Press Releases

• Concept of Smart Summer designs tohelp  prevent sunburn, help prevent children from getting lost on the beach and recover lost luggage;
• These show potential of IoT ahead of new generation of very low-cost, low-power and 10+ year battery life devices set to transform how people work, live and relax;
• An online survey by Vodafone across Europe found that 48% of Europeans forget to put sunscreen and 30% have been without their luggage.

Vodafone today announces the development of a concept smart items for the holidays, which are based on the technology of the Internet of Things. These items, which are included in the ‘Smart Summer’ campaign, help users protect themselves from ultraviolet rays (UV), to maintain the safety of children on the beach and find lost luggage.

The concept bikini and trunks are equipped with UV sensors that detect exposure to sunlight throughout the day. The phone application notifies the user when it is too long exposed to ultraviolet light. The bathing suits include a small device at the waist and straps, which vibrates as a warning.

The ‘Smart Summer’ concept hat for children contains a UV sensor, a low-power tracking device and a SIM card from Vodafone that sends a warning to the phone parents when the child moves away beyond the pre-set distance.

The suitcase ‘Summer Smart’ has built-location technology that allows the owner to find lost luggage via your smartphone.

The revolution of the Internet of Things

The ‘Summer Smart’ articles have been developed to show the potential of the Internet of Things and its application in day-to-day lives. The bikini, swim shorts, sun hat and suitcase contain embedded hardware with a battery life of around one week.  By the end of 2017, a new generation of smart devices will hit the market, giving new impetus to the revolution that is expected in this area, Narrowband Internet of Things.

The hardware of IoT devices is low power (batteries have an average of more than 10 years on a single charge), small, cheap and use little bandwidth.

A study developed by Vodafone in 17 countries to 1,100 senior executives of private companies and the public sector, reveals that the IoT is already part of day to day life of many companies. More than three quarters of respondents believe that the Internet of Things will be essential to your career success in the future, while half of consumer technology companies plans to launch new products and services IoT the next two years.

The IoT Director of Vodafone Group, Erik Brenneis, emphasizes: “The ‘Smart Summer’ concept Vodafone illustrates how the Internet of Things has the power to redefine every aspect of our daily lives. all sectors companies have been adopting the IoT technologies they consider essential to their future. The launch of a new narrowband network IoT will bring this extraordinary revolution to a new level. ”

How does the technology work?

Articles ‘Summer Smart’ combine methods of location and two different media. The low power Bluetooth technology allows close monitoring, indicating to the user the child’s proximity or bag with the help of graphical representations of ‘hot’ or ‘cold’ in smartphone application.

Triangulation between GPS and GSM mobile base stations is used in parallel to monitor the longest distance, marking the location of the child or the missing suitcase on a map on your smartphone. All these media are supported by global network IoT world leader Vodafone, the already depend on several sectors.