Innovation in Internet-of-Things

Internet-of-Things: What’s it All About?

As ever-advancing technologies such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing dominate the world today, the Internet-of-Things has become quite a hot topic of discussion as an enabler for these innovative technologies. IoT may in fact be the most important technology in the market currently thanks to its large-scale adoption over the recent years, especially since the pandemic began.

In 2011, the number of IoT or Internet connected devices surpassed the population of human beings on Earth, and by 2020 these devices reached numbers of 26-52 billion. According to reports, for every internet connected device, there are 5 to 10 other types of IoT devices sold.

With the years passing by, technology is advancing at a rapid pace, with machines becoming smaller and easier to manufacture. The norm has shifted to newer modular systems, compared to older single configuration devices. Each handling its own data, computing and utility, these devices benefit the entire network they are connected to. This is what IoT is all about. It promises to bring a variety of business benefits with it, including increased efficiency across industries, safer infrastructure and reduced operational costs.

However, due to the recent low supplies and inflated demand for semiconductor chips, and even with the pandemic issue, IoT solutions cost a lot to manufacture now. This will cause an estimated 10-15% decline in the growth of the IoT sector. It has been reported that it will be quite a while before the shortage is overcome.

Here are few of the sectors where IoT utilisation has shown immense promise in growth and innovation:

Agriculture & Farming

Farming is quite a labour-intensive task. Vast lands, livestock management and harvesting statistics make agriculture and farming a perfect candidate for IoT solution. Through IoT solutions, farmers will be able to automate most of their daily processes and even make smarter decisions when it comes to their lands and livestock.

By implementing IoT, water levels can be monitored and adjusted, allowing crops to grow better. It can also help determine soil conditions, temperature and many other critical details which can lead to a better harvest. Grazing livestock too can be tracked to minimise the risk of losing them. This helps farmers make their jobs easier and even reduces the need of constant monitoring.

?

Smart Homes

With the rise in adoption of voice-enabled smart devices such as Amazon’ Echo and Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple’s Siri, the smart home industry has been revolutionised. As of 2022, such devices and voice assistant applications allow for the remote operation of innumerable devices such as appliances, lights and security systems for home use. However, there is still much potential in the growth of smart home IoT devices, which we may potentially see over the next few years.

Smart home automation is the next step forward. IoT solution providers are now working on products to completely automate tasks like lighting, appliance control and total home security. The use of AI plays a huge role here so that devices can be configured to do these tasks based on usage data of the consumer. These devices also provide the option to be configured manually at the consumer’s preference.

“Work From Home” Solutions

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, organisations went through a phase of uncertainty when it came to employee engagement for work purposes, such as meetings and general office visits. This made it almost impossible for employees to work effectively as a team and thus hindered organisational functioning. However, IoT provided an answer to the majority of their problems, through the use of IoT devices and technology. This enabled work from home medium, virtual meetings and employee recreational activities, which notably increased the productivity of the organisations.

Now, most companies have adopted the Work from Home solution as a complete alternative to Work From Office through the use of IoT-enabled platforms like Microsoft Office, Google Workplace and ZOHO. The pandemic situation helped organisations realise the importance of such solutions during the time of crises. Thanks to this, organisations reported productivity levels which were better than ever. It has also been reported that due to this model of work, most organisations have generated revenues higher than that compared to when offline work was prevalent. Especially for the IT industry, this has been one of the most advantageous and innovative solutions for their work.

What Lies in Wait for The Future?

Technology has advanced tremendously over the last few years, and it continues to advance at a very fast pace. So fast in fact, that sometimes we can hardly keep up with its pace. Being one of the most rapidly growing sectors, IoT has proven its potential in numerous usecases and has shown promise in being a key problem-solving catalyst. It has provided solutions in mobility and convenience to millions of users worldwide.

This technology has proven to us that there are multiple ways to tackle a problem in every aspect of our lives. It has transformed the way we work, socialise and entertain, ushering us into a new era of digital transformation and connectivity. IoT works to make our lives modern, more productive and sustainable to counter the more obsolete work and lifestyles. We have only scraped the surface with this technology and are yet to see the rest of the proverbial iceberg.

Subscribe to our newsletter today to stay up-to-date on the emerging technologies and articles on Open Innovation.

?

Article written by: Sean Pinto @ Incubate Hub

__________________________________________________________________________

IncubateHub is Asia's largest open innovation & corporate venturing platform to drive Digital Transformation & Sustainable solutions working with Startups, Students & Professionals. We also help Startups engage with our 52+ clients including Mondelez, Faurecia, P&G, Accenture, Tata, DCB Bank, Fidelity, ITC Infotech, IBM, NASSCOM, Analog Device, Nasscom Foundation & Quest Global.