IoT: You may have been seeing these 3 letters a lot more lately, and you might have been wondering, “what the heck is IoT?” It is an acronym for Internet of Things. According to Wikipedia, the definition of IoT is: the network of physical devices, vehicles, buildings and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors and network connectivity that enables these objects to collect and exchange data.
IoT comes in many forms, everything from toys which cater to your child’s individuality to applications in the manufacturing industry to improve efficiency. The possibilities with technology like this are endless! While the future of IoT is pretty exciting, here are a few IoT products that are already out there, some you may be very familiar with!
- Wearables: Many items fit into this category, some you may be using right now. Think; smart watches, activity tracking devices, wireless blood pressure monitors, and more. All of these wearables are collecting data then sending it to an app where the data can be seen and analyzed on a mobile device or desktop. See? You knew what IoT was all along!
- Smart Home Devices: These types of devices help make your home safer and more efficient. Security cameras that can be controlled and viewed with your smart phone, home climate control, again that can be adjusted and monitored remotely, baby monitors, smart smoke alarms, streaming media players like Roku and Chromecast, Amazon Dash which allows you to literally push a button and Amazon will automatically order and fulfill any common household item, from laundry detergent to beauty products. And have you seen the Samsung’s smart fridge? Named The Family Hub, you can see what is inside your fridge from your smart phone while you are at the grocery store to make sure you didn’t miss anything, create online grocery lists, and more. Genius!
- Business Management: Imagine of all the applications for efficiency in business. There is a simple and affordable fleet tracking device, Cloud Your Car, which allows owners of large auto or truck fleets track the activity of the car such as mileage, location, gas mileage, even aggressive driving issues! Manufacturers are starting to use sensors on the product assembly line to track and improve efficiency and the robots used on the product lines are also connected to the web, exchanging data as equipment is being built.
Admittedly, this new technology could get, well, a bit creepy. Experts imagine a world where as soon as we are low on an item at home, it will be automatically purchased and delivered for us. Our cities would be illuminated based on sensors monitoring natural light, clouds and even the presence of humans rather than just the time of day. Products would be manufactured with near perfection, all thanks to IoT. What are your thoughts on this? I believe, that just like any new innovation, using this technology for the betterment of our world could result in amazing things, however, as we know,this could be interpreted many different ways by not so nice people. So pay attention and keep up with this amazing place we live in! Need info on how to keep your business up on the latest technologies? Contact g2 media pros.
Also published on Medium.