You might have heard about IoT (Internet of Things). Somehow, the explanation of IoT is difficult to understand and a lot of people are looking for its explanation through the internet.
If you type in “what is IoT” in Google Search, you might find a Wikipedia page explains it a lot.
So, what’s the description of IoT according to Wikipedia?
“The Internet of things (IoT) is the extension of Internet connectivity into physical devices and everyday objects.
Embedded with electronics, Internet connectivity, and other forms of hardware (such as sensors), these devices can communicate and interact with others over the Internet, and they can be remotely monitored and controlled.”
However, when it comes to explanation, people want something easier to understand. IoT is actually not something new.
The trend of IoT has been increased over the years and it will expectedly become a huge market in 2021. In the future, we will have billions of devices connected to each other through the internet.
So, what is IoT?
IoT (Internet of Things) is actually connecting your devices to the internet. While most smart devices are now able to access the internet, IoT aims to make ‘everything’ connects to each other with the internet.
Imagine that everything is connecting to the internet, they can provide you everything and you don’t need to do any manual any more.
This is actually more like automation of devices to provide services to the users.
However, it is not a full-automation program. It also needs a user to provide the information before they talk to each other.
The main purpose of IoT is to make “things” work automatically based on the users’ needs.
With collecting data and sensors that recognize the user, IoT can do the rest for you.
There are a lot of IoT-related terms right now. To make it simple, here we provide you 5 things you need to know about the Internet of Things. Enjoy!
(Click the link below to jump into section)
#1 – IoT Is Actually Not Something New
#2- It Makes Your Devices Talk To Each Other
#3 – IoT Doesn’t Guarantee Your Privacy And Security
#4 – Internet of Things Will Be Powered By LPWAN
#5 – IoT Is Everywhere!
Let’s get started.
1. IoT is Actually Not Something New
Initially introduced by Kevin Ashton in 1999:
“I could be wrong, but I’m fairly sure the phrase “Internet of Things” started life as the title of a presentation I made at Procter & Gamble (P&G) in 1999. Linking the new idea of RFID in P&G’s supply chain to the then-red-hot topic of the Internet was more than just a good way to get executive attention. It summed up an important insight which is still often misunderstood.“
When it comes to the Internet of Things, many people think that it is a brand new term.
For your information, the first ever discussed IoT product is a Coca-Cola vending machine at Carnegie Mellon University in 1982. It was the first internet-connected appliances.
In June 2002, a research article also mentioning the Internet of Things that was submitted for Nordic Researchers in Norway.
The research defines the Internet of Things as “simply the point in time when more ‘things or objects’ were connected to the Internet than people.”
At this moment you might realize that IoT is actually very simple. The integration between your smartphone, smartwatch, and laptop is actually an IoT too.
That is “things” connected to the internet and people as users.
2. It Makes Your Devices Talk To Each Other
A single smartphone connected to the internet is not something too related to IoT. While it’s simply a device connected to the internet, IoT is actually connecting more than one device to the internet.
While your smart devices connect to the internet, they connect to the same database – the user. Those devices share the same data so it could provide you great services.
Here’s an example:
When you wear a fitness tracker, that device also connects to your smartphone. A fitness tracker will collect the user’s data and then analyze them before popping out the result on the screen.
When it is connected to your smartphone, the data in your fitness tracker is also accessible in it.
They work together and provide you information. We can also find some more examples in Smart Home and Smart Car.
Imagine that you are in front of your house and you have a smart doorbell. The sensor will recognize its user and it will open the door for you automatically.
What’s more? As this smart doorbell is connected to the internet, it will ping the other smart devices in your house.
They talk to each other and do the automation for you. If you have installed smart lightbulbs, it will turn on automatically, your air conditioner will also do the same, and so on. With Internet of Things, the “things” do the work for you.
3. IoT Doesn’t Guarantee Your Privacy And Security
Cybersecurity is a major issue in 2019. As a lot of things are now connected to the internet, the users’ data can be found almost everywhere.
We have mentioned before that the Internet of Things doesn’t go in full automation. It needs a user.
When you buy a new smartphone, you need to provide your personal information on it. After some time, your smartphone will track your habit, analyze it, and adapt to you.
When you connect everything to the internet, all of your personal data can be found in everything.
The most popular thing people do when it comes to breaching is from smartphones and computers. When all the things connected the internet, people will have a lot of additional ways to take it from you.
However, with internet security is getting massive these days, it can’t compete with the increasing amount of IoT devices.
Your smartphone and computer might have the best security when it comes to smart devices. But, can you do the same with the rest?
Some of IoT products that have been in the market include Smart Speaker, Smart Fridge, Smart Door Bell, SmartWatch, Smart TV, Smart Lightbulb, Smart Car, and any other ‘smart’ things. All of them are connected to the internet.
What does it contain? Yes, the user’s data.
That’s why there are a lot of Internet of Things startups that mainly aim for the security these days.
Forbes has also released an article entitled Top 25 IoT Startups To Watch In 2019 and seven of them are for IoT security (Armis Security, Dragos, Karamba Security, MagicCube, SCADAfence, VDOO, and XAGE Security).
Before you prepare to replace the appliances in your house into smart appliances, make sure that you are ready for their security systems.
4. Internet of Things Will Be Powered By LPWAN
LPWAN? Well, some of you might not familiar with the term. LPWAN (Low-Power Wide Area Network) is a network that connects devices with low bandwidth and long-range connectivity.
When it comes to connecting devices, cellular network and Wi-Fi are the best solutions. However, both of them cost a lot and Wi-Fi doesn’t support wide area.
LPWAN is mainly created for IoT and M2M (Machine to Machine), it operates with a lower cost and a greater efficiency than traditional networks.
The range of LPWAN can surprisingly reach 1,000 km. This is something that your Wi-Fi can’t do.
When it comes to Smart Home, Wi-Fi is the perfect network as it covers the whole place. However, with Smart Cities up in the horizon, we need something that can connect devices in a wider area.
Unlike the common network, LPWAN provides battery-efficiency. With smartphones that lack power efficiency these days, LPWAN is a great choice.
When you turn off any connectivity in your smartphone, you will realize that it can work for a day long. The connectivity in our smartphones consumes a lot of power as it mainly uses mobile network and Wi-Fi.
The only downside of LPWAN is the amount of data that can be transmitted. Due to its long-range connectivity, the LPWAN’s speed is only up to 200 Kbps.
However, according to James Brehm & Associates, 86% of IoT devices use less than 3MB data per month. Furthermore, 3GPP also states that 99.9% of LPWAN devices will use less than 150KB data per month.
Due to the small data amount of IoT devices, LPWAN is might be the most suitable connectivity for the Internet of Things. It provides long-range connectivity, battery efficiency, and lower price.
For commercial usage, LPWAN is still not globally applied. LPWAN is commonly applied in smart lighting, livestock monitoring, energy management, precision agriculture, and manufacturing. Moreover, It is also mainly used in industrial IoT deployments.
5. IoT Is Everywhere!
At this point, we hope that you can fully understand the Internet of Things. As IoT is not something confusing, we have actually experienced it in our regular tasks.
We have provided you with the examples of IoT and it will have a huge impact when everyone has it. A lot of technology manufacturers have come with their latest IoT products.
What are the products?
The most famous IoT products include Google Home Voice Controller and Amazon Echo Voice Controller. They are mainly used in Smart Homes.
The other product is also Tesla Smart Car. With the great popularity of Tesla’s smart cars, it’s expected that smart cars will be our next generation car soon.
Not only in home appliances and transportation, but it is also provided in security cam, industry, offices, wearable devices, and many more. It’s basically everywhere.
Soon we might also have everything become “smart” and they connect to each other to support the user. However, IoT is not only a smart device.
IoT is smart devices that connect to the internet and they talk to each other to support the user. It’s more like an ecosystem rather than a tool.
Conclusion
Internet of Things is something that you can see now and it will become a common sight in the future. With IoT, people can do everything easily.
You might also want to check the video below. Forbes has also published a video for a simple understanding of IoT. Enjoy!
As smart devices support our tasks, energy and time management will be the most benefited aspects.
If you are still afraid about security issues in IoT, you might need to wait for a while as cybersecurity is not something easy.
With a lot of IoT devices coming in the market, the IoT security startups and companies are doing their hard work to keep up with the consumers need.
Cybersecurity is still the greatest issue when it comes to IoT. While people sometimes ignore their information input, make sure that you won’t do the same.
Google as a giant tech company is also aware of this and they have tried to remind you about your personal data security.
What do you think about IoT? Share us some of your thoughts in the comment section below.
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