Singapore researchers are looking at various technologies that can enable data to be analysed more efficiently within the limitations of Internet of Things (IoT), as the country looks to take the lead in this emerging market segment.

IoT had been touted to play a crucial role in big data analytics, gathering information that could be examined to improve products and services as well as enhance a society’s quality of life.

There are, however, key issues that have to be addressed for these initiatives to bear fruit.

Shonali Krishnaswamy, head of data analytics department at A*Star’s Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R), explained that a main challenge in tapping IoT for analytics was the limited size and computational power of these devices.

IoT devices were typically developed to “sense” and send information to be analysed, but with billions of such devices expected to roam the global web, the large volume of data generated meant it would be difficult to do this with scale.

All of the data would have to be analysed so relevant insights could be identified and extracted. The ability to distribute data intelligence or analytics, putting some of such activities on the device itself, would enable this process to be more efficient, she said.

Charles Reed Anderson, IDC’s Asia-Pacific Vice President and Head of Mobility and IoT said IoT devices designed to reside at the network edge would enable organisations to aggregate and analyse data as well as control devices.

IDC believes there will be 8.6 billion connected devices in the region, excluding Japan, by 2020, with a US$583 billion market opportunity.

Singapore’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister-in-Charge of Smart Nation Vivian Balakrishnan said pervasive computing, broadband availability, artificial intelligence, robotics, and 3D printing, among others, had transformed the way people lived, worked, played, entertained, communicated, and mobilised.

“This is what is driving the profound economic changes that are sweeping the world.”