What is Internet of Things aka IoT?
We are all familiar with the Web, I wish to presume because of course I am writing this on the web and you are reading this on the web. What all can we do in our daily lives using the Web? Knowledge sharing, information retrieval, raising complaints, data collection and surveys, learning, teaching, trading, buying, making money, cheating (I would be a liar if I would ignore this industry that is thriving very well because desperate, ignorant people seemingly waiting to be fooled exist everywhere to be exploited by immoral influencers that feast on people’s weaknesses), and so on!
Now, how does the web function? There are different channels everywhere online and one can share and access information either free of cost or by paying some amount that is expected. There are innumerable applications and websites, each with its own purpose, and we are currently in a place where having Internet connection and devices can no longer be considered “optional” but mandatory for an educated, middle-class person to go about their daily life.
Without a doubt, this was a massive boom in computer science and of course, all sectors. A company without a website was even considered a legit company in the 2000s? A middle-class city dweller without a smartphone and/or a social media account was even considered a “normal” person in the 2010s? You get the point.
Now, imagine machines and objects of all different types being connected to this world of Internet so that Internet will no longer be about just exchanging information between people but also among objects to actually get things done using machines, to read information and to act in ways we would like them to. This is “Internet of Things” (IoT) in a nutshell for you.
“The Internet of Things quite literally means “things” or “objects” that connect to the Internet and each other.” — Samuel Greengard
In simple words, you can say that IoT refers to a system of devices connected to one another digitally.
According to the “Internet of Things” research by CISCO, in 2014, the number of things interconnected was almost twice as much as the human population across the world!
Other Definitions for Internet of Things, IoT:
Is Alexa or Siri an Iot?
A beginner could confuse a device that uses modern day technology and big data for Internet of Things, but well, a device or object by itself cannot be called an “IoT”. One such device could be considered a part of IoT because IoT is a network of things.
“IoT is nothing but a network of objects and devices that are embedded with sensors, software, and communication modules that enable them to communicate with other similar devices using the Internet. Think of it as a network of smart devices powered by the Internet.” — Hyperlink InfoSystem
The Motivation Behind Internet of Things:
While possibilities are innumerable, why do we want IoT? Because IoT can realistically help us achieve all these:
- saving resources
- saving energy
- predicting threats and danger
- saving costs
- saving time
- reducing pollution
- easy detection of problems
and much more. Just like any other advancement in engineering and technology, the end goal, of course is to make human life much easier.
“IoT is not a “technology”. It is not something you can buy. It is not a platform; there is no IoT platform that you can acquire and implement. It is a new design language. It’s about sensing; it’s about actuation; it’s about control; it’s about connectivity; it’s about cloud; but it’s an enablement of an entirely new way of thinking.” — Sanjay Sarma
Components Required to Build IoT:
As much as we’d like to see any advanced technology as “magic”, no advancement constructed by humans is really magical, is it? What are required to build a typical Internet of Things system?
Sensors: Of course, “smart” anything is possible by machines or even animals and humans only because there are sensors that read information and share data. A sensor is a physical object that receives input and converts it into an output. The input could come in the form of voice or weight or pressure, and the output could be an electric signal. Sensors come in various types, which are built for many different purposes.
Data: Of course, what is the point of using sensors? To collect information. The purpose of Internet itself is to exchange information through connection.
Other than these, one would require actuators, communication protocols, like LoRaWAN for example, and network protocols. (Evidently, for all this to work, you need Internet — good quality Internet! :P)
Experts believe that various factors such as the availability of low-cost and high-powered technology required like efficient sensors, cloud connectivity for storing and accessing the required data, analytics of big data, and good connectivity protocols, and continuous advancements in artificial intelligence all coming together help us realize our IoT goals.
According to Samuel Greengard, “For instance, the Z-Wave wireless
communications platform uses low-power radio frequency waves in the 900 Megahertz range to connect electronic devices, including lighting, access controls, thermostats, security devices, smoke alarms, and appliances. It is optimized for low latency and high reliability, which means it provides dependable and persistent connections between devices.”
IoT in Our Daily Lives:
One of the simplest examples of IoT in the life of a middle-class citizen in a developing or developed country could be the smart watch. Who uses old watches these days? No offense to watch-makers or watch-lovers, but that product is slowly becoming antique! Your smartphone and your smartwatch together form a small Internet of Things by themselves. If they are connected, even when you are away from your phone, you could get required notifications and calls on your smartwatch. And not just that, you also get other information such as weather report for the day, sports scores, and some health, physical activity, and fitness measurements.
“To me, a motor vehicle built in the last 30 years is really its own little Internet of Things because it’s a network of sensors and actuators.” — Jeff Baer
Another simple example could be a bluetooth speaker you would use at home to play your favourite songs. While you can make the choice and do the controlling on one device, the song gets played by the speaker when these two devices are connected by bluetooth.
More Sophisticated Products and Services of IoT:
While the above examples can be considered simple examples of IoT in action, there are some other IoT products and services that are more sophisticated and complex in nature.
Consider this health-monitoring system, particularly sleep-monitoring system for new-born and pre-mature babies used in Singapore, by OSPICON. This is a sleeping mat for babies, which senses pressure based on a baby’s movements and non-movements to indicate how well or not a baby sleeps, which shows how healthy or not a child is. The data collected is shared with parents through an application connected with this mat.
Large-Scale IoT:
Several cities around the world are growing up to become “smart cities”. Some of the common features or goals of smart cities are having smart street lights or public lights, reducing traffic, making parking easier, going cashless, having smart waste management systems, etc.
Internet of Things in India:
“In 2015, the Government of India had formulated a Draft IoT Policy with a vision to develop connected and smart IoT based system for our country’s economy, society, environment and global needs. This Policy launched a Smart City project, with a plan of developing 100 smart cities in the country, by allocating INR 7,060 crores for the same. In continuation of this endeavor, the launch of the Digital India Program aims to transform the Indian society into a digitally empowered society and boost the IoT industry. The proposed smart cities shall consist of smart homes, smart parking, smart phone detection, smart transportation, smart roads and smart lighting.” 1
That is the plan, yes, but how close are we to achieving the goal? That is a different story. If you would like to read a critical article about the same, do check this out.
But that does not stop private companies from creating Internet-of-things-based innovations in the country.
How does IoT interest you? What do you think the future would be like?
