What is the Internet of Things (IoT)?

Remember the first connected network that introduced the IoT or Internet of things to the world? Well

Remember the first connected network that introduced the IoT or Internet of things to the world? Well, the evolution of Internet of things was paved at Carnegie Mellon University when the coke vending machine connected to the university ARPANET. That was in 1982, and this Tim Berners-Lee proposed IoT framework became a massive hit.

Cut to 2023, and we can see the healthcare, manufacturing, hospitality, finance, and agriculture industry embracing this technology. To note down the best examples of this technology, the list is all-ranging, starting from connected cars and smart homes to smart cities and everything in between. So, what do IoT revolutions look like in this 21st century?

IoT in This 21st Century and Why is it Important?

So, what is IoT? Or what is the Internet of things? An IoT system works through the real-time collection & exchange of data. But how do you define the term? Put simply, IoT or Internet of Things is the collective network of technologies and connected devices facilitating communication between the cloud and devices and between devices.

The inception of inexpensive computer chips & high-bandwidth telecommunication gave rise to this concept. In the 21st century, IoT, or Internet of things, is an innovative technology that helps connect devices such as vacuums, toothbrushes, machines, and cars using sensors to collect data & respond to users.

The main purpose of IoT is to integrate everyday "things" with the Internet. To make people's lives and work smarter and more seamless, IoT offers a real-time look into their systems. As much as it is beneficial to a business requirement, it has a quintessential role in modern-day lives.

Both businessmen and homeowners should know how their systems work. For this purpose, they can incorporate IoT to get insights into their machines' performance. IoT also allows organisations to automate processes & mitigate labour expenses.

In addition, it can also reduce waste & improve service delivery. That way, it makes it more inexpensive to manufacture & deliver goods while offering transparency in any customer transaction. In short, given the excellent features of IoT, it is one of the sought-after technologies in our everyday lives.

Working of IOT (Internet of Things)

So, now you know what is the Internet of things? Now, learn about how it works. An IoT or Internet of things ecosystem comprises web-enabled smart devices using embedded systems like sensors and processors to collect, act, and send data they acquire. IoT devices share the sensor data they collect.

They connect to the IoT gateway or any edge device where data is sent to the cloud for analysis. At times, the devices communicate with other machines & act on the information they get from the other.

Owing to the advanced features of IoT, These devices perform maximum work without manual efforts or interference. However, people may interact with devices for setting up and giving instructions to access the data.

Networking, connectivity, and communication protocols are used with the enabled machines or devices. These things depend highly on the specified IoT applications. IoT, or Internet of things, may implement ML and AI technologies to make the process of data collection more dynamic and simpler. Here's a tabular version:

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How Big Is The IoT?

The global IoT or Internet of things market size is expected to emerge from $399.41 billion (2022) to $486.7 billion this year at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 21.9%.

Technologies Have Made IoT Possible?

Without the following technological advancements, IoT or the Internet of things wouldn't have become so popular these days:

• Access to low-power and low-cost sensor technologies that are affordable and sensible
• A wide assortment of network protocols simplified the process of connecting sensors to the cloud
• Cloud computing platforms' increased availability enables both consumers and businesses to access the infrastructure
• Machine learning & analytics push the boundaries of IoT or Internet of things
• Conversational artificial intelligence or AI have brought NLP or natural-language processing to IoT devices and made them affordable, appealing, and viable

Features & Benefits of IoT:

Here are the benefits and features of IoT technologies:

1. Mitigated costs
2. Real-time asset or resource visibility
3. Real-time, prescriptive, or predictive insights
4.  Increased operational efficiency
5. Data-driven insights for speedy decisions
6. Enhanced customer experience
7. End-to-end and remote monitoring & management of resources or assets

What are IoT standards

The IoT standards enable data transmission and exchange between the devices and the Internet at the edge.

1. IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Networks (6LoWPAN)

   It is the open standard that enables low-power radio to communicate easily with the Internet.

2. ZigBee

   ZigBee is a low-power and low-data rate wireless network mainly used for industrial purposes. It is based on the IEEE or Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.15.4 standard. It created Dotdot, a universal language that enables smart objects to work securely on networks and understand one another.

3. LiteOS

   The Unix-like operating system for wireless sensor networks, LiteOS, supports wearables, smartphones, smart homes, and intelligent manufacturing applications.

4. OneM2M

   OneM2M is the machine-to-machine service layer embedded in software & hardware to connect different devices. This global standardisation body was developed keeping in mind the reusable standards to enable the Internet of things or IoT apps around different verticals for communication.

5. Data Distribution Service(DDS)

   DDS or Data Distribution Service, developed by OMG or Object Management Group, is the IoT standard for scalable, high-performance, and real-time M2M communication.

6. Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP)

   AMQP is the open-source published standard used for asynchronous messaging. It enables encrypted & interoperable messaging between applications and organisations.

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IoT Framework

IoT frameworks are designed to accelerate the development process of IoT applications and solutions. You can build secure and scalable solutions using either an open-source framework or a proprietary framework. However, choosing a framework that aligns with your needs is critical to the success of your project.

1. Amazon Web Services (AWS) IoT

   A cloud computing platform, AWS IoT, was released by Amazon. The framework enables smart devices to connect & interact with the AWS cloud & other devices connected.

2. Arm Mbed IoT

   Arm Mbed IoT develops apps for IoT depending on the Arm microcontrollers. Its goal is to offer a connected, secure, and scalable environment for IoT devices. It integrates Mbed tools & services.

3. Microsoft's Azure IoT Suite

   This platform enables users to communicate with & get data from IoT devices. Besides, it performs different operations over data and visualises the operations in such a way that's suitable for the business.

4. Google's Brillo/Weave

   This platform is for rapid implementations of IoT applications. It comprises Brillo and Weave. Brillo is an Android-based OS for developing embedded low-power devices. Weave is the IoT-oriented communication protocol to establish communication between the cloud and the device.

5. Calvin

   The open-source platform was by Ericsson. It encompasses a development framework for developers and a runtime environment that handles any running app.

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What are the IoT applications?

The IoT application is the assortment of services and software integrating data received from different IoT devices. It implements ML (machine learning) and AI (artificial intelligence) technologies to analyse and monitor data. That way, it helps make well-informed decisions.

IoT applications enable retail companies to manage and monitor inventory. Besides, it also improves the customer experience while reducing operational expenses and optimising the supply chain simultaneously.

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