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from the just-don't-ask-to-speak-to-my-toaster dept.
Since drivers own their vehicles, the most valuable resource that rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft own might be the data that each ride generates. This information feeds algorithms that pair drivers with riders and also price rides to match supply and demand. The business model built around this data has led to multibillion-dollar valuations for Uber and Lyft. Given the value of this data, Uber was reluctant to make this data publically available until now. Uber has an interest in improving transportation infrastructure where it operates. The data sharing may also assuage city regulators who have demanded data in exchange for permitting Uber to operate.
[...] Reaping the full benefits of the internet of things will require novel agreements between the private sector companies that collect data and public sector agencies that can use it [to] shape policy. However, this data sharing must also include the customer. Publishing aggregate data on a website for everyone to see is one way to ensure that customers know exactly how their data is being used in a public sector context. There are certainly some privacy concerns with making this data public, but as long as steps are taken to remove any identifying information, personal data can serve the public interest. Furthermore, relieving traffic congestion is only the beginning of using sensor data to solve policy issues. While more data cannot solve every problem, greater availability can lead to more precise policy solutions.
Source: The Brookings Institution
(Score: 5, Informative) by MrGuy on Monday January 23 2017, @05:50PM
Uber and Lyft's data comes from (primarily) smartphone apps. Getting data from smartphones is not "the internet of things."
The "Internet of Things" speaks to adding "smarts" to devices that haven't traditionally had connectivity. Lightbulbs, refrigerators, heating systems, etc.
What we're talking about here is the benefits of Big Data - taking large datasets that are being captured increasingly from usage of existing technology, and applying analytics to it to draw conclusions.
Now, it's correct to say that the Internet of Things will eventually (potentially) generate large datasets. And it's possible to apply Big Data tools to analyze to those datasets. And it's not impossible that using Big Data tools to analyze that data could in some cases generate public benefit (though I expect it will be utterly dwarfed by the number of cases in which it's used to generate PRIVATE benefit for corporations).
But this is a story that describes how some data captured from smartphone apps was elected to be shared by some corporations (who were not obligated to do so) and turned out to generate some public good.
That in NO WAY AT ALL should, in my opinion, make anyone change their mind about whether the coming "Internet of Things" presents a risk, or why we shouldn't be truly frightened by the massive amount of data that will soon be able to be collected without our knowledge or consent, by devices that we don't explicitly control or apps we explicitly choose to install.
The dishonesty in the use of terminology about this being an "internet of things" story doesn't give me a favorable view of the authors' intent.
(Score: 2) by n1 on Monday January 23 2017, @07:06PM
as the submitter of this story I agree with you. I submit these stories in the hopes that the community will see through the bullshit, which is usually not that difficult if you're just a little cynical of things like public private partnerships, big data, internet of things and other culturally significant buzzwords.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 23 2017, @07:13PM
and applying analytics to it to draw conclusions.
Oh I agree. I also have another problem that I have been trying to crack for the past 10 or so years I have been making m2m IoT devices. Who builds that analytic thing? We have companies slurping up huge amounts of data but not actually doing very much with it.
The places I have seen IoT gain any traction is pre-fail industrial conditions. XYZ has developed a fault we have switched to the secondary order a part and schedule a down time sort of thing. Instead of having a dude walk and look at some panel on a computer in the middle of nowhere it now happens in a cramped little office on the other side of the state and he can hit 20 sites in one day instead of the 3 he was doing before. So you need 7x less people. That is where IoT is gaining its most cost benefit. The lightbulb in my living room does not really need monitoring reporting back to a server with a smartphone app to turn it on. It either works or I change it. Most people are *not* going to pay a premium for that. Some will, until the novelty wears off.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 23 2017, @07:40PM
Oh I agree. I also have another problem that I have been trying to crack for the past 10 or so years I have been making m2m IoT devices. Who builds that analytic thing? We have companies slurping up huge amounts of data but not actually doing very much with it.
The places I have seen IoT gain any traction is pre-fail industrial conditions. XYZ has developed a fault we have switched to the secondary order a part and schedule a down time sort of thing. Instead of having a dude walk and look at some panel on a computer in the middle of nowhere it now happens in a cramped little office on the other side of the state and he can hit 20 sites in one day instead of the 3 he was doing before. So you need 7x less people. That is where IoT is gaining its most cost benefit. The lightbulb in my living room does not really need monitoring reporting back to a server with a smartphone app to turn it on. It either works or I change it. Most people are *not* going to pay a premium for that. Some will, until the novelty wears off.
Industrial IoT is where most of the promise is and is something I have interest in getting involved with being a process controls engineer. Predictive monitoring is becoming a big thing where added sensors can tell you when maintenance will soon be required so that you can cut down on the traditional scheduled maintenance cycles, reducing downtime and getting more mileage out of components.
The IoT you tend to hear more about though on most tech sites is on the residential side and full of overhype and fluff in the style of "WiFi lightbulbs" and other stupid crap for lazy people with too much money burning a hole in their pocket.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 23 2017, @08:47PM
Another place IoT has made a huge inroad is existing SCADA type applications that were using POTs lines. Some of this junk was ancient and held together by bailingwire and duct tape. Much of it is now being re-written and overhauled. So instead of having to trench out a line or places that you could not get one out to are starting to get cell modems. It was kind of amusing to watch. You just dropped 5 million on this giant industrial thing but you do not want to spend a couple of grand on a phone line. Okey dokey then... Another places is other owner premises. Think a high rise building owned by some conglomerate then run by a second company who subcontracts the building to a 3rd party. Now get in there and find out if the elevator needs work. Oh and good luck getting a phone in there. They do not want to cut up anything or run any wires but make sure that thing keeps running no matter what. So most companies just did periodic maintenance. They would swing by every 2-3 months on a schedule and swap things even if they didn't need it. Now they can find out exactly how much use something has or pre-know that something is faulting out and show up with the right parts.
(Score: 1) by butthurt on Monday January 23 2017, @09:27PM
The headline could be, or become, true if Uber's automated cars are, or will be, connected to the Internet. Of course, the article isn't about that.