Emerging Technology
The Internet of government things
- By Colby Hochmuth
- Jun 11, 2014
In many corners of the tech world, the Internet of things is an abstract concept still in the development stage. The federal government has spent more than $300 million on Internet of things-related research in the last five years, and this week officials hailed it as the next wave of innovation.
At the
SmartAmerica Expo on June 11 in Washington, D.C., U.S. Chief Technology Officer
Todd Park and GSA Administrator Dan Tangherlini pegged the Internet of things
as a tool that could dramatically change the way government delivers services.
GSA is
already using early stages of IoT technology. Through the GSALink initiative,
thousands of sensors constantly monitor and measure energy use in federal
buildings.
"In every
building in the test, there is an average of 2,000 sensors on various points in
the building. We then measure the performance data against the manufacturer’s
expectations for usage to determine if the buildings are consuming the right
amount of energy, and to determine whether there’s an opportunity for cost
savings," Tangherlini said.
"Just like the Internet allows people all over the world to interact seamlessly with each
other, the Internet of things will allow devices all over the world to
communicate and collaborate seamlessly," Park said.
On June 10,
the White House hosted an event where SmartAmerica Challenge teams from across
the country demonstrated their projects.
"We believe
the projects in this challenge demonstrate that cyber-physical systems and the
Internet of things provide significantly growing social-economic benefits, can
create job and business opportunities, improve our health, our environment and
can increase our resiliency in times of disasters," Park said.
The
SmartAmerica Challenge was launched in December 2013 by two presidential
innovation fellows at the National Institute of Standards and Technology
as an avenue for the public and private sector to explore the "tangible
benefits" of the Internet of things, according to a blog post by Richard
Voyles, assistant director, Robotics and Cyber-Physical Systems at OSTP.
More than 100
organizations from, industry, academic and government formed 24 teams for the
SmartAmerica challenge to demonstrate how cyber-physical systems can improve
transportation, emergency services, security, health care, resource
conservation, and delivery and manufacturing. All 24 demonstrated their
projects at the SmartExpo event.
About the Author
Colby Hochmuth is a former staff writer for FCW.