopes to raise $10,000 to commercially launchDiabeto by May or June 2015. Dia-beto has received 500 pre-orders todate for the device which is priced at$50.

The founders are also looking toadd more features to the product to make it a health device that can be used by anyone, and it is in talks withdieticians and diabetologists to launch a health platform at a laterstage. We are also in talks with Nass-com and Google for funding to takethese plans forward, after our prod-ucts hit the market, added Pawar.

Mohammed Hussain Naseem (left) with GetActive CMO Bijoe George.

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Shreekant Pawar (left) with the Diabeto team.

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Krispian Lawrence (second from right) with the Ducere Technologies team.

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In February 2013, two 26-year-oldelectronics engineering graduates,Abhishek Latthe and ApurvaShetty, who were former classmates inGovindram Seksaria Science College,Belgaum, decided to take their passionfor technology to the next level bystarting SenseGiz with an initial investment of `2 lakh of their ownmoney.

We wanted to start a companyoffering IoT products, as we found thisto be the most happening sector in thetechnology space and besides it alsorequired less investment than some-thing like robotics, which I had previ-ously dabbled in for a universityproject. Thus, we spent the whole of2012 doing proof of concepts on whatproducts would click in the IoT space,and finally came out with two prod-ucts, Find and Star, explains Latthe,who prior to starting SenseGiz wasvice-president of operations at GirnarAlloys Pvt. Ltd, while Shetty was a sen-ior manager at Geared HydroPowerPvt. Ltd.

Find, the only product currentlyavailable, is a simple Bluetooth trackerthat can be attached to items such as bags, phones or keysor even pets to alert the user through a smartphoneapp about the location of the tagged item, and also setting off an alarm if the tagged object goes out of the pre-set range. The device, which is pricedat `1,495, has a built-in waterproof,

replaceable battery that can last up to six months.

Since July, SenseGiz has sold 12,000units of Find from customers agedbetween 20-60 years, including 3,500pre-orders, after the firm did crowd-funding in May, successfully raising`40,000. Find is currently available in50 countries, including US and Japan,where the company sells its productsthrough 40 retail stores each.

SenseGiz also has two subsidiarycompanies in US and Ireland, whichhandles 90% of its sales and market-ing. India contributes only 10% to ouroverall sales, although all the productdevelopment is from India. However, we believe that in the next 1-2 years,

the products will catch up in India, with IoT gradually gaining groundhere, said Latthe.

SenseGiz also sells its productthrough its own website and throughe-commerce sites such as Amazon,Snapdeal, and eBay.

Star, the other product from theSenseGiz stable, is available in theform of a wearable device or a clipwith a built-in battery, that can beattached to clothing, that sets offemergency alarms from a panic buttonon the device, through a built-in GPStracker in case the wearer is in trouble,and also tracks fitness levels and sleeppatterns, connected by Bluetooth to asmartphone app.

Star also allows users to make callsor take photos using customized ges-ture control pre-programmed into thesmartphone app, besides allowing theuser to set reminders as well. Star isavailable for pre-order from SenseGiz website at a cost of `7,000.

Latthe and Shetty, who have filed forfive patents in India and the US, are looking to raise `5 lakh by early 2015, which will be used for further researchand development, sales and market-ing, and for hiring another five peoplethat SenseGiz is looking to add to itsexisting team of 12, by the end of thefirst quarter of 2015. Our goal is to sell1.5 lakh units of Find and 50,000 unitsof Star by the end of 2015, said Latthe.

A Bluetooth trackerENTERPRISE NAME: SenseGiz Technologies Pvt. LtdENTREPRENEURS: Abhishek Latthe (28) and Apurva Shetty (28)FOUNDED: February 2013LOCATION: Belgaum, Karnataka BRAND NAME: SenseGiz

ENTERPRISE NAME: GOQii Inc.ENTREPRENEUR: Vishal GondalFOUNDED: February 2014BRAND NAME: GOQii

ENTERPRISE NAME: RHLvision Technologies Pvt. LtdENTREPRENEUR: Rohildev Nattukallingal (24)FOUNDED: August 2013LOCATION: Kochi, KeralaBRAND NAME: Fin Robotics

A simple interface


It started in 2010, when RohildevNattukallingal, then in his thirdyear of computer science and engi-neering from Kathir College of Engi-neering in Tamil Nadu, decided thathe wanted to create a touchless technology that could do somethingas simple as regulating volume con-trol on the laptop or TV screen,without the user having to leave hisseat.

This led Rohildev to develop RHL-camMouse, a gestural interface for computing using finger movementsfrom afar to perform basic functionssuch as controlling volume, drag

and drop and copy-paste on a PC. That was just the beginning. From

there, he moved on to other gesture-based technology projects such asFernePlayer, a touchless musicplayer for smartphones, and IntAds, an interactive video ad platform, askull image recognition software,and finally in May 2013, Fin, a wear-able ring that converts the palm intoa gesture interface, allowing the

wearer to control devices such as smartphones, smart TVs, automo-biles and home automation devicesusing integrated Bluetooth sensorswas born.

In July 2013, Rohildev set up FinRobotics with an initial seed fund of`15 lakh from Dr Ritesh Malik, an entrepreneur from start-up fund, Guerilla Ventures. Rohildev alsoraised $200,000 through start-up

crowdfunding platform Indi-egogo.com in January 2014 and got 3,000 pre-orders from customersacross 41 countries, aged between18-45 years, said Famees T., chiefoperations officer at Fin Robotics.

The devices are expected to belaunched by the end of May at aprice of $120 in the US and India through the official website. Nattu-kallingal, who has filed for two pat-ents in the US and India, is alsolooking to add more features to Finand is currently in the research anddevelopment mode to develop onthis with his team of 15 employees.

From winning second runner upposition at the Microsoft BizsparkStartup Challenge in May 2013, tobeing the only Indian start-up to beinvited for the Pioneers Festival2013, Europes largest start-up festi-val in Vienna, Austria, in October2013, to being selected as one of thetop 15 start-ups in the world in Janu-ary at the TechCrunch Hardware Battlefield 2014, to being the young-est speaker at GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February 2014, Nattukallingal has been on awinning spree with his various smarttechnology trysts and Fin is just yetanother feather in his cap.

BY ASHNA [email protected]

When Sagar Apte and Deepak Tho-mas left their jobs at US technol-ogy firm PubMatic, the two automobile enthusiasts were quite clear about what they wanted: equipping automobiles with intelligent features that are stand-ard in many cars abroad.

CarIQ Technologies was launched in

October 2013 with money raised from several angel investors. Later,Catapooolt, a crowdfunding platformwas used to raise funds.

The idea was to bring the entire carto the cloud, Apte said in an interview. The company provides an online solu-tion for owners to monitor their cars. It provides statistics and interacts with service providers who can analyse and assess these parameters. It helps detect components close to failing and analy-ses how the car is driven. It sourcesinformation on road conditions,weather and even the fuel supplied.

CarIQs USB-like device plugged intoa port under the steering wheel con-nects to the Internet. It tracks parame-ters such as coolant temperature, serv-ice alerts and engine load, while con-

tinuously giving feedback to the driver.Once the platform detects that there

is a parameter in critical condition, itstarts sending out emails to nearby workshops and mechanics. CarIQ cur-rently has more than 200 customers using the platform in India. Each devicealong with a two-year subscription package costs around `6,000. Apte expects the cost to come down as vol-umes increase.

We think the potential in the com-pany is immense and its benefits arenot restricted only to car users. Going ahead, the company with its access toso much data can create a lot of valuefor insurance companies, said JohnKuruvilla, investment professional withGenNext Innovation Hub, an incubator founded by Reliance Industries Ltd.

CarIQ is part of the first batch of theInnovation Hub. The firm is looking toraise funding in a few months.

Making cars smarterENTERPRISE NAME: CarIQ Technologies Pvt. LtdENTREPRENEURS: Sagar Apte and Deepak ThomasFOUNDED: August 2012BRAND NAME: CarIQ

Abhishek Latthe (left) and Apurva Shetty.

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Rohildev Nattukallingal (centre).

BY A SHNA [email protected]

In 1999, Vishal Gondal foundedgaming company Indiagames,which was later acquired by Walt Dis-ney Co. in a deal worth $80-100 mil-lion. Gondal, who was managingdirector of the digital arm of Disney-UTVwhich is a part of Walt DisneyCo. (India) Pvt. Ltdquit in April of2013.

GOQii is his second venture, whichhe started in February last year. It pro-duces bands that measure the amountof physical effort made by the bodythe number of steps taken and dis-tance walked. This data is linked to anapplication available on the phonethat is tracked by fitness trainers,nutritionists and dieticians. The appli-cation then provides advice to theuser about the kind of diet and exer-cise he or she needs. The companyoffers two subscription models at`6,999 and `11,999 for the half-yearlyand yearly packages, respectively.

GOQii uses the concept of KarmaPoints, which users can collect rela-tive to the distance they walk or runwhen using the product. The com-pany has partnerships with philan-thropic organizations who will con-vert the Karma Points into donations.

The company competes with Fitbit,Nikes FuelBand and Jawbone UP.According to Gondal, his firm is not inthe wearable band business, but inthe business of helping people get fitand changing their lives. Soon GOQiiwill be opening up its platform toother bands, which means that youcan use any band. In turn, we will usethe band of your preference to con-nect you to good karma and a goodcoach, which will ultimately help youreach your lifes goal.

GOQii had raised an undisclosedamount in angel funding from NeerajArora, business development head atmessaging service WhatsApp Inc., andMarco Argenti, vice-president,mobile, at Amazon Web Services Inc.in 2014. GOQii has the backing ofinvestors from varied backgroundssuch as Amit Singhal, senior vice-president and software engineer atGoogle Inc., and Bollywood actorMadhuri Dixit-Nene.

The health bandVishal Gondal.

Deepak Thomas (left) and Sagar Apte.

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Swamy. At that time, Bank of Indialent us `26 lakh without any collateralunder a central governments schemeCGTMSE (Credit Guarantee FundTrust for Micro and Small Enter-prises).

We are now looking at doing moreresearch and development work aswell as expand our reach. We are talk-ing to few investors to raise about `1crore to get into the consumer space,he adds.

The 13-people company which,apart from working with manufactur-ers, works with municipal corpora-tions and city administration depart-ments for monitoring and controllingthings such as streetlights and waterlevels in overhead tankers, is planningto launch affordable consumer prod-ucts for monitoring and controllingwater, gas and energy consumption inhouseholds through SMSes or anAndroid app.

started designing a product that couldmonitor different parameters of anindustrial process, collect all the dataand send it on a centralized platformthrough SMSes for the client. Later hemoved the product from SMS-basedto GPRS-based platform.

He founded Meti M2M India withGeetesh N.S. in 2012 with an indus-trial product which monitors variousparameters, including gas or liquidflow, temperature, pressure andhumidity for different processes inmanufacturing industry, put all thedata on a cloud-based, centralizedplatform, provide the analysed data tomonitor the processes to conserveenergy and take the corrective meas-ures if required.

While looking to manufacture theproduct two years back, we startedlooking for funds. We went to fourbanks with our proposals but three ofthem rejected us outright, says

BY MOULISHREE [email protected]

From a data entry operator in thecentral governments excise andcustom department for 13 yearsto being a technical consultant for asemiconductor company to becominga co-founder and managing directorof a company that deals with theInternet of things, Narayana Swamyhas come a long way.

Swamy doesnt hold any fancydegrees; he is not even an engineer. Iwasnt qualified enough to do otherthings. I was always underestimatedand mostly bossed around, saysSwamy who is an Industrial TrainingInstitute diploma holder in computerscience.

Between working in the govern-ments administration department,and learning coding and creating soft-ware for the excise and customdepartments, he set up an electronicslab in his house in 2004. With thehelp of two of his friends, GeeteshN.S. and Ganesh Raja, he startedlearning about basics of electricalengineering.

In three years, he became techni-cally sound enough to start consultingfor US-based Cypress SemiconductorsCorp., solving problems online for itsclients around the world. After quit-ting his government job in 2006, hejoined Cypress full time. There, helearnt more about core electronics onthe job over the next five years.

I always wanted to start my owncompany, even when I was workingfor Cypress, says Swamy. In 2011, Ihad a chance to work on a project forHPCL (Hindustan Petroleum Corp.Ltd) for monitoring their under-ground pipelines.

He got an idea from the project and

ENTERPRISE NAME: Yuvera Solutions Pvt. LtdENTREPRENEUR: Raghvendra Saboo (38)FOUNDED: February 2013LOCATION: BengaluruBRAND NAME: Linqs

Monitoring manufacturingENTERPRISE NAME: Meti M2M India Pvt. LtdENTREPRENEURS: Narayana Swamy, 40, Geetesh N.S. (42) FOUNDED: April 2012LOCATION: MysoreBRAND NAME: Meti

Medical telephony

BY ASHNA AMBRE [email protected]

After working as a medical-devicedesign engineer for a firm in Pune,Gautam Morey joined a Taiwanesemobile phone company. This gave himthe idea of creating something in themedical telephony space.

Morey disrupted the way results ofeletrocardiogram or ECG tests weresent, which was by faxing a printout.He set up Sofomo Embedded Solu-tions Pvt. Ltd with an initial invest-ment of `9 lakh and went on to raisean early stage round with FusiontechVentures in 2010. The ECGs sent byfax were often unclear and could lead

ENTERPRISE NAME: Sofomo Embedded Solutions Pvt. LtdENTREPRENEUR: Gautam MoreyFOUNDED: 2007LOCATION: PuneBRAND NAME:Lifeplot UNIQ

to wrong information being transmit-ted to the doctor, said Morey.

He designed a device, which is ableto receive and transmit 12-lead ECGs(12 is the number of ECGs that a doc-tor needs to diagnose the exact treat-ment needed for a critical patient)using wireless technology direct to thecardiologists mobile phone in 40 sec-onds. The product is called LifeplotUNIQ. Morey used embedded technol-ogy and medical instrumentation tocreate the product and offers it as amobile solution.

The device runs on battery for up tothree hours, after which it has to be recharged. It can store the details ofthe patient and minor medical records.It records ECG and sends the report onany type of a cell phone. It can be eas-ily fitted in ambulances, remote pri-mary health centres, small rural nurs-ing homes and all types of hospitals.The device, priced at `40,000, is used by over 100 medical institutions andhas recorded ECGs for over 10,000patients.

ENTERPRISE NAME: Tagbin Services Pvt. LtdENTREPRENEURS: Saurav Bhaik (24), Chetan Bansiwal (22) and Ankit Sinha (24)FOUNDED: May 2013LOCATION: GurgaonBRAND NAME: Tagplug


A typical household. Threefriends. But typical problems.Starting with the frustration ofirregular water supply in Delhi andmounting electricity bills, threeflatmates started looking for a solu-tion to problems that plaguedaround a million households in thenational capital.

The trio, Saurav Bhaik, ChetanBansiwal and Ankit Sinha, created Tagbin Services Pvt. Ltd in May2013 to solve everyday problems byproviding low-cost home automa-tion tools and solutions that couldset and monitor electrical appli-ances in homes in real time as wellas track electricity consumption.

From the class of 2013 at theIndian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, now in their office in Gur-gaon, the three continue to inno-vate in the home automation spaceto reach out to middle-incomehouseholds. We are providingexperiential solutions through technology, says Bhaik, co-founder and chief executive of Tag-bin Services.

Couple of years back, when wewere sharing an apartment inDelhi, we used to have two basicproblems. First, water used to come between 4am and 5am so wecould never get up on time. Sec-ond, our electricity bill went as high as `20,000, says Bhaik. Sincewe were engineers, we thoughtwhy not solve these problems our-selves?

When we started researchingabout it, we found that there weremore than a million households which had water coming at irregu-lar times, adds Bhaik. So we builtan automation tool for the water motor which would switch it on at a pre-determined time. It had analarm as well as a monitor to seeelectricity consumption.

What started with a simplemotor became a full-fledged low-cost home automation solution that can switch on and off electricappliances, set alarms, monitor them and track electricity con-sumption in ones home through asmartphone.

If you go to big brand compa-nies, they will provide you auto-mated solutions, which will costyou lakhs, says Bhaik. But we cando the same thing for about `20-30k. Our focus is to provide tech-nology to Indian middle-income homes.

The solution that Tagbin pro-vides works on Wi-Fi. It has a three-pin plug and switches, bothof which have Wi-Fi chips that con-nect with the router which, in turn,is connected to the users smart-phone, facilitating Internet moni-toring and tracking of the electricappliances as well as consumption.

The companys brand Tagplughas already caught investors atten-tion. Soon, we are planning to make a separate company for Tag-plug. We are talking to investors atpresent as we look to raise about`20 crore.

Tagbin will continue as an expe-riential marketing solution throughtechnologies such as virtual and augmented reality. Under Tagplug,the three founders are planning tostart mass production of theirproduct in Shenzen-based facto-ries. We will be using three differ-ent factories in China to producedifferent parts of the product, which will be shipped and assem-ble in India, said Bhaik.

Solving household issues

HEMANT MISHRA/MINT

Narayana Swamy.


Raghvendra Saboo had been look-ing for an idea to start a companyduring his entire career spanning morethan a decade that included a stint as one of the lead developers at OracleCorp. The idea came one day out of theblue.

One day our water purifier broke, somy wife had called somebody to fix itup. Usually for its maintenance, I usedto keep a record of what was changedwhen and what was needed to be changed, says Saboo. That day, itsuddenly came to me rather than goingback to my excel sheets where I main-tained its records, why couldnt it tell me itself what was it and what was required.

Since that day, I started imaginingevery physical thing talking aboutitself. There was a time of madness in between, he adds.

That is when he started working onthe concept of hyperlinking the physi-cal world with the aim of making physical products smarter by connect-ing them to the Web. He started work-ing on creating digital identities of physical products or what he calls alter ego.

When we click a hyperlink, it givesus more information about that partic-ular word. Here, we are talking about creating hyperlinks for a physicalworld. Why cant a particular thing tellabout itself? he says. With our solu-tion Linqs, you can access information

about any physical product through your smartphone.

Linqs has a platform to build andhost micro mobile Web services forthings. It provides a unique identity(ID) to every object and from theobject ID serves a Web service tailoredfor the users context. In addition, ithas tools that use Linqs tags based onNFC (near field communication) andQR (quick response) codes on productsto connect them to mobile Web serv-ices hosting content about that partic-ular product directly from companies,marketers or brand managers of thatproduct.

In phase one, we are creating toolsfor creating content for which we are looking to tie up with products, brands,marketers, says Saboo. In phase two,most of the content which has beencreated for desktops, we are looking toconvert it for mobile consumption.

To make a case for the technology,Saboo started with business-to-con-sumer products to show what it is actu-ally about. First we started with digitalbusiness cards, 1Card, with NFC tech-

nology which instantly shares yourcontact, social and location details, ready to be saved in a phones addressbook with a tap or a scan, Sabooexplains.

Funding was the difficult part forSaboo.

When I launched the product, eve-rybody was convinced on the needpart of it, but nobody was convincedon the technology part of it, he says.So funding was difficult. I funded it though my personal savings. But the biggest challenge was starting the com-pany alone. All my friends are settled and working in good companies withhandsome packages. Nobody wanted to leave his job.

However, we have been fairly suc-cessful with our customers, thus I havebeen able to generate cash flow to keepthe company running, he adds.

With more people adapting to tech-nologies such as NFC, Saboo says evenif Yuvera had entered the market tooearly, things are changing for the betterwith investors turning positive on the need for the technology.

Products with alter egos

Raghvendra Saboo.

HEMANT MISHRA/MINT

MANOJ VERMA/MINT

Saurav Bhaik.


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IIoT: DRIVING GROWTH IN THE NEXT DECADEAs the world starts to overcome a period of sluggish demandand low productivity growth, economists, business leadersand political leaders are eyeing the next wave of technology innovation to rekindle the world economy. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)the fast growing network of increasingly intelligent connected devicescould be the largest driver for economic growth and employment in the next decade. IIoT is a network of physical objects, systems, platforms and applications that contain embedded technology to communicate and share intelligence with each other, the external environment and with people. The business and economic potential of IIoT on the industry and economy can be even more significant and disruptive than similar technologies that are being applied in the realm of consumer electronics.

IIoT will create new markets as data from billions of connecteddevices unleash an era of products and services that will generate new revenue streams for the manufacturing ecosystem. It could add as much as $14.2 trillion to 20 of the worlds major economies over the next 15 years, according to the latest analysis from Accenture. It also promises a greater fillip to hard-pressed, mature economies than to their emerging market competitors. This would help restore a more healthy trade balance in the global economy.

The national absorptive capacity (NAC) index by Accenture isa measure of potential for economic diffusion of IIoT in a given country and countries in higher positions on the index are more likely to reap the rewards of IIoT diffusion. The US, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands occupy the top positions in the index, while India is at a lower level. To put this into perspective, IIoT can add as much as $47.21 billion to the countrys gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030. India can leapfrog to join the countries on the top of the IIOT chart if companies are willing to take bolder actions and make greater investments in innovation and technology than they are doing today.

There are many companies at the forefront of IIoT-led transformation. Road transport solutions provider Michelin solutions is one such company that has built a high-tech, high-touch IIoT system to reduce fuel consumption in its clients truck fleets. For its new EffiFuel solution, sensors inside the vehicles collect data on fuel consumption, temperature, speed and location, which is then transmitted to a cloud service. Michelin solutions fuel experts analyse the data and make recommendations to fleet managers and its instructors train

drivers in how to use less diesel when driving.Result: truck fleet managers can save twolitres of fuel for every 100km driven.

Taleris, a joint venture between Accentureand General Electric, tackles the issue of airline delays and cancellations caused by equipment failure. It uses sensors that track the performance of equipment and engines whether in flight or not. By focusing on airline fleet optimization far beyond the operational condition of a specific piece of equipment, Taleris can impact overall maintenance schedules. This systemic approach means less disruption, lower costs, better spare-parts inventory management and more satisfied travellers.

These examples illustrate how IIoT has the capacity to create an outcome economy, where companies compete on their ability to deliver predictable outcomes instead of just products and services. It is through the outcome-based applications that IIoT can generate new revenue streams. So far, however, businesses have made gradual progress in applying IIoT to reduce operational expenses, boost productivity or improve worker safety. Drones, for example, are being used to monitor remote pipelines and intelligent drilling equipment can improve productivity in mines.

This slow start in shifting to revenue generating applications may be due to the fact that many countries do not have sufficient underlying conditions to enable this new digital revolution to sweep through their economies. Accenture analysis shows while IIoT could lift the annual GDP of the US, the Nordics or Switzerland by at least 2% by 2030, Spain and Italy look likely to enjoy gains of about half that. That dramatic difference can, in part, be attributed to the quality of their infrastructure, technology skills and innovative capacity, as well as the ease of creating new business models.

The good news is that IIoT is already here, at least among themost forward-thinking companies. But much of its potential is at risk of being lost as companies and policymakers fail to exploit the opportunity. According to an Accenture survey of more than 1,400 business leaders, only 36% claim they fully grasp the implications of IIoT. Just 7% have developed a comprehensive IIoT strategy with investments to match.

IIoT presents an opportunity to transform economies for thosecountries that are willing to put in place the necessary infrastructure and Indias commitment to digitizing the economy could prove a right step in that direction. If IIoT is to be incorporated in a significant way to drive both productivity and growth, business and government leaders need to cooperate in three key areas. First, they must welcome entirely new and more open organizational structures as business models evolve through the shift to a more sophisticated outcome economy. Second, they need to collaborate across industry, sectors and borders to form standards that promote the security and interoperability of data and machines, as well as establish governance structures that encourage and reward the appropriate sharing of key data. Finally, they will need to invest in the new skills needed in working environments, which increasingly amalgamate digital and human labour.

Avinash Vashistha is chairman and geography managing director at Accenture India.

AVINASH VASHISTHAEXPERT VIEWRespond to this column at [email protected]

Todays realities Tomorrows vision

IIoT: CREATING OPPORTUNITIESThe Industrial Internet of Things has been heralded primarily as a way to improve operational efficiency. But in todays environment, companies

can also benefit greatly by seeing it as a tool for finding growth in unexpected opportunities. IIoT presents companies with opportunities to upgrade and offer new services, improve products, and enter new markets. Consider how General Electric, Michelin and CLAAS are going to

market with product-service hybrids by adding digital services (shaded boxes) to their pre-digital products (solid boxes). But even companies that do not sell products, such as Virtual Radiologic, can take advantage of opportunities to expand into digital services

challenges to the defence and resilience of the industrial internet of ThingsCompanies, policy makers, customers and other stakeholders will have to work together to mitigate the risks of intelligent equipment connected to networks.

Source: Accenture

Long lifecycle of systems

Need for continuous operation

System changerequest lag time

Vendorlock-in

Lack ofdocumentation

Regulatorycompliance

Organizationstructure

Human health and safety

Outdated or non-existent policy and access management

Software, sensors and controls running todays facilities and equipment are outdated and difficult to upgrade. Companies cannot readily incorporate new features and improvements.

Limited integration between internal systems (managerial apps, plant data sources) and external partners creates data silos.

Aging operating systems and vulnerable operational technologies pose security risks because they cannot be easily retired or replaced.

Limited embedded computing or intelligence control at the device, product or plant level.

Sensors, communications and other operational technologies are working together with information technologies, most likely meshing in the cloud.

Standard, fast software development techniques are used to create intelligent industrial products.

A common data model and sensing and control architecture that supports the flow of insights and action throughout an organization and its ecosystem of partners.

The IIoT infrastructure is trustworthy and resilient to inevitable compromise.

General Electrics aircraft engine maintenance business, born out of its jet engine business, is now moving to preventive maintenance and expanding into aircraft fleet optimization

commercial offering

categories

information services

Scheduled maintenance(GE Aviation)

new market segment

Jet engines (GE Aviation)

digital product linepre-digital product line

equipment services

products

Go-to-market approach

Michelin is helping truck fleet managers reduce fuel consumption and costs and allowing them to pay for tires on a kilometres-driven basis

commercial offering

categories


new market segmentdigital product linepre-digital product line

equipment services

products


Tires (Michelin)

Farmers can operate CLAAS equipment on autopilot, receive advice on how to improve crop flow and minimize grain losses, or automatically optimize equipment performance. The company is now partnering with other organizations to provide information services to growers via a marketplace called 365FarmNet

product or service



equipment services

products


Machine automation services (CLAAS)

Farm equipment(CLAAS)

vRad began life as an X-ray interpretation service. It has since expanded into the IT services business, offering software services business and more recently an analytics service

product or service



equipment services

products


Radiology interpretation(vRad)

Source: Company websites

Information services sell data and insights or manage a market that sells data.

Equipment services sell product operations and optimization services or sell the product using an as-a-service or for-performance payment model.

Industrial Internet of Things security

issues and considerations

General Electric

Michelin

CLAAS

Virtual Radiologic

Key

Fuel consumption reduction service(Michelin Solutions)

Tires as a service(Michelin Solutions)

Tires with sensors(Michelin)

Radiology workflow

SaaS (vRad)

Radiology analytics and benchmarking

(vRad)

Remote diagnostics and optimization services (CLAAS)

Farm equipment with sensors (CLAAS)

Partner in ag info service marketplace (365FarmNet)

Preventive maintenance(Taleris joint venture)

Jet engines (GE Aviation)

Aircraft fleet optimization (Taleris joint venture)

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THE CONNECTED LIFEIOT BEST GADGETS

The latest generation of gadgets are a lot more self aware, and play along with other devices as wellInternet of Things (IoT) is all about the connected life. These new age gadgets have integrated Internet access capabilitieshook them up to a wired or wireless Internet connection. They are assigned

an Internet Protocol (IP) address in the background, just as your laptop or phone would, and join the network. These gadgets are designed for machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, and alsoutilize the connectivity with your smartphone or tablet for additional functionality. Simply put, the data from such devices is shared over the network, stored and accessed via a smartphone or PC app.

The exciting part is that these apps can also be used to trigger actions, which you normally would do by pressing a physical button on the gadget, or via a remote control. We look at some of the coolestInternet of Things category gadgets that money can buy, and some that are up for pre-orders.

Vishal Mathur [email protected]

luggages boarding card

TrakdoT Luggagewww.trakdot.com $49.99 + $19.99 annual subscription (shipping extra)buy: NowYou land in New York after a tiring 14 hour journey from New Delhi. Make your way to collect the luggage after the arrival formalities. Everyones suitcases and handbags mill around on the belt and the monotony is broken every few seconds by the joyous cheer of someone who has identified theirs. The crowd starts to thin out, but your suitcase is nowhere in sight. Trackdot luggage is the most helpful accessory to avoid such inconvenient moments. Charge it, drop it amidst your clothes, and monitor the movement of that piece of luggage via the smartphone app (Android and iOS). When the aircraft is on the ground, this little device wakes up and latches on to available GSM mobile networks at that location (as a user, you dont need to worry about setting the networksthis does it automatically, just like how Amazon does on the Kindle e-book readers). GPS, which is usually the default method used by most tracking devices, has been avoided because it doesnt work inside airport terminal buildings or in closed spaces. If your luggage pops up on the app and shows Los Angeles as the location, time to head to the airline helpdesk and request that the necessary corrective action be taken.

mood lighting

emberLighTwww.emberlight.co$49 (shipping extra)buy: Pre-orderAny product that can upgrade the existing gadgets in your home will always pack in more value than the others that require a ground-up investment. Emberlight turns the lighting fixtures in your home, into the smart lights. It is essentially a holder attachment, one that fits on the existing one and the bulb screws into the Emberlight instead. These devices allow complete lighting level control via the smartphone app (iOS and Android), over the local Wi-Fi. Users can also set timed modes for automatic dimming of one or more lights. Plus, on a cold winter night, you wouldnt need to get out of the warm bed to turn off the living room lightone tap on the smartphone screen takes care of that.

WindoW of opportunity

Wink hub and Quirky+ge Tripperwww.quirky.com$50 + $40 (shipping extra)buy: NowIf you are living in an unsafe neighbourhood, or simply forget to lock the windows and doors before leaving home, we would suggest you install Tripper. The package includes two sensors, which you can place on doors, windows or even the kitchen cabinets. These sensors connect to the Wink Hub which, in turn, is hooked up to your homes Wi-Fi network. The open/closed status is available via the smartphone app (Android and iOS), with alerts if the status changes. The Hub itself is compatible with even more smart sensors, bulbs, alarms and camerasin case you want to add smarter quotient to your home along the way.

sharing moments

ceiVa Share framewww.ceiva.com$149.99 (shipping extra)buy: NowIt has often been said that photographs capture memories and make them permanent. The traditional photo albums have been replaced by the smarter digital frames with Wi-Fi connectivity. The CEIVA service also bundles unlimited online photo storage space, connected with the frame. Click a photo with your smartphone, and share it instantly with any connected frame from within the CEIVA Snap app (Android and iOS). Each frame has a unique email address, letting your friends and family share snaps too. The 8-inch screen has a 1,024x768 pixel resolution.

breathe easy

fooboT air moniTorwww.foobot.io169 (shipping extra)buy: nowFoobot has a bunch of sensors on itself, which constantly accumulate data about the quality of indoor air. The smartphone app breaks this down into individual elementssuspended particulate matter, humidity, CO2, etc., and then suggests steps to rectify the situation in case any element is too low or two high. Over time, Foobot will understand the sources of air pollution too, and suggest alternatives. A must have for someone who suffers from throat related illnesses, or just generally lives in a polluted environment. The long-term benefits of this product make this worth the investment.


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the ring on your finger

moTa SmarT ringwww.mota.com$99 (shipping extra)buy: Pre-orderIf you ever wanted a wearable that didnt gather attraction like a sore thumb, this is the one to consider. Essentially the size of a finger-ring, the MOTA Smart Ring pairs with your smartphone (Android and iOS) and pushes new notificationstext messages, calls, emails, Facebook updates, Twitter mentions, etc.to the ring. Without having to take the phone out of the pocket, you can read the updates on the rings screen. Wearables have limited functionality at the moment, but are rather addictive once you get used to them.

the baker

drop kiTchenwww.getdrop.com$99.95 (shipping extra)buy: NowThe Drop Kitchen package blends the Connected Scale and the Recipe app (for Apple iPadan iPhone app in the works). The app lists recipes, which are interactive and can be tweaked according to your requirement (or if you dont have enough of a particular ingredient). The scale connects to the iPad over Bluetooth and measures the ingredients accurately. The battery of this scale lasts about 1 year. This could do well in a kitchen of someone who loves to cook.

the cookie that doesnt crumble

Sen.Se moTherwww.sen.se$199 (shipping extra), $299 (shipping extra)buy: NowThis rather fun combination of a control pod (Mother) and sensors (known as Motion Cookies), allows you to keep tabs on things and people. Stick one cookie to the toothbrush of your child, and youll be notified when the dental care procedure

before hitting the bed is complete. Tag it on your childs schoolbag,

and youll be notified via the smartphone app when the child has safely entered home. Want to know who moves your furniture while you arent looking? Simply put the cookie on a piece of furniture, and get an alert

the instant movement is detected.

drink smartly

VeSSyL connecTed cupwww.myvessyl.com$99 (shipping extra), $119 (shipping extra)buy: pre-orderThis cup has a capacity of holding up to 384ml of liquid. In essence, it monitors the quantity of liquid you have been drinking, and displays that on a small screen. It works with water, milk, tea, coffee and even slightly thicker liquids such as milk shakes or yogurt. The battery fully charges in 60 minutes, and lasts 3-4 days before you need to dock it and recharge. The interior of the cup is non-stick, and the lid is spill proof. Keeps tabs on the liquid intake, and also pairs with your phone to give notifications in case it detects you arent hydrating enough.

safer biking

hammerhead onewww.hammerhead.io$85 (shipping extra)buy: Pre-orderThis is a safety and convenience gadget for cycling enthusiasts who love to discover new places. The device locks on to the handlebars of just about any bicycle and the blinking LED lights tell the rider which direction to take next. The 20-hour battery life should cover most of the treks. The smartphone app (Android and iOS) can be used to plot a route on a map and a single tap sends it via Bluetooth to the One device attached to the bicycle. There is a 15-lumen headlight to show you the way after the sun has gone down, or use the flashing mode to alert rescuers if you are stuck. Plus, Hammerhead One is as cool a name as the Jensen Interceptor.


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Connecting, collaborating and making it happenInternet of Things (IoT), seemly a very new idea, actually tracesits roots back to 1999 in the precincts of MIT, a hallowed institution which has always been a hotbed of innovation. Many believe that IoT is simply that point in time when the number of objects or things connected to the Internet exceeded the number of people on this planet. In 2003, there were 500 million devices that were connected, and the human population was 6.3 billion. That was only about 0.08 device for every person. The concept of IoT as we know today did not exist then, because the number was relatively small and smartphones were yet to be introduced, which would eventually distort the ratio beyond recognition. By 2010, there were 12.5 billion connected devices for 6.8 billion people. About 1.84 devices per person. In 2015, it is estimated to be 3.47 devices per person (25 billion connected devices and 7.2 billion people). If it goes like this, 6.5 devices per person is envisaged in 2020. By these estimates, 2008-09 would have been the time when it happened. An IoT augmented world will have trillions of sensors, feeding into billions of intelligent systems, running on millions of applications.

Globally, governments focus in IoT has been a function of intensity of commitment and use case coverage. Countries such as China, Australia, the US, Germany and the European Union have a high level of penetration. Whereas, Malaysia, India, South Korea, Japan and Singapore fall in the mid-range. The Chinese government, in its 12th five-year plan, has made a commitment of $800 million and allocated 23 sq. km area for IoT, in one of the SEZs. Both the US and Australia are focusing on building a strong broadband network, a pre-requisite for smart cities. Germany has proposed heavy usage of IoT in manufacturing and though the EU is equally upbeat, concerns around data security are still being averted.

In India, the smart city and digital India campaign will leverageIoT to bring about change. Addressing and solving problems that large cities are crippled with is about being different (smart). Issues such as transport system, parking, lighting, waste management, water management, womens safety, etc., are areas with varying degrees of concern.

We will need sensors at strategic points to collect data, applications to analyse this data and analytics to ensure quick decision making. Other sectors such as agriculture, health services, energy, and disaster management can supplant the way things are done with IoT. Besides direct applications of IoT, the IT industry can provide allied services such as analytics and applications just as well.

The participation and collaboration of key stakeholders (government, industry and citizens) at appropriate stages is crucial, as much as effective policies, selection of essential domains and emphasis on problem solving. Ultimately, it is about increasing value for stakeholders and bringing down cost. The framework of the proposed IoT policy has five vertical pillarsdemonstration centres, capacity building and incubation, R&D and innovation, incentives and engagements, human resource developmentwith two effectual horizontal supports, standards

and governance structure. For example, demonstration centres will identify, prioritize and

then develop five domain-specific strategies such as green buildings, smart grids, industrial monitoring, healthcare, telematics, etc. An initial funding of `125 crore through the public-private partnership route is expected, where private firms are required to put in an equal amount. The government will promote institutional capacity building with ERNET (Education and Research Network) as the nodal agency, and 15 other academic/institutional partners. Under this programme, the government will fund to create resource centres and test-beds as a common experimental facility. National Centres of Excellence (CoE) for IoT (CoE-IoT) will be set up to host incubation infrastructure that will support start-ups, SMEs, students and other innovators. Nasscom and allied bodies will liaise with industry while ERNET will provide the academic interfacing. Initially, there will be five such centres for a period of five years, and each centre (at an estimated cost of `35 crore) will provide for

a 40-seater facility. For this alone, `100 croreis likely to be allocated by the governmentand the remaining will have to come fromthe industry.

The R&D and innovation initiative in the IoT policy frameworkwill identify core members of R&D in each field of technology, promote cloud-based open source projects and initiate test labs for hardware-to-hardware and hardware-to-software integration. There would be incentives and engagements to attract venture funds in related domains such as memory processors, sensors, low-power devices and solar electronics. The human resource development focus, across levels, will create IoT education and awareness programmes in the department of electronics and information technology (DeitY) for developing specific skill sets.

These are some of the big-bang approaches that are likely to come about and ensure that things happen as per plan. The committeesadvisory committee, governance committee and programme management unitwill have to work in collaboration and see the project through.

If IoT is about connecting devices seamlessly, then stakeholderswill have to ensure that collaboration between departments, various bodies, industry, academia and such other happen just as smoothly. The efficacy of this project will largely be determined by how easily disparate structures are able to work together, yet retaining their USPs and strengths.

The 2020 vision of creating a $15 billion IoT industry for India iswithin reach, provided we work now, work fast but most importantly, work with people and ideas which may be very different from our own.

K.S. Viswanathan is vice-president at Nasscom.

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K.S. VISWANATHANEXPERT VIEWRespond to this column at [email protected]

INTERNET OF THINGS (IoT) The Internet of Things is the networked connection of physical objects. IoT is one of the many technology transitions that enable the Internet of Everything (IoE)

M2M Machine-to-machine

P2P People-to-people connections. Collaboration (e.g. Video/TP)

M2P Machine-to-people connections. Big data/Analytics (e.g. information dashboards)

CONNECTED CAR Smart cars

SMART OBJECTS A smart object is an object that enhances the interaction with not only people but also with other smart objects. It can not only refer to interaction with physical word objects but also to interaction with virtual (computing environment) objects

INTERNET OF EVERYTHING (IoE) The Internet of Everything is the networked connection of people, data, processes and things. The IoE is made up of many technology transitions, including the Internet of Things

INDUSTRIAL INTERNET OF THINGS Its enabling the IoT on industrial devices

INTELLIGENT AGENT (IA) It is an autonomous entity which observes through sensors and acts upon an environment using actuators (i.e. it is an agent) and directs its activity towards achieving goals

RADIO-FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION It is the wireless use of electromagnetic fields to transfer data, for the purposes of automatically identifying and tracking tags attached to objects

CONNECTIONS The information flows from one entity to others for specific purposes, where entities include people, devices, applications, and networks. Can be people-to-people (P2P), machine-to-people (M2P), or machine-to-machine (M2M)

GLOSSARY

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