The internet of things (IoT)
What is the internet of things (IoT)
Well , the internet of things it's not a "thing" it's a concept it's a vision on how every physical devices (pc, laptops, smartphones, appliances, etc around the world that are now connected to the internet, all collecting, sharing data and interacting each other in many types of applications .
The applications of the internet of things are almost infinite, because almost any physical object can be transformed into an IoT device if it can be connected to the internet to be controlled or communicate information.
Examples of the internet of things.
As i said before the applications of the internet of things are almost infinite. there are some examples:
Electrodomestics
For an example the refrigerator of a house, it could be connected to the internet to notify the user through his mobile phone, for example, when food expires, if there is a drop in temperature due to a failure or if the door was badly closed.
Industry
An automated process plant with sensors connected to the internet can inform in real time when a failure occurs or when the production stopped , or give the statistics of the process so adjustments or changes can be made effectively.
Agriculture
Sensors in a farm can monitor air and soil temperature, wind speed, and rainfall. This information is fed back into irrigation system which are adjusted based in the data of how the weather behaves, and can give data to the farmers so the can make adjustments to the crops
in the cattle raising sector where biometric monitoring and geolocation is a factor that can help farmers to ensure that their animals are always controlled.
How the concept was born ?
In a 2009 article for the RFID newspaper, "That 'internet of things' thing" Kevin Ashton said: "If we had computers that knew everything they had to know about "things", by using data that they themselves could collect without human help, we as humans could monitor, count and locate everything around us, in this way expenses would be reduced incredibly , losses and costs. We would know when to replace, repair or recover whatever it was, as well as know if its operation was being correct. The internet of things has the potential to change the world just like the digital revolution did a few decades ago. Maybe even more"
and this concept year by year has become more accurate and real.
Security issues in IoT?
There is a promise that said that "Everything on the internet can be hacked", and the IoT can be hacked too. so the security it's a very important issue.
There’s also the issue of surveillance. If every product becomes connected then there’s the potential for unbridled observation of users. every product that has a camera can be observed by a third part. and they can use that information for black mailing, etc.
Governments are growing worried about the risks here, It expects devices to have unique passwords, that companies will provide a public point of contact so anyone can report a vulnerability or an issue, and that manufacturers will explicitly state how long devices will get security updates.
In conclusion
IoT is a technological trend that will be continuously evolving and that it will be unstoppable. It is currently being used in multiple fields such as production plants to perform preventive maintenance and analyze data, in the medical sector, where you can monitor the constants of a patient and act before the situation is critical, at home, with the "SmartHomes", where the microwave can start heating the food before the user arrives home, in the so-called "wearables", which are all those devices that can be incorporated into clothing (for example, shoes that all count the kilometers that a person runs) or to the body, like the “Smartwatches”, and a long etcetera.