An Introduction to The Internet of Things (IoT)

Avery Moorhead
Nov 2 · 4 min read

We might not realize it, but the Internet of Things (IoT) is everywhere. It’s in our houses, in our hospitals and even in our light bulbs.

IoT will make our lives easier and more convenient.

What if your home could sense the temperature outside and automatically heat or cool your house?

Or what if seniors had sensors that could track their heart rate and automatically call their families or their doctor if their heart rate got to a dangerously high level?

IoT is the technology of the future, and it is already being used today.

Today common IoT devices include smart speakers, thermostats, and home security systems.

In 2017 there were 8.4 billion IoT devices being used around the world, a 31% increase from the year before.

IoT is big and it is only getting bigger.

Source: https://www.networkworld.com/article/3234749/7-ways-iot-is-reshaping-the-internet.html

So what exactly is IoT?

First named by Kevin Ashton in 1999, IoT is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that have the ability to transfer data over a network (usually the internet) without human interaction.

How IoT works

Source: https://trackinno.com/2018/08/09/how-iot-works-part-4-user-interface/how-iot-works-summary-001/

There are four major components to an IOT system:

Sensors: First, sensors collect data from the environment. This data could be anything from a temperature sensor to a heart rate sensor.

Connectivity: The data collected by the sensors is then sent to the cloud through a gateway.

There are many kinds of gateways that can be used to send data to the cloud. These include Bluetooth, WiFi, low-power wide-area networks, cellular satellites or Ethernet.

Each specific IoT application will have a preferred method of connectivity depending on cost, range, power consumption, and bandwidth.

Data Processing:

The data is sent to the cloud. Now what?

Software is used to process and interpret the data. This can be anything from checking whether your heart rate is within an acceptable range to checking motion in a home to see if there is an intruder (and then automatically calling authorities).

User Interface:

Finally, the data is made useful to the user. Users can be sent a notification (via email, text, etc) from their IoT systems. For example, if the temperature in a company’s storage system is too low or high the company will be notified.

Depending on the application, users may also have an interface that allows them to check the data collected from the IoT devices. As well, users may also be able to perform an action and affect the system. For example, the temperature in the warehouse could be adjusted manually.

How IoT can benefit companies

IoT can make companies more efficient and help them gain a better understanding of their systems — in real-time!

IoT can help businesses:

  • Monitor their overall business processes
  • Save time and money
  • Enhance employee productivity
  • Make better business decisions
  • Generate more revenue

One common way that businesses currently use IoT is to track and manage their inventory. IoT enabled scanners are used to track the location of inventory as it moves to and from different facilities. This helps companies keep better track of their inventory, and free up time for workers to solve other problems within the company.

How IoT can benefit consumers

IoT can benefit consumers by interconnecting devices to make daily life easier and more efficient.

Current IoT devices available for consumers include smart door locks, refrigerators, thermostats, and irrigation controllers.

Current IoT devices available for consumers include door locks that you can control with your phone, refrigerators that will let you know when you are running low on certain foods, smart thermostats that will automatically control the temperature of your home, and smart irrigation controllers that will only switch on when needed.

Smart Door locks

One smart lock currently on the market is the August Smart lock.

This smart lock allows homeowners to have secure and keyless entry into their homes. From their phone, users can lock and unlock the door, keep track of when the door is opened and closed, and give access to anyone through their phone — for a few minutes or permanently.

Smart Thermostats

Nest Thermostat is an extremely popular smart thermostat.

Nest helps consumers save energy (and money) by adapting to their usage patterns. Nest will learn homeowners’ schedules to raise and lower the temperature based on their usage patterns and if they are home. The thermostat also connects to your phone so that you can remotely adjust the temperature.

Smart Sprinkler

Smart sprinklers such as Rachio’s Smart Sprinkler Controller can control your home sprinklers to reduce water waste.

Using data about your location, sun exposure, and type of vegetation, the sprinkler will determine an optimal watering schedule for your sprinklers. The sprinkler can also be adjusted to not water when it is raining, when the wind hits a certain speed, or when it is a certain temperature outside.

The possibilities of IoT are endless. IoT will revolutionize our homes and our offices by making them more efficient and reliable.

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