During the last years, the Internet has become an indispensable part of every sphere in our lives. It has progressed to such an extent that objects, that should not be communicating are gifted with such ability. Plants, pets, vehicles, keys, even clothing can now be easily connected and kept track of. Until recently, people haven’t even come across the term of Internet of Things. So, basically, what stands behind IoT?
The Notion of IoT
IoT or, in other words, Internet of Things defines a wide range of objects connected to the Internet and capable of transmitting information between each other. All the beauty of IoT devices is that it does not require human interference in order to communicate. More than that, it’s not only about objects communicating with one another, but also about giving businesses and companies a growth boost as well as making people’s lives easier.
IoT makes it possible for our environment to know us. That is one more exceptional feature of a new invention. Smart objects manage to recognize you and remember you. Probably, IoT technology has not gone so far yet, but imagine that a room, where you’ve never been before, is capable of controlling temperature and adjusting it to your body temperature. The same with the light, which is brightening up or down. Or, for example, it can keep a close watch on your favourite music and turn it on or off whenever you tell it to.
Today, IoT is is gaining momentum by constantly entering new industries. Whether it’s healthcare, manufacturing, retail etc. The following statistics presented by iPropertyManagement shows IoT popularity has no limits and possibilities for IoT implementation are endless.
According to McKinsey&Company, every second, 127 new IoT devices are being connected to the Internet. Taking into account that by 2025, more than 75 billions of objects will be able to communicate data and information, another thing may be worth paying attention to. The point at issue is the security of data. Software engineers should be highly skilled in order to develop robust systems immune to hacker’s attacks.
Let’s dive deeper into each industry and see what interesting we can discover.
IoT in Manufacturing
The manufacturing sector turns out to be the one that implements IoT devices at a dizzying speed. Rumors have it, that more than 80% of manufacturers are making use of IoT devices or are planning to start using them. Smart devices not only facilitate the performance of automated tasks, but also boost the economy of companies and allow people to do their work faster and more efficiently. Generally, manufacturers tend to pile into optimization of the main and the most important manufacturing processes, which will allow increasing the productivity of companies. That is obviously not a cheap enjoyment, however, company owners are now ready to spend sums of money for research and development of smart devices, which later will become a real boon for their company. From then on, by 2025, companies could pour into IoT about $15 Trillion.
IoT in Healthcare
Healthcare industry is one more area where IoT is being regularly implemented. Healthcare sector has already experienced the benefits of connected devices. With the IoT disclosure, medical professionals now manage to maintain record-cases of their patients and have access to those patients in distant and urban areas., while the latter ones can perform their routine tests and send real-time test results. It has also enabled Electronic Healthcare Records, a digital storage place for patients records, cases and data, that can be accessed by doctors or nurses, or any other medical professionals associated with the patient.
IoT in Retail
Retail sector is not lagging behind. Nowadays, smart devices are used both by the famous supply chain and small retails. One of the most common way to keep customers aware of possible promotions and discounts through Bluetooth-beacons This means, that when a customer enters your shop or store, they immediately receive a personalized notification or discount message. That is, by the way, one of the most effective strategies for shopping malls when it comes to turning random visitors into potential customers.
We are also taking advantage of IoT in retail by tracking our purchased items on their delivery way. GPS technology along with other sensors enables location monitoring and lets you stay informed about conditions, in which your item is being delivered or stored.
IoT Toolkit
All the magic would not be possible without the following technologies and tools that make objects smart:
- LoRa and LoRaWAN
Low power wide area network, or LPWAN, is a technology, which with the help of sensors enables a wireless communication between connected objects. LoRa, in itself, presents technology platform for IoT objects developed by Cycleo of Grenoble in France in 2012. LoRaWAN serves as an open source protocol for wireless communication, invented by LoRa Alliance for dealing with issues concerning battery lifetime, network performance, data security, and power consumption.
- AWS IoT
It goes without saying, that communication between devices generates huge loads of data. AWS IoT gives smart objects access to AWS cloud, where the information can be stored and interchanged via sensors and actuators responsible for that. More than that, you receive an opportunity to create apps that would provide a means of controlling these objects with the help of your phone or tablet.
- Raspberry PI
Raspberry PI, a device invented by Raspberry PI Foundation, has become a thing in the world of IoT. It is a small card-like computer that functions just as a traditional PC. In order to learn its functionality, you will need a keyboard for command entry, a display and electrical feeding. Besides its affordable price, there is also a number of advantages singled out by IT professionals:
- Enough storage for huge loads of working data and writing code;
- Allows coding in Python, C, C++ and operating it in various ways depending on your needs;
- Having connected to LAN adapter, it gives an opportunity to communicate with network devices;
- Flexibility: it can be expanded with different numbers of hardware peripherals;
- Can be operated from a wide range of Linux distributions.
All in all, it is worth mentioning, that this list is not complete and contains the main benefits. Just remember that the needs of each developer vary, so which is a benefit for one person, can turn out to be a disadvantage for another one.
CONCLUSION
We are living in the era of digitalisation, where the objects and devices become smarter and smarter every day. In 2011, Hannover Messe also called this period as The Fourth Industrial Revolution or, to put it simply, Industry 4.0, where there is no division between physical and virtual worlds.
The number of disconnected objects is growing smaller each day, meaning that, finally, people are starting to realize the opportunities that can be brought in their lives by smart devices. Smart devices, smart automobiles, smart machines and smart objects are capturing the world, building a whole new social landscape.