console.log("The Internet of Things");

During the past two months, Azim Jiwani and I worked on creating a "module" for TKS, which is essentially a collection of resources designed and put together in a comprehensive way. The idea is to learn and go deep into a topic in order to prove one's mastery of the subject by introducing and educating others. Choosing the one that seemed the most interesting, I went for the "Internet of Things". I wasn't disappointed.

The Internet of Things is exactly as its name implies; it is the intelligent connectivity of various devices as well as the collection and analysis of user data to solve real-world problems.

The goal:

To provide real-time, accurate, and reliable solutions to problems in various industries by increasing efficiency, organization, and personalization

"Things" refers to the devices that can be connected to the internet and transmit data collected by sensors to institutions that can use the data like vehicular data to car manufacturers, smartphone data to app developers, and wildlife cams to ecologists.

Once I had a grasp of what and why, I explored deeper into how. It all starts with sensors. Though there are literally thousands of different sensors in the world, the most important sensors used in IoT are:

1. Temperature
2. Pressure
3. Optical
4. Humidity
5. Accelerometers
6. Gyroscopes

From there it's pretty simple, sensors collect data, data is sent over the internet to someone or something that can analyze and draw conclusions from it, and finally, those conclusions are sent to different industries that find those conclusions useful. IoT has the capacity to touch virtually every industry and improve every aspect of its foundation. Here are my takes on its many applications.

Healthcare and Hospitality

Healthcare professionals can now remotely monitor their patients using NFCs and RFID tags on their patients and transmitting data to ECGs and other medical equipment. Changes in a person’s condition would alarm doctors and nurses so that they can spend their time more efficiently. Wearable technology would be able to monitor a patient’s vitals in real time and send help when necessary. IoT allows for the organization of medical equipment and supplies, from bandages to medication, ensuring that stock never gets too low.

Hospitality will be the most obvious benefactor of IoT hyper-personalization: the concept of creating a completely unique experience, tailored to each individual. The tourism industry will no doubt be disrupted by the capability of creating unique experiences for each traveler, with everything tailored to his or her liking based on his personal information provided by devices like smartphones. Today, online shopping is moving in a similar direction.

Agriculture and Environment

IoT sensors like humidifiers, thermometers, and pH sensors allow for farmers and environmentalists to monitor the health of crops and land in real time. With the vast collection of modern sensors, farmers no longer have to manually check the progress of their crops, and can remotely maintain their water intake, the health of the soil, and the amount of sunlight they absorb.

Environmentalists can now receive data in real time, allowing for better security against natural disasters and for more evidence of global warming among other benefits that environmental data can offer. A great example of IoT in action is how ecologists tag animals to monitor their population and ensure endangered species don't fall too far behind.

Drones (like the DJI drone pictured above) are going to be a big part of both these industries. In the agricultural space, drones can deliver pesticides or other necessary nutrients to acres of crops. Drones can be remotely piloted to collect soil samples or gather data on a region's temperature, humidity, and other environmental factors.

Manufacturing, Retail, Banking, and Advertising

IoT opens up an opportunity for industries and institutions to create hyper-personalized experiences for their customers and patients. Hyperpersonalization allows for a more energy efficient experience with a greater customer satisfaction yield. 

IoT Manufacturing solutions provide manufacturers to improve product quality, manufacturing efficiency, asset management, and reduce waste/downtime. The beauty of IoT can be seen in the way that a good infrastructure could support a more efficient supply chain.

2021 will be a big year for IoT in the retail industry; it is expected that by 2021, the vast majority of retail stores would have transitioned to “Brick and Mortar 2.0”, as people transition to buying things online, stores will become more like a showcase or display room, similar to what Tesla does with its physical stores now. Amazon Go is a demonstration of IoT retail in action.

I remember watching a fantastic movie by Steven Speilberg called "Minority Report" where the story took place in a future world where everything was connected. There was this one scene where Tom Cruise walked into a department store only for an overhead biometric sensor to recognize his presence and display ads catered to himself. I was incredibly excited to have discovered that the movie would soon become a reality with IoT advertising solutions.

Energy

IoT has potential to provide real-time data to energy providers, allowing them to better distribute energy and significantly boosting efficiency. The obvious benefit of a connected grid is the conservation of energy, therefore saving money as well.

IoT applications in the energy sector led to the conceptualization of Virtual power plants. VPPs provide a solution to n-2 events on power grids (When two or more transformers, generators, or other essential energy machine fails). VPPs allow for the moderation of energy by allowing the control of the technology that both gathers and spends energy from solar panels to light bulbs, shutting off those that aren't necessary, and turning on those that gather energy when needed. This significantly reduces the risk of transformers overloading in the event of equipment failure.

Infrastructure

Smart construction keeps worker accountable and maximizes productivity by monitoring vehicles in a company's fleet, equipment, and construction sites. From to on-site safety to off-hour security to fleet control, IoT has a solution for every aspect.

Construction, of course, is all for the purpose of creating communities, and smart cities are the community of the future. The smart city is a concept that combines smart transportation with smart homes and smart highways, creating an interlinked system of communication that can potentially solve problems like traffic and parking, as well as bolster efficiency of transport and fuel conservation.

Almost every industry application in this list needs a strong infrastructure or a way to connect sensors to devices to mainframes. Enter 5G internet. While still in its beginning stages of implementation, the improvements are clear; 5G’s speed, reach, and reliability could speed up connectivity to things like autonomous vehicles, as well as bringing IoT a step closer to better real-time applications. This article from the Globe and Mail is an artsy and detailed summarization sure to impress upon the power of 5G.

Transportation

With autonomous vehicles beginning to take over the roads and as more transportation go green, IoT is a perfect fit to herald in an era of confidence in the safety and reliability of these vehicles. Connected cars mean less vehicle on vehicle collisions. If cars were connected to traffic lights, red light infractions would be diminished. In the far future, the government could even consider abolishing laws regarding drinking and driving; cars could one day drive us home.

Apart from ethical issues regarding autopilot and self-driving vehicles, if every car and truck on the road was connected to a grid or array of communication, traffic and parking would be significantly more efficient, as vehicles are now capable of automatically deciding the most efficient route for their passengers.

As well as solving traffic issues, an array of self-driving vehicles could theoretically lower the risk of collisions, especially multi-vehicle accidents. Currently, if one person on the highway brakes too fast, the 2nd 3rd and maybe even 4th person behind them have an enormous risk of not being able to brake in time. But with the speed of 5G and an IoT platform of communication, the moment the 1st car breaks, the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and subsequent cars behind it automatically brake, minimizing the risk of a crash.

Who's on the front lines?

Along with Google, Apple, and many other companies, Amazon’s flagship IoT device is a consumer product to turn your house into a smart home.

Alexa is Amazon’s voice-activated smart device, that can take and answer questions just like a google search, can purchase items for your just like Amazon, can make calls, control the lights in your home, and do a whole host of actions at your command. Amazon owns a whole host of consumer products designed to make your life a little more connected. Amazon Key allows couriers to unlock and enter your house securely to drop off packages and mail. Amazon Cloud Cam is Amazon’s take on NEST’s signature line of smart security products. Amazon Go has recently shaken the retail industry to its core, proving that brick-and-mortar 2.0 is indeed here and that the technology is here to back it up.

Azure is Microsoft’s signature IoT product; it is the platform that most people operating a business will turn to. Detailed analytics and data gathering made possible by Microsoft’s A.I. means monitoring almost any aspect of your business is easy, and can be accessed anywhere internet is available. Apart from fancy software, Microsoft has partnered with WEKA, a smart fridge company. The fridge, however, isn’t for food (although it totally can be used for food), instead, it was made to intelligently keep medical supplies like vaccines and some medications at their optimal temperature.

Probably the most widely known IoT company is Nest Labs, a division of Google, and subsequently, Alphabet, is a company working on the creation and sales of consumer products for safety, security, and comfort ranging from smart thermostats, cameras, doorbells, and more. With a whole host of functionality, Nest devices connect to the user’s smartphone for easy access to temperature control, security cameras, and other devices. Nest has been the leader in home security, competing against the likes of Amazon. Its success has led Google to consider reabsorbing the company. Nest presents an elegant solution to many first world problems that is energy efficient, secure, and provides comfort. They continue to release consumer products that aim to turn your home into a smart one. You can buy one here, and if the money/energy saving features don't convince you, it still looks pretty cool to have on your wall.

Takeaways

Initially, I knew IoT technology and infrastructure would greatly benefit many industries, but what surprised me was how. My biggest takeaway is simply the benefits of data, and of the conclusions that can be drawn from them. Learning about how data collected from your shopping habits can be used for better advertising, how data collected from your biometrics can be used for better health care, and how environmental data collected from another part of the world can be used for better agriculture where just some of the ways IoT builds bridges between industries. IoT is one of those technologies that you will notice changes and improvements to, and so I'm incredibly excited for what tomorrow has to offer.