Most people think of Smart Home applications when they hear about the Internet of Things (IoT) including things like
* Giving "Alexa" a command through their [Amazon Echo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Echo) (or other Voice Assistant product) 
* The [video doorbell](https://ring.com/videodoorbells) that streams to your phone 
* or controlling your [Smart Thermostat](http://www.tomsguide.com/us/best-smart-thermostats,review-2751.html) through your tablet. 

<center>http://i.imgur.com/DDgIUwj.jpg</center>

The underlying concept to the Internet of things is that it connects and lets you control many different devices together through WiFi. This includes wearable devices such as the [smart watches](http://www.wareable.com/smartwatches/the-best-smartwatches-in-the-world) or [fitness trackers.](http://www.wareable.com/fitness-trackers/the-best-fitness-tracker) We will probably start seeing other types of wearable technology in the not far off future like smart jackets or smart glasses.

<center>http://i.imgur.com/Xs4cJOi.png</center>
<center>http://i.imgur.com/XEpCap2.jpg</center>
## <center>[Smart Jackets](https://atap.google.com/jacquard/)</center>

>Jacquard allows wearers to control their mobile experience and connect to a variety of services, such as music or maps, directly from the jacket. This is especially useful when it might be difficult to use the smart phone, like when you are riding on your bike.
>-[Source](https://atap.google.com/jacquard/)

<center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yJ-lcdMfziw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>
<center>http://i.imgur.com/Xs4cJOi.png</center>
## <center>[Smart Glasses](https://www.wareable.com/headgear/the-best-smartglasses-google-glass-and-the-rest)</center>
<center>http://i.imgur.com/aRwUyfV.jpg</center>
Even though the Google glasses didn't work out so well, there are still a lot of players in this market. Smart glasses can open augmented reality whether getting real time information while outside (directions, information on landmarks, etc) as well as being a potential way to work with information or even an enhanced learning tool.
<center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/axSwwaU0RYU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>
<center>http://i.imgur.com/Xs4cJOi.png</center>
## <center>[Smart City](http://cityprotocol.org/)</center>
The organization [City Protocol](http://cityprotocol.org/) works with cities including Barcelona and Amsterdam to help setup the sensor networks, business partnerships and other pieces necessary to integrate what is needed to create a Smart City. 
<center><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rv3wuyOjlRA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>

<center>http://i.imgur.com/Xs4cJOi.png</center>

[Business Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-the-internet-of-things-definition-2016-8) estimates that over the next few years $6 Billion usd will be spent on creating IoT solutions and that by the year 2020 there will be more than 24 BILLION IoT devices on the earth. The other interesting piece of this is that it is expected to have immediate global reach instead of starting first with richer, more developed countries. The IoT sensors have already become price accessible to reach just about anywhere using short range communication but with more a dependency on the larger WiFi available for things such as smart cities.

Right now security and privacy are some of the major concerns regarding this move towards this 'connected' futures, especially remembering that these communicate using WiFi and depending on the technology that it could be dependent on Publicly Provided WiFi.

Personally I'm excited about where we might be in the next decade, but as always, this also puts out even more personal information to be tracked. As always, I have to have trust in the 'key-masters' to this data and how it will be used and/or sold.


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Image Sources:
[Internet of Things](https://pixabay.com/en/communication-internet-1439187/)
[Jacquard Commuter Jacket](https://atap.google.com/jacquard/)
[Smart Jacket](https://www.flickr.com/photos/smieyetracking/8506844092)