In this article, you will learn about IoT, that what exactly is IoT and how it works.

 

WHAT IS THE INTERNET OF THINGS?

Through what you are reading this article? I guess it might be your phone, desktop, or tablet. So, we are going to talk about the Internet of Things. The IoT(Internet of Things) is the concept of connecting any device to the Internet and then to other devices. All devices within the network interact with one other to gather and share data.


So what exactly is the internet of things? 

A system of interrelated devices connected to the internet to transfer and receive data between devices is known as IoT.

Home appliances like the ac, doorbell, smoke detectors, water heaters, thermostats, and security alarms are the best examples of IoT. These devices can be interconnected to share data and information with the user over a mobile application. Until recently the internet helped people connect and interact with one another but now inanimate objects or things have the power to sense the environment to interact and collaborate with one another.


 EXPLAINATION:

A lot of components are involved within the context of IoT devices.  Hardware is often classified into general devices and sensing devices.

The General Devices: They are connected either by wired or wireless. Interfaces and home appliances are classic examples of such devices.

The Sensing Devices on the other hands include sensors and actuators that measure the temperature, humidity, light intensity, and other parameters. 

These IoT devices are connected to the network by Gateways. These gateways or processing nodes process the data or information collected from the sensors and transfer it to the cloud. Wi-fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, GSMS, and many more Wired and wireless interfaces are used to provide connectivity to ensure its ubiquity. Applications need to support a diverse set of devices and communication protocols from tiny sensors capable of sensing and reporting the specified factor to powerful back-end servers that are utilized for data analysis and knowledge extraction.

 

WORKING:

Let's try to understand it's working by taking a simple scenario.

Suppose you would like to water your garden every time, whenever the moisture level within the soil drops rather than doing it manually you'll automate it using IoT. Following are the steps you should follow:

  • Firstly, the sensors and actuators installed to gauge the soil for its moisture. This information is then sent to the IoT gateway by communication protocols like MQTT or HTTP.
  • Then, the gateway significantly aggregates data and feeds it to the cloud with the help of wi-fi LAN.
  • Once the moisture level drops the system. It is then immediately triggered and the sprinklers are turned on.

However, with the information stored within the cloud an in-depth analysis just like the time of the day the sprinkler was turned on, the speed at which the moisture within the soil reduces, and so on can be done and the report could be sent to a smartphone over an app with the improved response monitoring and analytical capabilities.

 

GROWTH OF IOT:

IoT is being adopted in most industries and domains opening doors to endless applications. Today it is being used extensively to lessen the burden on humans, to name a few IoT is deployed for smart homes, wearables watches and bracelets, smart (city, cars, farming, retail,  grids). and smart healthcare. With such a wide spectrum of applications, the future looks more promising than ever. Before, In 2020, there were about 30 billion connected devices which was more than double the world Population. According to experts, there'll be over 80 billion devices by 2025. it is a vision to connect all devices with the power of the internet always learning and always growing.


In short, the IoT is paying the way for many new and exciting innovations like cloud computing, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.