The lightbulb is often seen as the symbol of human technological ingenuity. While revolutionary in its emergence, how we control it has remained largely unchanged over the last century. Recently, the broad adoption of IoT technologies and connected devices has introduced new levels of control and efficiency to staples of technology, including the lightbulb.
Changes of this magnitude are not made without creating a new set of challenges. For developers and engineers of these connected technologies, the demand for limitless features and connectivity has complicated the design process -- hence the advent of new platforms and tools aimed at streamlining such processes.
For manufacturers willing to tackle connected devices, compliance, security and regulatory hurdles exist throughout all phases of product development. Questions like “Will adding the X function to the Y component influence the performance of Z?” or “Does system 492 comply with regulation I-23?” must be considered by both hardware and software development teams when creating connected products.
The automotive industry’s race for the connected car is one such project where ensuring compliance during the development process can prevent a loss of capital, injury or even death. Companies like Tesla and GM continuously acquire startups and smaller technology companies in their endless quests for the connected car -- and eventually the fully autonomous vehicle. In March 2016, GM purchased the self-driving startup Cruise Automation for more than $1 billion. With its acquisition, one challenge became noticeably present: How would GM integrate Cruise Automation’s technology within its own vehicles?
Engineers within GM’s ranks would have to be tasked with finding a way to ensure compliance between both companies’ production teams to guarantee consistency and safety. Automatic braking systems are an example of a connected car technology that uses sensors to initiate brakes. This technology is prevalent in leading carmakers such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford and Volvo, among others.
The automotive market is not the only industry to have reshaped its development process with the coming of connected devices. The healthcare industry has also felt the effect of increased demand for connected devices, embracing their benefits in providing increasingly specialized medical care to patients. A 2015 study showed that the demand for connected devices within the healthcare industry is expected to reach $163.24 billion by 2020.
Connected medical devices will be able to collect and analyze enormous amounts of data, providing healthcare physicians with enough information to make a more accurate diagnosis and reduce back-end cost. However, with any medical device, regulations and certifications ensure the devices are safe for all, and connected medical devices are no different.
Medical developers are faced with the challenge of developing a product that’s interoperable with other devices while also maintaining compliance with regulations established to ensure safety. Standards such as those within the ISO/IEEE 11073 family provide a set of guidelines for medical devices that transfer personal health data, establish logical connections between systems and provide services needed to perform communication tasks. IoT is helping in this capacity with home-based monitoring tools to help patients who suffer from a chronic illness.
Whether it be the automotive, healthcare or another industry, developers of connected devices face arduous challenges in the form of regulations, certifications and interoperability. Various forms of product development and management tools have helped engineers ensure that software designed to bring a device into the connected world is compliant with regulations and reduces conflict points.
As more products -- like the lightbulb -- are reinvented in this era of connectivity and new innovations are brought to life, the need for a modern system of development is evident.
Product developers will be tasked with producing the ever-increasing number of features demanded in each product while ensuring safety, reliability and low cost. A system that ensures compliance between hardware and software while also meeting regulations has proved to be the most effective way to accelerate development time, mitigate risk, reduce cost and ensure devices are ready for the connected world.