Introduction

In the past few decades, lightbulbs, refrigerators, coffee makers, microwave ovens, baby monitors, security cameras, speakers, televisions, and thermostats have evolved from ordinary objects to conduits for the future. Powered by sensors that detect, hear, and touch the world around them, they can convert physical data into digital information. These devices, which number in the billions around the world, form the "internet of things."

Almost anything that is connected to a network is part of the internet of things. With the smart home, these internet-enabled gadgets free us from chores, give us back some time, and add a dash of novelty to ordinary life. (“Alexa, turn on the disco lights.”) But the internet of things is about more than just using your voice to preheat the oven or using your phone to turn off the lights. By placing sensors on everything in the world, the internet of things promises to make our physical environment accessible to our computers. From consumer behaviour to climate events, internet-connected objects could unlock predictions, but they could also invite hackers into personal spaces and leak confidential data. Depending on whom you ask, the growing internet of things either promises to revolutionise modern life or will cause its demise.

What is the Internet of Things?

In a nutshell, the Internet of Things is the concept of connecting any device to the Internet and other connected devices. These devices can collect data, store data, or share data over their connections—and this can only be accessed by other smart things.

That includes an extraordinary number of objects of all shapes and sizes – from smart microwaves, which automatically cook your food for the right length of time, to self-driving cars, whose complex sensors detect objects in their path, to wearable fitness devices that measure your heart rate and the number of steps you’ve taken that day, then use that information to suggest exercise plans tailored to you. You may already own a device like this—a smartphone, smart TV, tablet, connected cars, and smart garage door openers. Through the Internet of Things, your smart devices might communicate with devices outside of your home as well.

How does it work?

Smart devices and objects connect to the Internet of Things platforms, which integrate data from various devices and apply analytics to share the most valuable information with apps built specifically for them.

These powerful IoT platforms can pinpoint exactly what information is useful and what can safely be ignored. Patterns can be detected, recommendations made, and potential problems can be detected before they occur using this information.

For example, if I own a car manufacturing business, I might want to know which optional components (leather seats or alloy wheels, for example) are the most popular. Using Internet of Things technology, I can:

• Use sensors to detect which areas in a showroom are the most popular, and where customers linger longest;
• Drill down into the available sales data to identify which components are selling fastest;
• Automatically align sales data with supply, so that popular items don’t go out of stock.

The information picked up by connected devices enables me to make smart decisions about which components to stock up on, based on real-time information, which helps me save time and money.

What technologies have made IoT possible?

While the idea of IoT has been in existence for a long time, a collection of recent advances in several different technologies has made it practical.

• Access to low-cost, low-power sensor technology: Increasing numbers of manufacturers are able to use IoT technology thanks to affordable and reliable sensors.
• Connectivity: A host of network protocols for the internet has made it easy to connect sensors to the cloud and other “things” for efficient data transfer.
• Cloud computing platforms: The increase in the availability of cloud platforms enables both businesses and consumers to access the infrastructure they need to scale up without actually having to manage it all.
• Machine learning and analytics: With advances in machine learning and analytics, along with access to varied and vast amounts of data stored in the cloud, businesses can gather insights faster and more easily. The emergence of these allied technologies continues to push the boundaries of IoT and the data produced by IoT also feeds these technologies.
• Conversational artificial intelligence (AI): Advances in neural networks have brought natural-language processing (NLP) to IoT devices (such as digital personal assistants Alexa, Cortana, and Siri) and made them appealing, affordable, and viable for home use.

Pros of Internet of Things

If you have home internet service, you can benefit from having connected smart devices in your home in several ways.

Run Your Household from Anywhere

A smart refrigerator might notify you that your milk is going to spoil so you buy more before you come home from work. A video doorbell can allow you to talk to visitors while you’re not at home. You can schedule a smart coffee maker to brew fresh coffee so your cup of joe is ready for you before you leave the house.

Improve Your Home Security

Security cameras, smart locks, motion sensors, and smoke detectors are some smart devices that can connect to your home Internet, but they can also be wirelessly paired to work together. If one of your home’s motion sensors is triggered while you’re away, the sensor can notify the security camera that motion has been detected, and the security camera can turn on and start recording. You might receive a notification on your smartphone that a motion has been detected, and the notification can include live video footage showing the area where the motion was detected.

Save Money and Energy

You can save money on your gas, electric, and light bills using smart devices connected to the Internet of Things. The data collected by IoT-connected devices tracks how much you use different types of energy in your home. If you forget to turn off the heat before you leave for work, a smart thermostat can help you—it will collect data from the city’s weather system as well as your use patterns and adjust your home’s temperature accordingly. If your home’s smart motion sensors haven’t detected any movement in a while, your smart lights can turn off automatically.

Cons of the Internet of Things

Although there are benefits to using smart devices in your home, there are also some precautions you should take and considerations to make before connecting.

Compatibility Issues

All your IoT-connected devices might not be compatible with each other. Smart devices must be able to share data. Use Microsoft Defender for IoT to manage the devices in your home. Before you buy an IoT smart device, check the product label or the manufacturer’s website to ensure that it’s compatible with the other smart devices you own.

Requires an Internet Connection

Your home Internet service can disconnect. All smart devices stay connected to the Internet, allowing them to communicate with each other, send you notifications, and collect data from other smart devices via the IoT. If your home Internet connection drops, so does the connection between your smart devices. Make sure you sign up for a home Internet service that provides fast, reliable speeds.

Expensive to Install and Maintain

Installing and maintaining IoT-connected devices can be expensive. Smart devices aren’t cheap, and the cost of having a certified technician install and program your smart device (if you can’t or don’t want to do it yourself) can vary as well. If any of your smart devices need to be fixed or replaced, you might have to pay for installation and programming again. You can help extend the life of your smart devices by keeping them updated with the latest software. Consider buying an additional warranty for your smart device if the manufacturer offers one.

What is Industrial IoT?

Industrial IoT (IIoT) refers to the application of IoT technology in industrial settings, particularly how devices and sensors interact with cloud technologies. Using machine-to-machine communication (M2M), industries have achieved wireless automation and control. But with the emergence of cloud and allied technologies (such as analytics and machine learning), industries can achieve a new automation layer and with it create new revenue and business models. In some circles, IIoT is referred to as Industry 4.0, the fourth wave of the industrial revolution. The following are some common uses for IIoT:

• Smart Manufacturing
• Connected assets and preventive and predictive maintenance
• Smart power grids
• Smart cities
• Connected logistics
• Smart digital supply chains

What industries can benefit from IoT?

Organizations best suited for IoT are those that would benefit from using sensor devices in their business processes.

Manufacturing

Manufacturers can gain a competitive advantage by using production-line monitoring to enable proactive maintenance of equipment when sensors detect an impending failure. Sensors can measure when production output is compromised. With the help of sensor alerts, manufacturers can quickly check equipment for the accuracy or remove it from production until it is repaired. This allows companies to reduce operating costs, get better uptime, and improve asset performance management.

Automotive

The automotive industry stands to realize significant advantages from the use of IoT applications. In addition to the benefits of applying IoT to production lines, sensors can detect impending equipment failure in vehicles already on the road and can alert the driver with details and recommendations. Thanks to aggregated information gathered by IoT-based applications, automotive manufacturers and suppliers can learn more about how to keep cars running and car owners informed.

Transportation and Logistics

Transportation and logistical systems benefit from a variety of IoT applications. Fleets of cars, trucks, ships and trains that carry inventory can be rerouted based on weather conditions, vehicle availability, or driver availability, thanks to IoT sensor data. The inventory itself could also be equipped with sensors for track-and-trace and temperature-control monitoring. The food and beverage, flower, and pharmaceutical industries often carry temperature-sensitive inventory that would benefit greatly from IoT monitoring applications that send alerts when temperatures rise or fall to a level that threatens the product.

Retail

IoT applications allow retail companies to manage inventory, improve customer experience, optimize the supply chain, and reduce operational costs. For example, smart shelves fitted with weight sensors can collect RFID-based information and send the data to the IoT platform to automatically monitor inventory and trigger alerts if items are running low. Beacons can push targeted offers and promotions to customers to provide an engaging experience.

Public Sector

The benefits of IoT in the public sector and other service-related environments are similarly wide-ranging. For example, government-owned utilities can use IoT-based applications to notify their users of mass outages and even smaller interruptions of water, power, or sewer services. IoT applications can collect data concerning the scope of an outage and deploy resources to help utilities recover from outages with greater speed.

Healthcare

IoT asset monitoring provides multiple benefits to the healthcare industry. Doctors, nurses, and orderlies often need to know the exact location of patient-assistance assets such as wheelchairs. When a hospital’s wheelchairs are equipped with IoT sensors, they can be tracked from the IoT asset-monitoring application so that anyone looking for one can quickly find the nearest available wheelchair. Many hospital assets can be tracked this way to ensure proper usage as well as financial accounting for the physical assets in each department.

General Safety Across All Industries

In addition to tracking physical assets, IoT can be used to improve worker safety. Employees in hazardous environments such as mines, oil and gas fields, and chemical and power plants, for example, need to know about the occurrence of a hazardous event that might affect them. When they are connected to IoT sensor-based applications, they can be notified of accidents or rescued from them as swiftly as possible. IoT applications are also used for wearables that can monitor human health and environmental conditions. Not only do these types of applications help people better understand their health, but they also permit physicians to monitor patients remotely.

The Future of the Internet of Things

One day, the internet of things will become the internet of everything. The objects in our world might sense and react to us individually all the time so that a smart thermostat automatically adjusts based on your body temperature or the house automatically locks itself when you get into bed. Your clothes might come with connected sensors, too, so that the things around you can respond to your movements in real-time. That’s already starting to happen: In 2017, Google announced Project Jacquard, an effort to create the connected wardrobe of the future.

In 2018, there were 23 billion connected devices, according to market data from Statista. By 2025, forecasters believe there will be more than 75 billion. It's partly a result of people becoming more comfortable with a living room device that collects data constantly. In addition, it comes from product makers creating new ways to connect to the internet. This vision extends far beyond your home, and even your clothes. You’ll also have smart offices, smart buildings, and smart cities. Sensors in smart hospitals will monitor doctors' hand washing, and airborne sensors will help predict natural disasters such as mudslides. In the future, autonomous vehicles will be connected to the internet and will drive on roads dotted with sensors. Governments will manage the demands on their energy grids by tracking household energy consumption through the internet of things. In the future, internet of things could also lead to new kinds of cyberwarfare; imagine a bad actor hacking into pacemakers, insulin pumps, or smart thermostats.

If we’re going to get there—whether we like “there” or not—we’re going to need faster internet. Enter: 5G. Crazy-fast internet speeds have long been overpromised and undelivered, but these days, you can see real 5G if you squint. In 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic sent daily work and life into cyberspace, the FCC accelerated its timeline for improving existing internet infrastructure. That could have happy consequences for remote work and school but might also speed up the possibilities for other internet-enabled devices. Even without 5G, the internet of things supported health care this year. Researchers used the GPS in mobile phones to track the spread of the virus, public health workers used sensors to monitor patients under quarantine, and doctors used internet-connected devices, like drones and robots, to deliver drugs and check on patients without risking contact.

We’ll also need to keep all those devices from mucking up the airwaves, and we’ll need to find a better way to secure the data that’s transmitted across those airwaves. Recently, the Swiss cryptography firm Teserakt introduced an idea for a cryptographic implant for IoT devices, which would protect the data that streams from these devices.

There are also ideas for creating a better standard for IoT devices and plans to help them get along with each other, regardless of which company makes them or which voice assistant lives inside. However the internet of things changes the future, first, they just need to work. Hey Alexa, can you help with that?