Internet of Things (IoT)

The internet of things (IoT) is being touted as the next big development in a connected world. Millions of devices, appliances, machines, sensors, and objects that can represent themselves digitally, talking to each other on a cloud platform across the globe, is what IoT promises.

It provides opportunities to integrate, understand and analyze the humongous amount of data to co-create a brighter future. This would involve the internet taking up all the mundane tasks, bring in a great level of automation, as well as leverage data to make use of energy and resources efficiently and effectively.

IoT Characteristics

The fundamental characteristics of the IoT are as follows: 

• Ambient intelligence (AMI): refers to electronic environments that are sensitive and responsive to the presence of people "Wikipedia". The independent & intelligent entities will act in full interoperability and will be able to auto-organize themselves depending on the context, circumstances or environment.
• Interconnectivity: With regard to the IoT, anything can be interconnected with the global information and communication infrastructure. 
• Things-related services: The IoT is capable of providing thing-related services within the constraints of things, such as privacy protection and semantic consistency between physical things and their associated virtual things. In order to provide thing-related services within the constraints of things, both the technologies in physical world and information world will change. 
• Heterogeneity: The devices in the IoT are heterogeneous as based on different hardware platforms and networks. They can interact with other devices or service platforms through different networks. 
• Dynamic changes: The state of devices change dynamically, e.g., sleeping and waking up, connected and/or disconnected as well as the context of devices including location and speed. Moreover, the number of devices can change dynamically. 
• Enormous scale: The number of devices that need to be managed and that communicate with each other will be at least an order of magnitude larger than the devices connected to the current Internet. Even more critical will be the management of the data generated and their interpretation for application purposes. This relates to semantics of data, as well as efficient data handling.  
• Safety: As we gain benefits from the IoT, we must not forget about safety. As both the creators and recipients of the IoT, we must design for safety. This includes the safety of our personal data and the safety of our physical well-being. Securing the endpoints, the networks, and the data moving across all of it means creating a security paradigm that will scale. 
• Connectivity: Connectivity enables network accessibility and compatibility. Accessibility is getting on a network while compatibility provides the common ability to consume and produce data.

Internet of Things Examples and Applications

The Internet of Things (IoT) is likely the next major stepping stone in the evolution of technology and culture. At first, we were disconnected groups. Then countries. Then telegraphs and next phones connected people across vast distances. Then the UN came around and united countries. The world changed with the dawn of the internet in the late 20th century.

My goal is to clear up the confusion with some simple Internet of Things examples and applications.

Increased Efficiency

“This years’ series of Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) forecasts reflect a growing focus on driving results using sensor-based data and creating analytically rich data sets…solving complex logistics, manufacturing, services, and supply chain problems.” — Louis Columbus, Roundup Of Internet Of Things Forecasts And Market Estimates, 2016

Increasing efficiency means more output with the same input or the same output with less input. Inputs could include time, energy, money, or resources. The output could be units produced or tasks accomplished.

Efficiency is particularly important for industrial applications because more production at less cost means greater profit. Below are some Internet of Things examples:

Internet of Things Examples

* Manufacturing Efficiency

Sensors embedded in manufacturing equipment and placed throughout a factory can help identify bottlenecks in the manufacturing process. Manufacturing time and waste are reduced.

Rather than standard preventative maintenance, which means performing maintenance on machines before they break, “predictive maintenance” means using advanced sensing and analytics to predict exactly when machines will need maintenance when. Because predictive maintenance means only servicing machines when they need it, this cuts total costs and the time machines spend idle while freeing up people maintenance crews for more high-level tasks.

* Energy Efficiency

As people and as organizations, we can achieve significant decreases in our energy usage with IoT. Sensors monitor things like lighting, temperature, energy usage, etc. By processing that sensor data, intelligent algorithms can micromanage energy usage in real time far more effectively than we ever could, saving money and the planet in one fell swoop. This is how Google cut 15% of its energy expenditure in its data centers.

On an individual level, things like Smart Thermostats can automatically turn off heating/cooling when no one’s home to save energy. No more forgetting to turn off the lights when leaving the room—let IoT solutions streamline your energy bill and your carbon footprint.

* Agricultural efficiency

For outdoor agriculture, an example could be sensing soil moisture and taking weather into account so that smart irrigation systems only water crops when needed, reducing the amount of water usage.

For indoor agriculture, IoT allows the monitoring and management of micro-climate conditions (humidity, temperature, light, etc.) to maximize production.

* Inventory Efficiency

By placing RFID or NFC tags on individual products, the exact location of single items in a large warehouse can be shared, thus saving search time, streamlining infrastructure, and lowering labor costs.

Retail settings provide another example. By knowing exactly what’s in stock and what isn’t, a store inventory manager can order new products only when needed, or even avoid wasted inventory by predicting when customers will want certain items. This reduces the cost of keeping extra inventory in the back. Also, smart inventory management eliminates the need to manually check what’s on the shelves, reducing labor costs, and freeing up people to do what only people can do: lead teams and think creatively. 

Improved Health and Safety

The Internet of Things enables heightened surveillance, monitoring, and detection, which all combine to improve health and increase safety. The one caveat is that authoritarian government could use enhanced surveillance to abuse human rights, but as the internet of things examples below will show, the benefits far outweigh the potential for abuse in the hands of a few dictators.

Internet of Things Examples:

* Disaster warning

Sensors can collect critical information about the environment, allowing for early detection of environmental disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, etc., thus saving lives.

* Law enforcement

Better surveillance and tracking tools will allow authorities to detect when a crime has occurred and respond much faster, keeping citizens safer. Also, law enforcement will even be able to predict crime, stopping it from happening in the first place. However, as mentioned above, enhanced safety comes with some concerns about privacy.

* Elderly care

Patient surveillance can be life-saving; automatically detecting when someone falls down or when they begin to experience a heart attack so that emergency care can be sent immediately.

* Environmental quality

Sensors can also detect radiation, pathogens, and air quality so that dangerous concentrations can be identified early, allowing people to evacuate.

Challenges of IoT Software Development

The statement that the Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming industries, business processes and software development (choose whatever you like the most here) has bored everyone to tears. Connected devices are capturing the market in all estimates, investments yielding good returns generall, consumers are happy and businesses are growing faster than your waistline during the holidays.

Something is left unsaid. These days, IoT software development is actually a minefield. The market requires high-quality, scalable, robust, secure and user-friendly solutions. IoT development teams have to reassess their standard procedures to take everything into account. Wait. What would reassessing “everything” mean in the context of IoT projects?

IoT Issues Developers

Due to the booming demand, the competition among IoT startups and development companies is a knife-fighting level fierce. This and the lack of generally accepted standards make programmers constantly looking for new practices and updated protocols. Only a scrupulous approach to every IoT software issue will result in efficient development.

1) Operating System Considerations

Before starting the IoT application development, several technical factors should be carefully considered. First of all, the team has to evaluate IoT devices they will work with. Unlike traditional desktops, IoT devices are far less powerful and have relatively tiny memory capacity. This means the developers have to choose the corresponding operating system. It should both fit the capabilities of the device and the requirements for its functionality.

The latest IoT Developer Survey shows that Linux is the top choice for IoT microcontrollers, constrained devices, and gateways.

2) Choosing Gateways

Speaking of IoT gateways, they’re the key to connecting all the elements. Different devices can have different connectivity protocols: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, serial ports, Zigbee and have various energy profiles. Gateways are located between the connected devices, IoT sensors, and the cloud, so the entire IoT ecosystem depends on them.

Modern intelligent gateways from Dell Technologies, Intel, Nexcom and other top providers have some common mandatory features that make developers’ lives easier. You just have to select the one that meets your IoT application requirements. You will have to consider the interface and network specifications, power rating, memory capacities, the development environment, and other parameters. Safe, private and credible communication between devices should be guaranteed by default.

3) Deciding on the Right IoT Platform

No sane developer wants to develop software from scratch. Why reinvent the wheel? That’s where IoT platforms come in handy since they offer a combination of tools to bring your physical objects online. The platform market is big and confusing, so make sure you choose wisely. Your preferred platform should provide:

• connectivity
• security
• scalability
• easy integration
• usability

IoT developers should note, however, that platforms perfect for smart factories might not fit connected cars or energy consumption solutions. Some companies even choose to set up a real-world testbed with actual data from the production process to decide on the proper platform.

4) On Security, Again

IoT technology includes numerous connected devices, and therefore hackers have multiple juicy targets to scan for vulnerabilities. Not all of the devices that form a network have been adequately tested for penetrations. And here you are, the entire system is threatened.

Gartner states that 25 percent of all identified enterprise attacks will involve IoT by 2020, while only 10 percent of IT security budgets will be assigned to protect systems against these attacks.

The number of cyber-attacks will continue to grow and security is a colossal challenge for developers working on IoT projects. The level of protection largely depends on how much the company is ready to invest in the security expertise, right at the concept stage. To reduce the possibility of attacks and unauthorized access, use:

• SSL/TLS encryption technologies
• Isolated VLA
• Detached corporate VPN
• Modern and updated anti-virus
• End-user and machine-to-machine authentication
• Vetted frameworks for web development and design

Enterprise security architecture that uses traditional protection and control methodologies should be updated by yesterday to face the new challenges of IoT today. You’ve been warned.

5) Total Control Over Quality

Quality assurance is another tender spot of software for IoT. Since IoT devices are used not only for temperature control in warehouses but also for insulin pumps, testing should be eminently thorough. Any small issue can turn out to be deadly, literally.

Make sure to include security testing in the software development process from the very beginning. To optimize the process, look for the modules that don’t need testing with every release. Find the protocols that have already undergone security testing and will remain unchanged for the next few releases.

In addition to security testing, usability and compatibility should be assured as well. Offering technical support after the project’s release is also a good call.

6) User-Friendly Design

Consumer IoT app should be design-driven and as simple as possible; nobody wants to study the manual to update a smartwatch (sorry, technical writers). User-friendly design is also important for industrial IoT startups as they should focus on data visualization and fast decision making. Since in the IoT workflow every device, thing and person are talking to each other, tight cooperation between IoT developers and designers is a must to ensure:

• Secure but effortless authentication
• Seamless transition between devices and systems
• User experience personalization and adjusting products to behavior patterns
• Unified environment for the entire IoT system

7) Cross-Platform Deployment

The IoT ecosystem includes devices with different architectures, protocols and operating systems. All these variables should fit together and work seamlessly. Therefore the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and other reputable organizations have come up with the open standards and architecture models for cross-platform deployment. They are updated all the time, and IoT services should leverage these best practices to ensure interconnected communication.

CONCLUSION 

Despite the growth of IoT adoption over the last years, the Internet of Things software development still has quite a few issues left to resolve. Now, IoT companies and startups should watch out for details they haven’t considered before.

Embracing the generally accepted standards for IoT projects will allow us partly to solve some of the development challenges. In particular, we can improve the security of IoT apps and their cross-platform deployment. However, since IoT is a relatively new field, the standards are still a work in progress. Some time will pass until the IoT development community generally acknowledges them.

“We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works” — Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt

In Summary, The Internet of Things will allow our world to increasingly shape itself to our needs and our wants, creating a better experience.

IoT is about connecting stuff so that it just works better. As if by magic, IoT has the power to make our lives safer, more connected, more productive, and just better in general.

Imagine a world in which every device in the home, workplace, and car are connected...

A world where the lights automatically turn on when the car approaches the driveway, the coffee starts brewing when the morning alarm goes off and the front door automatically unlocks when approached by a member of the household, but stays locked when a stranger arrives on the front step.

You’re stuck in traffic on your way home from work.

Knowing that you won’t have much time to cook when you get home, your car talks to your kitchen to find out dinner options. The fridge and pantry check what food you have and then the oven comes up with quick, easy recipes based on your preferences. The car asks you what you’d like and by the time you get home your oven has preheated. A voice walks you through the food prep, you put the dish in the oven, and go to pick your kids up from practice. When you get home, the oven has cooked dinner to perfection and your hungry kids dig in.

“That is a type of world the Internet of Things can create...”

Keywords: Internet of Things (IoT), Digital Transformation, IT Infrastructure, Cloud Applications, Cloud Architecture, IT Security, Cyber Security, Cyber Attacks, ICS Industrial Control Systems, Industrial Security, Security IoT.