A smart object is an object that enhances the interaction with not only people but also with other smart objects. Also known as smart connected products or smart connected things (SCoT), they are products, assets and other things embedded with processors, sensors, software and connectivity that allow data to be exchanged between the product and its environment, manufacturer, operator/user, and other products and systems. Connectivity also enables some capabilities of the product to exist outside the physical device, in what is known as the product cloud. The data collected from these products can be then analyzed to inform decision-making, enable operational efficiencies and continuously improve the performance of the product. It can not only refer to interaction with physical world objects but also to interaction with virtual (computing environment) objects. A smart physical object may be created either as an artifact or manufactured product or by embedding electronic tags such as RFID tags or sensors into non-smart physical objects. Smart virtual objects are created as software objects that are intrinsic when creating and operating a virtual or cyber world simulation or game. The concept of a smart object has several origins and uses, see History. There are also several overlapping terms, see also smart device, tangible object or

tangible user interface A tangible user interface (TUI) is a user interface in which a person interacts with digital information through the physical environment. The initial name was Graspable User Interface, which is no longer used. The purpose of TUI development i ...

and Thing as in the

Internet of things The Internet of things (IoT) describes physical objects (or groups of such objects) with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other comm ...

History

In the early 1990s, Mark Weiser, from whom the term

ubiquitous computing Ubiquitous computing (or "ubicomp") is a concept in software engineering, hardware engineering and computer science where computing is made to appear anytime and everywhere. In contrast to desktop computing, ubiquitous computing can occur using a ...

originated, referred to a vision "When almost every object either contains a computer or can have a tab attached to it, obtaining information will be trivial", Although Weiser did not specifically refer to an object as being smart, his early work did imply that smart physical objects are smart in the sense that they act as digital information sources. Hiroshi Ishii and Brygg Ullmer refer to tangible objects in terms of tangibles bits or tangible user interfaces that enable users to "grasp & manipulate" bits in the center of users' attention by coupling the bits with everyday physical objects and architectural surfaces. The smart object concept was introduced by Marcelo Kallman and

Daniel Thalmann Prof. Daniel Thalmann is a Swiss and Canadian computer scientist and a pioneer in Virtual humans. He is currently Honorary Professor at EPFL, Switzerland and Director of Research Development at MIRALab Sarl in Geneva, Switzerland. Biography A ...

as an object that can describe its own possible interactions. The main focus here is to model interactions of smart virtual objects with virtual humans, agents, in virtual worlds. The opposite approach to smart objects is 'plain' objects that do not provide this information. The additional information provided by this concept enables far more general interaction schemes, and can greatly simplify the planner of an artificial intelligence agent. In contrast to smart virtual objects used in virtual worlds, Lev Manovich focuses on physical space filled with electronic and visual information. Here, "smart objects" are described as "objects connected to the Net; objects that can sense their users and display smart behaviour". More recently in the early 2010s, smart objects are being proposed as a key enabler for the vision of the Internet of things. The combination of the Internet and emerging technologies such as

near field communications Near-field communication (NFC) is a set of communication protocols that enables communication between two electronic devices over a distance of 4 cm (1 in) or less. NFC offers a low-speed connection through a simple setup that can be u ...

real-time Real-time or real time describes various operations in computing or other processes that must guarantee response times within a specified time (deadline), usually a relatively short time. A real-time process is generally one that happens in defined ...

localization, and embedded sensors enables everyday objects to be transformed into smart objects that can understand and react to their environment. Such objects are building blocks for the Internet of things and enable novel computing applications. In 2018, one of the world's first smart houses was built in

Klaukkala Klaukkala (; sv, Klövskog , ) is the southern-most urban area ( fi, taajama) of the Nurmijärvi municipality in Uusimaa, Finland, located near Lake Valkjärvi. It is the largest urban area in Nurmijärvi, and despite the fact that it officially ...

, Finland in the form of a five-floor apartment block, utilizing the Kone Residential Flow solution created by

KONE Kone Oyj (; officially stylized as KONE and trading as KONE Corporation) is an elevator engineering company employing over 60,000 personnel across 60 countries worldwide. It was founded in 1910 and is now headquartered in Espoo near Helsinki, F ...

, allowing even a

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

to act as a home key.

Characteristics

Although we can view interaction with physical smart object in the physical world as distinct from interaction with virtual smart objects in a virtual simulated world, these can be related. Poslad considers the progression of: how * humans use models of smart objects situated in the physical world to enhance human to physical world interaction; versus how * smart physical objects situated in the physical world can model human interaction in order to lessen the need for human to physical world interaction; versus how * virtual smart objects by modelling both physical world objects and modelling humans as objects and their subsequent interactions can form a predominantly smart virtual object environment.

Smart physical objects

The concept smart for a smart physical object simply means that it is active, digital, networked, can operate to some extent autonomously, is reconfigurable and has local control of the resources it needs such as energy, data storage, etc. Note, a smart object does not necessarily need to be intelligent as in exhibiting a strong essence of

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

—although it can be designed to also be intelligent. Physical world smart objects can be described in terms of three properties: * ''Awareness'': is a smart object's ability to understand (that is, sense, interpret, and react to) events and human activities occurring in the physical world. * ''Representation'': refers to a smart object's application and programming model—in particular, programming abstractions. * ''Interaction'': denotes the object’s ability to converse with the user in terms of input, output, control, and feedback. Based upon these properties, these have been classified into three types: * ''Activity-Aware Smart Objects'': Are objects that can record information about work activities and its own use. * ''Policy-Aware Smart Objects'': Are objects that are activity-aware Objects can interpret events and activities with respect to predefined organizational policies. * ''Process-Aware Smart Objects'': Processes play a fundamental role in industrial work management and operation. A process is a collection of related activities or tasks that are ordered according to their position in time and space.

Smart virtual objects

For the

virtual object In optics, an ''image'' is defined as the collection of focus points of light rays coming from an object. A ''real image'' is the collection of focus points made by converging rays, while a virtual image is the collection of focus points mad ...

in a virtual world case, an object is called smart when it has the ability to describe its possible interactions. This focuses on constructing a virtual world using only virtual objects that contain their own interaction information. There are four basic elements to constructing such a smart virtual object framework. * ''Object properties'': physical properties and a text description * ''Interaction information'': position of handles, buttons, grips, and the like * ''Object behavior'': different behaviors based on state variables * ''Agent behaviors'': description of the behavior an agent should follow when using the object Some versions of smart objects also include animation information in the object information, but this is not considered to be an efficient approach, since this can make objects inappropriately oversized. The term smart products can be confusing as it is used to cover a broad range of different products, ranging from smart home appliances (e.g., smart bathroom scales or smart light bulbs) to smart cars (e.g., Tesla). While these products share certain similarities, they often differ substantially in their capabilities. Raff et al. developed a conceptual framework that distinguishes different smart products based on their capabilities, which features 4 types of smart product archetypes (in ascending order of "smartness")

Categorization

The terms smart, connected product or smart product can be confusing as it is used to cover a broad range of different products, ranging from smart home appliances (e.g., smart bathroom scales or smart light bulbs) to smart cars (e.g., Tesla). While these products share certain similarities, they often differ substantially in their capabilities
Raff et al.
developed a conceptual framework that distinguishes different smart products based on their capabilities, which features 4 types of smart product archetypes (in ascending order of "smartness"). * Digital * Connected * Responsive * Intelligent

Advantages

Smart, connected products have three primary components: * Physical – made up of the product's mechanical and electrical parts. * Smart – made up of

sensor A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical phenomenon. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem that detects events or changes in its environment and sends ...

s, microprocessors, data storage, controls, software, and an embedded operating system with enhanced user interface. * Connectivity – made up of ports, antennae, and protocols enabling wired/

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...

connections that serve two purposes, it allows data to be exchanged with the product and enables some functions of the product to exist outside the physical device. Each component expands the capabilities of one another resulting in "a virtuous cycle of value improvement". First, the smart components of a product amplify the value and capabilities of the physical components. Then, connectivity amplifies the value and capabilities of the smart components. These improvements include: * Monitoring of the product's conditions, its external environment, and its operations and usage. * Control of various product functions to better respond to changes in its environment, as well as to personalize the user experience. * Optimization of the product's overall operations based on actual performance data, and reduction of downtimes through predictive maintenance and remote service. * Autonomous product operation, including learning from their environment, adapting to users' preferences and self-diagnosing and service.

The Internet of things (IoT)

The

is the network of physical objects that contain embedded technology to communicate and sense or interact with their internal states or the external environment. The phrase "Internet of things" reflects the growing number of smart, connected products and highlights the new opportunities they can represent. The Internet, whether involving people or things, is a mechanism for transmitting information. What makes smart, connected products fundamentally different is not the Internet, but the changing nature of the 'things'. Once a product is smart and connected to the cloud, the products and services will become part of an interconnected management solution. Companies can evolve from making products to offering more complex, higher-value offerings within a "system of systems".

References

{{Reflist

External links

WorldCat
publications about smart objects.
The Internet of Things' Best-Kept Secret

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

A Very Short History Of The Internet Of Things

Three Steps to Combat the Impact of Digital Business Disruption on Value Creation

Gartner Gartner, Inc is a technological research and consulting firm based in Stamford, Connecticut that conducts research on technology and shares this research both through private consulting as well as executive programs and conferences. Its clients ...

The Five SMART Technologies to Watch

Cisco White Paper: The Internet of Everything for Cities5 Steps the 'Smart' Home Industry Must Take to Develop a Consumer MarketMashable: Bionic Pancreas Delivers Automated Care to Those With Diabetes

The Future of Wearable Technology
PBS video produced by

Off Book (web series) ''Off Book'' is a web series on digital culture and art created for PBS by Kornhaber Brown, a Webby award-winning production studio that creates web series, videos, and motion graphics. The series has been viewed more than six million times, and ...

Oxford Economics: Smart, connected products: Manufacturing's next transformation
Artificial intelligence