A Look into The Internet of Things
Recently, there has been much buzz around the topic Internet of Things. In this post, let us know what IoT is and why there is a certain buzz around it, its applications, advantages, and disadvantages.
What is IoT
IoT is an extensive network where any device with an Internet Protocol (IP) address is connected to the internet or to each other to automate tasks and reduce human intervention. Anything that has a sensor attached to it and can transmit data from one object to another object or people with the help of the internet is known as an IoT device. IoT devices include wireless sensors, software, actuators, and computer devices. All smart devices come under IoT. Smartwatches, health monitors, wireless trackers, smart home security systems, and speakers like Alexa are some of the devices that come under the Internet of Things.
Reason for the speculation around IoT
Many tasks can be improvised, monitored, performed remotely using IoT. From checking burnt calories to performing delicate surgeries, from equipping smart cars to smart homes to smart cities, from tracking poultry to running agricultural machinery, there is a wide range of applications for IoT making our lives more effortless than ever. Thus it creates a lot of promising opportunities in this field.
Applications
IoT has a wide range of applications in various domains such as medicine, engineering, governance, agriculture, etc. Some of the applications include
Agriculture
Operating farm machinery, tracking livestock and produce, monitoring the crop field are some of the uses in this domain
Healthcare
Wearable devices like fitness bands, heart rate monitors, blood pressure monitors can be used for personalized health monitoring. IoT can also be used to diagnose diseases by using various sensors.
Engineering
IoT can be used in this domain to ease the process of governing the machines, improving field testing, etc.
Governance
IoT can be helpful in tracking, monitoring traffic and activities and could send valuable data in improvising the governance.
Hospitality
IoT can be helpful for monitoring information in the hospitality industry. It can also ease and automate processes like keeping track of guests and using keys by guests, etc., by integrating the guests’ devices. These are few applications in the wide range of applications in the field of IoT.
Advantages of the Internet of Things
Automation
Automation is one of the main advantages of IoT. IoT enables machine-to-machine communication without human intervention, thus saving time and increasing efficiency.
Information
Using IoT, we can gather and source much information that could be used to make better decisions.
Convenience
Automation makes our tasks easier and more convenient
Disadvantages
Privacy
As everything is connected, by breaching into a part of the network, all the data belonging to an individual or an organization can be exposed.
Security concerns
Several devices make use of unencrypted network services, making it easy for an interceptor to breach the network.
Compatibility
There is no one standard for the devices because operation between components from two different manufacturers becomes a challenge.
Complexity
Even though IoT seems simple on the outside, the complexity of operations performed inside is high. A faulty design in one of the components in a sub-system may cause the entire system to fail and, in some cases, damage the equipment.
Dependence on the Internet
Everything on IoT depends on the internet. If the internet becomes unavailable for some reason, the devices are rendered useless to a large extent.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Internet of Things makes our lives a lot easier, convenient, and automated. It has a wide range of applications, and thus field promises many career opportunities. However, limitations to IoT that are few but severe and, when overcome, would make the future reach the present faster.
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