I find myself writing often these days about the Internet of Things, if only because the trend has captured such widespread public fascination. The fact is, rarely a week goes by that the subject doesn’t arise even in informal conversations, and IoT articles are now hitting one popular tech outlet or another almost daily.
Lately, one recurring article theme has been concern that potential IoT devices don’t share a common language. Indeed, many commentators are already worrying for this reason that today’s ambitions for the Internet of Things might go the way of yesterday’s dreams of flying cars.
Typical of recent articles is Lauren Orsini’s July 29, 2013, weblog at ReadWrite.com. Orsini bemoans (tongue firmly in cheek), “This morning, I had to press a switch to turn on the lights. I had to open my own blinds and turn on my own coffee maker. And I, for one, am sick of it. It’s 2013. Where’s my smart house?” She continued, “There are a lot of roadblocks between our low-tech homes and the Internet of Things. Most significantly, there’s no common language that allows our devices to talk to one another.”
Orsini finds hope in a new Kickstarter-funded venture, WigWag, whose founder Ed Hemphill explains, “You don’t want a smartphone app for every device in your house… What we’re trying to do is interlink each device’s super protocols.” 
If all goes as planned, WigWag sensor/control modules will act as bridges between a consolidated mobile app and disparate consumer-grade WiFi, ZigBee and Z-Wave devices, to name just a few potential formats. It’s a promising approach that leverages DeviceJS to bridge numerous protocols, at least at the home-network level, but will it scale to serve as that universally-common language, the perceived lack of which is stressing so many commentators?
Of course, Advantech already offers a comprehensive-yet-expanding range of IoT solutions, albeit with a focus on industrial- and commercial-level applications. Indeed, Advantech is well ahead of the curve in anticipating that “common language” challenge, working with companies such as ILS Technology for deployment of software and service-based solutions that link intelligent devices with enterprise applications and databases.
ILS offers machine-to-machine and remote-access solutions worldwide via its off-the-shelf cloud platform to connect enterprise IT systems to a wide range of devices and machines. Similarly, Advantech’s wireless sensor network I/O modules and wireless mesh access points are ready for deployment today for realization of your client’s fullest IoT potential.
So, while I gave up on flying cars long ago, the Internet of Things is happening today thanks to industry leaders such as Advantech, at least on the enterprise level, with consumer-grade solutions sure to follow. Meanwhile, entertaining and informative webinar sessions covering Advantech and ILS answers to common IoT concerns are also available today here.