IOT
Darshika Srivastava
Associate Project Manager @ HuQuo | MBA,Amity Business School
The IoT harnesses the power of the internet to connect physical devices in real-time. So any physical object connected through the internet can be converted into an IoT device. For example, how are you reading this article… over a smartphone, tablet, or PC? You’re already connected through the internet and are using an IoT device
Similarly, a light bulb, which is a physical object itself, will be considered as an IoT device when connected through a smartphone app to turn it on and off. IoT examples may include washing machines, refrigerators, watches, laptops, phones, cars, and pretty much everything we can connect with the internet.
Generally, the internet of things examples include quick access to the appropriate information at the right time, be it related to exercising, traveling to a meeting, socializing, shopping, or visiting a doctor.
Sensors are a crucial part of the IoT network. That means millions of sensors connected through IoT sensor technology worldwide to collect a rich set of context-aware and informational data including images, location, and weather conditions, and inject into the networks and applications for the data processing.
IoT Full Form
IoT stands for Internet of Things.
IoT Definition
The Internet of Things or IoT is defined as the process of connecting physical devices through the internet for sharing, collecting, and transferring data.
IoT adds the fabric of digital intelligence to the physical things connected through the internet, making the world around us more exciting and responsive.
IoT can help connect the people living in the remotest corners of the world. Plus with devices functioning at incredibly low power, IoT provides solutions without risking the system’s accuracy. This is possible since at the smallest level we can incorporate these things with smart technology for them to communicate over the internet.
Don’t see IoT as an individual system, but as an integrated infrastructure that can handle many services and applications at a time. Such applications include city-wide activities like efficient transportation systems, waste management systems, others include worldwide activities like global delivery systems, security systems while others include personalized activities like bridging the gap between the digital world and physical world.
IoT Benefits
IoT emerging technology offers scores of benefits that include:
Enhancing efficiency and productivity of business operations with minimum investment
Making revenue streams and new business model
Helping better data analysis of soil to increase production
Providing good automation and control with easy to use technology
Obtaining data-driven results from IoT information
Saving time and money by automating the manual tasks
Improving the productivity and quality of life
Effortlessly connecting the physical world around us with the digital world
Drastically improving patient data analysis helping doctors make intelligent decisions
Brief History Of The Internet Of Things
Over the past few years, we have witnessed tremendous growth in IoT. But how did we reach there? It ages back to the year 1964 when Carl Steinberg, a German computer scientist, said… “In a few decades, computers will be interwoven into almost every industrial product.”
It was a big statement at that time when computer technology was not so advanced. It took almost 25 years to invent the first IoT device in the year 1990 when John Romkey created a toaster, the first IoT device ever, which can be controlled over the internet.
In the following year, a group of students at the Carnegie Melon University had developed a Coca-Cola vending machine with micro-switches over the internet to monitor the availability of coke bottles and identify which columns in the vending machine had the most chilled coke.
Know that, experts were using IoT applications long before the term IoT has been introduced. The term IoT was first coined by Kevin Ashton, a British Technology Pioneer, in the year 1999, although it further took almost 10-years for the IoT technology to resonate with the thought.
The breakthrough of IoT technology, however, was occurred in the year 2008, 09 when more things were connected through the internet than the human beings on this planet earth.
2. IoT Devices in Real World
Anything that can connect through the internet falls under IoT technology. So the IoT unit is a device that collects information using sensors and actuators from the surrounding and sends this captured information to the internet for the processing of that data.
An IoT device can be as small as the size of the pill and as large as the gigantic industrial machinery given that both are connected through the internet. It means even we humans can become a part of IoT if we’re connected through the internet.
Typically, IoT devices use machine learning and AI to automate processes and systems including medical equipment, industrial manufacturing, agriculture, and more.
It normally takes two things to convert any device into an IoT device:
The device can be connected to the internet.
The device can be incorporated with sensors and functional software that can communicate with the network.
When these two properties are added together into one device, they generate an IoT device. The following list is documented with IoT devices that you can buy and experience by yourself.
1. Google Home Voice Controller
Priced at $130, the Google Home voice controller is an IoT device that works on your voice commands. It comes with remarkable features including a thermostat, alarm, media, and more which you can control using your voice.
Using this device, you can plan your day by managing alarms and timers. Moreover, you can control the home lights – doesn’t matter if you’re at home or miles away.
2. Amazon Dash Button
Amazon dash button is an IoT device that makes your life easy and simple. When you press the?button, the device uses a Wi-Fi signal to connect with the?Amazon?Shopping app.
This way you can instantly order the items which have already been included in the cart.
Be careful while placing your new order, because you cannot place a new order until the previous order is delivered.
3. Amazon Echo Plus Voice Controller
Amazon voice controller is another IoT device that you can purchase for only $99.99. It can do a lot of functions like ask questions, set timers, and alarms, do phone calls, play songs, manage home instruments, check the weather, and more.
Now, you can do messaging and phone calls just by your voice commands. It features a sound canceling mechanism, helping you deliver your voice message even if the songs are being played.
4. August Doorbell Cam
August Doorbell Cam is a tremendous addition to IoT technology. Using this device, you can answer the person standing at your door. You can do it from anywhere inside the house or from a remote location.
With this device, you also get August Smart Locks which allow entry to only authorized persons to your house. The device is incorporated with a floodlight that ensures video in full-color HD print.
5. WeMo Light Switch
WeMo smart light switch is a reliable and innovative IoT device. It helps you control your home lights from your voice or by using your cell phone. It features a WiFi reset, WiFi indicator, and easy on/off push button.
Compact and easy to install, the WeMo light switch is easily integrated with your home WiFi network, giving wireless access to your home lights.
3. IoT Communication Protocol
Still, reading? Perfect. Hope you’ve got a brief insight into what is IoT. In this section, we’ll cover 7 communication protocols of IoT technology.
Let’s get started.
1. Bluetooth
Mostly used in wearable products, Bluetooth is a short-range IoT communication protocol. It is a wireless technology mainly used to layout the connection between devices without physical interference.
Bluetooth can connect two devices up to 164 feet apart because it uses radio waves with frequencies ranging between 2.400 and 2.485 GHz.
An IoT device must include a microprocessor to manage Bluetooth and a second device to interface with it. Two different versions of Bluetooth are normally used for IoT devices that are Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Bluetooth Classic – mainly developed for devices that run on low levels of power.
2. Zigbee
Zigbee is a wireless technology, similar to Bluetooth, mainly introduced to deal with lower-power low-cost IoT networks.
It is also deployed for radio-frequency applications in industrial and commercial settings where secure-networking and long battery life are required. It can support different network topologies and features a low-duty cycle.
3. WiFi
WiFi is the most common IoT communication protocol. It is a wireless technology that gives the freedom to use the internet from anywhere within the range of WiFi signals.
A wireless router is used to develop the connection with the devices. The 802.11ax is the newly introduced WiFi standard in 2019 that determines how your WiFi network behaves like the speed of the data transfer and the frequency used.
4. Z-Wave
Z-wave is the wireless technology that operates on low power and doesn’t interfere with your WiFi network.
Using this technology, you can connect your smart devices with the internet and control them from the distance. It uses low-energy radio waves, giving you wireless control over home appliances.
5. Cellular
For long-range communication, cellular technologies can be used for IoT networks like GSM, and 3G/4G. Companies are working to integrate 5G in their cellular devices that ensure a faster network with more capacity.
The?5G?technology works on improving the frequencies on which cellular technologies will transfer information.
6. LoraWAN
The?LoRaWAN is a wide area (LPWA) and low power networking protocol introduced to connect battery-operated 'things' wirelessly to the internet.
The transmit range of this network is more than 10km, typically ranges between 15 to 20Km.
7. NFC
NFC stands for Near Field Communication, is a low data rate, short-range IoT technology that allows safe and secure communication between IoT devices.
Again, this technology uses a radio frequency field with a frequency of 13.56 MHz. NFC technology?is mainly introduced to exchange information between two electronic devices by using a simple touch gesture.
4. How big is IoT?
The IoT technology is not limited to smartphones and laptops only. It is slowly and steadily sneaking into almost every field of our regular life including healthcare, smart cities, connected cars, smart homes, connected wearables, and whatnot.
The number of connected devices is increasing every day, paving a way for a fully automated world in near future. IoT devices are connecting our physical world with the digital world, improving the productivity and quality of our life.
According to?techjury, almost 35 billion devices will be installed throughout the world by 2021. Smart units like smart refrigerators and thermostats are the most searched topics on Google nowadays and are planning to give us never seen before experience.
IDC, Tech Analyst Company, has estimated that almost 41.6 billion IoT devices will be connected by 2025. According to a Cisco report, IoT technology is going to produce $14.4 trillion in the next decade across all industries. Yes, you’ve guessed it right, IoT will bring a change, nobody can imagine..