Singapore should ride the IoT wave

THE annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES), now being held at Las Vegas, usually affords the first glimpse of various electronic gadgets and trends which the industry expects will become the craze during the rest of the year. For many tech enthusiasts, however, the annual event had lost some of its gloss in recent years; it had become more about bigger TVs, higher-definition displays and more powerful smartphones and tablets than about real cutting-edge innovation. But this year is different.

CES 2014 is showcasing a whole new class of devices that previously wouldn't even be considered "electronic". For example, there's an Internet-connected tennis racket on display, a slow cooker whose cooking speed can be controlled by a smartphone app, and many other simple daily gadgets, including health and wellness products. All of these, as well as more traditional electronic gadgets like TVs, music players and fridges, are now Internet-enabled. They are all part of the "Internet of Things" (IoT) revolution sweeping the indust…