The EZ Pass in your car. Your smart thermostat. A toilet seat that can measure your vital signs and warn you of health problems. They’re all part of the Internet of Things. (IoT)
National Science Foundation grant funds IoT project
A group of researchers at Cornell University is working to create a statewide IoT network of interconnected devices. Dr. Lee Humphreys from Cornell says the work is being funded by a $1.5 million dollar National Science Foundation grant. She says the larger a network becomes, the more valuable the data it generates.
One of the goals of the IoT network is to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural communities in New York. An IoT network involves placing sensors on devices and equipment and sending the data they gather back to the user. Humphreys says, for example, homeowners whose energy usage is being monitored would get valuable information showing them how to save money.
Related: Yates County broadband project moving forward
Town of Geneva connects water plant to the IoT
Humphreys has been working with the town of Geneva to install sensors at the town’s water treatment plant. Those sensors might warn when a piece of equipment is beginning to malfunction. Other uses of the IoT network could be in agriculture, highway traffic management, and real-time flood monitoring,
Tompkins County Cornell Cooperative Extension set up a pilot IoT and Ithaca became the first community in the US to offer an IoT to its residents. The statewide IoT, when completed, is expected to be the first of its kind in the US.
Listen to my full Inside the FLX conversation with Dr. Lee Humphreys from Cornell below.
Related: Internet of Things could be used to monitor town of Geneva facilities
