First, we lay a proper foundation of IoT, its various concepts, and then its capabilities or use cases. IoT is short for the Internet of Things. With the advent of wireless sensor technology, a lot of times we as individuals have inadvertently run into or used smart technology (IoT) from time to time. Our smartphones are considered smart due to their ability to respond wirelessly to signals via the internet. The concept of IoT is that manufacturers are increasingly able to fit in chips or micro-computers on a variety of products for numerous reasons ranging from flexibility to efficiency, more recent examples include a light switch with less than 1 MB of embedded memory that can communicate wirelessly with host IoT apps such as Alexa for actions ranging from ON or OFF to dimming functions. The ability for these gadgets to communicate with each other with the help of the wireless signal exchange whether it’s over the phone (via wifi), the internet, or via the cloud is called IoT.
Now having set the foundation above, let’s discuss the reason why IoT has come to stay. IoT applications are far-reaching further emphasizing the fact that human interactions are increasingly becoming digitalized. The information economy capitals of the world have long viewed information as the new gold. Therefore, any human endeavor that eases the burden of carrying out a particular task be it in the area of organization, management, and processing will attract all the much-needed attention it deserves.
The possibilities of IoT almost seem endless as we will see shortly. The more we try to break into newer frontiers of technology for example from the possibility of space mining to uncovering more dynamics of artificial intelligence (AI), the more IoT continues to create waves of impact. For the thinking man, there is no existing threshold, all it needs is further exploratory research and development over time.
In the present, we can say for a fact that the future is mostly directed by those who are capable of embracing this opportunity and rechanneling it for the benefit of humanity. Companies whose success rate and efficiency are driven by the more data they acquire about their users are seeing IoT as the holy grail. There aren’t many complex calculations or permutations required to see that we are currently living out the solutions or answers by humanity’s forebears who first introduced the world to smart gadgets, smart buildings, and now smart cities etc.
The wider reach of IoT includes but is not limited to;
Home Automation
Smart Homes are becoming more popular as recent technological manufacturers are increasingly incorporating smartness into everyday gadgets or equipment. Your entire day-to-day itinerary can be planned and scheduled using a pre-arranged routine. It begins with the push of a single button and it sets the schedule for the day. Your smart refrigerator is set to auto-initiate a response to dwindling food supplies, your car is set to notify you of upcoming maintenance activity, and your smartwatch lists all activities via a voice prompt. You head out of the house prepared and the car automatically navigates through traffic allowing you time to think about more pressing needs. You get to work and the home system automatically chimes through your mobile about an unexpected visit and upon confirmation, you grant access to the visitor. The automatic security camera powered by motion technology alerts you about what is going on at home while you are away. These and many more are just some of the features that the home automation solution presents. Below are some home automation smart devices and their areas of application
Home system: a home system is a software service that serves as the central IoT command point where all devices are linked to and can be used to access all functionality. It is multifunctional, it can be controlled remotely using Wi-Fi or over the internet using its custom access point. It’s used for security purposes where all locks are controlled wirelessly or manually. It can come in different configurations from different manufacturers.
Dimmers: These are chips or MCUs embedded in simple light switches that enable remote access. They are responsible for the dimming operation of the lights in the home. The lights can be set to dim after leaving the room or to dim to a level of brightness.
Leak detectors: These are actuators that sense different types of leakages ranging from gas leaks to water leaks. This is synced with the home system to enable timely leak detection.
Thermostats: these are smart temperature readers that are also connected to the home system. It can be used for different purposes. This includes switching on the air conditioners or heaters when it senses that the temperature set point is abnormal. It can also be used when unusually high temperatures are sensed in the case of a fire outbreak.
Smart Cameras: These devices are increasingly getting smaller and more sophisticated. The smaller they are, the less conspicuous they appear. This helps deter intruders and also conveniently gather evidence when the subject matter involves some level of discretion.
Motion Detectors: These are sensors that detect unwanted motion and are used extensively for perimeter guiding systems. It serves as a security watchdog. Its sensitivity can be adjusted to help capture only human movement.
these and many unmentioned devices are used in the implementation of IoT in homes. When we want to achieve this for the different home units in a high-rise building, we can set all devices to communicate with each other. This is where smart buildings come into the picture.
Industrial Application
Industrial IoT (IIoT) refers to the application of IoT in industrial settings for the instrumentation of machinery that is geared to communicate using control sensors and devices that engage Cloud technologies. In the industrial application of IoT, we discuss about the use of these control sensors in the everyday manufacturing of goods and services and how they can be set to communicate with each other so that decisions can be reached timely. Some ways by which IIoT can be deployed to scale are
- Asset Protection: this is achieved through the use of IoT devices able to beam the real-time location of high-value assets. This data is in turn logged into a central feed that comprises other such devices beaming the actual location of devices. This could be used in Logistics and transportation of high-value materials.
- In manufacturing, IIoT is used extensively to check machine conditions and monitor their health and performance. The collation of this type of data is made possible through the use of remotely accessible devices that are synced into the localized machines. From here several things are possible, the efficiency of machinery is analyzed, and the production capacity is also analyzed. This saves the management considerable expenses where the target KPI is of primary concern.
- A host of service-oriented business models are very compliant with IIoT. This is because these businesses need to know how effective their service has been to tailor specific services for individual clients. The measuring of already established success indicators will be of high value. To have an edge in the market is to have an early adoption of seamless IIoT that is in sync and cloud-based (for better security) at all times.
Business Intelligence
Business intelligence gives organizations the ability to ask questions in plain language and get answers they can understand. Instead of using best guesses, they can base decisions on what their business data is telling them — whether it relates to production, supply chain, customers, or market trends. This involves a host of enterprise solutions that are mostly SaaS (Software as a Service) capable. They come in different types of applications but are most used to implement business analytics that are increasingly becoming more functional through the use of IIoT capabilities. This in turn shapes the way and manner businesses are run. A global study has shown that these technologies are exceeding expectations and creating a significant competitive advantage for adopters. Some of these types of SaaS are ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), and CRM (Customer Relationship Management). These technologies have always been in use at least in the 21st century, the common denominator being that they are heavily dependent on human inputs.
The current base shift is that it’s now highly probable to find IIoT devices incorporated into SaaS products. This makes room for improved service delivery, timely reports, and efficient analysis of any given situation. Business Intelligence SaaS is now the most talked about in industry trends, their applications are far-reaching. Let’s look at some Industry applications where IIot is necessary and incorporated into SaaS;
- Workforce Management System makes it possible for employees to be provided with wearables that help track location, monitor the health of workers in potentially hazardous environments, and give assessment reports on performance as against the more subjective traditional supervisory observation.
- Company activity Visualizations using third-party SaaS such as Tableau, Power BI, Google Charts, Fusion Charts, Sisense, Zoho corporation, etc are becoming increasingly hinged to Cloud technologies such as Amazon AWS, Google, IBM, Oracle Microsoft Azure, etc as part of a wholistic solution for different types of organizational management. These services based on surveys are increasingly surpassing their adoption tipping point. It will scale to the point that most savvy internet users as of the early 2000s will make similar assertions in coming years when they remember the dot com bubble.
In conclusion, IoT technology has come to stay, we need to find means to harness its true capabilities using well-thought solutions that will increase productivity and enhance ease of use. Businesses that are preparing to innovate need not look further as the answers they need is centered on using technology to better organize, plan, and execute for more returns on investment.
