Introduction to IoT

 

This article aims to be an introduction to IoT for all those people who, despite having heard about it, do not have a clear idea of what it is, for this purpose it tries to give an answer to all the questions raised and additionally concepts and acronyms are introduced. related to this theme.
 

What is IoT?

The definition of IoT could be the grouping and interconnection of devices and objects through a network (be it private or the Internet, the network of networks), where all of them could be visible and interact. Regarding the type of objects or devices, they could be anything, from sensors and mechanical devices to everyday objects such as the refrigerator, footwear or clothing. Anything that can be imagined could be connected to the internet and interact without the need for human intervention, the goal is therefore a machine-to-machine interaction, or what is known as an M2M interaction (machine to machine) or M2M devices.

 

Why is IoT in fashion? What applications does it have?

The Internet has evolved rapidly and this has allowed IoT to become a reality and not just a vision of the future. The fame of this technology lies mainly in all the applications and possibilities that it provides us both to improve both people's daily lives and business environments, where it has already been implemented for some time.

 

The applications are almost endless, but some examples are going to be described to give visibility to some of them, both in everyday life and in the business environment:

 

Let us suppose the refrigerator of a house, where food is kept, which, in turn, has an expiration date. In this scenario, the refrigerator could be connected to the internet so that it would notify the user through their mobile phone, for example, when food expires, if there is a drop in temperature due to a fault, if some food has run out or simply electricity consumption based on the number of times the refrigerator door is opened.

Another scenario could be that of home automation, where there are already numerous devices that connect to the Internet to make life easier for human beings, see for example voice-controlled devices that are asked to play a song from a repository on internet, or the devices and applications that allow controlling all the parameters of the water in an aquarium, or even the alarm systems of the houses that are connected to the centrals. Security systems that connect to the network to notify you when someone enters your home or those devices that allow you to turn on the heating from a mobile phone.

If you think about industrial applications, IoT is already used in many production plants where devices and sensors connected to the network allow data to be analyzed and generate alarms and messages that are sent to different users so that they can take the necessary actions or even initiate action protocols automatically, without human interaction, to correct or treat these alarms.

Another example of application would be in the livestock sector, biometric monitoring and geolocation is a factor that helps farmers so that their animals are always controlled where they are.

Terms closely related to IoT can be "Smart Cities" and "Smart Buildings" where IoT devices are used to improve traffic control, control of water and heating supplies in a building, control of public transport, etc.

 

 

 

What technologies are used?

As you can see, IoT is already here and it is a reality, its scope of application is very wide and more and more devices are emerging every day that make this technology possible. This technology associated with the IoT allows data to be collected and sent to the network for analysis or even to carry out a preliminary analysis and then send it to the network.

 

It is in this communication process that IoT is evolving, since one of the obstacles to overcome is the type of protocol with which these devices communicate (that is, "the language" they speak among themselves). Currently, there are very new devices or sensors whose communication and connection to the Internet is easy and direct, but there are also many other older non-standard devices whose communication and connection protocol is not trivial, that is where one of these pitfalls comes to overcome. Also, each manufacturer or "vendor" has its own communication protocols which means that not all devices are compatible. One of the mechanisms that has been tried to establish is the creation of an open and standard protocol (proposed by IBM) called MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport), which allows all manufacturers to participate and support it, thus facilitating communication between different devices from different manufacturers.

 

On the other hand, if IoT devices are sought, various aspects are taken into account, such as low consumption and small size, hence SoC (SoC, System on Chip) are an important part of these devices. A SoC is an integrated circuit that contains all or most of the modules that a computer has (SoCs can be found in mobile phones, for example). As examples of large manufacturers we have ARM and Intel, although they are not the only ones, there are other more recent ones such as MediaTek, Qualcomm or Samsung. In addition, there are very affordable alternatives for all users such as Arduino that allow a user to build their own devices and control circuits for the home.

 

Another important part of an IoT device are the sensors, the processor and the platform are responsible for managing the information, but this must test the sensors. In this sense, Arduino has allowed this type of technology to be available to all users.

How does the IoT work?

The term IoT refers to all systems of physical devices that receive and transfer data through wireless networks with minimal human intervention, which is possible thanks to the integration of computing devices in all kinds of objects.

 

For example, a smart (i.e. using the IoT) thermostat receives location data from your smart car as you drive to adjust the temperature in your home before you arrive. All this is achieved without your intervention and even offers a better result than if you did it manually.

 

A traditional IoT system, like the smart home described above, works by constantly sending, receiving, and analyzing data in a feedback loop. Depending on the type of IoT technology, people or artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) systems can analyze this data almost immediately or over a period of time.

 

Take the example of the smart home. To predict the ideal time to control the thermostat before you get home, the IoT system can connect to the Google Maps API and thus obtain current traffic information in the area. In addition, you can use the long-term data that the car collects to learn about your driving habits. On the other hand, utilities have the ability to analyze customer IoT data with smart thermostats to optimize the system at scale.

 

Enterprise IoT

The IoT typically captures the attention of consumers, whose experiences with technologies like smartwatches are marred by concerns about the security and privacy of being always connected. This perspective applies to all types of enterprise IoT projects, especially when the end user is the general public.

 

Enterprise IoT solutions enable them to improve current business models and build new relationships with customers and partners. However, its implementation presents certain challenges. The volume of data generated by a system of smart devices (known as big data) can become overwhelming. Integrating big data into existing systems and setting up analytics to use that information can be challenging.

 

In addition, security is a very important aspect when designing IoT systems. Still, many companies find implementing this technology worthwhile; therefore, it is possible to find successful case studies in almost all sectors.

 

What role does the IoT play?

IoT: Internet of the things, the definition given to all electronic equipment that is connected to a data network (internet). It is in charge of managing all the related names in a private network or on the Internet, it interprets the names of domains or hosts to their respective IP addresses.

What is the difference between M2M and IoT?

The main purpose of M2M is to allow remote management and maintenance of the machines it connects, while the IoT is capable of collecting data, statistics and operating metrics to enhance its use in the company (an example of this is Big Data Analytics).

What type of networks is IoT used?

First, they base their operation on standard Ethernet networks and communicate through the standard Internet protocol, so the networks and protocols are already naturally compatible with information technologies.

What are IoT devices?

An IoT device consists of an object that has been provided with an Internet connection and certain software intelligence, on which physical parameters can be measured or acted on remotely, and which therefore allows an ecosystem of services to be generated around it.

What effect will the Internet of Things have on our daily lives?

Personalization and individualization. The IoT offers people an individual and particular journey for each one. It allows us to personalize those devices, things or everyday objects, so that we give them the use that interests us.

What are Lot technologies?

These technologies include low-cost sensors ready to transmit data over the web and existing mobile phone networks, making it possible for data to be transmitted by smartphones and tablets, as well as connected machines, computers and other devices in the Call Technology

What is the relationship between Lot and wireless devices?

Explanation: IoT Internet of things refers to a digital interconnection of everyday objects with the Internet and these usually use wireless networks for their connection and also to provide mobility.