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The advances in the world of IoT

Currently, there are over 8.4 billion connected devices in the world with 5.5 million new devices being connected every day. (Gartner, 2017) This is expected to grow to between 20 and 200 billion within the next five years. The promise of Internet-of-Things doesn’t end at just connecting the devices to the internet. It is just the first step.

Advances in RF technology and low power computing will bring Internet-connectivity everywhere. Advances in Big Data and machine learning will unlock new business opportunities and models. The possibilities are nearly endless, but they all still lie quite out of reach from the direct consumer.

Limitations

The current situation is that there are many devices with some form of connectivity to the internet, but they are still (mostly) incapable of communicating with one another without vast programming skills of the consumer. Currently, the consumer needs an app for everything, adding to dozens of apps over the coming years. The consumer doesn’t want to find his phone and start an app for simple tasks such as turning on the light, but rather have the light turn on according to a rule or condition such as coming home. The smart device should allow for cooperation in the way the con­sumer wants. Operating devices that have become connected should not get more cumbersome, but less.

The device manufacturers, however, can’t possibly deliver omni-potent apps. There is not one standard or ecosystem currently. Their main focus is to deliver a smooth user experience, which is difficult when depending on third parties. Although there are various devices which allow in­ter-connectivity with other devices (such as the Flic button and the Philips Hue (Shortcut Labs Sweden, 2016)), these implementations are often limited.

IoT apps as a solution

IoT mobile apps act as the middleman. Consumers can connect their devices, apps and services and IoT apps will allow them to work together. Depending on the functionality of the device, app or service, it can work as a condition or an action. Examples of such apps include Triggi, IFTTT, Stringify and Yonomi among others. Generally, these apps allow the combination of one or more of conditions to trigger one or more actions.

By integrating with one of these apps, device manufacturers will immediately expand the capabilities of their devices. In turn, by being connected to such an app, us­ers can use devices beyond its normal scope of functionalities. Both are achieved without any direct investments. You can control your lights, program actions, send an email at a specified time. It works on a basis of ‘if, then’ statements. If you are interested in IoT and would want to start automatizing your life, check this out! Especially Triggi is up and coming ?

 

Sources and further reading:

https://triggi.com/

https://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3598917

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The recent, rapid development of natural language processing, machine learning and other AI-based tools leads to the increased usage of such techniques in the hiring process. More and more companies use algorithms to screen your CV/resume, searching for the right keywords. According to the company Resumeterpro, around 72% of resumes are rejected by applicant tracking systems (ATS) before any human can assess them. These systems track every word on your resume, carefully searching for the skill keywords that are essential for the position.

The question remains: How well can a computer assess your ability to do well in a job? I believe that every one of us had or still has a totally vague description of yourself in your resume, including empty, nice-sounding power words: Result-oriented, detail-oriented, team-player… Would you also want to tell me that your biggest personal drawback is being a workaholic/perfectionist? But frankly, do these words add any value?

Resume screening tool analyses not only your professional experience, but also your summary, formatting, grammar, accomplishments. I may agree that it may work in the majority of cases. I, myself, when working in a HR company could screen a resume within a moment, basing my judgment on the formatting and grammar. However, in my opinion, in some cases the resume screening tool may be disadvantageous for the job applicant but also the employer. What if, for example, the job applicant has very unique experiences/achievements that are not covered in the screening algorithm?

Another limitation and also an advice to you, fellow readers is to be aware of the format of your resume. Applicant Tracking Systems may be not able to read all documents saved in .docx format, PDF or as a JPG. Wanted a nice, not super boring, unique resume that was edited in Photoshop & saved as JPEG to save space? Good for you! REJECTED.

If you wonder whether your resume is able to go through applicant tracking system, try Jobscan.co, where you can upload your resume and see whether a robot thinks you’re good enough ?

Sources and further reading:

hbr.org/2016/12/hiring-algorithms-are-not-neutral
accesswire.com/436847/72-of-Resumes-are-Never-Seen-by-Employers
cvsaviour.com.au/8-things-you-need-to-know-about-applicant-tracking-systems
jobscan.co