Smart, connected products are products, assets and other things embedded with processors, sensors, software and connectivity that allow data to be exchanged between the product and its environment, manufacturer, operator/user, and other products and systems. Connectivity also enables some capabilities of the product to exist outside the physical device, in what is known as the product cloud. The data collected from these products can be then analyzed to inform decision-making, enable operational efficiencies and continuously improve the performance of the product.
Smart, connected products have three primary components; physical, smart, and connectivity. In Professor Michael Porter's and James Heppelmann's Harvard Business Review article, "How Smart, Connected Products are Transforming Competition," they describes the three components as:
Physical – made up of the product's mechanical and electrical parts.
Smart – made up of sensors, microprocessors, data storage, controls, software, and an embedded operating system with enhanced user interface.
Connectivity – made up of ports, antennae, and protocols enabling wired/wireless connections that serve two purposes, it allows data to be exchanged with the product and enables some functions of the product to exist outside the physical device.
Each component expands the capabilities of one another resulting in "a virtuous cycle of value improvement." First, the smart components of a product amplify the value and capabilities of the physical components. Then, connectivity amplifies the value and capabilities of the smart components. These improvements include:
Monitoring of the product's conditions, its external environment, and its operations and usage.
Control of various product functions to better respond to changes in its environment, as well as to personalize the user experience.
Optimization of the product's overall operations based on actual performance data, and reduction of downtimes through predictive maintenance and remote service.
Autonomous product operation, including learning from their environment, adapting to users’ preferences and self-diagnosing and service.
The Internet of Things is the network of physical objects that contain embedded technology to communicate and sense or interact with their internal states or the external environment. The phrase "Internet of Things" reflects the growing number of smart, connected products and highlights the new opportunities they can represent. The Internet, whether involving people or things, is a mechanism for transmitting information. What makes smart, connected products fundamentally different is not the Internet, but the changing nature of the 'things'. Once a product is smart and connected to the cloud, the products and services will become part of an interconnected management solution. Companies can evolve from making products, to offering more complex, higher-value offerings within a "system of systems".
Examples of smart, connected products include:
Tesla Motors Automobiles – a smart product with an Intelligent Maintenance System that periodically monitors itself and can autonomously alert Tesla, to issues so that they can be resolved quickly and easily. Many issues can be resolved remotely with a corrective software download.
Medtronic's Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) – a smart device with wearable technology. The digital blood-glucose meter uses a glucose sensor inserted under the skin that measures glucose levels. A transmitter sends the glucose information from the sensor to a monitor that displays glucose levels on a screen and notifies the user if it detects that glucose is reaching a high or low limit. People with diabetes get a more complete picture of their glucose levels, which can lead to better treatment decisions and better glucose control.
Philips Lightning Hue Light Bulbs and Bridge – provides users with a connected device for home automation. Users have the ability to customize their interaction though a smartphone, as well as connects their system to the wider world. With it, a user can control their lights remotely or link them up to the rest of the web, newsfeeds, or even their inbox.
iRobot Roomba – a smart product vacuum cleaner with iAdapt Technology (an advanced system of software and sensors) that enables Roomba to find its way around any shape or size of home, covering every area of floor multiple times for a complete clean.
Joy Global’s Longwall Mining System – able to operate autonomously far underground, overseen by a mine control center on the surface. Equipment is monitored continuously for performance and faults, and technicians are dispatched underground to deal with issues requiring human interaction.
Ralph Lauren’s Polo Tech Shirt – this example of wearable technology has conductive threads woven into the shirt, and a small snap-on module that weighs less than 1.5 ounces and relays information to a Bluetooth-connected iPhone or iPad. The "smart" part of the shirt is a stretchy band, under the pectorals, that contains conductive threads that contact the skin. A module Ralph Lauren calls the "Black Box" or "Tech Box" snaps into the shirt around the left rib cage; it receives heart-rate and breathing data from those threads via metal snaps built into the shirt. The iOS app gives users a real-time display of heart and respiration rates, and a daily view of calories burned and steps taken.
Altitude’s Connected Cocktail Project – a full cocktail-making ecosystem smart product complete with Bluetooth pour spouts, cloud computing, and crowd-sourced recipes to bring drinks to the living room through a set of "smart caps" that live on top of the liquor bottles. Because it knows what a user likes and what they're using, it has the ability to help a user discover and order additional supplies, and have it delivered to their door.
Ring – a connected doorbell and home security solution used for home automation. It alerts users to motion as soon as it’s detected. Often this means they can remotely "answer" the door even if they're on the other side of the world, which can be enough to prevent something before it’s even happened. Two-way communication on the device works like a phone call and wide-angle video is also recorded to the cloud in HD resolution.
Babolat’s Play Pure Drive Racquet System – a smart product that looks like a regular racket on the outside. However, sensors integrated into the handle allow players to have access to a lot of information and analysis through a smartphone application: power, impact locator, type and number of strokes.
Bigbelly Smart Waste & Recycling Systems – a solar-powered, connected, and smart waste and recycling stations with components that let customers use real-time data to drive their operational decisions. From any computer or smartphone, a user can see their entire portfolio of waste and recycling stations and determine if there is need to collect some or any of them.
Petcube Camera – an interactive pet monitor with real time video and built-in laser pointer. It allows pet owners to watch, talk to, and play with their pet from their smartphone, no matter where they are.
Renault R-Line - a connected car solution developed by Worldline. The idea is to provide a continuous access to any online app. The driver can then customize the car digital environment.
