GE is partnering with social product development company Quirky, to  crowdsource development of new products based on existing GE patents.

In May, GE will make thousands of U.S. patents available to the global Quirky community. Quirky community members may use the patents as basis for creating new consumer product ideas.

GE’s partnership with Quirky will consist of two parts: a new platform where GE will open thousands of its patents and new technologies to the Quirky community for the development of new consumer products; and a co-branded product development initiative.

The product development is aimed to build a full line of app-enabled connected devices for the home, in areas such as health, security, water, or air. The new line of products will be co-branded Wink: Instantly Connected.

The partnership represents a marriage between what GE has dubbed the  Industrial Internet,  or the Internet of really big things — with the Internet of everyday things.

Some of the first technologies that GE will open up include optical systems, barrier coatings and telematics:

[Image courtesy: Quirky]