Bosch Sets Up Internet of Things Company

Bosch has set up a new company, Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions, for the internet of things and services.

The company will supply compact electronic products and software expertise designed to make devices and objects intelligent and web-enabled across a broad range of applications. It will initially focus on sensor-based applications for smart homes as well as for activities in the fields of traffic, transportation and logistics, Bosch says.

By 2015, more than 6 billion things will be connected to the internet, says Dr. Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch.

Using a combination of sensors and software, a smart home can, for instance, detect that the windows upstairs are open and link this piece of information to a weather forecast from the internet. To protect the house from an approaching storm, the system would be able to automatically close the windows and lower the shutters. Meanwhile, “smart plugs” can be used to switch a nursery’s irrigation system on and off depending on the soil’s moisture content.

Sensors integrated in packages and consignments of goods can be used to monitor their transportation. The data shows whether the goods have been handled roughly, dropped, left out in the rain, or exposed to unusual temperatures, so responsibilities can be correctly assigned at all times. And if a consignment disappears, the recorded geodata allow the route it took to be easily tracked. With the rapid increase of internet commerce, this is a fast growing market, Bosch says.

The internet of things, also called machine-to-machine (M2M) technologies, could help reduce global GHG emissions by 9.1 billion metric tons by 2020, equivalent to 18.6 percent of global GHG emissions in 2011, according to a February report by AT&T and the Carbon War Room.

In a report published in late 2012, GE said the industrial internet could boost energy efficiency and account for more than $82 trillion in economic activity by 2025, Energy Manager Today reports.