Like an increasing number of devices, the world's first self-balancing electric skateboard is connected to the Internet. Called OneWheel, the motorized device features a bulky wheel in the middle that riders straddle.
"OneWheel has a Bluetooth 4 on board, and it talks to a smartphone app," says Kyle Doerksen, CEO of Future Motion, which makes the device. "That smartphone app lets the user configure the riding modes on one wheel, but it also connects up to the Internet, so we can do things like download new firmware from the phone onto OneWheel."
OneWheel has latched aboard the growing Internet of things (IoT), which connects devices like cars, household appliances, and robotics to the Internet. For developers looking to make a living building applications for IoT, development and deployment options are growing, with a variety of different technologies getting into the act. In the programming space, languages ranging from Java to Ruby are jockeying for position in the IoT market.
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