Welcome to Thomas Insights — every day, we publish the latest news and analysis to keep our readers up to date on what’s happening in industry. Sign up here to get the day’s top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
The Internet of Behaviors (IoB) is an extension of the Internet of Things (IoT) that can be used by businesses to analyze, interpret, predict, and even influence human behavior.
What’s IoB’s Connection with IoT?
While IoT sensors connect objects to the internet for data collection and monitoring, IoB tracks human interactions with these IoT-connected devices. IoB data sources will grow in number as IoT spreads.
How does it work? Take a smart thermostat, for example. In terms of IoT capabilities, it can monitor environmental data from its sensors, along with energy usage tied to heating and cooling. But when you add IoB to the mix, the device may also collect all the data involved with user interactions, such as:
- how often users interrupt the pre-set program
- how often the device is accessed in-person versus remotely
- how frequently users change settings manually and what their preferences appear to be
- learning user habits and patterns, such as what times of day they are usually at home.
The thermostat manufacturers could then use this information to inform the design of the next generation of products. They may also send the user some suggestions for getting maximum value from their thermostat device based on their personal usage patterns and behavior.
Applications for Businesses Leveraging IoB
The major beneficiaries of IoB today are marketing departments, with IoB insights likely to make market research focus groups obsolete.
As the world becomes increasingly connected, we can expect this list of applications to grow:
- Analyze customer buying habits and marketing products more effectively.
- Enable lifestyle and finance tracking apps such as spending trackers.
- Improve customer experience (CX) and user experience (UX).
- Receive real-time data on where a customer is in the buying process.
- Understand how users interact with previously unmonitored products as IoT usage grows.
- Use behavioral insights to improve product or service design.
How Companies Can Use IoB to Influence User Behavior
Much of the information gathered from IoB is used by businesses to change their own behavior, such as tweaking their products or services. But IoB can also be employed to change or influence human outcomes. An article from Vector ICT explains:
“People’s behaviors are monitored and incentives or disincentives are applied to influence them to perform towards a desired set of operational parameters. IoB … is not only descriptive (analyzing behavior), but proactive (detecting which psychological variables to influence to bring about a certain outcome).”
What does this look like in practice? Here are four examples of notifications that could be pushed to customers through the power of IoB:
1. “You shouldn’t have bought that donut today.”
The authors of Gartner’s Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2021 suggest that in the future, the wearables used by health insurers to track physical activities could one day be employed to monitor grocery purchases: “too many unhealthy items could increase premiums.” Shoppers who feel “watched” could be motivated to buy healthier items.
2. “Five instances of harsh braking this week may be damaging your vehicle.”
Vehicle manufacturers and insurance companies can track telematics and provide drivers with feedback on driving habits that are dangerous or reduce the vehicle’s lifespan, such as harsh braking or acceleration, speeding, or failing to wear a seatbelt.
3. “You’re only one click away from owning a new flat-screen TV!”
Online retailers can identify where a customer is in the purchasing process and “nudge” them with a notification, email, or another form of contact to encourage them to complete the purchase.
4. “One-quarter of visitors to the 2nd-floor toilets failed to wash their hands on Wednesday.”
A workplace can install sensors to monitor COVID compliance such as handwashing or mask-wearing and use the data to inform subsequent health and safety campaigns.
Privacy and Ethical Concerns
While Gartner warns of ethical and societal implications of IoB and predicts that adoption will be impacted by privacy laws, Vector believes users will be “happy to [provide their data] so long as it adds data-driven value.”
As is the case with all data, there may be a backlash if a company is caught out in a major ethical breach, or if users’ behavioral data is compromised in a cybersecurity attack. In the meantime, most of us will probably continue ticking the privacy policy box without bothering to read the details or consider how our behavior may be influenced by IoB.
Image Credit: ESB Professional
More from Industry Trends
"behavior" - Google News
October 08, 2021 at 11:21AM
https://ift.tt/2WRhBBF
The Internet of Behaviors (IoB) Can Analyze, Even Influence Human Behavior - ThomasNet News
"behavior" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2We9Kdi
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "The Internet of Behaviors (IoB) Can Analyze, Even Influence Human Behavior - ThomasNet News"
Post a Comment