What is the Internet of Things (IoT)?

IoT is a network of objects “things” that are connected to the internet through a network and exchange data with it with the help of various sensors and devices embedded in it.

IoT may look like a small thing but it is having a great impact all over the world and we may not realize how deep it has gone in our daily lives. From ordinary household objects to sophisticated industrial tools, almost everywhere IoT is being used.

Why Internet of Things is in rise:

Reasons why IoT (Internet of Things) is booming in today’s world

Lower Cost and efficient sensors

Previously there was a lack of availability of cheap and good quality sensors so the devices used to become very expensive and as a result, it was hard to convert objects in IoT.

Internet Connectivity

Internet connectivity has drastically improved in the last few years, also 5G has almost arrived, faster and cheaper internet led to the expansion of this technology.

Cloud computing platforms

Cloud computing is essential for IoT to work because most IoT devices do not have computing powers themselves, they are completely dependent on clouds for the computation of data.

AI

The smart home devices such as Alexa or Google home are IoT, and they use Artificial Intelligence to communicate with us, the AI has not only made communication better between our devices and us but it has made communication better for devices and the clouds too.

Popular applications of IoT

Smart homes

These kinds of homes are filled with devices that are connected to the Internet. These devices include smart lighting solutions, smart entertainment devices, smart home appliances, and much more.

Transportation

The IoT can assist in the integration of communications, control, and information processing across various transportation systems. For example automatic toll collection systems, traffic alerts on google maps e.t.c. are all part of this.

Agriculture

There are numerous IoT applications in farming such as collecting data on temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind speed, pest infestation, and soil content. This data can be used to automate farming techniques, make informed decisions to improve quality and quantity, minimize risk and waste, and reduce the effort required to manage crops.

SaaS

SaaS (Software as a Service) has become massively popular, previously softwares were completely stored on individual computers were not with IoT, the data is frequently exchanged with servers and there is no need to have all files at once, this saves the space in people’s computer and also makes it easy for companies to manage their softwares.

Smartwatches

Wearable devices are the most visible consumer internet of things (IoT) technology. Wearable devices connect people to the “internet of things” through direct contact with your body – on a wrist with smartwatches.