What the Internet of Things is really about is information technology that can gather its own information. Often what it does with that information is not tell a human being something, it [just] does something
Kevin Ashton
People are more difficult to work with than machines, even for robots, so machine to machine communication is faster and more effective. Furthermore, they have networks for that called Internet of Things (IoT) where devices, not users, communicate with each other.
What is IoT?
It’s a concept of connecting devices and ”things” to the Internet for remote control and data exchange in real time without human intervention. It goes far beyond switching off the light with a voice command and turning on AC with a smartphone. Sensors, gauges, camera drones monitoring everything and everywhere has become so common for the world that it won’t take long before Wikipedia defines IoT as ”just our surroundings”.
Where we can find it?
Basically, in any place where there is a need to automate a process, control it remotely and collect big data for further analysis. It’s an indispensable move to save money on, for example, equipment maintenance since engineers (even AI in some cases) get enough information to predict when a component may fail and replace it before it causes damage. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
IoT encompasses everything from a tiny device in home appliance to a frightening two-stroke turbocharged low-speed diesel engine embedded with thousands of sensors making sure this monster works properly and even to the whole city districts.
Smart surroundings
Cities are alive with all the senses. They hear, see, smell, accumulate, and analyze information around.
Public transport with motion sensors (cars traveling in the same stream of traffic can exchange information to prevent accidents), smart traffic lights, devices analyzing traffic density for route planning, garbage cans with level alarms (garbage trucks visit only specific areas), video surveillance with face recognition, things that monitor the water level in reservoirs, noise and pollution detectors make cities alive, more convenient and safer.
Systems for energy demand management and water consumption analysis as well as flexible street lighting allow governments to optimize resource usage. And the big data collected during this huge organism’s lifecycle helps the city authorities better understand residents’ needs.
Smart elevators notify about breakdowns (but don’t retrieve them on their own so far), heating systems remotely show the temperature in the room and it can be adjusted so that the host come to a warm house.
There is something more to those smart homes than just fancy tools to have fun flicking on and off switches from a distance. They make it easier for old or disabled people to remain independent while alone providing their families and caregivers with a convenient way to communicate with them and monitor their well-being.
Smart industries
Agrologists, probably, swear by the Internet of Things because it drastically simplifies their job by monitoring weather conditions, soil moisture, the fertilizer application rate, and other indicators. In cooperation with drones and neural networks they find the best solutions and sustain productive capacity not going in the field and watching every crop.
Agricultural sector is not the only one reveling in a generous help from IoT. Oil and gas industry is all about real-time measurement. Big money and peoples’ lives are at stake so there is no place for human factor anymore. Furthermore, small sensors are able to operate in conditions far from suitable for person.
Medical stuff connected to the Internet allow not only prevent an unfavorable result of a disease but also to let a doctor know if their patient’s medical test is bad or their didn’t do it on time, since data is automatically collected and received by physicians.
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