Nowadays, we hear more and more about the "Internet of Behavior/Bodies (IoB)," a term that goes beyond IoT, and the technology is accelerating.
　IoT, also called "Internet of Things," refers to technology that allows various devices to communicate with the Internet, and some think of it as the "Internet of Behavior," which refers to the collection and analysis of data related to behavior and activities.
　In recent years, more and more attention has been paid to the relationship between IoB and image recognition AI technology, and it is expected to be used in business.
　In this article, we will provide a broad explanation of why IoB is attracting attention, what it can bring to society, and the issues it can solve.

What is loB?

IOB is a word with two meanings

By connecting the human body to the Internet, this technology enables not only the person himself/herself, but also the outside world to obtain information about the body.

An easy-to-understand example is the smartwatch devices that have become popular in recent years.

The Internet of Bodies is a technology that enables the wearer of a smartwatch to obtain information such as electrocardiograms and calories consumed.

The Internet of Behavior, on the other hand, refers to a system that can obtain all kinds of information about a person's behavior over the Internet.

Examples include location information, purchase history, and online browsing history.

The technology is designed to make people's lives more comfortable and affluent by using personal behavioral data as valuable data.

Difference between IoB and IoT

The term "IoT" is similar to IoB, but do you know exactly what the difference is?

The difference between IoB and IoT is the "object to be connected to the Internet."

IoB connects a person's body or actions to the Internet, whereas IoT connects the Internet to objects.

For example, in the case of home appliances, TVs, vacuum cleaners, and lighting are now known as IoT home appliances.

By connecting to the Internet, the IoT makes it possible to control them remotely or switch settings according to the time or day.

The IoB is a more advanced version of the IoT, and depending on future technological developments, is expected to grow even more.

Why IoB is attracting attention

The reason why IoB is attracting attention is that businesses are required to focus on the "individual."

Data on personal health and fitness can be collected and used for early detection and prevention of health risks by enabling real-time monitoring of health conditions.

For effective marketing, consumer behavior data can also be used to optimize target markets and advertising delivery methods.

Companies and organizations can use IoB as a risk management tool to monitor employee behavior patterns, thereby helping to detect security risks and fraud in their early stages.

The IoB has become important today because of its ability to analyze the behavioral patterns and trends of "individuals" that are so important today.

What IoB brings to society

The IoB is the link between people and the Internet, and this technology is expected to bring a variety of well-being benefits to society and people.

First, if personal health data can be collected, analyzed, and investigated by the IoB, early detection and prevention of disease risk will become possible.

This is expected to reduce healthcare costs and improve people's health and wellness.

In the business world, IoB data analysis is expected to help accurately forecast market trends and demand. Companies will be able to more easily establish more effective product launch advertisements, sales promotion methods, and other methods in all areas, leading to business opportunities.

If marketing strategies can be formulated with IoB, they can be used to develop products and services.

In addition, as one of the elements supporting the smart city concept, the IoB can contribute to the efficiency and sustainable development of cities.

Traffic management, optimization of energy use, and environmental monitoring will be carried out, which will also improve the quality of life.

Examples of IoB applications

Internet of Bodies

A typical example of the Internet of Bodies is a pacemaker. A pacemaker is a medical device consisting of a battery, electric circuits and wires. It is surgically implanted into the human body to maintain the pulse rate.

In the past, pacemakers required periodic battery replacement, were large in size, and required a heavy surgical burden. In recent years, however, many new types of devices have been developed that place less burden on the user.

Another familiar example of Internet of Bodies technology is wearable devices, such as activity meters. By simply wearing an activity tracker, we can now check data such as the number of steps we have taken and the distance we have traveled. The data can be used as an opportunity to review one's own lifestyle or as a hint to maintain good health.

For example, personal health data can be used to continuously observe and monitor a person's health status with the IoB to understand their physical condition. Tracking changes in an individual's lifestyle and behavior is one of the features of the IoB that can optimize health conditions, making it easier to prevent illnesses and provide treatment at the right time.

Internet of Behavior

The Internet of Behavior is a system that uses GPS to acquire location information and facial recognition. GPS is a system that utilizes satellites to measure a person's location, and allows users to check "who is where" from devices such as smartphones. It is often used by parents to check the location of their children and to give them GPS devices or apps as a crime prevention measure.

Facial recognition is also a technology for replacing facial features with digital information. The digitized information of facial features can be used as authentication data for unlocking, for example, smartphones. In other cases, facial recognition of visitors and users of public facilities is used to conduct research on the users of such facilities. Data collected through facial recognition is often used to survey congestion and purchase demographics.

IoB is also related to AI

Although IoB and AI technologies employ different technologies, they are partially related. Most notably, they are closely related in the areas of data collection and analysis.

IoB is the concept of collecting and analyzing behavioral data from individuals and organizations to gain insights.

In this context, image recognition is also an AI technology. Image recognition AI technology has the ability to analyze image and video data and identify specific objects and patterns within them. By collecting behavioral data in the IoB and analyzing the image and video data contained in it using image recognition AI technology, more detailed information and insights can be obtained.

The combination of IoB and image recognition AI technology can be used as a useful system for society--for example, for the maintenance of infrastructure facilities. In fact, it has already begun to be used gradually in society as a cutting-edge technology.

NTT's efforts to utilize image recognition AI technology

NTT is researching technology that enables AI to automatically detect problems with infrastructure equipment from acquired images using MMS and drones.

This technology can detect damage and deterioration of all kinds of infrastructure equipment, including curved mirrors, guardrails, utility poles, and cables, and can significantly reduce the operational burden for each facility manager, which is a great benefit for sites that are short on manpower.

AI detection also enables higher inspection quality.

NTT is developing the "Deeptector" image recognition AI service, which can learn practical judgment criteria using images collected by customers themselves, and generate original learned models. The GUI (graphical user interface) allows the user to learn the judgment criteria and check the judgment results. Its ease of use makes it suitable for non-IT specialists such as product inspectors and dietitians in factories.

The system can also be updated with additional learning through daily operations to improve detection accuracy and object detection, and five types of image judgment patterns can be selected: object detection, region detection, classification, level judgment, and positive example judgment.

"Deeptector" is equipped with an XML-based API as a standard feature, making it easy to integrate with customers' existing systems and new systems that they are considering introducing in the future. Generally, equipment used at production sites in the manufacturing industry is controlled by electrical signals, and since it is possible to convert judgment results into electrical signals and link them to the equipment, higher productivity improvements can be achieved on site.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkL0O7OU-1E

The system is available in two versions, an installed version and a cloud version, allowing for implementation in a variety of environments and scenarios.

Deeptector" is a registered trademark of NTT Comware, Inc.

NTT's departments and laboratories involved in this initiative

NTT Information Network Laboratories, Ltd.
Public Relations, Planning Department
E-mial: inlg-pr-pb-ml@hco.ntt.co.jp
TEL: 0422-59-3663