Most of us probably either remember, or have heard of, “The Jetsons.”
In this futuristic television show from the 60s, George, Jane, Judy and Elroy -- along with their dog, Astro -- traveled in flying cars, watched flat-screened tv’s, made video phone calls, and employed Rosie the Robot as house cleaner and nanny.
An amazing number of the technologies imagined in “The Jetsons” has been realized over the years, maybe even inspired by the show. George had a talking alarm clock and a bed that folded in half and ejected him when it was time to wake up.
In an interview on NPR last year, the CEO of SmartThings talked about a bracelet that detects when he is waking up, and turns on the coffee pot, reads him the weather forecast and, of course, switches on NPR.
This interconnectivity between technology and our homes and personal lives is at the center of the Internet of Things, or IoT. And there are many corporate players already in the ring. We heard just last week of Verizon’s acquisition of AOL, for example.
The June issue of Consumer Reports features the growing number of our connected devices, the convenience factors, and the security gap – something “The Jetsons” did not predict.
Not only will our behavior patterns and physical movements be tracked by search engines and smart phones but, with the Internet of Things, our household appliances, the locks on our doors, even our milk cartons will be watching.
I’m Paula Garrett, and that’s my perspective.
