What a fascinating modern age we live in. Everywhere the internet is spreading. Every digital machine is connected to the internet. Do we think about the physical part of the internet? What is it? It’s nothing but IoT means Internet of things. 

What is IoT?

The term IoT refers to the group of networks of connected devices and the technology that facilitates communication between the devices and the clouds. The internet of things (IoT) is a term for the growing number of electronics that aren’t traditional computing devices, but they are connected to the internet to send data and receive data instructions. The IoT brings internet connectivity, data processing, and analytics to the world of physical objects. We all know about Alexa, Siri, and Google assistance. For giving commands to them we don’t need a keyboard or mouse we just say our words and they do it for us. It is very helpful for a blind person. 

How does IoT work?

We need a device which gathers data for IoT. These are devices that are connected to the internet. So they each have a unique IP address. They range from autonomous mobile robots and forklifts that carry products around factory floors and warehouses. Not only robots and autonomous mobiles it also includes personal devices like fitness trackers that monitor the number of steps individuals take each day. In the next step in the IoT process, collected data is transferred from the devices to a gathering point. Data can be moved in two ways: wired and wireless. We can send Data over the internet to a data center or the cloud. The final step, data processing, and analytics can take place in data centers or the cloud. 

Applications of IoT:

* Home automation

A large part of home automation is done with IoT devices. Such as automatic lighting, heat, air conditioning, and cc cameras. 

* Eldercare

We already discussed home automation. Which mostly helps senior citizens. 

* Medical and healthcare

The Internet of Medical Things is an application of the IoT. It is used for medical and health-related purposes, data collection and analysis for research, and monitoring. 

* Transportation

It can support the transportation system by collecting data, processing them, and sending them to the main control center. 

* Manufacturing

The IoT can connect various manufacturing devices equipped with sensing, identification, processing, communication, actuation, and networking capabilities. In addition to general manufacturing, IoT is also used for processes in the industrialization of construction. 

* Agriculture

There are numerous IoT applications in farming such as collecting data on temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind speed, pest infestation, and soil content.

What technologies have made IoT possible?

While the idea of IoT has been in existence for a long time, a collection of recent advances in several different technologies has made it practical.

• Access to low-cost, low-power sensor technology
• Connectivity
• Cloud computing platforms
• Machine learning and analytics
• Conversational artificial intelligence 

Examples of IoT devices

Any device that can send and receive information about the physical world can participate in the IoT ecosystem.

• Smart home appliances, RFID tags
• Industrial sensors 
• Factory robots 
• Autonomous vehicles and robots.
• Fitness wearables
• Home security systems.
• Raspberry Pi or Arduino.

Cloud vendors offer IoT platforms

The cloud giants (Microsoft, Amazon, Google) are trying their best to sell more than just a place to stash the data your sensors have collected. They offer full IoT platforms, which tie together many of the functions to coordinate the elements that makeup IoT systems. In addition, an IoT platform serves as middleware that connects the IoT devices through the internet and edge gateways with the applications we use to share out with the IoT data. This means every platform vendor seems to have a small different definition of what an IoT platform is. The finer to distance themselves from the battling. 

Iot market has made a huge amount of money. The estimates on the value of the market in 2025 range from $1.6 trillion to $14.4 trillion. In its Global IoT Market Forecast, IoT Analytics Research predicts there will be 27 billion active IoT connections (excluding computers, laptops, phones, cellphones, and tablets) by 2025.

Writer

Sara Shahrin Moumi

Intern, Content Writing Department

Requin BD