Pi Day Special: Six Sweet Slices of IoT Oddities

The outlandish ways we connect machines to each other and ourselves throught he Internet of Things keeps getting better--and worse. For 3.14, here's a few servings in honor of the Raspberry Pi, the board that started it all.

John Hitch

March 14, 2017

2 min read

We hope you know what the Internet of Things is by now, considering there will be approximately one trillion kabillion jillion pieces of electronics and machinery linked together by this time next year, according to someone probably.

Www Newequipment Com Sites Newequipment com Files Iot Graph 50 Billion

So maybe one trillion kabillion jillion was a bit of an exaggeration.

Everything is going to be holding hands and talking and communicating and analyzing and big data-fying and it's going to be great. But whatever is happening on the fringe of this connected device revolution is at times gloriously weird, but more often downright disconcerting. Call it the Internet of Stranger Things, or perhaps the IoWTF. It's what happens when a device such as the credit card-sized Raspberry Pi CPU board comes out and costs less than a date at Applebee's and allows you to turn anything you can dream up into an intelligent, Internet-connected machine, making it a toy, a tool, or a weapon.

Www Newequipment Com Sites Newequipment com Files Raspberry Pi 3

The Raspberry Pi 3, released last year. Check out the specs here.

In short, affordable CPUs such as the Raspberry Pi, which get cheaper and more advanced every iteration, democratize the IoT for all. And democracy ain't always pretty. But it's usually entertaining. To celebrate Pi Day this year, we came up with a sampling of cool, creepy and idiotic examples hidden under the IoT's crust. Enjoy!

About the Author

John Hitch

Editor, Fleet Maintenance

John Hitch, based out of Cleveland, Ohio, is the editor of Fleet Maintenance, a B2B magazine that addresses the service needs for all commercial vehicle makes and models (Classes 1-8), ranging from shop management strategies to the latest tools to enhance uptime.

He previously wrote about equipment and fleet operations and management for FleetOwner, and prior to that, manufacturing and advanced technology for IndustryWeek and New Equipment Digest. He is an award-winning journalist and former sonar technician aboard a nuclear-powered submarine where he served honorably aboard the fast-attack submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723).