Many of us have dreamed of smart homes where our appliances do our bidding automatically. The alarm sounds and the coffee pot starts brewing the moment you want to start your day. Lights come on as you walk through the house. Some unseen computing device responds to your voice commands to read your schedule and messages to you while you get ready, then turns on the TV news. Your car drives you to work via the least congested route, freeing you up to get caught up on your reading or prep for your morning meeting while in transit.
We've read and seen such things in science fiction for decades, but they're now either already possible or on the brink of coming into being. And all this new tech is forming the basis of what people are calling the Internet of Things.
This new wave of connectivity is going beyond laptops and smartphones, it’s going towards connected cars, smart homes, connected wearables, smart cities and connected healthcare. Basically a connected life. According to Gartner report, by 2020 connected devices across all technologies will reach to 20.6 billion. Woah! that’s a huge number.
Wearables have experienced a explosive demand in markets all over the world. Companies like Google, Samsung have invested heavily in building such devices. But, how do they work? Wearable devices are installed with sensors and softwares which collect data and information about the users. This data is later pre-processed to extract essential insights about user.
The automotive digital technology has focused on optimizing vehicles internal functions. But now, this attention is growing towards enhancing the in-car experience. A connected car is a vehicle which is able to optimize it’s own operation, maintenance as well as comfort of passengers using onboard sensors and internet connectivity.
Industrial Internet is the new buzz in the industrial sector, also termed as Industrial Internet of Things ( IIoT ). It is empowering industrial engineering with sensors, software and big data analytics to create brilliant machines. The driving philosophy behind IIoT is that, smart machines are more accurate and consistent than humans in communicating through data. And, this data can help companies pick inefficiencies and problems sooner.
Smart city is another powerful application of IoT generating curiosity among the world’s population. Smart surveillance, automated transportation, smarter energy management systems, water distribution, urban security and environmental monitoring all are examples of internet of things applications for smart cities.
With the continuous increase in world’s population, demand for food supply is extremely raised. Governments are helping farmers to use advanced techniques and research to increase food production. Smart farming is one of the fastest growing field in IoT. Farmers are using meaningful insights from the data to yield better return on investment. Sensing for soil moisture and nutrients, controlling water usage for plant growth and determining custom fertilizer are some simple uses of IoT.
Connected healthcare yet remains the sleeping giant of the Internet of Things applications. The concept of connected healthcare system and smart medical devices bears enormous potential not just for companies, but also for the well-being of people in general. Research shows IoT in healthcare will be massive in coming years. IoT in healthcare is aimed at empowering people to live healthier life by wearing connected devices.
Technologies are playing a crucial part in reinventing our experience on every activity and Internet of Things shares a great part in that. People are curious to know more about the Internet of Things. The biggest irony is that some of you do not want to dive into the depth but want to enjoy the comfort it offers. No matters, if you are a technology lover or a non-techie, it is benefiting all of us in many ways.
Google has launched many IoT devices till dates like Google Duo, Smart home devices, Voice assistant, Self Driving Car and many more. Let’s hope for more in coming years!!
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