Internet of Things or connected objects

A lot of people have shown me their interest in Internet of Things (IoT) or connected objects. This paper is about Things but for everyone’s understanding. I do not want to go into technological details but I wanted to share my view of what we are very likely to see in the near future.

Connecting things or objects is like you connecting to the internet. Objects have electronic devices within them and with the devices they connect to each other. They create data and they take actions based on the parameters users have set up.

According to Wikipedia, The Internet of things (IoT) is the inter-networking of physical devices, vehicles (also referred to as "connected devices" and "smart devices"), buildings, and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity that enable these objects to collect and exchange data. The IoT allows objects to be sensed or controlled remotely across existing network infrastructure, creating opportunities for more direct integration of the physical world into computer-based systems, and resulting in improved efficiency, accuracy and economic benefit in addition to reduced human intervention. When IoT is augmented with sensors and actuators, the technology becomes an instance of the more general class of cyber-physical systems, which also encompasses technologies such as smart grids, smart homes, intelligent transportation and smart cities. Each thing is uniquely identifiable through its embedded computing system but is able to interoperate within the existing Internet infrastructure. Typically, IoT is expected to offer advanced connectivity of devices, systems, and services that goes beyond machine-to-machine (M2M) communications.

As well as the expansion of Internet-connected automation into a plethora of new application areas, IoT is also expected to generate large amounts of data from diverse locations, with the consequent necessity for quick aggregation of the data, and an increase in the need to index, store, and process such data more effectively. IoT is one of the platforms of today's Smart City, and Smart Energy Management Systems.

The concept of the Internet of things was invented by and term coined by Peter T. Lewis in September 1985.

This graph shows very well the extend of what objects can accomplish. First through connection it can connect to other objects like you using the internet. Then it will analyze, predict and learn with data that objects provide. Based on parameters that you set up, it will act and optimize all situations. It will sense all situations (weather, temperature, health, movement, etc) and decide what to do based on the results. It will measure parameters that you have decided and then will allow you to interpret the results and take actions.

Soon every device you own — and nearly every object you can imagine — will be connected to the Internet.

Your refrigerator, smoke detector, doorbell and air freshener may already be connected. Next, clothes, traffic lights and pedestrian walk buttons — and every part of a factory — and even your home's windows will all be connected, sharing information to make you healthier, your commute shorter, and everything more efficient.

6.4 billion connected things are in use worldwide today, up 30 percent from 2015. Experts forecast that connected things will reach 20.8 billion by 2020. In 2016, 5.5 million new things were connected every day.

The Internet of Things (IoT) supports total services spending of $235 billion, up 22 percent from 2015. Services are dominated by the professional category (in which businesses contract with external providers in order to design, install and operate IoT systems), however connectivity services (through communications service providers) and consumer services will grow at a faster pace.

Today two to three billion things are connected to the internet. This means that there are more internet connections with objects than with humans.

Despite all these things already on the network, experts estimate that more than 99% of physical objects that may one day join the network are still unconnected. There will be about forty billion devices by 2020. Think about what happens when we connect all those unconnected devices. The name has started to change from Internet of Things to Internet of Everything - the connection of people, process, data, and things - enabling the applications of tomorrow.

We will then be able to see applications in the various fields as:

Automotive

When tied to the IoT, the car turns data into actionable insight, both inside the car and in the world around it. There will be fewer accidents, greater mobility and more efficient traffic flow.

Energy

Through the IoT, the power grid’s countless devices can share information in real time to distribute and better manage energy more efficiently.

Healthcare

From clinical wearables to first-responder tablets and sophisticated surgical suite equipment, the IoT is transforming healthcare.

Smart Manufacturing

IoT technology enables today’s factories to unlock operational efficiency, optimize production, and increase worker safety.

Retail

For retailers, the IoT offers unlimited opportunities to increase supply chain efficiencies, develop new services, and reshape the customer experience.

Smart Buildings

The IoT is addressing rising energy costs, sustainability, and code compliance by connecting, managing, and securing devices that collect data from core systems.

Smart Homes

From recognizing your voice to knowing who is at the front door, IoT technology is making the dream of a secure smart home a reality. You can also picture a connected mailbox where it could tell you when you have received a package.

Smart Transportation

From connected or self-driving cars to intelligent transportation and logistics systems, the IoT can save lives, reduce traffic, and minimize vehicle impact on the environment. Connected bikes could also tell you when they are stolen and where it is, with a turn by turn map for you to follow to get it.

Smart plants

Your plants with an electronic device in the dirt, will be able to communicate and post on Twitter for example. The plant will be able to complain when it gets dry and will send information all day and every day of the week. For example, the plant in the office, will communicate with you when you are not in the office. Giving you the temperature there, the light conditions (have you forgotten to turn off the light…), you will not have any more excuses when your plant dies because it will have told you about it’s condition.

I think you now have understood that once you set up a sensor for data collection or process control in any object, you can then communicate with your objects or have the objects communicate amongst themselves.

The future of these connected objects is to see the deployment of solutions to improve customer facing functions such as marketing or sales and customer relations.

In summary, connected objects allow the connection of things, the collection of data and the drive of insights such as cost reduction, productivity improvement and additional increase of revenue.

IoT is a way to personalize marketing to an extend never experienced before. One angle that we will see is the fact that objects connected create data and give a status at a certain time (several times a day) but it also helps with predictive information. If I go back to the connected plant example, we will be able to see in the last month or three months, the pattern leading to the lack of water and we will be able to anticipate to ensure it never happens again. With such examples, your gold fish will never die of hunger anymore because you would have received a message telling you that its bowl is empty or that its water needs to be changed.

For people who fear that jobs are at risk, I would say that jobs will change. IoT will not kill jobs, it will transform jobs and help this new industry to expand.

This is an exciting time as we are in the middle of this transformation and what we see today is nothing compared to what our grandchildren will see.

As always, I am available for any question or comments.