What is the Internet of Things? The IoT Explained

With the advancement in the field of technology, numerous devices are becoming smarter day by day. Whenever we talk about technology, we cannot ignore IoT. So you may be wondering now what is IoT? IoT is an abbreviation of the Internet of Things. The concept of the Internet of Things is basically a network of smart objects(or things) that we see in our day to day life, which connects with the other devices and systems over the internet, to exchange data collected from the real world. Those smart objects are equipped with sensors, software and many other tech stuff to collect data.

The data collected by these smart devices is processed and stored for later use. Our day to day lives is improving with the help of IoT and will improve to a greater extent in the future. Almost anything can be converted to the IoT from a simple machine to internet-connected smart devices. It may be a coffee vending machine, home lighting system, refrigerator, ceiling fans, etc. Let us now look at the brief history of the IoT.

A Brief History of IoT:

Early in the year 1982, the concept of the smart connected device came into existence. Because at Carnegie Mellon University, Coca Cola vending machine was modified and was able to connect to the internet. And it became the first internet-connected appliance. The modified vending machine was able to report its inventory. And was also capable to report that the newly loaded drinks were cold or not. The term Internet of Things was first coined by Kevin Ashton in the year 1999 when he was working at Procter&Gamble.

Applications of IoT:

The IoT devices can be used in almost any field like healthcare, education, farming, business and so on. So, now let’s deep dive into the applications of IoT and they are:

1. Internet of things in Smart Home:

The concept of the smart home is gaining popularity these days. Because it increases convenience, energy-saving and Optimum security to name a few. A smart home contains internet-connected devices that monitor and controls the light system, appliances such as Air Conditioners, oven and can do much more stuff. Like if you reached home in a car then devices after detecting you, automatically open the garage door for you to park the car inside.

And also like, When you occupy a particular room during a certain time period then the lights are automatically turned on and vice-versa. If the room temperature rises beyond a certain limit then the air conditioners self activates to bring the room temperature to the desired temperature. These all internet-enabled devices can be controlled via smart devices such as smartphones or tablets or computers and even you will also get notified about the situation of the home in real-time.

There are several smart home companies like Nest, Ecobee, Ring and others. That is making this reality and we can expect more and better in future.

2.Wearables:

Smart wearables such as fitness bands, smartwatches Etc are boon to many people. These smart wearables monitor heart rate, plays music, make and receive calls and has even GPS built-in. Or in simple terms, we can say that these wearables cover areas of fitness, health and entertainment. Companies like Apple, Samsung and Google are working on this thing.

3. Agriculture:

The Internet of Things in farming can be a game-changer. These devices collect and store data and after analysis, farmers gain valuable insights about the data to minimize the losses and maximize the profits from their crops. They can detect moisture in the soil, amount of nutrients, weather conditions and so on. This enables farmers to make the right decisions at right time about their crops.

4.Internet of Things in Education:

So now let’s talk about IoT in the field of education. IoT in education simply means schools, colleges, buses, etc all in the Internet of Things settings. With the help of IoT, the Attendance system will become automated and this will help teachers identify who are regular students and who are not. The IoT system will send emails and SMS notifications to the teacher and the parents of those student(s) whose attendance is having shortages.

The classrooms will become connected, such that the common topic of syllabus across the different sections in a specific Standard will be covered once. This will reduce the repetition among different sections of the same standard and hence will save energy, resource and Time. These are the few applications there can more like special learning programs for differently-abled students, performance improvement for teachers and so on. Let’s now see the next application of the Internet of Things in business.

5.Internet of Things in business:

Like most of the fields are getting attracted towards IoT, business leaders are also on it. IoT will especially help in understanding customers and will enable companies to improve their products and services. Such that customers will find products useful more than before. As the products will be tailored as per individual customer’s need.

From the detailed insights, companies will find more ways to launch more products and services. Apart from Improving products and services. Companies can also find top-performing and least performing employees from the analysed data.

So there are also many more fields, where IoT can be really helpful and change the way we live and work. After looking at the above points, The IoT in the field of Technology is really emerging to be a promising Tech field. Now, that’s all for this blog post. Let me know, what you think about IoT mention in the comments below. Thanks.