When people talk about artificial intelligence, it’s easy to think about chatbots, image generators, or the apps we use every day. But I’ve been learning that AI can also play a role in the physical world, especially when it works alongside the Internet of Things (IoT).
I’m still a beginner in this area, so I’m sharing a few things I’ve been exploring.
What do AI and IoT bring to the table?
IoT connects devices and sensors so they can collect and share information. AI can help analyse data and identify patterns that may be useful when making decisions.
Together, these technologies are often described as AIoT. Their potential applications go beyond digital products and into places such as factories, warehouses, and other industrial environments.
Where could these technologies be useful?
Some examples I’ve been reading about include:
Asset tracking:Helping teams understand where equipment and other assets are.
Inventory and operations:Supporting better visibility into stock and day-to-day activities.
Workforce safety: Using connected systems to support monitoring and awareness.
Access control and security: Helping manage access to facilities and work areas.
Industrial intelligence: Making operational information easier to understand and use.
Of course, introducing technology doesn’t automatically solve a problem. The right approach depends on the environment, the quality of the data, and what a team is actually trying to improve.
The venture studio approach
One organisation working in this space is Aperture Venture Studio. Its focus is building AI and IoT companies for the physical world.
Its approach involves identifying meaningful industrial problems, developing AIoT systems using real data and deployments, validating ideas through customer engagement, and scaling ventures.
I find this interesting because it highlights that building useful technology is not only about the technology itself. It also involves understanding the people, processes, and problems it is meant to support.
What I’m still curious about
As I continue learning, I’m interested in how teams decide which problems are worth solving first.
How do businesses work out whether an AI or IoT solution is genuinely useful? What challenges tend to appear when connecting new systems to existing operations?
I’d love to learn from people who have worked on these kinds of projects.
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