Calling all InnOvaTors!

We want to push the boundaries of forward-looking, connected applications by engaging the IoT innovators through conceptual challenges. The insights you deliver will fuel conversations and drive change when we take them to suppliers and major industry players in the electronics world at this year's Elektronica show.

So to launch this new InnOvaTors initiative, our very own rscasny has cooked up a real-world scenario that would benefit massively from an innovative IoT solution that we'd like you to conceptualise.

Your opinions and ideas on the subject are important, as we want these concepts to inform the next generation of IoT development and (perhaps more importantly), adoption.

Let's take a look at Randy's scenario before we go any further.

Design a Home Patient Monitoring System with Notification and Alert Capabilities

Background

Among the numerous types of innovations that are expected to be fostered by Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, smart-connected healthcare solutions will perhaps be the most important one for millions of elderly people who live alone. In the UK 3.5 million people over the age of 65 live alone, and almost 70% of the women in this age group. The U.S has a similar trend with 11.8 million, and nearly half of the women over the age of 75 living alone.

This number is expected to increase as the growth in people over age 65 is projected to double from 43.1 million in 2012 to 83.7 million in 2050, according to the U.S Census Bureau. Whether an elderly person lives alone by choice or necessity, this living arrangement can pose a potential health risk as physical and cognitive impairment becomes evident.

Your Challenge: Helping a Stroke Patient Who Falls

A typical example of the challenge that the elderly face while living alone is Mrs. Jones. She is 79 years-old and has been living alone successfully for ten years since her husband passed away. While she has not had any problems during this period of time, Mrs. Jones recently suffered a minor stroke that led to numbness in her extremities and an overall weakness in strength but did not appear to be life-changing until she began losing her balance and falling in her apartment

Mrs. Jones’s daughter suggested to her mother that it was time to consider moving into a nursing home for safety’s sake. Mrs. Jones dismissed the idea out of a desire to remain independent. Her daughter discussed this situation with Mrs. Jones's doctor who said her options were limited. Beyond a live-in caregiver, home nurse visits, or home monitoring systems, which had limited benefits as they are currently designed, there was little else to do.

The InnOvaTors Approach to IoT

How would you solve the problem above through creative and innovative IoT design?

It seems to us that a complete IoT solution is built upon the support of three component pillars; the nodes/sensors, the gateway and the cloud. But before we delve into specific applications of the Three Legs of IoT (which we'll do in more detail over the next couple of weeks), the workflow process of IoT design seems like it warrants inspection.

What's your advice on designing an Internet of Things?

Do you have an established, unified workflow, or does each application demand its own unique approach?

In the comments section below, we'd like to hear your thoughts and advice on how to plan an IoT solution. Don't worry too much about the technical specifics of each element just yet; what's needed here is the initial workflow that'll help to shape a robust and innovative solution further down the line. An IoT bible, if you like, that you can confidently refer to when things get chaotic, confusing or fly off on a tangent.

Tell us where the industry can improve its efforts, where the gaps are in off-the-shelf solutions, and what your design methods are that will bolster and boost the expanding world of IoT application.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!