An Introduction to Internet of Things (IoT)

Today, the term Internet of Things (IoT) has encompassed the entire world of ICT. Smart energy, smart agriculture, smart animal husbandry, smart home, smart transportation, smart health, and smart city are terms that have astonished many politicians, managers, professionals, and businesses around the world.

Today, the Internet of Things (IoT) has penetrated all aspects of human life with its smart solutions, promising a productive, enjoyable and easy future.

IoT provides opportunities to integrate directly the physical world and computer-based systems, which are nowadays referred to in various discussions and conventions. All these devices fall under the IoT.

IoT and its importance in today’s world

IoT is an interconnected system of computer equipment, mechanical and digital machines, things, animals, or people who are identified by unique identifiers (UIDs) and capable of transmitting data over a network without the need for human-to-human or human-computer interactions.

A thing in the Internet of Things can be a human with a heart monitor installed in his body, or a farm animal with a biochip transponder, or a car with sensors built in to alert the driver to low tire pressure, or any other natural or man-made object which can transfer data over a network by assigning an IP address.

Today, organizations in various industries and businesses are increasingly using IoT capabilities to operate more efficiently and effectively; by utilizing IoT achievements, they gain a better understanding of their customers and can provide better services. The Internet of Things improves the decision-making process in the organization and dramatically increases the value of the business.

History of IoT

Kevin Ashton, the co-founder of the US-based Auto-ID Center at MIT, was the first to introduce the term “Internet of Things” in a presentation in 1999. Ashton wanted to incorporate the new technology in the new century to his message. This revolutionary process was nothing but the Internet. On the other hand, Neil Gershenfeld, a professor at MIT University, published a book entitled “When Things Start to Think” the same year. Although Gershenfeld did not use the exact term “Internet of Things” in his book, he provided a clear picture of the future direction of IoT.

Internet of Things has evolved from the convergence of wireless technologies, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), microservices and the Internet. This convergence helped bridge the gap between Operational Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT) and enabled the analysis of unstructured data generated by the machine to achieve the desired insight to improve the current situation.

Ashton was the first to coin the term “Internet of Things”, but the idea of ​​connected devices has been introduced since the 1970s, under the heading of “Embedded Internet” and “Pervasive Computing”.

Formation of IoT

The first internet appliance or thing was a Coke machine at Carnegie Mellon University in the United States in the early 1980s. At that time, programmers using the web could monitor the status of the device remotely and monitor its performance.

IoT has evolved from machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, that is, machines that are connected to each other through a network with no human interaction. M2M refers to connecting a device to the cloud, its management, and data collection.

The IoT provides a sensor network of billions of smart devices by upgrading machine-to-machine interactions to a higher level. This network connects people, systems and application programs to collect and share data. In other words, M2M, as the basis of this process, provides the communication that guarantees the implementation of the Internet of Things.

How IoT works

An IoT system consists of sensors or devices that “talk” to the cloud via some kind of connectivity.

The IoT ecosystem is a series of web-based smart devices that utilize embedded processors, sensors, and communication hardware to collect, transmit, and process data from the environment.

The collected data by the sensors are sent to the cloud or analyzed locally by connecting to an IoT port or Edge Device for analysis. Sometimes, these devices communicate with other related devices and perform on the information they receive from each other. These machines do most of the work without human intervention, however, people can interact with devices; for example, they can set them up, give them instructions, or access data.

It should be noted that the connectivity, networking and communication protocols used with these web-based devices are largely dependent on special IoT devices.

Benefits of IoT

Internet of Things brings many benefits to organizations and businesses, having a great impact on our personal and professional lives. With IoT, organizations can:

• Oversee the overall business processes;
• Improve the customer experience;
• Save time and money;
• Increase employee productivity;
• Integrate and coordinate business models;
• Make better business decisions;
• Make more money
• Improves life quality

The IoT encourages companies to rethink their approaches to their business, industry, and market and improve their business strategies by utilizing effective tools.

Disadvantages of IoT

Every new technology faces thousands of challenges in its early stages of development. The Internet of Things also offers serious things that should be put to good use to reach its full potential.

Here are some disadvantages of IoT:

• Compatibility
• Complexity
• Privacy/Security
• Safety

The future of IoT

According to forecasts, IoT can make a revolution in the situation of consumers, companies, and organizations for the next five years.

The outlook of the internet is growing rapidly. Currently, computers, laptops, smartphones, and tablets are not the only objects of interest. Many of the new devices that are being introduced include Internet connectivity. All devices are becoming smart. The strange future we sometimes see in science fiction movies is very close to reality.