Secure Data Is Smart Data

What if you could take an industry-wide barometric reading on the challenges arising from all the data coming from MEMS and sensors? That’s just what we did at the 2015 MEMS Executive Congress US in Napa, Calif., in early November, as several speakers got serious about the data pouring in from connected devices and systems.

Although presenters and audience members alike engaged in some heated discussions about the “smartness” of data as well as data security, the conversation never devolved into arguments over whose data is better. Rather, the cumulative focus was a call to action to improve intelligence and security.

If we are working toward a smart planet with an Internet of Things with smart cars, smart homes, and smart buildings, we will need a lot of smart devices that create lots and lots of data. You’ve probably heard that Cisco predicts that we are on track to hit 25 to 50 billion connected devices by 2020. Morgan Stanley expects 75 billion. To get to whatever billions of devices, we need end-to-end solutions with smart MEMS and sensors that are interoperable and standardized, use low power, and are secure. That is no small order.

Based on the presentations from numerous experts at MEMS Executive Congress, we have a lot of work to do in order to reach the potential that all that data can unlock. Think about your car. According to Jeff Owens, CTO and executive vice president of Delphi Automotive, today’s car is generally “the most sophisticated piece of electronics that people own.” But if advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are to become the norm, for instance, everyone is going to need to step up their game even more.

Owens shared a cool video demonstrating a coast-to-coast autonomous drive, which covered 3,400 miles in nine days through 15 states. He said Delphi Automotive’s self-driving car used 20 active safety sensors plus GPS, navigation, vision systems, and driver-state monitoring. He added, “More than 99% of the distance was fully automated, and we gathered 3 terabytes of valuable data.” Yes sir, that’s the kind of big data I’m talking about.

Big data will pervade everywhere, from the family car to health-critical systems. Smart data as the core of clinical trial research on diseases such as cancer is already being discussed.

Did you know that $145 billion is spent on global research and development for clinical trials every year? According to Kara Dennis, managing director of mobile health at Medidata, there is a tremendous amount of interest in trying to figure out how to accelerate trials using MEMS and sensors to help with analyzing the efficacy of drugs. But in order to get there, according to Dennis, we seriously need to address data quality, privacy, and security, as well as regulatory requirements.

“Data Master” Josh Knauer, CEO of Rhiza, taps into intelligent data to help people make more informed decisions. In almost every Major League Baseball park, there are sensors, Knauer said. Baseball team managers gauge the speed of pitches and even read the emotions of players.

“How long will it be until the sensor technologies (used) in Major League Baseball will be in Costcos worldwide?” Rhiza said. With $40 billion spent on market research annually, conducted through surveys and focus groups, Rhiza is offering clients such as Comcast, BBC Worldwide, and Cox Media Group an alternative way to analyze consumer’s buying practices through more intelligent data.

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In gathering pervasive data, Knauer did cite privacy issues as one of his biggest concerns, as he doesn’t want “the folks at Amazon monitoring my shopping habits while I cruise the grocery store aisles in search of that tub of Nutella, which my girls love.” He added that while privacy may be “dead,” particularly in the world of social media, security is a different story.

We in the MEMS and sensors industry need to ensure that we are enabling the creation of a secure end-to-end solution, whereby the smartest data can inform the most intelligent systems without sacrificing privacy and security.

NXP Semiconductor’s senior director of systems and applications, Wouter Leibbrandt, expressed a cautiously optimistic view of securing data from the IoT. During his keynote presentation, he cited many challenges; at the same time, he believes that a collective “we” will overcome them.

From automotive and consumer goods to energy, industrial automation, public infrastructure, and food production, the MEMS and sensors industry is at the center of providing actionable intelligence that promotes more informed decisions. But at the heart of this grand movement lies security. Secure data is smart data, and that’s what your data has got to be.

Karen Lightman is executive director of MEMS Industry Group (MIG), the trade association comprising more than 160 companies advancing MEMS and sensors across global markets.

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