When you are chatting with somebody on WhatsApp, sending that work E-mail or posting pictures on Instagram, do you ever stop to think about how this process happens in bridging the gap or how many different computers you are using in the process? Apart from the computer you are using to send the E-mail and the computer that is receiving it, there are probably about a dozen other computers bridging the gap. Generally, this makes up world-linked computers. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what they call the internet.
Unlike popular belief that the word ‘internet’ means going online, it is actually a basic computer network (computers talking to each other). The Internet is a collection of standalone computers all loosely linked together, mostly using the telephone network. The connections between the computers are a mixture of old-fashioned copper cables, fiber-optic cables (which send messages in pulses of light), wireless radio connections (which transmit information by radio. waves), and satellite links.
So yes, the web (WWW) does not adequately and necessarily define what the internet is. The Internet is the global communication system, including hardware and infrastructure, while the web is one of the services communicated over the internet.
And then there is the Internet of Things (IoT). A phrase, thrown around in every emerging tech conversation. According to Forbes, IoT is basically the concept of connecting any device with an on and off switch to the Internet (and/or to each other). This includes everything from cellphones, coffee makers, washing machines, headphones, lamps, wearable devices and almost anything else you can think of.
The IoT is a giant network of connected things and people — all of which collect and share data about the way they are used and about the environment around them. If you are Tech target, you can say a ‘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 IP address and is able to transfer data over a network.’
Soon, it will be taken for granted that pretty much any device we own — cars, TVs, watches, kitchen appliances can go online and communicate with each other. In industry too, tools and machinery are increasingly intelligent and connected, generating data that drives efficiency and enables new paradigms such as predictive maintenance to become a reality, rather than a pipe-dream. In fact, it is predicted that by the end of 2019 there will be 26 billion connected devices around the world, this is according to Forbes.
So how does IoT work? Consider this example by IBM.
Imagine you wake up at 7 am every day to go to work. Your alarm clock does the job of waking you just fine. That is until something goes wrong. Your train is canceled and you have to drive to work instead. The only problem is that it takes longer to drive, and you would have needed to get up at 6.45 am to avoid being late. Oh, and it’s pouring with rain, so you’ll need to drive slower than usual.
A connected or IoT-enabled alarm clock would reset itself based on all these factors, to ensure you got to work on time. It could recognize that your usual train is canceled, calculate the driving distance and travel time for your alternative route to work, check the weather and factor in slower traveling speed because of heavy rain, and calculate when it needs to wake you up so you’re not late. If it’s super-smart it might even sync with your IoT-enabled coffee maker, to ensure your morning caffeine’s ready to go when you get up.
An IoT ecosystem consists of web-enabled smart devices that use embedded 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 devices 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.
The new 5g network is expected to augment the IoT. The idea behind IoT is to have multiple connected devices gathering data in real-time over a particular period. However, the continuous exchange of data puts a strain on the network and the battery life of the devices. IoT is reliant on speed and availability of data services, 5G networks will broaden the scope and availability of IoT. With mobile networks that are even faster and more stable than the cable networks we’re used to connecting to in our homes and offices today, the new wireless network will see a 90% reduction in network energy usage, with up to 10 years worth of battery life for low power IoT devices.
Look at this picture painted by ZDNET. A lightbulb that can be switched on using a smartphone app is an IoT device, as is a motion sensor or a smart thermostat in your office or a connected streetlight. An IoT device could be as fluffy as a child’s toy or as serious as a driverless truck, or as complicated as a jet engine that’s now filled with thousands of sensors collecting and transmitting data back to make sure it is operating efficiently. At an even bigger scale, smart cities projects are filling entire regions with sensors to help us understand and control the environment.
Businesses can and will benefit greatly from IoT. For instance (still according to ZDNET) Manufacturers are adding sensors to the components of their products so that they can transmit back data about how they are performing. This can help companies spot when a component is likely to fail and to swap it out before it causes damage. Companies can also use the data generated by these sensors to make their systems and their supply chains more efficient because they will have much more accurate data about what’s really going on.
It, however, IoT doesn’t come without any blemish. With all those sensors collecting data on everything you do, the IoT is a potentially vast privacy headache. Take the smart home: it can tell when you wake up (when the smart coffee machine is activated) and how well you brush your teeth (thanks to your smart toothbrush), what radio station you listen to (thanks to your smart speaker), what type of food you eat (thanks to your smart oven or fridge), what your children think (thanks to their smart toys), and who visits you and passes by your house (thanks to your smart doorbell). While companies will make money from selling you the smart object in the first place, their IoT business model probably involves data, too.
As the number of connected devices continues to rise, our living and working environments will become filled with smart products — assuming we are willing to accept the security and privacy trade-offs. This is a perfect Riff off. New era versus the old School. What do you think?
