What Is The Internet of Things (IOT)
And how it can improve your life
Over the past few years, there has been a lot of encouraging news surrounding the Internet of Things (IoT). Many people and companies see this area as a great opportunity for new innovation, investment and manufacturing.
Some e-shops already offer products based on the IoT concept (see smart washing machines, TVs, watches, alarms, etc.). We often hear that it is the most advanced technological concept of the last decades, and has the potential to change the fundamental way we manage our work and life.
We hear about this new era of “connectivity” in almost any context — smart homes, smart cars, smart devices and even smart businesses and cities. Judging by current developments and forecasts, it is unlikely that any area of our working or personal lives will remain untouched by these advances in the future. But what is actually meant by ‘connected’?
The English term “connected experience” sums it up well. This concept puts the modern consumer face to face with the unprecedented convenience and benefits of living with smart technology with its own internet connection (“smarter living”).
Thanks to the various technology fairs and the media, which frequently write about IoT, the general public is being educated more quickly, and general awareness of IoT is being built.
As a result, consumer expectations are rising, putting technology innovators under increasing pressure to meet their growing demands. The interplay between demand and supply is leading to the long-term and dynamic growth of the IoT market.
Forbes magazine predicts it will reach a volume of $267 billion in 2020. Let’s take a brief look at a few IoT trends that are already impacting our daily lives.
Smart electronics
Previously, consumers were used to having their smartphones equipped with internet, while today, they already require internet connectivity on every device they use. Televisions, refrigerators, speakers, thermostats, home security systems, anything you can think of.
Electronics manufacturers understandably want to capitalize on this interest, so they are putting on sale devices that we have known and used for a long time but are now equipped with a network chip and software that allows them to communicate over the Internet. The age of the Internet is thus pushing its boundaries once again.
Intelligent healthcare
In the context of smart electronics, the rise of so-called wearables for health or fitness purposes cannot be overlooked. These devices, which take the form of watches, bracelets or headbands, can monitor your vital signs such as heart rate, sleep cycle and calories burned.
They can then send this collected data to an app to evaluate your health or even directly to your treating doctor. The information gathered will help you decide when it’s time to rest after a hard workout or see a doctor if any readings are significantly out of the norm.
Smart homes
IoT is by no means limited to individual devices that are smart and connected. The same concept extends to entire homes. A smart home collects useful data and is equipped with many smart appliances in almost every room, from the kitchen to the living room, to the children’s room, and to the bathroom. Home equipment is accessible online and controllable via apps on a mobile phone, tablet or web browser.
Just enter your login details, and you can check whether you’ve forgotten to turn off the air conditioning or lock the garage when you leave. That is a big time saver compared to having to go back and check everything in person.
If the imagination of the manufacturers is creative enough (and it certainly will be), your home lighting can not only turn itself on when you open the front door but perhaps even select the appropriate colour scheme for the time of day. Meanwhile, the coffee machine is already heating the water for the coffee.
Smart cars
Many prototypes of automatically driven vehicles have already been produced and successfully tested. Manufacturers such as Tesla and Volvo have even committed to making such cars available to the general consumer.
A comprehensive network in which vehicles, drivers and different parts of the transport infrastructure communicate with each other promises not only to make the driving experience more enjoyable but should also help guide the development of this infrastructure, for example, in terms of traffic management and parking management.
Although not so long ago, self-driving cars were far from reality, today we can confidently say that they are part of today’s reality. However, we will certainly have to wait for widespread adoption, good affordability and the issue of safety to be resolved.
The smart city
Thinking big is possible in almost anything, so the idea was born not to limit ourselves to electronics, cars or houses, but to make the whole city smarter.
From the management of public services such as water, waste, electricity and gas to public administration such as public safety and transport. It should be added that governments and city councils are not turning their backs on such ideas.
Quite the contrary and many of them have already officially declared their long-term commitment to building smart cities. The smart city revolution will likely reach its inhabitants slowly and almost imperceptibly, as its primary goal is to use energy, materials and human resources more efficiently.
Smart agriculture
Increasing food production is the challenge of our time. The UN states that food production needs to increase by 60% to feed a growing population in 2050. This can be achieved by integrating the concept of smart technologies into agriculture.
Here, its primary role would be to help determine the right decisions supported by crop and weather data, monitor the status of crops in real-time and suggest optimisation of cultivation practices to achieve higher productivity.
Industry 4.0
This term is used to describe the future of manufacturing in the Internet of Things era. It is a way to make manufacturing and supply chains smart, agile, efficient and sustainable. In this paradigm, manufacturing resources such as machines and humans will communicate intelligently and be able to make proactive manufacturing decisions based on data inputs. One example is predictive machine maintenance, a great opportunity to reduce costs and enhance operational efficiency.
Connected devices
The concept of the Internet of Things (capitalized, it’s the name) is precisely expanding the possibilities of connectivity to systems and devices that are not primarily designed for human content creation and consumption (such as computers, tablets, and smartphones, which we think of as “traditional” Internet clients).
IoT connects many other devices and categories, from sensors and smart terminals to appliances and machines. One definition of IoT says that it “makes dumb things smart”, which is meant to parallel terms used in connection with phones (“smartphones” and “dumbphones”).
Inaccurate, of course: no device becomes “smart” by itself by including a way to connect it to the Internet. Much more accurate is another term that appears in connection with IoT, namely “Connected devices” (meaning connected to the Internet).
A word in conclusion
IoT is becoming ubiquitous. It is designed to touch and change virtually every aspect of our lives. To make this truly feasible, it’s important to address not only the positives we’ve briefly outlined but especially the negatives, such as security concerns.
However, this sensitive issue must be addressed independently by any enterprise, regulator or government that wants to engage in IoT. The development of IoT has enabled the development of reliable networks, and electronic communications service providers.
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