Internet of Things | Explained

In the year 1999, the phrase "Internet of Things" or IoT as we like to call it, was first coined by Kevin Ashton. Back then, it was just a vision. A vision of a system that connected things from the physical world to the world of Internet using ubiquitous sensors.

But that my friend, was 21 years ago. Today, Internet of things is not just a reality, its a whole freaking world in itself. To have a better perspective, by the year 2021, there will be over 35 billion IoT devices across the world which are projected to grow to 125 billion by 2030.

Trust me, I checked twice! That's is a legit 12 digit figure.

Compare this figure with the population projection by 2030 which is 8.5 billion people and you will get, 15 IoT devices per person. In simple words, by the year 2030, a family of 4 will own at least 60 IoT devices. That's the scale we are talking about.

So, if IoT is such a big deal, how come you don't know much about it. Actually, you do. Let me tell you How?

What is IoT(Internet of Things)?

If we were to go by the book or according to my prodigy engineer friend, IoT is

a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines provided with uniqueidentifiers(UIDs) with the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction

says Wikipedia.

And, that's exactly how I felt the first time I tried to learn about it. Well, enough for the highway, let's do it my way.

If I were to define IoT in a very simple language, it is connecting any physical object to the internet and making them smart enough to relay data. How do you make them smart? Sensors!

"So if I make a device with sensors and connect it with the internet, will that be an IoT device?"

Yes, that is exactly what an IoT device is. A simple example would be, your Smart bulb, refrigerator, Air Conditioner, or even the garage door that can be operated with your phone or any computing device, is an IoT device.

Wait a sec! So, my smartphone is an IoT device too?

Unfortunately, it is not. Yes, it has multiple sensors and is always connected to the internet, but still, smartphones are not IoT devices, they are computing devices.

But if, both devices use sensors and smart computer chips then,

Why are IoT devices different from Computing Devices?

Well, IoT devices are simple devices with mini-computer chips and sensors to transmit data to an IoT cloud or to other IoT or computing devices using the internet.

A computing device, on the other hand, is an Independent device. It does not need the internet to work and does not perform solo tasks like just transmitting data, it does way more. You can take a computing device as a brain that uses IoT devices to connect to the world around it.

Your smartphone, for example, is a hi-end computing device designed to do almost everything a computer can while still being able to fit in your palm. Even without the internet, you can do pretty much anything and it will be just fine.

Whereas, IoT devices are designed to be as compact and as efficient as possible so they can do just one simple job right and that is to relay data. That being said, you can say that your smartwatches and fitness bands are IoT devices.

Now here is a quick question,

How do IoT devices work?

Yes, you don't need rocket science to understand the working of IoT devices. Even a simple explanation like "it connects to the internet to transmit data gathered by the sensors" is a good enough answer. But how exactly does it do so? is the real question here.

Well for any device to be an IoT device, it needs two simple things, sensor(s), and the internet. The job of the sensor is to make any device smarter. And what makes you smarter? Knowledge. And knowledge in the world of internet is data.

A sensor collects data and relays it to the centre using the internet. Now a centre could be anything. It could be IoT Cloud, another IoT device, an application on your phone or software on your PC. This data is now either collected and stored on the cloud or triggers an action or a chain of actions.

To visualize it, imagine you have a smart bulb connected to a motion sensor, pre-programmed to turn on as the motion sensor detects something. So, every time you enter the room, your motion sensor will pick the movement and notify your smart bulb to turn on. As the smart bulb turns on, the motion sensor will stop picking movement till the preset cooldown time as a cycle of pre-programmed actions is now complete.

This was a very simple example of how IoT devices are able to connect, share data and work simultaneously. Imagine this between 5 to 6 devices and that's your daily life among the Internet of things.

Now, What does that mean?

Internet of things in Daily life

Very few people know this, but IoT has been a part of our life since the early 90s. The very first IoT device ever made was actually a smart Coca-cola dispenser that used temperature sensors to tell if the drinks were cold or not.

As the internet got more accessible and chips and sensors got more advanced and affordable, the implementation of IoT increased. Fast forward to today and we have over 31 billion IoT devices across the globe.

From the fancy Google Home Automation System to something as simple as your car's key fob, all these IoT devices are now an integral part of human life. We might not acknowledge it today but by 2025 almost 50% of your daily chores will depend on IoT devices. And as long as there is internet, our dependence on IoT devices will keep on increasing.

But Why? Isn't depending too much on tech really bad? What if it turned against us or we experience an apocalypse that takes us back to primitive age?

I know, I have seen terminator too. Even I don't want something like Skynet to exists. But that's fiction and this is reality. Yes, IoT empowers AI technology and takes its capabilities to the next level. But we are still decades away from achieving something like that.

Also, the probability of something like Skynet to exist is one in a billion however the chances of your car doors to automatically unlock tomorrow is 10/10, It's guaranteed!

It is the benefits that IoT offers, is so simple yet important that imagining your life without it, especially amidst this pandemic is a true nightmare.

And that is what keeps us stuck to the Internet of Things. Also, it's a great business industry!