11 Everyday Objects You Didn't Know Were On The Internet

Things are talking to each other online, and not through YouTube comments. See how Intel is transforming the world through the Internet of Things at Intel.com/IoT.

1. Cupcake ATMs

Mike Segar / Reuters

Here's an ATM you wish you could overdraft. Now in 17 cities around the country, the Cupcake ATM delivers the goods in just 10 seconds, and what's more — the built-in technology is poised to instantly change prices based on weather and time of day.

2. Airport Restrooms

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While several bathrooms already use QR codes to file custodial requests, the restrooms at London's Heathrow Airport are the first to follow a cleaning cycle based on real-time data "instead of an arbitrary schedule" — thanks to cloud computing.

3. Beer Kegs

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In the olden days, like 2013, we guessed how much beer we had by knocking the keg, but the SteadyServ iKeg not only tells you consumption trends via a mobile app, it lets you know when you'll run out — avoiding the worst nightmare of all: no beer.

4. Water Fountains

Woosh / Via iq.intel.com

The woosh hydration station is a veritable multi-tool of drinking fountains, mostly because providing drinking water is just one thing it does. In addition to that, the station can also charge your phone, measure air quality, and run on solar power.

5. Soda Fountains

Pepsi / Via iq.intel.com

Remember when you made those 12-part cocktails using every drink at the soda fountain? Now you know better — like how to personalize your beverage digitally with the Pepsi Spire, which tracks user habits to determine the perfect soda mix.

6. Semi Trucks

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The road is a little less lonely — thanks to Vnomics, a technology that coaches drivers over the internet based on how well they shift and their MPGs the moment the turn the ignition, cutting freight costs by 7 percent and reducing air emissions.

7. Health Scales

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No, the newest Bluetooth-enabled smart scales won't auto-publish your weight to Facebook — they're smart, after all — but they will be able to log your progress in the cloud and sync with your favorite health apps, not to mention measure your body fat.

8. Public Transit Vehicles

Intel / Via youtube.com

In Barcelona, Spain, you won't find yourself sitting cluelessly at the bus stop. Many stations are equipped with touchscreen displays, updating millions of riders on arrival times, service changes, and daily news — all via Wi-Fi and mobile networks.

9. Biometric Wheelchairs

Intel / Via iq.intel.com

Maybe you've heard of Stephen Hawking: physicist and black hole enthusiast. He's called the Freedom Chair — a wheelchair that relays health stats through an app — a "proving ground for the technology of the future." So, probably worth checking out.

10. EMS Equipment

Intel / Via youtube.com

In rural emergencies, response times are crucial. That's why one hospital in Virginia started routing ambulance defibrillator data to doctors waiting at nearby hospitals — via the Internet of Things — shaving minutes off wait times and, in turn, saving lives.

11. Entire Cities

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While the residents of San Jose, California, are well-acquainted with the web, the infrastructure is, well, not so much — till this year, when it became the first city to connect to the Internet of Things, making traffic, pollution, and more data accessible to city officials.

We're on track to reach 15 billion smart objects in 2015. See how Intel is powering the new Internet of Things at Intel.com/IoT.