BT and Neul ink gov-funded deal: Milton Keynes to be test bed for Internet of Stuff A taxpayer-subsidised project to run a test network for Machine-to-Machine communications – aka the Internet of Things – is getting underway in Milton Keynes, with kit being supplied by Brit telco BT and wireless bods at Neul. The main purpose behind the scheme is for Whitehall to get the one-time state monopoly and the …
"This could include anything from intelligent monitoring of parking spaces in the city to networked bins which signal when they need collecting,"
And now back to reality
"This could include anything from intelligent monitoring of parking violations in the city to networked bins which signal when they have the wrong items in, or exceed the households weekly allowance allowing an automated fine to be sent"
The only bins in MK are the green ones for garden waste and the blue buckets for glass, everything else is pink and black sacks.
BT's service has been patchy at times too.
Well, I suppose for a project that might get only half finished before the flaws are discovered, Milton Keynes is the place to come to...
> networked bins which signal when they need collecting
Not that anyone will take any notice: "Oooh, look. The bin at number 23 is full. Quick! send a rubbish truck round immediately to empty it."
Since councils ignored all their residents when they unilaterally decided to empty bins every 2 weeks (whether they stank or not), rather than every week, the chances of them using this technology to improve the service is as likely as the urban foxes these over-full bins / bags / boxes [ delete according to which dumb scheme your council randomly selected ] attract taking the rubbish to the tip, themselves.
Much more likely is the oft-suggested scheme of charging people (a second time: on top of the council tax already paid to empty the bins) according to the quantity of refuse.
For parking spaces that would be nice, and here in some parts of the US has been around for a few years.
Although, not in the City own parking garages!
Amazing how simple some of these problems are to solve, and yet they never seem to be.
Heathrow has the "this floor full" sign, but I don't know if that is accurate or not...
P.
It is worth noting that IoT isn't about providing internet access to devices, it is about connecting intelligent devices to networks for telemetry and control purposes.
I have seen presentations by Neul and I am impressed with what is possible with 'Weightless', very low power data collection without the overheads of mobile networks.
The saddest thing is that it will get caught up in the BT management processes, burdened with consultants and their interesting project management.
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
