From the Internet of Things to Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, the Great Detective gives us some enduring insight into cutting-edge Technology.

In this article published in Quartz I examine how the Victorians who lived in Holmes’ London also lived in a time of huge technological upheaval, and how that revolution informed Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories.

The picture, in case you’re wondering, is of my dog Watson.

The Victorians lived at a time of huge technological disruption
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Sherlock Holmes was the original technology disrupter https://t.co/FRc5iivXv5

— Quartz (@qz) November 30, 2016

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There’s no shortage of really tiny computers out there these days, but I was still struck by just how tiny the BBC micro:bit is. Not that the Raspberry Pi or the Arduino are big by any stretch of the imagination. If you want to remind yourself of what a big computer looks like, see below (that’s the Colossus in case you don’t recognise it). Or you can just watch a vintage episode of the X-Files from the 90s.

We’ve come a long way since the Colossus was first built in Bletchley Park
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This new breed of computers is not only tiny, but also really, really affordable. The Arduino and BBC micro:bit retail for about £15, and you can get a Raspberry Pi for about a fiver. Best of all, they’re made to be so flexible and hackable that there’s an infinite variety of things you can do with them.

This new breed of computers is not only tiny, but also really, really affordable
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The kit I tested out was by Kitronik, one of the 29 organisations that partnered with the BBC to create the micro:bit. It is a little bit more technical and meatier than the fun-looking kits you get from Technology Will Save Us or Sphero but it is aimed at a slightly older age group, and I really enjoyed the fact that it combined coding with hands-on electronics, so that you’re learning the hardware and software aspects in tandem.

Kitronik is one of the 29 organisations that partnered with the BBC to create the micro:bit
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Every Kitronik kit comes with a teaching resource pack that guides students through how to build it, but also on the principles of what actually makes it work. The resources section of their website contains a range of tutorials, datasheets, project ideas and interactive teaching aids which further supports that learning.

Many teachers are now keen to incorporate subjects such as coding in the curriculum
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With the importance of digital skills being increasingly recognized, many teachers are now keen to incorporate subjects such as coding in the curriculum, but it’s not always straightforward for them to do so. Which is why, as we’re starting a new academic year, they’re launching a range of teaching resources to specifically support the delivery of STEM-based lessons using the BBC micro:bit.

“We are already seeing all manner of projects being created by students up and down the country and there is undoubted enthusiasm for the device as a tool to support coding and integrated projects. Judging by the number of orders we have received, there is little doubt that teachers are keen to further develop the use of this resource,” says Kitronik Director and Co-Founder Kevin Spurr.

We are already seeing all manner of electronics projects being created by students
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His Co-Founder Geoff Hampson is also excited about micro:bit’s potential for creating a cross-curricular platform for the teaching and learning of digital skills, and transform students from passive end users into creators of technology, developing their capabilities not only in coding, but in digital creativity.

Geoff and Kevin started the company in 2005 with a mission to make electronics accessible to everyone, and sold over a million kits since then, including their Electro-Fashion range which allows you to add lights to fabrics by sewing the components together with specially designed conductive thread, requiring no soldering. They also supply over 3,000 secondary schools directly.

We’ve come a long way since the Colossus was first built in Bletchley Park. Most of us carry around supercomputers (also known as smartphones) in our pockets, and Alan Turing would probably be amazed – and delighted – to see how a Raspberry Pi costing $5 can outperform most computers which cost small fortunes a mere few decades ago.

The more technology advances the easier it is to take it for granted
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But the more technology advances, perhaps the easier it is to take it all for granted, which is precisely why we need to educate the next generation about what actually makes this stuff tick. In other words, we need to get serious about playing with technology, or that digital skills gap is only ever going to get wider.

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When I was about ten, I desperately wanted one of the cute alien robots from Batteries Not Included * but in those days, the most you could hope to find under the Christmas tree was a toy that looked a bit like a robot and made some obliging beeping noises.

The best I could hope for under the Christmas tree when I was a child was a toy that looked like a robot
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Fast-forward to last Christmas, however, and my dream of owning a fully-fledged cute robot finally came true. After watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens for the sixth time I decided to ‘treat my husband’ to a BB-8. And while the dogs were distinctively unimpressed, we sure had a blast spinning the little guy around.

Yet when I got sent a SPRK+ to test (I DO love this job) I didn’t’ immediately realize that it came from the same people as made the BB-8. As it turns out, Sphero has been making little round robots for quite a while, ever since they graduated from the Techstars accelerator in Boulder, CO, back in 2010.

Sphero has been making little round robots for quite a while
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Like BB-8, Sphero’s latest ball-bot is on an important mission: Teaching kids to code. The company sold over a million robots in 80 countries so far, but the SPRK+ is designed to be their most tinker-friendly and hardwearing robot yet, with a scratch-resistant, waterproof outer shell, it can take a good bouncing.

While it’s not exactly cheap – the SPRK+ retails at around $130 – the fact that you can buy and program your own robot for less than it costs to buy a fancy pair of shoes is a testament to how far technology has come since my own childhood.

What I love about it – as someone with admittedly limited technical skills – is that you can casually start playing around straight away. Tap the ball to your phone and the app syncs the devices automatically. The transparent outer shell lets you see what’s going on inside the robot, and you can drag and drop modular puzzle elements in different sequences to make it do simple things like change colour or roll in different directions.

For those who want to dig deeper though, the sky is the limit. As well as over 150 learning activities, you can tap into a host of programmable features like sound effects, LED lights, sensors, accelerometer and gyroscope. There is a healthy global community of users that collaborate on projects through the Lightning Lab app which works across iOS, Android and Amazon Fire devices. It lets you easily share programs – using Sphero’s own programming language called OVAL – much as you would on GitHub, which is great for building up real-world programming skills.

Users can share their Sphero coding projects much like people do on GitHub
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SPRK teaches all sorts of valuable 21st century skills, cleverly disguised as play
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David Millage, General Manager of Education at Sphero, says that the beauty of SPRK is that it teaches all sorts of valuable 21^st century skills, cleverly disguised as play: “Learning is evolving and we are seeing a transition from consumption to creation in the classroom. Our robots are being used to teach everything from art to physics in a fun and hands-on way that engages students on a new level.”

Who wouldn’t want to build their own Solar System?
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I never tire of preaching the gospel of coding, because as much as not everybody can be good at it, we all should learn as much as possible about the technology that makes the world go around. If nothing else, it’s great exercise for your brain, and with things like Sphero, it’s also fantastic fun. After all, who wouldn’t want to build their own Solar System? And BB-8 also enjoyed meeting his new friend:

Like BB-8, Sphero’s latest ball-bot is on an important mission: Teaching kids to code
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*Classic 80s feel-good film, look it up if somehow you’ve managed to grow up without seeing it.

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Vodafone is developing smart beachwear and luggage using IoT technology.

Vacationing is something most of us look forward to all year, and chances are that you’ll be headed for the beach this summer for some much-needed R&R.

Vodafone is developing a suite of connected IoT holiday devices
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But holidays can be really stressful. Your luggage gets lost; the kids wander off; you forget the sun cream, and before you know it your skin turns a healthy shade of beetroot.*

That’s where Vodafone thinks technology can help. The company announced that it developed a proof-of-concept suite of holiday essentials using connected Internet of Things (IoT) technology. This includes ‘a Smart Summer’ bikini and men’s swim shorts equipped with UV sensors that track exposure to sunlight throughout the day, and notifies you – either through a smartphone app or via a small vibrating alert built into the waistband and strap of the outfits – when you’ve had too much exposure to those harmful rays.

Can IoT technology help alleviate holiday-related stress?
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UV sensors embedded in your swimwear warn you when you've been out in the sun too long
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Embedded tracking devices send parents alerts if their child wanders off
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That same tracking technology was also applied to suitcases, which could cut down on the annoyance experienced by nearly 30% of European holiday-makers who reported having lost luggage issues during their travels.

Why is Vodafone designing trunks and bikinis?
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It works by combining three separate tracking methods and low-power Bluetooth technology for near-range tracking, showing the user’s proximity to the child’s sun hat or suitcase using a ‘hotter’ or ‘colder’ graphical representations on the smartphone app.

But why is Vodafone designing bikinis and trunks all of a sudden, you may well ask?

It’s all part of a bigger trend towards connecting real objects with data. We’re soon going to see a rollout of low-cost, low-power ‘Narrowband IoT’ devices (think battery lives of 10+ years) which will radically transform and permeate every aspect of our lives. Recent research indicates that more than half of consumer technology companies intended to bring new IoT products and services to market within the next two years.

By next year we will be experiencing a new wave of low-cost, low-power IoT Devices coming to market
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Those connected devices, in turn, will all plug into the mobile networks that telecoms giants such as Vodafone provide, so they’re keen to accelerate the process by demonstrating the mass market potential applications of this technology in everyday consumer devices. The company claims that its global IoT networks will be able to support more than one million such devices per square kilometre simultaneously.

“Companies in every industry are already embracing IoT technologies and see these as critical to their future,” says Vodafone Group Director of IoT Erik Brenneis. “The launch of new Narrowband IoT networks next year will take this remarkable revolution to a whole new level.”

So maybe by next summer we will actually be seeing such designs in the shops. In the meantime though, watch those kids and remember to pack the factor 50. Happy summer!

* A Pan-European Vodafone and YouGov online survey found that almost half of Europeans (48%) forget to apply sunscreen, and 76% said they would be more likely to cover up they received an automated alert about it.

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Personalised healthcare is likely to transform the way we prevent and treat diseases in the future, specially as IoT and Wearables become increasingly pervasive.

Personalised healthcare will transform the way we prevent and treat diseases
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With smart monitoring devices already integrating seamlessly into our routines, companies are now looking at the best way to harness the wealth of data that they collect for research purposes.

Tech companies are looking at ways to harness data for research purposes
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Personalised medicine was worth over $1 billion in 2014 and the market is expected to double by 2022
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Apple’s ResearchKit is one such initiative, giving researchers direct access to relevant data for their studies (daily step counts, heart rate, calorie use, etc.) and offering developers an open source framework that integrates seamlessly with HealthKit to allow them to create their own medical research apps.

Apple’s ResearchKit gives researchers direct access to relevant data for their studies
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In the two years since its launch, the kit has already proven useful for clinical trials, with hundreds of thousands of people contributing data for studies ranging from diabetes to epilepsy, melanoma, asthma and breast cancer.

In the two years since its launch, the kit has already proven useful for clinical trials
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It’s surprising that it has taken big pharma companies so long to get on board
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It’s somewhat surprising, then, that it has taken big pharma companies so long to get on board. Recently, however, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced that it was launching a new research app on the platform to help monitor rheumatoid arthritis patients.

GSK’s PARADE (Patient Rheumatoid Arthritis Data from the Real World) study aims to tackle this debilitating disease by learning from patient insights and therapeutic goals. They are currently seeking volunteers (aged over 21 and diagnosed with RA) to monitor their health and share those insights into how RA affects their lives.

The GSK study will collect data from Rheumatoid Arthritis patients using iPhone sensors
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This data will be collected through a mixture of surveys and iPhone sensors which will track common RA symptoms such as fatigue, joint pain and overall mood. The study will not provide diagnosis or treatment, but will allow patients to view their own study data and learn more about their condition.

The PARADE study will track 300 patients over a three-month period
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The study will track 300 patients over a three-month period. GSK believes that collecting data from mobile devices in this way will in future help to alleviate the burden on patients by reducing the need for frequent doctor visits during clinical studies. More broadly, as sensors – and even implants – become increasingly sophisticated, doctors will be able to accurately monitor patient progress continuously and much more efficiently, with minimum intrusion upon their daily routine.

The prospects are exciting, not only from a quality of life perspective, but considering the personalized medicine market was valued at over USD 1 billion in 2014 and is expected to more than double by 2022.

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A recent report by Age UK helped to illustrate how urgent the crisis of care is becoming. As the world’s population becomes older and social care budgets are slashed in line with austerity policies, the responsibility for looking after people often falls upon those least able to cope. In the United Kingdom, one in seven people over 80 – an estimated 417,000 – is thought to clock in about 35 hours of unpaid work caring for a family member or friend. The situation is fast becoming unsustainable, and the old systems simply aren’t built to cope with the problem.

Technology has the potential to transform the way society supports vulnerable people
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But all is not lost. This is an area where technology has some amazing potential to make a real difference, transforming the way society supports vulnerable people.

We’ve heard a lot about HealthTech and the trend in personalised healthcare: Millennials track their physical activity with Fitbits and Apple Watches. The Internet of Things is populating homes with all sorts of interconnected gadgets. But these innovations are still restricted to a relatively small group of early adopters, and tend to exclude those who would potentially benefit the most from such advances.

Take, for example, an 85-year old widow living by herself; we’ll call her “Mary” for the purpose of this story. Mary’s only income is her retirement pension and she’s not very mobile, so she has neither the money nor the confidence to use the latest technology. Therefore, the closest thing to a gadget you’re likely to find in her house is a TV or the electric kettle she uses to make herself a cup of tea. Mary represents the generation that tech forgot. But some people are looking to change that.

I recently caught up with Stephen Kong, CEO of Think Eco, a leading IoT company based in British Columbia. He believes that we can use existing technology to help people like Mary without needing her to change their routine or learn any new skills.

Reality Mining collects data from everyday objects and interprets these to trigger reactions
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Their solution involves an approach called reality mining, which collects data from everyday objects and applies advanced pattern-recognition techniques, interpreting these into behaviours and triggering appropriate reactions.

In the case of someone like Mary, this could mean that there is a small box, situated outside her house, which monitors the harmonic frequencies that are emitted whenever one of her appliances is switched on.

“Each appliance emits a different frequency, so we can tell the difference between the TV and the kettle, for example.” Explains Kong.

This technology is the same that Think Eco currently uses to monitor energy consumption levels and patterns and help people cut down on their energy bills and be more environmentally responsible. Since these devices are installed onto the power grid itself, the solution doesn’t require people to put in expensive or intrusive cameras and sensors in the home, thus protecting personal privacy.

Each appliance emits a different frequency, so we can tell the difference between the TV and the kettle
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People who are elderly and living alone often have quite regular habits, so when Mary doesn’t switch on the kettle to make her cup of tea, that could send up a red flag that means hear support worker can give her a quick call to make sure she’s OK.

As well as helping elderly and vulnerable people live more safely and retain their independence for longer, Kong says the potential for governments and healthcare providers to improve efficiency and save money is enormous:

“About one-third of all people over 65 will experience a fall each year. For those over 80, this rises to around 50%. Falls now account for over half of all hospital admissions for accidental injury. In the UK alone, this costs the NHS a staggering £4.6m each day (£1.7bn per year). This figure could be reduced substantially if older people are assisted in managing their health and have injuries quickly addressed, making longer hospital stays less likely,” he says.

The potential for governments and healthcare providers to improve efficiency and save money is enormous
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The same technology can also provide useful information for tackling many additional healthcare problems. For instance, if Mary begins taking a new heart medication with certain side effects, her patterns of appliance usage can be compared against previous patterns (or typical ones) to indicate whether the medication is adversely affecting her. Repeated patterns of usage during the night or a delayed first usage in the morning might indicate that her sleep is disturbed. Conversely, a more regular and typical schedule of appliance usage could suggest that the medication is making a positive difference. Patterns of health can be monitored over a longer time frame, helping people continue living independently

But it’s not just the elderly who could benefit from this less intrusive form of personalised health monitoring: These reality-mining techniques can be used to prevent and detect risk factors for diseases such as Type 2 diabetes in younger people, a rising problem currently affecting over 422 million people. By collecting datasets around people’s habits and aggregating these, it could eventually help empower physicians, parents and policy-makers to address risk factors such as junk food consumption and start reversing those trends.

“In time, everyone’s health could be improved through creative application of these non-invasive techniques, cutting the public health bill and increasing longevity and quality of life.” Kong concludes.

In an increasingly connected world, we’ve only just started scratching the surface of what Big Data can achieve when properly connected and contextualised. Advances in healthcare have so far made amazing strides in extending our life expectancy, but the next wave of smart, data-based Healthtech has the potential to do something even more amazing; to improve the quality of life for everyone, not just techies.

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