Internet of Things or Internet of Garbage?

In the latest episode of For Tech’s Sake, we dig through the technological garbage to separate useful devices from useless ones.

The Internet of Things (IoT) allows for the creation of a whole range of technologies that are intended to make our lives easier. But with growing concern about electronic waste and the consequences of putting chips in every device, the tech industry needs to think carefully about what hardware it actually creates and what exactly it chooses to make it “smart.”

In the latest episode of For Tech’s Sake, hosts Jenny Darmody and Elaine Burke look through the tech stack to separate the useful from the useless. For example, do we really need another “AI companion” that turns out to be just another app that can do what our phones can already do? What about a new head-worn computer that “is unable to simply allow (the user) to type words into a document without experiencing some kind of theatrical confusion in the user interface”?

But it’s not just about technology for technology’s sake. There are many examples of IoT devices that have proven to be beneficial to the world, while smart sensors have improved previously “dumb” devices to make them better fit for a specific purpose.

For example, Smart Dublin is an initiative involving technology companies, researchers and citizens working to improve public services and quality of life. One of the Smart Dublin projects is Smart Ring Buoys, which has installed 600 low-cost sensors in ring buoys to alert water safety officers if ring buoys are tampered with or missing.

Another project is creating smart bins equipped with sensors that provide real-time information to municipal waste management teams about the capacity of each bin and how full it is. The sensors are also able to detect which containers have not reached full capacity but are clogged, usually bulky items such as a pizza box or broken umbrellas.

In addition to separating good technology from junk, Darmody and Burke also heard from Dirk Pesch, professor of computer science at University College Cork and director of SFI’s Center for Research Training (CRT).

Pesch discussed the waste problems that IoT devices can cause in the long run, especially when we overcomplicate things.

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