IoT network in San Francisco

The City of San Francisco

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network that connects physical objects and allows them to "communicate" with each other. The company SIGFOX has established IoT networks in a number of countries in Europe, and is working on creating more in Europe, as well as North America and Asia.

A recent news article from the website radio-electronics that I used with my Information Technology students reports that SIGFOX will deploy a dedicated IoT network in San Francisco, the first city in the United States with such a network.

The article: http://www.radio-electronics.com/news/wireless-technology/san-francisco-to-become-first-us-6516

SIGFOX describes itself as, "the first and only company providing global cellular connectivity for the Internet of Things, fully dedicated to low-throughput communications." A list of cities where such networks have already been established is on the company's website:

http://www.sigfox.com/en/#!/connected-world/sigfox-network-operator

The article provided material for an interesting discussion in class about the advantages of such a network, and the impacts so far in the cities where it has been established. In addition there were a number of language features that were useful for my students.

First, to make students aware of how the text focuses on audience - in this case readers who are not sure what the "internet of things" is - we looked at the way it is defined in the article.

• "A growing phenomenon in numerous cities across the world, the IoT connects physical objects and allows them to communicate, analyze, and share their data through sensors, network connectivity and cloud software."
• "The Internet of Things links physical objects embedded with sensors and actuators to the Internet. It allows the 'things' to exchange data and communicate with each other, allowing a smoke alarm to send a text when the alarm goes off or it has a low battery; a tracker to locate a stolen bicycle; a sensor placed on a fire hydrant to alert authorities when a leak is detected."

Not only do the two explanations give the same information in different ways, but the second one further gives specific examples to make the information clear. This is the kind of thing I encourage my students to do when they are planning a presentation or writing a technical process description.

Another useful language aspect of the article is the use of tenses to refer to the future. This is also related to the work I have done with future prediction (see my posts Back to the Future today, October 26 and Past predicitons of the future, October 20).

Some examples:

• ... they will partner to deploy a dedicated Internet of Things network that will provide ...
• SIGFOX hopes to enable the IoT industry to finally take off and connect ...
• The next wave in technology innovation in San Francisco will likely be the ...
• Creating a network of this kind, the City will be able to attract new startup comanies ...
• The pilot plan in San Francisco will be executed through collaboration between ...

And the use of the future could be contrasted with the other tenses used, in order to illustrate how the tenses are used in English:

• The City of San Francisco and SIGFOX has announced that they will partner to ...
• ... the IoT connects physical objects and allows them to ...
• SIGFOX, ..., is currently operating or being deployed in 10 European countries ...
• If the last 10 years of technology development were about making it easier for ...
• Mr. Gamino has expressed excitement for the development of the IoT ...
• The initiative to make San Francisco better connected started in 2013 ...

Finally, since the article reports what a good development this is, there are many advantages of IoT networks detailed that students could either brainstorm beforehand, or add to afterwards.

Some examples:

• ... Internet of Things network that will provide low-cost, energy-efficient and two-way connectivity for smart-city programs, as well as businesses in multiple verticals.
• By providing a disruptively cost-effective, energy-efficient and simple way to connect the physical world to the internet, ...
• ... reinforces San Francisco's commitment to attracting startups and established companies in the emerging IoT space. It also allows the City to offer residents innovative new services and ...
• The types of applications - ranging from agriculture, connected health, security or logistics - that can benefit from the IoT is limitless.
• --- the City will be able to attract new startup companies, strengthen existing businesses and provide more jobs, economic growth and continuing prosperity for our residents ...
• etc.

Of course, there are also many relevant business and technology vocabulary items and collocations for students to be aware of, since they could use this language for their own writing and presentations.

The article mentions that there is going to be a "hackathon" later this month jointly sponsored by SIGFOX and the City of San Francisco, "in order to allow developers and makers to use the technology and generate new ideas for how SIGFOX's network can be used to create innovative smart-city solutions."

I had never heard of a "hackathon" before, but my students seemed interested to know more about it. This also relates well to work we do with innovations, and generating innovative ideas in their area of engineering. In my next post I'll write about this event, and how it can relate to work teaching English to engineers and engineering students.