Basics of IOT(Internet Of Things) For IDIOTS

The Internet of Things

What?!!!!

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We all know that the internet has been around for a while now. Internet was created for people, by the people for connecting people with each other. In today’s world we all use social networking sites, public forums, emails etc. to communicate with each other. That is known as Internet of people.

So, what is Internet of things?

You see just as internet of people is all about communicating and connecting people with each other, similarly the Internet of Things is all about products and devices communicating with each other simultaneously. These are the products which can sense, touch, control and communicate with each other

But, how can devices communicate to each other without human interference?

To understand it let us understand the basic idea behind it.

As a human being we have five senses for communicating with the world like sense of taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing. Similarly, devices can touch, sense, and communicate with each other using the internet as a platform.

Doesn’t that sound like a sci-fi technology waiting to be unleashed in the future?

The truth is, that it is already here. And what might shock you even further is that you are already an end user of the internet of things without even realising it.

But How?

Check out the smart phone that you are carrying with you most of the times. Probably you might have noticed but your smart phone already knows about who you are (face recognition feature), what is your location (GPS), how close you are to it (face detection), how you are holding it (horizontal or vertical auto change feature), can understand what you are saying (voice recognition) can see through its eye (camera) and lot more.

That is how close the Internet of people is to the Internet of Things.

So the obvious question is – For whom does it matter?

Well it matters for everybody including big business like Cisco, Google, Samsung, IBM etc. who have invested millions of dollars( make that billions as you read it) by acquiring some of the companies which are heavily into the Internet of Things.

So when did it start?

It started the day when there were more devices connected to the internet than people. This happened somewhere in the year 2008.

Just to give you an idea of how big this is – In the year 2015 there are close to 7.3 billion people in the world and the number of gadgets on the internet platform is around 15.4 billion (roughly more than 2 times).

As per the report of IHS, in 2025, the number of devices on the internet would reach 75.4 billion which would be 9 times more than the estimated population of 8.1 billion people on the planet.

You know what that means – It means that for one single person in 2025, there will be 9 devices connected to the internet.

The future has already arrived!

So which sectors are likely to get benefitted out of this exciting internet extravaganza?

Starting from Automobile industry to health care, consumer related electronics, other utilities etc., everybody would be benefited from it.

But what about the people? How does it touch you in your daily life?

Well, as humans we all want and deserve a better life with better and on-time health care facilities, better safety standards and more convenience for us in our daily lives. And this IOT phenomena is going to help us in that direction.

Let us give you an example.

Imagine that your refrigerator and your kitchen are talking (communicating) to each other. This is possible because through IOT both will be connected to each other and a super market as well so that the moment the kitchen finds out the that the reordering level for milk or vegetables has reached, it will automatically send a signal to the subscribed super market’s vegetable section to deliver vegetables at your door step with the help of google enabled self-driving delivery trucks who would use GPS to locate your house and address.

If that does not impress you – this will!

Imagine that your parents have got older and are more prone to age related ailments like heart attack, organ failures etc. Even today we have wrist bands available in the market which can be worn on the wrist of your parents and these devices keep a track of every single detail, like their wake up time in the morning, their hear beat while jogging, the calories they are burning and what not.

Suppose you are not with them and all of a sudden they start having early sign of a massive heart attacks. Many a times they might not be able to reach you for help but here is where IOT concept would save your loved ones. How?

Since the device has been recording their daily routine, therefore any significant changes would immediately alert them by waking them up from sleep and also show them the reading on their smartphone which is connected to them. Now since it is on IOT platform therefore the phone will immediately send distress signals to the nearest medical facility which would immediately send an ambulance to the location while the doctor would be able to get live updates about the health condition of your parents. So that by the time, your parents have arrived at the hospital, your doctor knows what treatment has to be given and at what pace. Who knows, even you might be benefited out of this IOT in the very near future.

Life changing and lifesaving experience! Isn’t it?

But what about the business? Why do they need it?

Let us take the example of a young man driving a car. The IOT platform enhances his driving experience as it tells him with the help of devices like which route to take, what is the traffic condition and lot more (like the GPS).

You might have heard that lot of times reputed car companies call back their cars of a particular model to their workshop for some re-engineering and adjustments.

Do you know why?

It is because their cars have got certain sensors which alert the drivers as well as the manufacturers about something which is not right. This way, the manufacturer gets plenty of data from all the cars and using this method can check out whether it is a major or minor problem. If it turns out to be a major problem then they have the entire list of cars which have faced the same problems. So before situation gets out of control, the car manufacturer recalls all the cars of the same model and assembly line, if required to make these slight adjustments so that it does not harm the business in the long run.

Also IOT provides the driver with the nearest available authorised service station address and also automatically alerts the service station about the problem the driver has been experiencing while driving the car. By the time the driver reaches the service station, spare parts if required have already arrived from the warehouse and the car suffers from minimum off road time.

So are there any challenges in IOT?

Yes there are!

Like any other field the most difficult part is – people. They resist change at every step with the view that the world is doing fine with the present technology. Just as they did with the first flight which paved way for space travel, first telephone which was the first step towards wireless smartphone communication and what not.

But for those who resist the change, this read what Ayn Rand has to say

“You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.”

The IOT is here. And it is here to stay. If we want to develop and survive we need to be a party to this change. Remember, that it took us 15,000 years to change from painting on caves to farming. Now as technology advanced it took us just 5000 years to learn how to make a wheel. And then from making a wheel to establishing civilizations it took us 2500 years. Fast forward and from establishing industries to inventing telephones and electricity it took us about 95 years. From that to the first computers it took us around 65 years. From those computers to the current super-fast computers it took us 38 years. From modern computers to internet it took us around 14 years and from internet to the smart phones that we have right now it took us around 10 years.

From 15,000 years to 11 years. What does it signify?

It means that the technology is changing, progressing at a faster pace than the previous breakthroughs achieved by mankind. As years will go by, the speed will increase.  

In short the more developed our civilization becomes, the faster we become at developing processes.

The IOT era is here. Love it or hate it – We need it!.