As a director of business development at Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) for nine years, Daniel Obodovski participated in the commercial launches of multiple devices that were early examples of machine-to-machine communications (M2M). Before 2010, he says, “We launched a child-tracking device together with BestBuy, an Alzheimer patient-tracking device, and a covert cargo tracking device.”
These days, such technology is also known under the rubric of the Internet of Things. Obodovski says the experience he gained at Qualcomm, along with some related strategy work, prompted him to think hard about two things—the huge potential of connected devices with embedded sensors for all areas of life, and the complexity of trying to bring a connected device to market. He resolved to make both things easier, at least conceptually.
To better understand what was coming—and how it would affect companies, businesses, investments, and jobs—Obodovski says he began exploring the field of connected devices with his friend and now business partner Daniel Kellmereit of Detecon USA. After a fruitless search for a definitive book on the emerging field, Obodovski and Kellmereit decided to write it themselves. Their book, The Silent Intelligence, published in 2013, lays out their vision of the most promising areas for innovation and development in the Internet of Things.
More recently, Obodovski organized the first “Wearable Wednesdays” meetup in San Diego. As in the Bay Area, Wearable Wednesdays are intended to serve as an open community group of like-minded and motivated people who want to move the ecosystem of wearable, connected devices forward.
Obodovski, who also is working as an investor and consultant, answered some questions about the field. I have condensed and edited our e-mail exchange for clarity.
Xconomy: What are you trying to accomplish?
Daniel Obodovski: In a nutshell, we are helping people make sense of the Internet of Things. In the process we are bringing various parties together—entrepreneurs, investors, engineers, corporate executives, designers, and so on. Especially in San Diego, where we have great talent and resources to build successful IoT companies—our goal is to build a large community around IoT and wearable technology.
X: I’ve been hearing about M2M networking technologies for at least a decade, yet it has always been “just over the horizon.” Was there a key innovation, or has something changed so
