Connectors, Connecting, Connections

CONNECT(ORS)(ING)(TIONS) Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino @iotwatch

Open source hardware distribution & design services

Consultant Founder

Tinker London (2007-2010) designswarm Good Night Lamp

About me

London Internet of Things Meetup (2011-)

8K members 11 events / year meetup.com/iotlondon

Design-led exploration of the future of home living. thegoodhome.org

The Good Home

Side projects

What I’d like to talk about today

Why designers decided to disengage from the internet of things. Why design & user needs are at the bottom of the list. Why we need you back, fast.

It started with research.

Kevin Ashton, then working at P&G, coined ‘the internet of things’ in 2001. Around that time Bill Verplank, formerly of Xerox Parc, was drawing the seminal image representing ‘interaction design’ and talking about ‘user-interface design’, two terms he had coined.

Then with rabbits & umbrellas.

Nabaztag Ambient Devices

It was to make technology accessible to designers.

For designers, with designers.

The Arduino was aimed at media, art, design students. The assumption was that you would come with a great idea, already researched, that you needed to prototype. And you had no money.

It became political act to ‘make’ and ‘hack’.

Open source hardware (Arduino, Wiring) Open source software (Arduino IDE, Processing, VVVV, Openframeworks) Open Design (Ronan Kadushin) The Open Internet of Things Assembly (iot.london)

But in 2007, designers got a bit distracted.

Ways of using the skills you already had.

And everyone else got into ‘making’.

Electronics engineers. Business students. Developers. Retired engineers. R&D departments of corporations.

Open Curiosity for Nasa Challenge Salesforce Arduino demo

It’s not about whether it’s useful, it’s about whether it’s possible.

Making became a reward in itself.

Then came crowdfunding.

And then it was about money. An explosion of ideas entered the consumer market. Many of them not driven by designers, but driven by a new democratic idea of entrepreneurship: Anyone with an idea could make something and bring it to the market.

So we have ‘success stories’

And the horror stories behind them.

So then the disappointment.

Lack of success is usually down to: •  The team •  The money •  The time

And you’ve got 99 problems.

I.P. Legal

Product design Hardware design

Embedded software Connectivity issues

Middleware APIs

User Experience Prototyping Certification Financing

Sales & Marketing Manufacturing

Assembly Distribution

Returns

I.P. Legal



Middleware APIs




Returns

Only some of those relate to design in its traditional sense.

Most relate to design if you stretch its definition.

I.P. Legal



Middleware APIs




Returns

A team of up to 5 people will need to work together on design.

I.P. Legal



Middleware APIs




Returns

Product designer Electronics engineer Embedded software Engineer

UX designer / Front end developer

Packaging designer Product designer

Product designer

Backend developer

But good user-centric ideas exist.

Propeller Health

And great product-dependant services exist.

To make the world a safer place.

Oxford Flood Network

It’s just that we forget they exist, or they don’t get funded.

It’s still not about whether it’s useful, it’s about whether it’s possible, fundable, attractive to a particular middle-class audience.

You can change this.

How?

Go meet some startups in your area. Do some mentoring for startups at the early stages, even remote. Attend (or start) an #iot meetup. Show your organisation what is going on and introduce them to companies who need help. Read some books (iot.london/bookshelf)

The market for your ideas, talent and support is there. But you have to reach out to them first and create a meaningful connection.

Good luck. Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino @iotwatch @gnlamp @iotlondon @knowcards @goodhomeproject [email protected]