IoT: What is the Internet of Things?
Ever since its creation, the internet has had a huge impact on the way we live our lives. It has allowed us to accomplish things that were thought to be impossible for most of human history. The internet provides access to an almost endless amount of information, instantaneous communication with anyone across the globe, and so much more. Having access to the internet expands the percentage of the world that you have access to; it allows you to transcend the boundaries of your physical location. At first internet connectivity was limited to desktop computers with a wired connection and no portability. After the release of wifi to the public in 1999 and the increasing popularity of laptops, the internet started to gain some portability but internet speeds were still slow. Over time internet speeds went up and computers started getting smaller and faster. This eventually lead to internet access on cell phones, which allows you to access the internet wirelessly almost everywhere you go. We are now moving on to the next stage in the evolution of the internet, known as the Internet of Things. So what is the Internet of Things?
After getting to the point where the devices we use to connect to the internet are sufficiently fast and portable, we have shifted our focus to other things that could benefit from an internet connection. According to Wikipedia the Internet of Things is, “a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.” In other words the Internet of Things involves connecting things that aren’t typically thought of as internet devices to the internet, such as a car or a thermostat. These connected devices can be synced together and controlled in one spot with a smart phone or smart speakers. The lack of requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction makes the Internet of Things very powerful and incredibly convenient. There are currently over 26 billion Internet of Things connected devices and the number of devices is expected to surpass 75 billion by 2025. In 2016 the total amount spent on the Internet of Things around the world was $737 billion and the total market worth right now is over $1.7 trillion.
One of the largest current examples of the Internet of Things are cars. In 2016 there were more cars connected to cell towers than cell phones in the US, which is incredible considering that 84% of the US population had cell phones during that time. The IoT system in cars is used for many different things. One of the most important areas where IoT plays a role is in safety. A lot of new cars now come with driving assistance known as ADAS (Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems) which includes things like lane departure warnings and collision warnings to avoid accidents and keep the driver safe. Many cars can also use the Internet of Things to send a request for help if the driver does get into an accident. Self driving cars by themselves can be considered a large Internet of Things device, but they also use IoT to communicate with other vehicles and things around it. As more and more cars are autonomous and connected to the Internet of Things, a huge percentage of accidents can be avoided. Cars also use the Internet of Things for things like predictive maintenance and even finding parking spots.
The Internet of things doesn’t stop at cars, there are an ever-increasing number of internet connected devices. One of the places where people are seeing the most benefit from the Internet of Things is in their home. The current estimation of “smart homes” in the United States is 144 million. Now there are Internet of Things versions of the majority of house appliances, and many other devices that control different parts of a house and allow for automation and convenience. The types of Internet of Things home devices can be broken down into six categories; control and connectivity, entertainment, appliances, lighting, security, and energy management. Some traditional appliances that are being replaced by smart appliances include thermostats that can track usage and change the temperature depending on the number of people in the house, lights that can be set on a schedule and change color, garage doors that will automatically open and close, and doorbells with video that allow you to see and talk with the person at the door. These devices can all be synced up and controlled from your smart phone, or from a smart speaker like a Google Home or an Amazon Echo. These Internet of Things smart speakers allow you to control all of your connected devices by voice for ultimate convenience.
Another area that is being impacted by the Internet of Things is health care. Many people now use Internet of Things connected devices to monitor different aspects of their health. Devices such as wrist bands and watches can monitor your heart rate, blood pressure, number of steps, sleep quality, and many more health metrics. There are also many specialized health devices that use the Internet of Things to monitor or help treat various conditions and illnesses. For example, there are CPAP machines for people suffering from sleep apnea that use the Internet of Things to upload information straight to the doctor. Some doctors have started using Internet of Things devices for Remote Patient Monitoring, allowing patients to be monitored for many different things without having to physically go to the doctor. Emergency notification necklaces and bracelets are used by elderly and fall prone people to send a signal for help. Hospitals are using the Internet of Things to keep track of their equipment, Smart beds to monitor if patients fall or try to get up, and even hygiene monitoring devices to cut down on the risk of infection.
The Internet of Things is also playing a big role in business. Many companies are turning to the Internet of Things to improve their services and increase efficiency. Surveys of companies that use the Internet of Things show that 44% use it to reduce overall costs, 30% to grow revenues from existing products/customers, 37% to improve business process, 33% to improve employee productivity, 30% to improve customer or citizen experience, and 33% to increase competitiveness. Overall the Internet of Things will allow businesses to make more money and collect more information about their product and customers. The Internet of Things is literally changing the way that businesses make products and what products they will make. Now almost everything is being built with WiFi or some sort of internet connectivity.
The Internet of things is incredibly convenient and has the ability to free up a lot of peoples time and make things more efficient, but there is also a negative side to consider. One of the biggest concerns about the Internet of Things is privacy. The Internet of Things connects many devices to the internet that contain large amounts of personal information. Many smart devices in peoples home have audio and video, as well as personal information from things like activity trackers. The Internet of Things gives people with malicious intent the potential to access all of the information collected by these devices. These devices also pose a potential risk for peoples physical safety. As the Internet of Things controls a larger and larger number of physical objects, the potential for a bug in a program to have real world consequences increases. For example, a device that controls a door lock could unlock a door that should be locked, or a thermometer could turn off the heat at night when it’s freezing. Another issue facing the Internet of Things is the lack of standards across the ecosystem. There are many different Internet of Things devices made by many companies, and a lot of them use different technologies and are built on different platforms. This makes it very difficult for developers to design applications that work across devices and make it more difficult to make these devices secure.
The Internet of Things, like most technological advancements, is a double edged sword. It gives us access to a level of automation and convenience that was never thought to be possible, but simultaneously opens up serious privacy and safety concerns. The number of these devices and the things that they are able to control is expanding rapidly, and the dangers of them must be taken seriously if we want to avoid potential problems. If we are not careful the convenience provided by these devices can end up coming at a cost, but if the risks are avoided they can change our lives in amazing ways. No matter what your opinion is on the Internet of Things, it doesn’t look like it’s leaving any time soon.
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