Humanizing #Fiterator3: Mutable delivers the tech of the future

by Leah Oppenheimer | Feb 21, 2019 12:00:00 AM | Fiterator |

When we scout for startups to join the Fiterator, we're focused on the value that they can add to the global connectivity industry through their incredible technology.

But, we also love learning about the teams as humans - like we did here - and finding out how their technology is going to impact people all around the world. Learn how Mutable is going to change the future of human connectivity.

Read more from this series and about the rest of #Fiterator3 here.


Think back: when do you remember hearing about the cities of the future for the first time? It’s been awhile, right? And since then, it feels like eons have passed and we still don't have the smart cities, smart cars, and smart homes that we've been promised so many times. Mutable, the globally-dispersed Platform as a Service (PaaS) company changing the structure of cloud computing, is on a mission to change that and to enable the amazing technology we've been hearing about for so long.

Popular culture tells us that our refrigerators should know when to order milk, that traffic lights should adjust their timing automatically based on the ebb and flow of a city, and that our cars should be able to drive us to work while we catch up on email. We know that models of these technologies already exist - so why hasn't it been rolled out to the public?

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Keeping these technologies in the lab and out of our hands, until now, has been a matter of infrastructure. For IoT and smart tech to work the way we want it to, devices and their sensors need to have access to ultra-low latency (read: really, really fast) internet. These devices work by communicating with a cloud data center, sending and receiving signals that tell devices how to react and respond. 

The issue is that the cloud data centers are in remote locations, far outside of cities. As a result, it takes signals longer to travel - literally because of a further distance - leading to lapses in communication and slowed-down response times. While that's not a big deal for a refrigerator ordering milk, it could be a matter of life or death for an autonomous vehicle (AV) that doesn't come to a stop at a traffic light.

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Mutable is here to solve that problem. Mutable's platform works across multiple industries, enabling software developers and other technology creators to utilize cloud compute space in areas physically closer to the devices, enabling faster communications. These spaces are typically owned by companies that use these servers for their central operations, but are not using them at full capacity, so Mutable works with the owners of these spaces to open them up for third-party software deployment. Mutable ALSO automates the placement of deployment, meaning that if your AV travels from Phoenix to Denver, your server location will change along the way as well.

What does this mean for you? Hopefully, it means that we'll begin to see a bigger roll out of all of this badass technology. We know how smart tech can change the way we stay connected - from allowing us to check email on the way to work to using IoT devices to maintain our health at home. By enabling devices to establish faster communications, Mutable's technology will give us access to whole new ways to connect as a part of regular life - not just what we see in the movies. We can't wait and we bet you can't either.