The Most Revolutionary Phase Of All...Physical World Connection

When every physical object is, or can be connected to the Internet, ie (Physical World Connection), is when a revolution occurs.

Some call it the "Internet of Things", I also call it the Internet Phase 2.

Cars, refrigerators, billboards, tennis rackets, water heaters, digital cameras, stop signs, airplanes, sprinkler systems and any physical object you can think of, will soon be "connected" to the Internet. This occurs with various types of Physical World Hyperlinks.

A Physical World Hyperlink is any sensing device (RFid, GPS, ZigBee etc) or a machine readable identifier (barcode, image, sound etc) that when initiated or scanned provides an Internet connection (or a connection through the Net).

The ability for devices (more than PCs and mobile phones) to connect (or have the ability to connect to the Net) will offer some exciting applications. The ability for individuals and corporations to connect/interact via the Net, created new multi-billion dollar companies/industries (Google, eBay, Amazon, YouTube). This also allowed economies to become so much more efficient.

The areas to watch for Physical World Connection:

1. software/hardware (solution) that resolves any type of physical world hyperlink

2. a "registry" for domains that will be issued for every device (that will dwarf the number of website domains)..like Verisign

3. a network provider that can ensures a secure network for these devices (it's one thing if your website is hacked, it's something completely different if your machinery or car is)

4. a delivery system/platform that can move any sized data from a physical object through the network (what good is having objects connected and providing data if they cant transmit and receive it)

On the advertising side of PWC here's how Google Can Connect The Physical World

Even Microsoft is developing the RFID browser.

Internet enabled everything

In the 15 years since Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, the life of almost everyone in the industrialised world has been touched by it. But just as many of us are getting to grips with its second stage, the mobile internet, few are prepared - or even aware - of the third and potentially most revolutionary phase of all: the internet of things.

AT&T Looks To "Internet Of Things" For New Stream Of Revenue

What is the "Internet of Things", or as I call it "Physical World Connection"

When every physical object is, or can be, connected to the Internet.

From N.Y.Times AT&T wants more web-enabled devices

AT&T has created a new division within the company to help devise new consumer devices – digital cameras, devices for cars, even dog collars – which they hope will make it easy to access the Web using AT&T’s network.

Because nearly nine out of ten people already own a mobile phone, AT&T can’t grow fast enough by selling more phones. It needs to find new sources of revenue, particularly devices that use data.

More Physical World Connection discussion.

Upcoming Video Boom Offers Many Opportunities

According to Cisco, Internet video will account for half of all consumer Internet traffic by 2012.

In Cisco's Visual Networking Index, video already accounts for a quarter of all consumer Internet traffic. That number is expected to rise to 32 percent by the end of the year.

Where are the opportunities?



Areas I would watch for:

1. Transmission efficiency. Hardware and software that can speed up all types of video transmission.

2. Video search engines. While it's rather easy to scan text to provide relevant related searches, a search engine that can scan audio for words that are relevant will be big. I am thinking of how Google offers the "cache" feature in search results, but this becomes available for video searches as well.

a. this finds a video that is relevant to my search
b. takes me to the place in the video that pertains to my search.

Example: Bill Buckner blunder in 86' Mets victory. I don't remember what inning or game it was, but the search engine takes me to the spot in the video where the blunder occurred.

3. Devices. Soon all camera phones and video cameras will be connected to the Net and will be able to transmit live video feed. Add this to the numerous traffic cameras, surveillance (bank, building, residential) that already exist that will be connected. Opportunities: A massive number of IP addresses will be needed (IPv6) and this will create overload on some networks...alternate methods of Internet connection needed (White Space). In addition device relation management (DRM) software will be big. DRM is enterprise software that enables the monitoring, managing, and servicing of intelligent devices over the Internet.

4. Advertising. I don't mean just placing a video ad next to search results or next to content. I think there is a huge opportunity in placing an ad WITHIN a video. You see backstops at baseball games with ads on them, they are able to place a relevant ad according to the location of the viewer. (NY Yankee game shows Wiz Sports but a viewer watching the game in Florida might see a Sports Authority ad).

The real opportunity for video creators and distributors, is an application that allows an ad/graphic to be placed/inserted within the video.

Example: You're videotaping Johnny's soccer game and transmitting live on the Net to his grandparents. Just like Adsense, you will be able to earn revenue from an advertiser inserting an ad/graphic on the soccer field. Johnny's soccer field has a big Adidas logo on it. (think of the first down marker yellow line in football). A way to monetize the upcoming surge in video content.

Just some ideas I think will come with the video boom.

Any others you can think of?

Google Patents "A Picture Is Worth A Thousand keyWords"

Here's an interesting Recognizing Text In Images patent issued to Google.

"The method includes receiving an input of one or more image search terms and identifying keywords from the received one or more image search terms. The method also includes searching a collection of keywords including keywords extracted from image text, retrieving an image associated with extracted image text corresponding to one or more of the image search terms, and presenting the image".

Here's the key sentence to the patent and why it could be huge for Google Mobile.
"Recognizing Text In Images is an application to patent a method of optical character recognition in digital images". A camera phone is considered an optical character recognition device.

See how this plays in with Google's Image Labeler and Physical World Connection?

Linking a keyword in/on an image directly to the Internet with a mobile phone is the "Internet of Things"

Physical World Connection..A Nirvana For VCs And Ponderers

Digital Video Editing has a nice summary of the investment opportunities coming with the Internet Of Things

This "Internet of Things" or the "pervasive Internet" is a new paradigm that describes a world where inanimate objects of every conceivable type - from toothbrushes and toasters to environmental monitors, motor vehicles and industrial machines - will communicate effortlessly through a network that - thanks to wireless and fiber optics - is beginning to bathe the planet.

"When data is being gathered from everywhere in real time - whether it's a farmer's field, a machine in a manufacturing facility, a stream of financial transactions, or even from your refrigerator," says Opdendyk, "it puts demands on the hardware, network, and software design that are not accommodated by current technology.

The sheer scale of data involved is huge.

Add to this the opportunity for creative, new applications that can feast on all of this new data, and you suddenly have a need for an entirely new set of companies to lead the revolution.

It's Nirvana for VC's - a new technology application wave.

When pondering, the opportunities I see for the next technology application wave are:

1. software/hardware (solution) that resolves any type of physical world hyperlink

2. a "registry" for domains that will be issued for every device (that will dwarf the number of website domains)..like Verisign

3. a network provider that can ensures a secure network for these devices (it's one thing if your website is hacked, it's something completely different if your machinery is)

4. a delivery system/platform that can move any sized data from a physical object through the network (what good is having objects connected and providing data if they cant transmit and receive it)

What applications/investment opportunities do you see with the Internet of Things?

Internet Of Things, Or Physical World Connection A Superb Investment Opportunity

From BusinessWire After A Decade, Internet Of Things Offers Superb Investment Opportunity

What now appears to be an inevitable explosion of data and connections to the Internet generated by billions of ordinary and not-so-ordinary devices and sensors is creating a huge investment opportunity for venture capitalists, says Terry L. Opdendyk, a General Partner of ONSET Ventures.

The opportunity comes from the emerging need for new applications to leverage an increase in network traffic of several orders of magnitude. Such traffic is produced by devices ranging from the billions of tiny, wireless RFID tags increasingly used for inventory management and location control to sensors in buildings, factories, homes, or everyday objects that report or react in real time to changes in status.

Additionally, says Opdendyk, as the underlying software enabling the “Internet of Things” becomes available and new sensors enable even more information to be harvested, thousands of additional reasons to connect devices to the Internet will emerge, creating a virtuous cycle of disruptive proportions.

This “Internet of Things” or the “pervasive Internet” is a new paradigm that describes a world where inanimate objects of every conceivable type – from toothbrushes and toasters to environmental monitors, motor vehicles and industrial machines – will communicate effortlessly through a network that – thanks to wireless and fiber optics – is beginning to bathe the planet.

ONSET believes, that a tremendous opportunity is being created for startup companies – like the early days of enterprise computing. “There is such a paradigm shift about to occur that it’s ‘déjà vu, all over again’,”

The Economist Reviews Physical World Connection With "When Everything Connects"

This week's The Economist has a great summary on Physical World Connection, or the "Internet of Things", called "When Everything Connects".

The ability for devices (more than PCs and mobile phones) to connect (or have the ability to connect to the Net) will offer some exciting applications. The ability for individuals and corporations to connect/interact via the Net, created new multibillion dollar companies/industries (Google, eBay, Amazon, YouTube). This also allowed economies to become so much more efficient.

What industries and companies will be created when any type of device can connect to the Internet? How efficient will this make an economy?

Phase 2 of the Internet, when physical objects can be connected to tne Net, using a Physical World Hyperlink, offers some exciting times ahead.

Why do I think The Next Google or Next Microsoft is this application? Google is so successful because they offer the ability to find anything on the Internet which consists of billions of websites. Imagine that same function to find OR control any device connected to the Net.

So far the mobile phone has been getting all the attention. Around 2.8 billion are already in use, with a further 1.6m being added every day. The phones themselves are improving at a cracking pace. Yet this boom is also spilling over into other areas of wireless communications, used for linking machines, sensors and objects.

Everybody talks about the emerging markets being the big opportunity for the cellular industry in the next few years, but in the longer run there are going to be a lot more devices talking to each other,” says Paul Jacobs, the boss of Qualcomm, which makes mobile-phone chips.

The phenomenon “could well dwarf previous milestones in the information revolution”, according to a 2001 report entitled “Embedded, Everywhere” by America's National Research Council.

In the years ahead new wireless technologies will appear in a plethora of devices, much as computer chips did in the second half of the 20th century

Microsoft Colorful Barcode Followup And How It Affects Google

Google may be kicking Microsoft's butt in the PC search space, but Mister Softee has unveiled and acquired some interesting applications that could make them a formidable player in the mobile space.

Microsoft, using a mobile phone, is actually starting to link objects in the physical world, to the Internet.

Yesterday Microsoft's colorful 2d barcode (HCCB) announcement will have a profound impact on Physical World Connection (PWC). The multicolor 2d barcode technology was developed by Microsoft Research to assist in the identification of commercial audiovisual works such as motion pictures, video games, broadcasts, digital video recordings and other media.

In the last few months Microsoft has introduced a:
speech recogntion browser
1d barcode scanner
2d barcode scanner
mobile image recognition engine and an
RFID browser

Is Microsoft developing the operating system for the "Internet of Things"?

Having a day to ponder, I see enormous opportunities for Microsoft in the mobile marketing space and makes my prediction even more likely.

After the DoubleClick-Google deal, it is more important than ever that Microsoft try to "own" the mobile marketing space.

Google, while they are dabbling in print and radio, is still pretty much a digital world player. How will Google connect the physical world to the Net? How will they continue to dominate the Internet advertising space if they are only using SMS for mobile marketing?

See why Google should be, or maybe is, looking at these guys and will offer a 2d code creating site/application. This acquisition would allow Google to offer clients the ability to connect almost ANY physical object to the Internet using existing 1d codes or newly created 2d codes. It would also add billions of objects in their database.

What happens if Microsoft buys them first?

A big transformation will come when physical objects/content are/is linked to the Internet and Microsoft is already in the lead there. I don't see that same size change or demand occurring in trying to make digital content physical.

Once the group starts issuing the barcodes, studios and producers will be able to link their Web sites to that database.

Did Microsoft indirectly just land the entire entertainment industry as a mobile marketing client? What is the next big component, that the entertainment industry uses directly for promotions, that Microsoft should go after? Who is producing the next generation barcode for Physical World Connection?

Thoughts, comments?

Physical World Connection Companies..Connecting A Mobile Phone With A Physical Object

When a display was added to the first mobile phone, a new media was created. Since then, Internet connection and a camera have been added that have created a new way to interact with the physical world.

Soon speech recognition will allow an additional way to browse the physical world too.

Every physical object will have a physical world hyperlink

That means every physical object will allow connection to a designated website and the mobile phone with it's physical world browser will be able to surf the "real world", the physical one.

I think you find THE NEXT GOOGLE in here.

Your ad could be here.

MOBILE BAR CODE COMPANIES

23half and their Thrrum Visual Browser
3GVision
5o9 Inc
Abaxia and their MobileTag
ABBYY
Active Print (Hewlett-Packard)
ActiveSymbols
Aeritas
Airclic
AlpsLab
Applied Digital Solutions and their VeriChip
Aura Interactive
Baracoda
BaToo
BeeTagg
BluePulse
BrandAttention
CamClic
[COD]mmunication
ColorZip Media
ConvergeLabs
CounterFight
DSPV
Daem Interactive
Denim Code
DiMoCo
Digimarc
Domino Solutions
Ecrio
Elcode
Evolution ViPR
Evryx
Exbiblio
G2Tactics
Gavitec
GenTag
GeoVector
GMedia
Google 2D Code
Google Voice
Hitachi
HookCode
Hypertag
Iconlab
Infokall
Innofone
Intelcom
Intellareturn's Append
Intrasonics
JagTag
Jaxo and their BarShow application
Kameleon
KoolTag
L.G. Electronics
Liquid Information
Luna Development
MBarc
M-Bar-Go
Matrix Solutions
MediaSeek
Mobicode
MobileAMA
Mobile Assets Corp
Hewlett Packard'sMobile Bristol
Mobile Discovery
Mobile Tag
Mobile2Win
MobilRelay
MobiMarketing
Mobot
Mobiqa
MyBestPrice
MyClick
MyMobileCast.com
Mytago
MyThum Interactive
NetInformer
Nextcode
Neven Vision
NewFound
NPCTelecom
nThrum
Nuance
Ontela
Kooaba and ooLink
OP3 and ShotCode
Opera
PaperDisk
PixeCode
PriceNoia
Psiloc
QuickMark
QMCODES
RealEyes 3D
Riya
SCANBUY
Scansoft/SpeechWorks
Secure Symbology
Semacode
Semapedia
Sintef
Skuair
SmartPox
SnapTell
Socket
SpyderLynk
SwiftPass
Tagit
TellMe
Trillcode
Tripletail Ventures and their VideoBarcode
Veritec
Tivik
Visual Magic
Vocalocity
VoiceGenie
VoxSurf
w3 Logistics Handyscan
Wappple
WideRay
Xerox
Xobile's Leapscan
XXTreme Measures
ZapCode
ZapLinks

List is not complete due to some companies wishing to remain private about their applications


If your company is not included, please send an email and I will be happy to include in this category.


Wouldn't your ad look good here?