Mobile devices: device idea
Recently I read a book by Howard Reingold, “Smart Crowd. New social revolution. In short, the book talks about the impact of information technology in general and mobile communication in particular on the life and development of our society. In addition, it is concluded that the main locations of the population of the Earth will be flooded with chips capable of communicating with each other. People equipped with such devices will make up “smart crowds”, and their communication will acquire unprecedented forms and possibilities. "
On the basis of what was read in the book, as well as the thoughts expressed in the article on stickers , the idea of a device was born, which it would be nice to shave a bit.
So imagine a device that:
1. Has a compact size, such as a flash drive or keychain on the keys.
2. Equipped with some kind of wireless interface (or several) short-range.
3. Long live on battery.
4. Contains a unique ID.
5. It is worth a little, and therefore available to the masses.
Further, let us imagine that, while in the on state, this device is capable of detecting the presence of other similar devices in a small radius (for example, 10–20 meters) and interacting with them. What can this give us?
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1. Exchange of contacts.
If we assume that the ID of each device is unique - you can uniquely associate the owner profile with this ID, that is, to get an “iron” account on the network of owners of this device. In the profile, you can specify all the necessary contact information (phone, photo, accounts in other social networks, instant messengers, etc.). Thus, when meeting a person, it will be enough to press a button to transfer contact data from the memory of your device to the memory of the device of a new friend.
2. Automatic search.
Suppose in the automatic mode the device constantly tries to determine the presence of other devices in the available range, and if such devices are found, exchange their data with them (for example, only their ID). Thus, the identifiers of people who have been during the day from you within a radius of 10-30 meters are stored in the memory of your device. In the evening, having come home and connecting the device to your computer, you can view the profiles of these people online (like viewing people who visited your page in Odnoklassniki).
3. Dating.
In this mode, the device determines the presence in the accessible radius of the device with the specified parameters of the owner's profile (for example, we want to meet a girl programmer listening to drum & bass). If there are any, the device somehow signals this (backlight, vibro).
4. Friends of friends.
If the wireless interface allows, you can implement some of the routing protocols and ensure that devices that are far (further than the range of the wireless interface) from each other can communicate with each other through intermediate nodes. Thus, in the presence of intermediate links, you can define and share information with “friends of your friends” (by analogy with existing social networks).
5. Network.
If the bandwidth of the wireless interface allows, it will be possible by connecting the device to a computer / phone / PDA to provide a network connection in the usual sense - the exchange of messages, files, access to the Internet, etc.
6. Information, advertising.
Installing such a device in scan mode in the store will allow the store to know that you have entered it and later (if you wish) to inform you about new products / discounts / promotions by e-mail (or something else) specified in your profile. Or, if you pass within the range of the device of a nearby store, information about new products / discounts / promotions can be transferred directly to your device.
7. Ratings.
Following the label article : the owner of the device has the ability to rate (tag, recall, etc.) the owner of another device (be it a person or, for example, a store). Ratings are stored centrally and can be viewed online. The uniqueness of the device to a certain extent identifies the evaluator, and can also prevent cheating rating (because for multiple ratings, you must also have a lot of devices available).
All of the above probably causes a lot of questions. This is where the community opinion is interesting to me, because I have a lot of questions.
The main question - what is the feasibility of creating such a device?
Anyway, similar ideas have already appeared in the form of individual devices or technologies: special key chains for dating (it seems that they were common in Japan, I could not quickly find the link), gadgets for sharing social network profiles, Bluetooth marketing and advertising campaigns.
However, in each case only one of the possibilities was realized. Does it make sense to create a universal device, with the help of which all the described (and other) features can be implemented?
The second question - what other opportunities come to your mind, besides the descriptions?
The third question is which wireless interface could underlie the device?
Bluetooth? ZigBee? HomeRF? Personally, I am very fond of the UWB technology, I have been following its development for a long time, it’s a pity that things are somehow hard for her. Its main problem is that with an increase in the distance between the nodes, the transmission rate is significantly reduced. For example, at distances of about 3 m, a speed of 480 Mbit / s is ensured, at 10 m the speed drops to 110 Mbit / s. However, for our hypothetical device this is enough with a head. Moreover, the component base exists - surface googling shows that UWB chips and all related products are offered by many companies (for example, chips from Artimi , Wisair , Alereon ). If I'm not mistaken, then these chips also support Bluetooth, which makes it possible to control / use our device using a regular mobile phone or a PDA with Bluetooth.
The fourth question - suppose the idea is good. What is the cost estimate for developing a device?
Since I am not an expert in systems engineering, it is quite hard for me to imagine and evaluate the process of designing and developing such a device. What could be the minimum cost of this device? I would like to hear the opinions of people who are knowledgeable.
The fifth question - what is the complexity of implementation?
Suppose the device is created. What licenses and what else is needed to start selling it legally?
Discuss?
On the basis of what was read in the book, as well as the thoughts expressed in the article on stickers , the idea of a device was born, which it would be nice to shave a bit.
So imagine a device that:
1. Has a compact size, such as a flash drive or keychain on the keys.
2. Equipped with some kind of wireless interface (or several) short-range.
3. Long live on battery.
4. Contains a unique ID.
5. It is worth a little, and therefore available to the masses.
Further, let us imagine that, while in the on state, this device is capable of detecting the presence of other similar devices in a small radius (for example, 10–20 meters) and interacting with them. What can this give us?
')
1. Exchange of contacts.
If we assume that the ID of each device is unique - you can uniquely associate the owner profile with this ID, that is, to get an “iron” account on the network of owners of this device. In the profile, you can specify all the necessary contact information (phone, photo, accounts in other social networks, instant messengers, etc.). Thus, when meeting a person, it will be enough to press a button to transfer contact data from the memory of your device to the memory of the device of a new friend.
2. Automatic search.
Suppose in the automatic mode the device constantly tries to determine the presence of other devices in the available range, and if such devices are found, exchange their data with them (for example, only their ID). Thus, the identifiers of people who have been during the day from you within a radius of 10-30 meters are stored in the memory of your device. In the evening, having come home and connecting the device to your computer, you can view the profiles of these people online (like viewing people who visited your page in Odnoklassniki).
3. Dating.
In this mode, the device determines the presence in the accessible radius of the device with the specified parameters of the owner's profile (for example, we want to meet a girl programmer listening to drum & bass). If there are any, the device somehow signals this (backlight, vibro).
4. Friends of friends.
If the wireless interface allows, you can implement some of the routing protocols and ensure that devices that are far (further than the range of the wireless interface) from each other can communicate with each other through intermediate nodes. Thus, in the presence of intermediate links, you can define and share information with “friends of your friends” (by analogy with existing social networks).
5. Network.
If the bandwidth of the wireless interface allows, it will be possible by connecting the device to a computer / phone / PDA to provide a network connection in the usual sense - the exchange of messages, files, access to the Internet, etc.
6. Information, advertising.
Installing such a device in scan mode in the store will allow the store to know that you have entered it and later (if you wish) to inform you about new products / discounts / promotions by e-mail (or something else) specified in your profile. Or, if you pass within the range of the device of a nearby store, information about new products / discounts / promotions can be transferred directly to your device.
7. Ratings.
Following the label article : the owner of the device has the ability to rate (tag, recall, etc.) the owner of another device (be it a person or, for example, a store). Ratings are stored centrally and can be viewed online. The uniqueness of the device to a certain extent identifies the evaluator, and can also prevent cheating rating (because for multiple ratings, you must also have a lot of devices available).
All of the above probably causes a lot of questions. This is where the community opinion is interesting to me, because I have a lot of questions.
The main question - what is the feasibility of creating such a device?
Anyway, similar ideas have already appeared in the form of individual devices or technologies: special key chains for dating (it seems that they were common in Japan, I could not quickly find the link), gadgets for sharing social network profiles, Bluetooth marketing and advertising campaigns.
However, in each case only one of the possibilities was realized. Does it make sense to create a universal device, with the help of which all the described (and other) features can be implemented?
The second question - what other opportunities come to your mind, besides the descriptions?
The third question is which wireless interface could underlie the device?
Bluetooth? ZigBee? HomeRF? Personally, I am very fond of the UWB technology, I have been following its development for a long time, it’s a pity that things are somehow hard for her. Its main problem is that with an increase in the distance between the nodes, the transmission rate is significantly reduced. For example, at distances of about 3 m, a speed of 480 Mbit / s is ensured, at 10 m the speed drops to 110 Mbit / s. However, for our hypothetical device this is enough with a head. Moreover, the component base exists - surface googling shows that UWB chips and all related products are offered by many companies (for example, chips from Artimi , Wisair , Alereon ). If I'm not mistaken, then these chips also support Bluetooth, which makes it possible to control / use our device using a regular mobile phone or a PDA with Bluetooth.
The fourth question - suppose the idea is good. What is the cost estimate for developing a device?
Since I am not an expert in systems engineering, it is quite hard for me to imagine and evaluate the process of designing and developing such a device. What could be the minimum cost of this device? I would like to hear the opinions of people who are knowledgeable.
The fifth question - what is the complexity of implementation?
Suppose the device is created. What licenses and what else is needed to start selling it legally?
Discuss?
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/63687/
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