The Nimbus Centre at CIT is Ireland’s only research centre devoted to the field of networked embedded electronic systems. Embedded systems are the electronics driving the ‘Internet of Things’, the technology revolution driving a physically interconnected world. The Nimbus Centre is home to one of Ireland’s foremost experts in the area, Dr John Barrett. He is head of academic studies at the Nimbus Centre for Embedded Systems Research.

The “Internet of Things” is now mainstream, but it’s often misunderstood or viewed as an intimidating concept that’s too technical to fully grasp. But it’s really quite simple – the “Internet of Things” uses wireless embedded systems technology to turn an everyday object “smart”, thus connecting everything through the “Internet of Things”. This will improve health systems, safety, finance, every-day planning and a multitude of other benefits. The term ‘Internet of Things’ is becoming more commonplace as wearables and other connected consumer items appear on the market.

The idea to interconnect everyday objects, and develop novel functionality and information through these connections, has been the focus of technical staff in CIT since 2000. Just as the explosion of the Internet in the 90’s was an exciting time for software engineers and enthusiasts, now is the time for exciting frontier work as the Internet expands into the physical world. Nimbus has had great success in this respect – offering our technical expertise to bring people’s ideas to life.

Simple improvements can make big differences to life quality. From smart city applications that get you to work quicker, safer and with less stress, based on real-time traffic reporting, to the car boot that opens as you approach laden with shopping. Almost any conceivable idea can be implemented through wireless embedded systems technology and huge breakthroughs are already underway in Energy, Water, Healthcare, Assisted Living, Agriculture and the Urban Environment.

Read the article in the Cork Independent.