Internet of Things (IoT)

Internet of Things

The Internet is a large network of interconnected computers spread across the world. It has been a channel hosting multiple avenues of services and information. People are now connected to each other like never before. Why limit ourselves to  only human-to-human network? Isn’t it a great idea to connect everything in a network so that we get real-time information and thus automate tasks? “Internet of Things (IoT)” is currently the most  discussed topic which contemplates automation and has potential to impact human lives in the near future.

Let’s understand  more about the domain:

What is IoT?

IoT is a big network wherein any device (or almost anything) with an Internet Protocol (IP) address is connected to the internet (or to each other) to automate tasks or limit human intervention. The devices can be mobile phones, watch, lights, Television sets, machines in the factories, vehicles, mountains etc. which can have a configured computer chip, software and electronic sensors are embedded in it. It can also be living things like animals on a farm, birds, humans etc.

Example:

A smart home where the music system senses the mood of a person and plays the particular genre.

A smart city where the municipality monitors and administers the whole city through a big network laid for the purpose. Any defects in roads, buildings, drainage are automatically sensed and then repaired in a short amount of  time. City’s public transport system instantly notifies the change in the schedule to the users. Public utilities for fire control, ambulance and police are instantly notified of the adverse cases so that they can take quick actions.

Is IoT a new concept?

Notexactly, devices like personal computers (PC), mobile phones etc. have been communicating with each other since the 1970s. We have also seen electronic sensors automatically operating the machines, raising alarms etc.

Example:

An action detected by a motion sensor installed in a restricted area will raise an alarm in the security agency which is at another location. Close Circuit Televison (CCTV) monitors and communicate the data to the administrator remotely and it is not something new to the people. Till now there has been many cases but no one used the term ‘IoT’ specifically, but only now the term has emerged.

What are the components of IoT?

A typical IoT environment has following components:

• Physical objects.

          Things that are connected in a single network. Example: A car, a building, an animal etc.

• Sensors
  

           A hardware which  senses the environment around a  physical object.

          Some types of sensors are:

          Accelerometers: Used for sensing temperature.

          Magnetometers: Used for sensing proximity.

          Gyroscopes: Used for sensing image.

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