Bill Harpley gave a presentation about the Internet of Things (IoT) at the Brighton Digital Catapult. He discussed the role of IoT in the UK digital strategy, major centers of IoT activity in the UK, and why emerging technologies are needed to stimulate growth. He introduced the Brighton IoT Forum, which aims to develop IoT capabilities in the local area and foster collaboration between businesses and academics. The presentation concluded by discussing upcoming IoT Forum events and how attendees can get involved in developing an IoT network called the Everynet in Brighton.

1. Welcome!
Breakfast Drop-in
With special guest; Bill Harpley
Brighton ‘Internet of Things’
Meetup Organiser
@IoT_Brighton

2. Upcoming events
17 Feb Tech Beyond the Screen: UX & Design for Connected
Products
22 Feb An introduction to Blockchain
2 Mar Tech Beyond the Screen: Connectivity &
Infrastructure
For more information and to join our mailing list
bit.ly/DigiCatBrighton

3. Welcome to Brighton IoT Forum
It's time to engage with the Internet of Things

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• A presentation given at
Brighton Digital Catapult
on February 5th 2016
• Bill Harpley

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A polite introduction
• founder and Principal consultant
• Astius Technology
• www.astius.co.uk
• Bill Harpley

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What we will talk about
1) Role of IoT in UK Digital Strategy
2) Centres of IoT activity in the UK
3) Why we need the stimulus of emerging
technologies
4) Introduction to the Brighton IoT Forum
5) IoT for Artists and Designers
6) The Everynet: an IoT network for Brighton

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Role of IoT in UK Digital Strategy
● IoT is a central part of
Government strategy for
developing the UK digital
economy
● Funding for projects
allocated via:
–Innovate UK
–ESPRC
–Catapult network
● Additional funding from
EU Horizon 2020 programme

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The Global Market for IoT (1)
• Huge market – worth trillions of dollars by 2020

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Centres of IoT activity in UK
● Major centres are:
–London, Cambridge, Bristol, Milton Keynes,
Manchester, Thames Valley
–growth fuelled by availability of Government funding
and / or plenty of private sector capital
● Aspiring centres include:
–Birmingham, Brighton, Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool,
York
–tend to lack the necessary business ecosystems to support development of
IoT and other emerging technologies

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● The digital boom of the last two decades was fuelled by growth of
content
–email, video, web, social media, voice
–but signs of maturity in this sector
–innovation mainly incremental (but can still be disruptive)
–many people have done very well of this boom!
● Prime source of innovation over the next decade will be fuelled by
mining of raw data – examples:
–Sensor networks
–Data Analytics
–Machine Learning
–Data Visualisation
Why we need emerging technologies (1)

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Why we need emerging technologies (2)
● Tech scene in Greater Brighton area needs to broaden its base and embrace
emerging technologies
–IoT, 3D Printing, Blockchain, 5G, Business Model design
● Why do this?
–graduates need jobs (possible “brain-drain”)
–these technologies offer best hope for long term business growth and
employment
–develop skills in wireless / mobile technologies
–provide jobs for people displaced by “white collar” automation
–attract inward investment from big industry players
–need to compete for talent with other tech hubs (e.g. London)

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Brighton IoT Forum
● Launched in June 2016 and membership currently stands at
390+ (largest tech group in Brighton)
● Aims of the Forum are:
1) develop IoT capability within Greater Brighton and mid-
Sussex area (complementary to DigiCat)
2) foster collaboration between business and academia
3) encourage more participation by women in tech sector
4) build bridges between the artistic, design and technology
communities
5) long-term construction of a business eco-system which
supports innovation and risk-taking

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Example: Connected Cars
● Meetup No. 4 was devoted to 'Connected Cars and Autonomous Vehicles'
● Pattern of convergence between "information businesses"
(e.g. Google) and "automotive businesses" (e.g. BMW).
● What makes this significant is that in the Brighton and mid-Sussex area, we
have all of the skills to capitalise on this trend:
– talented academic researchers in the universities
–good companies in the automotive sector (Continental, Tesla, Ricardo)
–communities of practice in Product Design, UX, Service Design, Software
Development
–a major insurance company (RSA in Horsham)
● Meetup brought people from these diverse groups together to meet and
talk to each other (possibly for the first time!)
● Potential for collaboration and new business opportunities

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What you can get out of IoT Forum
● You can join via our meetup page:
• http://www.meetup.com/Internet-of-Things-Brighton/
● We meet at the Fusebox about every 5-6 weeks
● Meetings are FREE to attend
● Benefits of attending a Forum meetup:
–learn about a specific topic or application area of IoT
–promote your own projects and events
–it's not just for geeks! Aim to be inclusive and welcoming to people
of all backgrounds
–network with other attendees, share ideas and create opportunties for
collaboration
–deliver presention at a future meetup (if you have relevant expertise)
● Be part of a vibrant community!

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IoT for Artists and Designers (1)
• http://bigbangdata.somersethouse.org.uk/

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IoT for Artists and Designers (2)
● IoT is not just for geeks!
● Early websites of two decades ago looked ugly
–it took people a while to figure out that the Web was not the same
as print media
–it was artists and designers who tamed the early web and made it
usable
●typography
●graphics
●layout
–UX became a fusion of ergonomics and aesthetics
● There is a role for artists and designers to shape
the Social Internet of Things ( 'Thingbook' )

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IoT for Artists and Designers (3)
• http://www.astius.co.uk/2016/social-internet-of-things-sociot/

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Everynet: a network for IoT
● Work has started on the Everynet project
–aim is to build a dedicated city-wide network of
sensors and actuators (switches )
–inspired by the global Things Network
http://thingsnetwork.org/
●open network for innovation
●open source hardware and software
●crowdfunded and crowdsourced
● Public workshops will be organised in the near future
● Everyone invited to get involved!
● Everynet should be operational by September

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IoT the unanswered questions
● How can we build secure connected products and
services?
● How can we monetize IoT and build a profitable
business?
● How can we design connected products and services
which are a pleasure to use?
● How can we scale IoT networks so they become
ubiquitous?
• These challenges will be addressed in future
sessions of the IoT Forum

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Forthcoming events
● February 17th, University of Brighton, talk on
“Building an IoT cluster in Brighton”
● February ??, Brighton IoT Forum, theme will be “IoT Security” -
excellent speakers!
● March 2cnd, Brighton DigiCat, theme of “Connectivity and
Infrastructure” - I will be talking about the Everynet project

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Conclusions
1) IoT scene in Greater Brighton & mid-Sussex is finally
gaining momentum
2) A lot of hard work lies ahead if we are to catch up
with centres like London, MK and Bristol
3) We need to build an inclusive community of artists,
designers and technologists
4) The Everynet will be a huge catalyst for innovation
and change
5) Get involved! Join IoT Forum, come to DigiCat
events, support the Everynet project.
6) Emerging technologies present us with an
opportunity to revitalise the local tech scene and
compete with the very best!

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Contact me
• bill.harpley@astius.co.uk
• 07476 944338
• @billharpley

24. Upcoming events
17 Feb Tech Beyond the Screen: UX & Design for Connected
Products
22 Feb An introduction to Blockchain
2 Mar Tech Beyond the Screen: Connectivity &
Infrastructure
For more information and to join our mailing list
bit.ly/DigiCatBrighton