Connect it with IoT!

 Internet of Things (IoT) is something that gives machines the ability to communicate with each other.

What is IoT?

IoT is a giant network of connected devices. These devices gather and share data about how they are used and the environment in which they are operated. Sensors play an important part in the working of it. It is embedded in every physical device. 

Therein, it provides a common platform for these devices to dump their data and a common language for all these devices to communicate with each other.  

The common platform receives this data, performs a few analyses, and valuable information is extracted as per requirement.

What all can IOT be called as IoT devices?

Literally, everything can be transformed into an IoT device from the socks that we wear to any large machine that can be transformed into an IoT device, the only prerequisite being that it should be connected to the internet so that we control it or to access any information from it.

How IoT works?

An IoT system is an integration of four distinct components - 

1. Sensors/devices - The sensors or devices are the initiators. The role is to collect data from the environment. This data can vary from as simple as temperature reading provided by a glass thermometer to as complex as a video feed by a camera. This system can be integrated with many sensors and many devices too.

2. Connectivity - The data collected by the devices now needs to be sent to the cloud, and that can be done on the internet. The devices can be connected with the cloud in various ways such as -  satellite, cellular, WiFi, low-power-wide-area networks(LPWAN), Bluetooth, or through an ethernet cable. Faster the internet, faster is the connectivity between the device and cloud, and hence faster is the connectivity between the devices.

3. Data Processing - The data sent by the devices, is received by the cloud, which is responsible for the processing of the data. Data processing refers to the analysis of data received and making inferences from the data. This can vary from as simple as checking whether the temperature reading is within the acceptable range, to as complex as, analyzing for any intruders in your house using a video feed by a camera.        

4. User Interface - The inferences got by data processing are passed to the end-user in some way. This can be alerting the user through text/ email/notification, etc. The notification can be something like the temperature of the room is too low or it can be an alert message that intruders in your house.        

What all can IoT do?

From air conditioners that you can control with your smartphone to smart cars providing the shortest route or your smartwatch which is tracking your daily activity, everything is IoT.

That was something that it could do in brief, but in large it can do something like - 

1. Keep track of employee fatigue level (eg - cat smartband)

2. Predict any failure in a machine (eg - Augury)

3. Integrate with AI apps to make it more effective (eg - Graphcore)

4. Keep track of any intruders from entering your house (eg - Smartfrog)

5. Give customers personalized traveling and shopping experiences (eg - Blue sense Networks)

6. Smart homes (eg - Alexa)

What are the benefits of IoT?

• It can improve the supply chain management system
• Analyze the data better and hence can get you many kinds of stuff personalized
• Increase profitability
• Reach your destination faster and safer
• Save time
• Minimize human effort

What are the risks involved with implementing IoT?

• There are mainly three concerns with implementing IoT, these are-
• Privacy - The IoT system provides little security measures and it can lead to various kinds of network attacks.
• Security - If someone can hack into one of your IoT devices, hacking your system won't be that difficult task then.
• Complexity - The designing part, the development part, and the maintenance part of the IoT system are complicated and hard to achieve. 

Why is it in trend?

The main reason for IoT being in trend is that it can do things on a single click and we can access it from anywhere with the help of the internet. 

IoT is redefining our lifestyle and transforming the way we interact with technologies.