Imagine your smartphone telling your air-con to turn itself on before you get home hot and sweaty. Or to remotely monitor your elderly parents through sensors to ensure their safety.
We are used to the idea that computers and smartphones can be connected. But the Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the newest frontiers in technology that connects everyday objects to the internet and each other through WiFi or similar networks.
Light bulbs, refrigerators, coffee machines and thermostats ― all these common household items have one thing in common: they're getting smarter thanks to IoT technology.
The IoT, sometimes called the Internet of Everything, is the network of physical objects embedded with electronics, software, sensors and connectivity that enable an exchange of data with the manufacturer, user or other connected devices.
The IoT works like a computer grid. Each thing is uniquely identifiable by its embedded computing system but operates within the existing internet infrastructure.
Even though the IoT has a low level of awareness in Thailand, companies believe it could gain mass appeal in Thailand soon because mobile operators, IoT software developers and makers of smart wearable devices are creating a sense of wonder and interest.
Target sectors include healthcare systems, building/home automation, transport, energy, infrastructure management and environmental monitoring.
Gartner Inc, the world's leading information technology research company, expects 4.9 billion objects to be connected by 2015, up 30% from 2014.
The figure will reach 25 billion by 2020 and will impact all major vertical industries, creating new business models and easing digital business.
Gartner estimates that the IoT will support services spending of US$69.5 billion in 2015 and $263 billion by 2020.
Frost & Sullivan, another global technology research firm, says the IoT market will be one of the fastest-growing technology segments in Asia-Pacific.
Overall spending on IoT in the region reached $9.96 billion in 2014. The market is expected to continue growing at a compound annual rate of 34.1% to $58 billion by 2020.
Thailand, India, Malaysia and Indonesia will be among the fastest-growing IoT markets in Asia-Pacific during 2014-17.
Countries that adopted the IoT early include Japan, Singapore, China, Australia and South Korea.
Andrew Milroy, vice-president for Asia-Pacific at Frost & Sullivan, says government efforts to improve economic competitiveness and address demographic changes and rapid urbanisation will be vital factors in the widespread adoption of the IoT.
The falling cost of technology components such as magnetic-field sensors and chips will also speed adoption.
Greater coverage of communication infrastructure in the region, coupled with the ready availability of cloud-based storage and services, will further drive development and adoption of the IoT.
"The Asia-Pacific region is characterised by a large presence of manufacturing economies and has one of the largest production networks in the world," Mr Milroy says.
IoT spending in the manufacturing industry is expected to be one of the fastest-growing markets in Asia-Pacific, with a compound annual rate of 52.7% during 2014-20.
Mr Milroy says logistics and transport contribute the bulk of IoT spending and are expected to remain the largest IoT segment in the region.
Apinetr Unakul, president of the Thai Embedded Systems Association (TESA), says Thailand has seen an IoT uptake this year as prices for connected digital devices drop.
For instance, the cost of a WiFi microcontroller module, designed to connect sensors and objects with various control systems, has fallen to $3.
In addition, software and mobile developers are increasingly shifting to IoT applications.
Mr Apinetr says the IoT is expected to take off in Thailand for both consumers and businesses in a combined market worth 10 billion baht.
"But the most important issue is how Thailand builds up its domestic IoT industry, instead of simply relying on importing IoT technologies," he says.
Saijo Denki, a Thailand-based air-conditioner maker, recently introduced an intelligent air-conditioning system for commercial buildings ― one that can self-detect system malfunctions and reduce energy consumption.
Mr Apinetr wants the government to play a greater role in bringing in IoT experts and creating innovative internet-connected devices to add value to manufacturing and electronics.
On the service sector side, the IoT will create business models such as mobile apps for ride-sharing services.
The Thai government could also adopt the IoT for intelligent street lighting control, traffic management and smart grid usage.
Pratthana Leelapanang, executive vice-president for marketing at Advanced Info Service (AIS), says the IoT is one of five key technologies to generate new revenue streams for AIS.
IoT will stimulate consumers to use greater mobile data traffic. The wearable device market, including smart watches and fitness trackers, also looks promising.
For business, mobile operators will focus on developing more machine-to-machine (M2M) communication devices to support the IoT.
AIS has set up a working team to oversee M2M communication services, especially vehicle fleet management and logistics.
A report from ZDNet, a business technology news website, puts the global revenue opportunity for mobile operators from M2M at $1 trillion in 2015 and $1.2 trillion by 2020.
Sigvart Voss Erikse, chief marketing officer of Total Access Communication (DTAC), says the IoT and M2M will change and define the future of the electronics and telecom sectors.
In the past, the technologies were used mostly by businesses for areas like ATM networks and fleet management; but now they have matured and become affordable for use in wearable devices for retail, Mr Erikse told the Asia M2M/IoT Business Platform conference, recently held in Bangkok for the first time.
A typical person in Thailand has one or two mobile SIM cards. That is expected to surge to 6-8 SIMs after the IoT gathers steam.
"We expect to see 400 million connected devices in Thailand by 2020, up from less than 1 million devices currently, fuelled mainly by the proliferation of IoT," Mr Erikse says.
DTAC has established a separate M2M team to stimulate market demand.
Natthakrit Sanguandikul, senior business development executive at True Corporation, says M2M and the IoT offer potential in data revenue growth for mobile operators like True Move.
True is on the verge of setting up a working team to take charge of IoT business after creating its own start-up environment to serve the broader IoT marketplace.
Narongchai Khunpluem, the mayor of Saensuk municipality in Chon Buri, says the town will partner with Burapha University and Intel Microelectronic this year to develop a smart tag with a sensor and GPS tracker.
The tag can monitor elderly and disabled people and call for assistance when they have an accident. The system will send an SMS notification to relatives when help is needed.
The same type of smart tag is also a solution for tracking high-value assets and identifying animals.
"We've already adopted the IoT to improve our services for citizens without waiting for a national policy," Mr Narongchai says.
