Over the past few years we have been seeing a sudden change and transition in the technologies that we are using currently. We can now easily connect the objects or appliances in our homes to internet connection through embedded devices. This has facilitated the process of communication between the different people, objects and processes. Some of these appliances or objects placed in our homes that can be connected to internet are cars, watch, kitchen appliances, thermostats and many more devices that makes our homes smart.
In today’s digital era the digital systems can fairly collect the data, record and monitor to adjust each interaction between the connected things. The physical objects can also share and collect all relevant data with minimal human intervention with the help of cloud computing, data analytics. A very close interaction between the physical objects and digital system is very important. They cooperate with each other to meet the needs of the people. We can now see that the IoT devices are gradually taking over our lives and has become an inevitable part of us.
What is IoT?
The Internet of Things (IoT) can be described as the network of physical things or objects that are embedded with software, sensors and other advanced technologies which helps in connection and exchanging of data with other devices and systems over an internet connection. These devices range from ordinary household objects to sophisticated industrial tools. There are almost seven billion IoT devices today which the IoT experts are expecting to grow them by 22 billion by 2025. This system of sharing the data over an internet connection is done with the help of IOT devices.
What Are IoT Devices?
IoT devices are pieces of hardware which are in the form of appliances, sensors, gadgets, machines or actuators that are specifically programmed for certain apps. These applications can share or transmit the data over the internet connection or other networks. These can be embedded into environmental sensors, medical equipment, industrial tools and mobile devices and many more.
The IoT devices uses the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in order to bring an intelligence and automation into the systems and processes. This can be used for the home and car appliances, medical equipment, industrial tools etc. Many of such IoT devices are small and compact with a power and cost constrained microcontroller based systems. The data privacy is one of the major concern for the users where the data is processed on the IoT endpoint rather than using cloud-based approaches.
Technologies Making IoT Possible
IoT was already an idea a decade back but it finally came into existence in the recent years as our lives have become fast. A collection of technological advancement has made IOT a possibility and brought it on practical grounds.
Connectivity
Host of network protocols has made it easy for connecting sensors to the cloud and other things over the internet for transferring valuable data efficiently.
Affordable low-power sensor technology
IoT Technology has become a reality only with the affordable and reliable sensors which are made by the manufacturers.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The advancement in the technology has brought the natural language processing to the IoT devices such as the Alexa, Siri, Cortana. This Artificial Intelligence technology made our homes smart, viable, appealing, affordable.
Machine Learning (ML) and Analytics
With the help of machine learning and analytics one can get an easy access to vast amount of data stored in the cloud. It helps businesses to gather insights faster and at ease. The data produced by IoT feeds the other allied technologies.
Cloud Computing Platforms
An increase in the availability of the cloud platforms helps both businesses and consumers to access the infrastructure they need to scale up without having to manage it.
IOT As Part Of Our Daily Lives
Ever since IoT has entered the market it has become part of our daily lives. By 2022 IOT has become an inevitable part of our lives starting from the home appliances that we use in our homes to car appliances. There are also wearable accessories like the smart watches and jewelry that has become IoT device.
- Car Connections
There is an increasing number of vehicles that are getting operated over an internet connection. There is a rising trend of an integration of internet of things in our vehicles especially cars. These four wheeled vehicles can easily share data with an internet access. Everything starting from opening of the hatchback, turning on and off the car, locking the doors etc are all powered by IoT. - Wearable Accessories
There was a time when we had the traditional wrist watches with two hands signifying the hour and minutes and was operated on replaceable batteries. Gone are those days as wrist watches has been replaced by the smart watches which are operated with internet. These smart watches have a whole world in itself which is no less than a smartphone. These smart watches shows the number of steps taken by us throughout the day, calorie intake, sleep pattern blood pressure. We can even make calls, receive calls, send messages or emails all from our watches today. - Internet of Things and Houses
The idea of smart home has become a norm today. It is the most popular way of integrating internet of things within the safe space. It is very simple and easily accessible by everyone as there are dozens of products and appliances in the market. These IoT devices uses an Artificial Intelligence (AI) which helps the people to execute their daily life activities such as calling cab, keeping your coffee ready before you wake up, receiving weather updates, playing music, receiving the sports score etc. - Smart Cities
Our cities are becoming smart over the years as Internet of Things have transformed everything in a swift. With a proper internet connection and data these IoT devices can be operated smoothly which can transform a complete city. The road or traffic congestion can be rectified and driving or parking procedures can be easily enhanced with it. In some cities there is walkable and healthy superblocks which can be integrated with the internet of things that reduces congestion on roads and chaos.
Some Popular IOT Devices in 2022
- Google Home Voice Controller
The Google Home Voice Controller is a newly launched smart device that allows the user to enjoy the features by using their voice. These features are like media, alarms, controlling the volume, lights, thermostats and many other functions. - Amazon Dash Button
Amazon Dash Button is another new IOT device that gets connected over internet and ensure that any household products and groceries can be ordered quickly over a message. It ensures that any daily requirements such as the grocery items, medical, personal care, soft drinks and other household items can be reached out quickly. It reduces the time frame for searching the required product by the user. It is made for making the life of the user simple and easy and does not accept the fresh order if the previous order has not been completed yet. - Amazon Echo Plus Voice Controller
Amazon Echo Plus Voice Controller is a very popular, effective and a reliable IOT device. It is capable enough to run any song, making phone calls, making queries or asking questions, setting reminders, timers, alarms, checking whether updates, providing any information, managing shopping list and house equipment and many other functions. All the phone calls and messages are made through a single voice command. It controls all the compatible smart home devices such as the fans, AC, lights, plugs and many more. The songs that re played can be connected to any external speakers or headphones. The voice command given to the device can be heard from any direction even when the songs are played. - August Smart Lock
August Smart Lock is considered as very secured IOT device. It helps the users to manage the door from any location. It gives information about any person coming or going outside along with unlimited digital keys which cannot be stolen or lost. It has an auto-lock feature as soon as any person enters from the door and closes automatically. It is easy to install and is compatible with the most standard single cylinder deadbolts. It gives status updates of the door. - August Doorbell Cam
August Doorbell Cam is an effective IOT device offering effective IOT solution. As the name suggests that it allows you to answer the door from anywhere or remote location. It monitors the doorstep and captures the motion changes in the door. It has the feature of pairing up with the August Smart Locks that allows the guests to easily come inside the home. It has a free 24 hour video recording with a speedy and hassle free installation process. - Footbot Air Quality Monitor
Footbot Air Quality Monitor device is an IoT device which enables to measure the indoor pollution and gives accurate results. It allows you to have a safe indoor working space with no trace of air pollution and keeps in check the air quality in the home, workplace and other indoor spaces. It helps in cleaning air pollution, It keeps the humidity and temperature level checked and keeps it under control. It support to increase the lifespan of the users. It has a very fast and simple installation process. - Flow by Plume Labs Air Pollution Monitor
Flow Air Pollution is an effective IOT device which acts as the air quality tracker that informs the users about the quality of the air if it is bad or good. It also has a user guide that instructs how to use this device along with simple installation process. All the results of the quality of the air is displayed in the map available in its app. - Philips Hue Bulbs and Lighting System
Philips Hue is a very popular IOT device that is used for the purpose of wireless lighting system allowing you to control the lights according to the ambience. It makes home smart with connected lights that has schedules and dim it according to your comfort. The lights also syncs with the music and movies and creates a proper ambience of wake up, night sleep or well being. - Nest Smoke Alarm
Nest Smoke Alarm is a very fruitful IoT device which is a smoke alarm that is used for managing the alarm with phone without any extra hardware. It alerts on any scope of smoke in the indoors and alerts your phone about the emergency. The installation is simple and can be set through any device and uses certain colors to communicate with the users. - Ring Doorbell
Ring Doorbell is a reliable IoT product that allows the users to answer the door from any remote location by just using their smartphone. This protects your home from any intruders and also has night vision and interchangeable faceplates. There is also a motion detector sensor offering high performance. This device comes with a rechargeable batteries.