IoT – Internet of Things

he internet of things, or IoT, is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and

digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers (UIDs) and
the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-
computer interaction.

A thing in the internet of things can be a person with a heart monitor implant, a farm animal with
a biochip transponder, an automobile that has built-in sensors to alert the driver when tire
pressure is low or any other natural or man-made object that can be assigned an Internet Protocol
(IP) address and is able to transfer data over a network.

Increasingly, organizations in a variety of industries are using IoT to operate more efficiently,
better understand customers to deliver enhanced customer service, improve decision-making and
increase the value of the business.

How does IoT work?

An IoT ecosystem consists of web-enabled smart devices that use embedded systems, such as
processors, sensors and communication hardware, to collect, send and act on data they acquire
from their environments. IoT devices share the sensor data they collect by connecting to an IoT
gateway or other edge device where data is either sent to the cloud to be analyzed or analyzed
locally. Sometimes, these devices communicate with other related devices and act on the
information they get from one another. The devices do most of the work without human
intervention, although people can interact with the devices -- for instance, to set them up, give
them instructions or access the data.

Why is IoT important?

The internet of things helps people live and work smarter, as well as gain complete control over
their lives. In addition to offering smart devices to automate homes, IoT is essential to business.
IoT provides businesses with a real-time look into how their systems really work, delivering
insights into everything from the performance of machines to supply chain and logistics
operations.

IoT enables companies to automate processes and reduce labor costs. It also cuts down on waste
and improves service delivery, making it less expensive to manufacture and deliver goods, as
well as offering transparency into customer transactions.

As such, IoT is one of the most important technologies of everyday life, and it will continue to
pick up steam as more businesses realize the potential of connected devices to keep them
competitive.

What are the benefits of IoT to organizations?

The internet of things offers several benefits to organizations. Some benefits are industry-
specific, and some are applicable across multiple industries. Some of the common benefits of IoT
enable businesses to:

 monitor their overall business processes;

 improve the customer experience (CX);
 save time and money;
 enhance employee productivity;
 integrate and adapt business models;
 make better business decisions; and
 generate more revenue.

IoT encourages companies to rethink the ways they approach their businesses and gives them the
tools to improve their business strategies.

Generally, IoT is most abundant in manufacturing, transportation and utility organizations,

making use of sensors and other IoT devices; however, it has also found use cases for
organizations within the agriculture, infrastructure and home automation industries, leading some
organizations toward digital transformation.

IoT can benefit farmers in agriculture by making their job easier. Sensors can collect data on
rainfall, humidity, temperature and soil content, as well as other factors, that would help
automate farming techniques.

The ability to monitor operations surrounding infrastructure is also a factor that IoT can help
with. Sensors, for example, could be used to monitor events or changes within structural
buildings, bridges and other infrastructure. This brings benefits with it, such as cost saving, saved
time, quality-of-life workflow changes and paperless workflow.

A home automation business can utilize IoT to monitor and manipulate mechanical and electrical
systems in a building. On a broader scale, smart cities can help citizens reduce waste and energy
consumption.

IoT touches every industry, including businesses within healthcare, finance, retail and
manufacturing.

Pros and cons of IoT

Some of the advantages of IoT include the following:

 ability to access information from anywhere at any time on any device;

 improved communication between connected electronic devices;
  transferring data packets over a connected network saving time and money; and
 automating tasks helping to improve the quality of a business's services and reducing the
need for human intervention.

Some disadvantages of IoT include the following:

 As the number of connected devices increases and more information is shared between
devices, the potential that a hacker could steal confidential information also increases.
 Enterprises may eventually have to deal with massive numbers -- maybe even millions --
of IoT devices, and collecting and managing the data from all those devices will be
challenging.
 If there's a bug in the system, it's likely that every connected device will become
corrupted.
 Since there's no international standard of compatibility for IoT, it's difficult for devices
from different manufacturers to communicate with each other.

IoT security and privacy issues

The internet of things connects billions of devices to the internet and involves the use of billions
of data points, all of which need to be secured. Due to its expanded attack surface, IoT security
and IoT privacy are cited as major concerns.

In 2016, one of the most notorious recent IoT attacks was Mirai, a botnet that infiltrated domain
name server provider Dyn and took down many websites for an extended period of time in one
of the biggest distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks ever seen. Attackers gained access to
the network by exploiting poorly secured IoT devices.

Because IoT devices are closely connected, all a hacker has to do is exploit one vulnerability to
manipulate all the data, rendering it unusable. Manufacturers that don't update their devices
regularly -- or at all -- leave them vulnerable to cybercriminals.

Additionally, connected devices often ask users to input their personal information, including
names, ages, addresses, phone numbers and even social media accounts -- information that's
invaluable to hackers.

Hackers aren't the only threat to the internet of things; privacy is another major concern for IoT
users. For instance, companies that make and distribute consumer IoT devices could use those
devices to obtain and sell users' personal data.

Beyond leaking personal data, IoT poses a risk to critical infrastructure, including electricity,
transportation and financial services.

What is the history of IoT?

Kevin Ashton, co-founder of the Auto-ID Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), first mentioned the internet of things in a presentation he made to Procter &Gamble
(P&G) in 1999. Wanting to bring radio frequency ID (RFID) to the attention of P&G's senior
management, Ashton called his presentation "Internet of Things" to incorporate the cool new
trend of 1999: the internet. MIT professor Neil Gershenfeld's book, When Things Start to Think,
also appeared in 1999. It didn't use the exact term but provided a clear vision of where IoT was
headed.

IoT has evolved from the convergence of wireless technologies, microelectromechanical systems
(MEMSes), microservices and the internet. The convergence has helped tear down the silos
between operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT), enabling unstructured
machine-generated data to be analyzed for insights to drive improvements.

Although Ashton's was the first mention of the internet of things, the idea of connected devices
has been around since the 1970s, under the monikers embedded internet and pervasive
computing.

The first internet appliance, for example, was a Coke machine at Carnegie Mellon University in
the early 1980s. Using the web, programmers could check the status of the machine and
determine whether there would be a cold drink awaiting them, should they decide to make the
trip to the machine.

IoT evolved from M2M communication, i.e., machines connecting to each other via a network
without human interaction. M2M refers to connecting a device to the cloud, managing it and
collecting data.

Taking M2M to the next level, IoT is a sensor network of billions of smart devices that connect
people, systems and other applications to collect and share data. As its foundation, M2M offers
the connectivity that enables IoT.

The internet of things is also a natural extension of supervisory control and data acquisition
(SCADA), a category of software application programs for process control, the gathering of data
in real time from remote locations to control equipment and conditions. SCADA systems include
hardware and software components. The hardware gathers and feeds data into a computer that
has SCADA software installed, where it is then processed and presented in a timely manner. The
evolution of SCADA is such that late-generation SCADA systems developed into first-
generation IoT systems.

The concept of the IoT ecosystem, however, didn't really come into its own until the middle of
2010 when, in part, the government of China said it would make IoT a strategic priority in its
five-year plan.

THE JOY OF IoT

 Influencing our lifestyle from the way we live to the way we react.

 Air conditioning can be controlled by a smart phone

  Smart watch can monitor your daily activities.

 IoT is a giant network with connected devices

 These devices gather and share data about how they are used and the environment in
chich they are operated

 Its all done using sensors.

 Sensors are embedded in every physical device ( It can be a mobile phone, electrical
appliance, Pecos barcode sensors, traffic lights and almost everything you come across in
day to day life)

 These sensors continuously emit data about the working state of the devices, but the most
important question is how they share this huge amount of data and how do we put thid
data to our benefit.

 IoT provides a common platform for all these devices to dump their data and a common
language for all the devices to communicate with each other

 Data is emitted from various sensors and send to IoT platform security.

 IoT platform integrates the collected data from various sources.

 Further analytics is performed on the and valuable information extracted as per

requirement

 Finally the result is shared with other devices for better user experience, automation and
improving efficiency.

IoT IN MANUFACTURING

 In an AC manufacturing industry both both the manufacturing machine and the belt have
sensors attached.

 They continuously send data regarding the machine health and the production specifics to
the manufacturer to identify issues beforehand.

 A barcode is attached to each product before leaving the belt. It contains the product
code, manufacturer details, special instructions etc.

 The manufacturer uses this data to identify where the product was distributed and track
the retailer’s inventory hence the manufacturer can the product running out of stock
available.
  Next the products are packed and parcel to different retailers.

 Each retailer has a barcode reader to track the products coming from different
manufacturers, manage inventory, check special instructions and many more

The compressor of air conditioner has an embedded sensor that emits data regarding its health
and temperature. This data is not allies continuously allowing the customer care to contact you
for the repair work next time. This is just one of the million scenarios. We have smart appliances,
smart cars, smart homes, smart cities, where IoT is redefining our lifestyle and transforming the
way we interact with technology.