Internet of me

According to analysts at Cisco and DHL, more than 50bn devices will be connected to the internet by 2020, ‘yet no one has created an open and truly accessible way for anyone to have a voice in this debate’, says SAM founder Joachim Horn.

In the spirit of Altruvation, Horn and his team have developed the IoT toolkit, a collection of modular building blocks such as lights, sensors, motors, buttons and buzzers that can be programmed using a simple drag-and-drop interface. The kit is designed to enable people without coding experience to create new products and systems.

The app connects to the internet, email and social media, so online activity can be linked to the inventions. SAM’s customers are crafting innovations such as the Doorbell v3, which tweets a homeowner when a caller comes knocking.

‘There was no easy way to create a product, app, or piece of art using electronics and coding,’ Horn tells LS:N Global. ‘I thought this was crazy as it meant cutting off the majority of designers who haven’t had the luxury of a technical education.’

The Big Picture: The number of IoT products on the market is growing, but are consumers ready for the revolution? Find out more with our market report on The Connected Home.