A $7 Trillion Opportunity: Introducing Boston's Next Generation of IoT Disruptors

IDC have predicted the Internet of Things (IoT) market will reach $7 trillion in just five years. However, despite this, a recent study found that 73% of companies have yet to make any "concrete investments" in the IoT. Are you ready for a smart, connected world? How will it impact your workplace, job and even your home?

The RE.WORK Internet of Things Summit is a unique opportunity to meet influential technologists, data scientists, engineers, leading industry players and entrepreneurs all in the same room. Discover the latest IoT advancements from a global line-up of experts.

The summit will take place in Boston on 28-29 May, with over 40 experts discussing the Industrial Internet, the Connected Home, Wearables, Embedded Devices, Smart Cities, Next Generation Wireless Infrastructure, Personalised Medicine, and the Connected Car. Speakers will include exciting new startups, leading technologists and engineers, and world-class researchers from notable companies and institutions including: Google, MIT, INRIX, BigBelly, City of Boston, AliveCor, Misfit Wearables, Zubie and SafeLogic.

Boston is at the heart of a thriving technology ecosystem, centered around world-leading academic institutions of MIT, Harvard and many more schools, as well as some of the leading Fortune 500 companies in the world including Staples, EMC2 and Boston Scientific. Not to mention unprecedented venture capital investments helping to create the perfect entrepreneurial hub in the city.

This May, top Boston based companies will share their insights into IoT technological trends, applications and insights at the global summit. Sessions from Boston innovators not to be missed include:

Smart Waste Management at the Heart of a Smarter Boston

BigBellywas founded in with the goal of transforming one of the least efficient and resource-intensive industries on the planet — waste collection. Their aim was to stop cities collecting refuse and waste too often and thereby wasting fuel and labor, and creating unnecessary CO2 emissions; or too little and creating problems with overflowing trash cans which causes health and safety issues. The BigBelly solution is smart bins that go far beyond their solar powered motors, equipped with a wireless monitoring system that tracks its trash intake and status, communicating the information over a cloud.

These smart bins are spreading through Boston’s streets and university campuses, revolutionising the city’s waste management and adding to a growing network of smart devices. Brian Phillips, Executive VP of Strategic Planning at BigBelly, is spearheading the company’s strategic partnerships and next generation product development and capabilities, and will present at the IOT Summit.

Connecting the Citizens of Boston

Boston’s New Urban Mechanics serves as the Mayor’s civic innovation group, piloting experiments that offer the potential to significantly improve the quality of City services. New technology – from smart phones to GPS – and a resurgent spirit of civic engagement have created increased opportunities for closer connection and communication between City government and its citizens.

Nigel Jacob, co-founder of New Urban Mechanics, and the team are exploring ways to deepen this connection by creating new programs for community empowerment. Of the dozens of projects piloted in Boston, many incorporate IoT technologies to increase community engagement and involvement. Interesting projects include Soofa, a solar-powered seat with the capability to charge two smart phones and collect air quality or other environmental data, and Citizens Connect, a mobile application that empowers residents to be the City’s eyes and ears, engaging them in the process of maintaining their own city neighborhoods.

Elderly Technology Adoption for Connected Caregiving

“Aging in place” elderly  people are the fastest growing demographic in the US, and have so far been relatively ignored by the IoT revolution. OnKöl however saw the opportunity to create a better life for the elderly who choose to not live in a care home, and have created an IoT device that simultaneously notifies selected family members and other caregivers of everything from vital signs to incoming and outgoing calls to emergency or panic situations. That way, the caregivers and interested parties can get out in front of specific events or anomalies, before they become full-blown emergencies.

At the Internet of Things Summit, Erich Jacobs, CEO of OnKöl, will discuss the reasons why the elderly are downplayed in the current revolution, the benefits of the getting the elderly to adopt IoT, and how historical hurdles to elderly technology adoption can be overcome through both innovation and design.

Revolutionising Human Healthcare with Non-Invasive Sensors

Juhan Sonin is the Creative Director at Boston-based design firm Involution Studios, who focus on harnessing digital, materials and networking technologies to create new user experiences. Design has a huge role to play in translating emerging technologies for everyday users and user experience is integral to IoT being integrated seamlessly. Involution Studios are at the forefront of revolutionising design in human health by tracking real-time health data using non-invasive tools, whilst ensuring a user-friendly and enjoyable experience. Their vision to create a world of automatic health sensing where data about our wellbeing is collected and measured invisibly illustrates the changing role of design in emerging technologies and the convergence of engineering and design disciplines in the IoT.

Why Should You Attend?

The time to act is now. As said by John Ansbach, General Counsel, General Datatech, “Collaboration (or lack thereof) will define the success of IoT in the next few years, and the players who find their way here with the vision to see what others do not will be the definitive winners in the new IoT-defined landscape.”

Within the next few years, connectivity in devices, products and infrastructure we use will become a mainstream service, so it’s now that we need to understand where the opportunities lie for consumers and industry players, as well as identifying where the competitive threats from a more connected world will leave you behind.

The Internet of Things Summit is taking place in Boston on 28-29 May. For more information and to register, please visit the event website here.

Early Bird tickets are now available, book now to save $200. Tickets for startups and academics are available at reduced rates. Want to send a team from your company? Email hello@re-work.co for group bookings to receive a discount for teams of 3 or more.