Kevin Ashton

Last updated

Kevin Ashton
Kevin Ashton 2015.jpg
Ashton at the 2015 Texas Book Festival.
Born1968
Birmingham, England
NationalityBritish
Children
  • Arlo Ashton
  • Sasha Ashton
  • Theo Ashton

Kevin Ashton (born 1968) is a British technology pioneer who cofounded the Auto-ID Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which created a global standard system for RFID and other sensors. [1] He is known for coining the term "the Internet of Things" [2] to describe a system where the Internet is connected to the physical world via ubiquitous sensors. [3] [4]

Contents

Biography

Ashton was born in Birmingham, UK. He read Scandinavian Studies at University College London from 1990 to 1994. He was working as an assistant brand manager at Procter & Gamble (P&G) in 1997 when he became interested in using RFID to help manage P&G's supply chain. [1] This work led him to MIT, where he helped start an RFID research consortium called the Auto-ID Center with professors Sanjay Sarma and Sunny Siu and researcher David Brock. The center opened in 1999 as an industry-sponsored research project with the goal of creating a global open standard system to put RFID everywhere. Ashton was the Center's Executive Director. Siu, then Sarma, acted as Research Director, later Chairman of Research. Under Ashton and Sarma's leadership, the number of sponsors grew to 103, and additional labs were funded at other major universities around the world. Once the system was developed, MIT licensed it to not-for-profit standards body GS1 and the project reached a successful conclusion. The labs were renamed Auto-ID Labs and continue their research.

Ashton became a high-tech entrepreneur with start-ups ThingMagic, [5] cleantech company EnerNOC (NASDAQ:ENOC) and Zensi, an energy-sensing company he founded with Shwetak Patel among others. Zensi was acquired by Belkin International in April 2010. [6] Ashton then developed and launched the Belkin Wemo (originally stylized as WeMo) home automation system. He writes for RFID Journal, Medium and Quartz, and published a book, How to Fly a Horse with Random House in 2015. In January 2016, How to Fly a Horse won "Best Business Book" from 1-800-CEO-READ.

For an April 2013 Quartz article Ashton created Santiago Swallow, a fictional Mexican social media guru who specializes in the "imagined self", the fictional expert was furnished with 90,000 paid-for Twitter followers and a Wikipedia biography. The creation of Swallow is an attempt to show that credibility is unrelated to the quantity of Twitter followers. [7]

Scientific publications

Kevin Ashton's scientific publications can be found in leading science and media journals:

Related Research Articles

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electromagnetic interrogation pulse from a nearby RFID reader device, the tag transmits digital data, usually an identifying inventory number, back to the reader. This number can be used to track inventory goods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auto-ID Labs</span>

The Auto-ID Labs network is a research group in the field of networked radio-frequency identification (RFID) and emerging sensing technologies. The labs consist of seven research universities located on four different continents. These institutions were chosen by the former Auto-ID Center to design the architecture for the Internet of Things together with EPCglobal. The federation was established in 1999; the network they have developed is at the heart of a proposal sponsored by EPCglobal and supported by GS1, GS1 US, Wal-Mart, Hewlett-Packard, and others to use RFID and the Electronic Product Code (EPC) in the identification of items in the supply chain for companies. The areas of expertise range from hardware to software to business research related to RFID.

Automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) refers to the methods of automatically identifying objects, collecting data about them, and entering them directly into computer systems, without human involvement. Technologies typically considered as part of AIDC include QR codes, bar codes, radio frequency identification (RFID), biometrics, magnetic stripes, optical character recognition (OCR), smart cards, and voice recognition. AIDC is also commonly referred to as "Automatic Identification", "Auto-ID" and "Automatic Data Capture".

Sensor web is a type of sensor network that heavily utilizes the World Wide Web and is especially suited for environmental monitoring. OGC's Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) framework defines a suite of web service interfaces and communication protocols abstracting from the heterogeneity of sensor (network) communication.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ambient intelligence</span>

In computing, ambient intelligence (AmI) refers to electronic environments that are sensitive and responsive to the presence of people. Ambient intelligence is a projection of the future of consumer electronics, telecommunications, and computing, originally developed in the late 1990s by Eli Zelkha and his team at Palo Alto Ventures for the time frame 2010–2020. This concept is intended to enable devices to work in concert with people in carrying out their everyday life activities, tasks, and rituals in an intuitive way by using information and intelligence hidden in the network connecting these devices. It is theorized that as these devices grow smaller, more connected, and more integrated into our environment, the technological framework behind them will disappear into our surroundings until only the user interface remains perceivable by users.

Electronic Product Code Information Services (EPCIS) is a global GS1 Standard for creating and sharing visibility event data, both within and across enterprises, to enable users to gain a shared view of physical or digital objects within a relevant business context. "Objects" in the context of EPCIS typically refers to physical objects that are handled in physical steps of an overall business process involving one or more organizations. Examples of such physical objects include trade items (products), logistic units, returnable assets, fixed assets, physical documents, etc. “Objects” may also refer to digital objects which participate in comparable business process steps. Examples of such digital objects include digital trade items, digital documents, and so forth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanjay Sarma</span> Indian mechanical engineer

Sanjay E. Sarma an Indian mechanical engineer who is the Fred Fort Flowers (1941) and Daniel Fort Flowers (1941) professor of mechanical engineering and the Vice President for Open Learning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is credited with developing many standards and technologies in the commercial RFID industry. Sarma is co-author of The Inversion Factor: How to Thrive in the IOT Economy, along with Linda Bernardi and the late Kenneth Traub. Sarma also serves on the board of the MOOC provider edX as a representative of MIT.

William Randolph 'Randy' Sweeney is an American research scientist and director for R&D at Altria/Philip Morris USA. After retirement in 2010, Sweeney then founded a consultant group working in the "internet of things", later becoming Chief Engineer for Critical Power Systems Inc, and more recently a technology startup entrepreneur.

Paolo Magrassi is an Italian technologist known as one of the authors of the Supranet concept, the co-creator of the AlphaIC methodology for assessing the value of information technology expenditures, and the manager of the Pontifex project, which in the mid-1980s introduced a novel approach to complex fleet scheduling.

The Internet of things (IoT) describes devices with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communications networks. The Internet of things encompasses electronics, communication and computer science engineering. Internet of things has been considered a misnomer because devices do not need to be connected to the public internet, they only need to be connected to a network, and be individually addressable.

Network Centric Product Support (NCPS) is an early application of an Internet of Things (IoT) computer architecture developed to leverage new information technologies and global networks to assist in managing maintenance, support and supply chain of complex products made up of one or more complex systems, such as in a mobile aircraft fleet or fixed location assets such as in building systems. This is accomplished by establishing digital threads connecting the physical deployed subsystem with its design Digital Twins virtual model by embedding intelligence through networked micro-web servers that also function as a computer workstation within each subsystem component (i.e. Engine control unit on an aircraft) or other controller and enabling 2-way communications using existing Internet technologies and communications networks - thus allowing for the extension of a product lifecycle management (PLM) system into a mobile, deployed product at the subsystem level in real time. NCPS can be considered to be the support flip side of Network-centric warfare, as this approach goes beyond traditional logistics and aftermarket support functions by taking a complex adaptive system management approach and integrating field maintenance and logistics in a unified factory and field environment. Its evolution began out of insights gained by CDR Dave Loda (USNR) from Network Centric Warfare-based fleet battle experimentation at the US Naval Warfare Development Command (NWDC) in the late 1990s, who later lead commercial research efforts of NCPS in aviation at United Technologies Corporation. Interaction with the MIT Auto-ID Labs, EPCglobal, the Air Transport Association of America ATA Spec 100/iSpec 2200 and other consortium pioneering the emerging machine to machine Internet of Things (IoT) architecture contributed to the evolution of NCPS.

A human microchip implant is any electronic device implanted subcutaneously (subdermally) usually via an injection. Examples include an identifying integrated circuit RFID device encased in silicate glass which is implanted in the body of a human being. This type of subdermal implant usually contains a unique ID number that can be linked to information contained in an external database, such as identity document, criminal record, medical history, medications, address book, and other potential uses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ucode system</span>

The ucode system is an identification number system that can be used to identify things in the real world uniquely. Digital information can be associated with objects and places, and the associated information can be retrieved by using ucode.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital object memory</span>

A digital object memory (DOMe) is a digital storage space intended to keep permanently all related information about a concrete physical object instance that is collected during the lifespan of this object and thus forms a basic building block for the Internet of Things (IoT) by connecting digital information with physical objects.

Nearables are a type of smart object. They are everyday items that have small, wireless computing devices attached to them. These devices can be equipped with a variety of sensors and work as transmitters to broadcast digital data through a variety of methods, but they usually use the Bluetooth Smart protocol. Due to this, these objects are able to provide mobile devices in range with information about their location, state and immediate surroundings. The word 'nearables' is a reference to wearable technology – electronic devices worn as part of clothing or jewellery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jocelyn Scheirer</span> American entrepreneur, scientist, and artist

Jocelyn Scheirer is an American entrepreneur, scientist, and artist who has been working in wearable technology since the late 1990s. Her research focuses on Affective Computing, which she pursued while pursuing her PhD (pending) at MIT Media's Lab Affective Computing Group with Rosalind Picard. Scheirer invented and, along with MIT, patented the Galvactivator glove which measured skin conductance through sensors on the palm and relayed the varying intensity through an LED display. She founded the intercommunication equipment and systems company Empathyx, Inc. in 2006 and co-founded the emotional analytics company Affectiva in 2009, serving as their director of operations until 2010. Scheirer has also created several visual and performance art pieces that have been featured in several galleries in Massachusetts including the MIT Museum, the Galatea Fine Art Gallery, and the Bromfield Gallery. She currently serves as CEO of the wearable company Bionolux Labs, LLC.

Interactive architecture refers to the branch of architecture which deals with buildings, structures, surfaces and spaces that are designed to change, adapt and reconfigure in real-time response to people, as well as the wider environment. This is usually achieved by embedding sensors, processors and effectors as a core part of a building's nature and functioning in such a way that the form, structure, mood or program of a space can be altered in real-time. Interactive architecture encompasses building automation but goes beyond it by including forms of interaction engagements and responses that may lie in pure communication purposes as well as in the emotive and artistic realm, thus entering the field of interactive art. It is also closely related to the field of Responsive architecture and the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but the distinction is important for some.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominique Guinard</span>

Dominique "Dom" Guinard is the CTO of EVRYTHNG. He is a technologist, entrepreneur and developer with a career dedicated to building the Internet of Things both in the cloud and on embedded Things. He is particularly known for his early contributions to the Web of Things along with other researchers such as Vlad Trifa, Erik Wilde and Friedemann Mattern. Guinard is a published researcher, a book author and a recognized expert in Internet of Things technologies

The industrial internet of things (IIoT) refers to interconnected sensors, instruments, and other devices networked together with computers' industrial applications, including manufacturing and energy management. This connectivity allows for data collection, exchange, and analysis, potentially facilitating improvements in productivity and efficiency as well as other economic benefits. The IIoT is an evolution of a distributed control system (DCS) that allows for a higher degree of automation by using cloud computing to refine and optimize the process controls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erick Jones</span> American engineering professor

Dr. Erick Christopher Jones Sr. is dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno, joining the college in September 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 Wired Magazine, July 2004
  2. W. E. Zhang (2020). "The 10 Research Topics in the Internet of Things". 2020 IEEE 6th International Conference on Collaboration and Internet Computing (CIC). pp. 34–43. arXiv: 2012.01594 . doi:10.1109/CIC50333.2020.00015. ISBN   978-1-7281-4146-6. S2CID   227253677.
  3. Goetz, Thomas (19 June 2011). "Harnessing the Power of Feedback Loops". Wired.
  4. Kevin Ashton, "That 'Internet of Things' Thing", RFID Journal, 22 June 2009.
  5. RFID Journal 2004
  6. "GigaOm, April 2010". Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
  7. McGuiness, Ross (20 April 2013). "Meet Santiago Swallow… the biggest social media star you've never heard of". Metro . Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  8. "Kevin Ashton May Change the World - The Auto-ID Center Executive Director's vision of an open system for tracking goods with low-cost RFID tags will have an effect on nearly everyone someday". rfidjournal.com. Emerald X, LLC. 15 April 2002. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  9. "Kevin Ashton Called a thing the Internet of Things. Wrote How to Fly a Horse—The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery". medium.com. Medium. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  10. "Kevin Ashton led pioneering work on RFID (radio frequency identification) networks, for which he coined the term "the Internet of Things," and co-founded the Auto-ID Center at MIT. Kevin pioneered the sensor-based technology that powers smart energy grids and advanced metering — the systems at the heart of clean tech today". qz.com. Quartz Media. Retrieved 10 June 2020.