Internet of Things (IoT)- The trending technology
The Internet of Things (IoT) also called “Internet of Objects” is a wireless network between objects. The basic level definition of Internet of Things (IoT) is that “Connecting daily objects to the internet and each other in order to provide users with smarter, more valuable experiences.” But the type of components in the structure of IoT is quite complex and because of that, realizing this concept is not an easy project.
One of the better examples of IoT to make things easier for human is “NEST Thermostat”. NEST Thermostat is Wi-Fi connected and by using this, one can adjust the temperature via his mobile device and also this device can set a temperature setting schedule by learning his behavioral pattern. So if anybody forgets to turn off their air conditioner before leaving the house can reduce electricity bill by turn off the device using their mobile device which act as a remote control.
Another example for IoT is “August Smart Lock” in which one can use their smart phone as a smart key. By using this, one can lock or unlock the door, create virtual keys for guests and keep track of who comes and goes, all from the great technology, IoT.
The Internet of Things (IoT) transforming everything by automates human lives by connecting everything around. Everything around simply means your homes to your cars to even your bodies. IoT plays a major role to solve day to day problems of human.
How does IoT work??
As a beginner one should learn about the basic technology behind IoT. There are several wireless radios which are used to connect the devices to the internet and to each other. Some of the wireless radios like Wi-Fi, RFID, low energy Bluetooth etc. are familiar to us. Then there are certain things like motion sensors, door locks or light bulbs. In some cases, there may also consist of a nerve Centre which helps different devices to connect one another.
Then the major thing is that, there should be something in IoT that helps people to see what’s going on and take action. That is exactly the cloud services which enable the collection and analysis of data.
Key elements of Internet of Things (IoT)
Sensors
Networks
Standard
Intelligent Analysis
Intelligent Actions
Sensors
Sensors form the front end of the IoT devices. Sensor is an electronic component or a device that converts a physical condition or an event to an electrical, optical or a digital data. Sensors are selected based on the application. Also sensors are selected based on different factors like purpose, accuracy, reliability, range, resolution, level of intelligence. The main reason for using sensors in IoT is that they are cheaper, smarter and smaller.
Networks
IoT devices are connected together by networks by certain wireless technologies. Components of an ideal network are routers, bridges including Local Area Network (LAN), Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN). The second step of IoT Implantation is the transmission of the signals collected by the sensors through the network. The network can be connected to the sensors by using different technologies like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Low Power Wi-Fi, Long Term Evolution (LTE), Wi-Max, Regular Ethernet and the recent technology called Li-Fi.
There are several challenges facing network implementation in IoT. One of them is enormous growth in number of connected device. To communicate with other systems on the internet, each computer or device connected the internet must have a unique IP address. The number of systems connected to the internet is increasing day by day. Due to this, the number of available IP address is not enough to carry out the entire task.
The most widely used internet Protocol version is IPV4. It defines IP addresses in a 32 bit format. That means the total number of IP addresses available is 2^32. The value is 4294967296. Consider if there are over 6 billion people in the world. Most of the people have more than one system connected to the internet (home, school, work etc.). So the number of systems connected to the internet is greater than the total number of IP addresses available in IPV4. In order to solve this problem, a new system has been developed called Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPV6), which is of 128 bit. IPV6 is in the developing process of substituting the current IPV4 systems. So we can say that IPV6 is going to play a major role in IoT.
Standard
The third stage of IoT implementation process includes 3 steps.
Handling data collected from sensors
Processing data collected from sensors
Storing data collected from sensors
The aggregation of all these three steps can be carried out only through several standards depending on the application in which IoT is used.
Types of Standards
Technology standard and Regulatory standard are the two standards relevant for aggregation process.
Intelligent Analysis
The fourth step in IoT implementation is Intelligent Analysis in which extracting an accurate and deep understanding from data for analysis. This analysis is carried out by cognitive technologies in which acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience and senses. A list of cognitive technologies that can be used for predictive and prescriptive analytics is given below.
Computer’s ability to identify objects, scenes and activities in images refers to ‘Computer vision’.
Computer’s ability to generate readable text, extract meaning from the text or a computer program’s ability to understand human speech refers to ‘natural language processing’.
Computer’s ability to identify and respond to the sounds produced in human speech refers to ‘speech recognition’.
Intelligent Action
Intelligent Action indicates Machine to Machine (M2M) and Machine to Human (M2H) interface. Lower machine prices, improved machine functionality and the availability of deep learning tools are the factors driving adoption of intelligent action within IoT. But there are also several challenges for the adoption of intelligent action within IoT. They are
Slow adoption of new technologies.
Information security and privacy
Machine’s action in unpredictable situation
Architectural Overview of IoT
Sensors and connectivity Network
The very bottom layer of IoT is sensors and network connectivity. This layer includes various sensors and RFID tags which are responsible for collecting raw data. These are wireless devices and together form the wireless sensor networks. The network connectivity in this layer is for communicating the raw data to the next layer. WAN, PAN etc. are examples for network connectivity.
Gateway and Network Layer
The data coming out from the sensors and the connectivity network layer is to be routed to the Management service layer through the Gateway and Network layer. In order to collect the enormous amount of data from the sensors and RFID tags, this layer needs to have a large storage capacity. Each IoT device works on different kinds of network protocol. So this layer should be responsible for integrating all the network protocols. Examples for gateway networks are LAN (Local Area Network), WAN (Wide Area Network) etc.
Management service Layer
The key role of this layer is to manage all the IoT devices. This layer consists of information analysis, device management etc. Sensors collect enormous amount of raw data. Data management includes extracting necessary information from the data collected by the sensor and to provide a valuable result of all the data collected. And this is the main responsibility of Management Service level.
Application Layer
The top most layer of IoT architecture is Application Layer. Application layer is responsible for effective utilization of collected data. Different applications of IoT are Home automation, Industrial Automation, health monitoring and so on.
Applications of Internet of Things (IoT)
Home Automation
IoT technology can be used to monitor whether any of the home appliances in on condition. To make it off the user can use his mobile device which acts as a remote.
IoT technology can be used to monitor whether any of the door is in unlocked condition. If so, user can use his mobile device which acts as a remote to lock the door.
IoT Technology can provide a temporary access to open the door if any guest comes.
IoT Technology can be used for detecting and avoiding theft.
Smart Cities
IoT technology can be used to manage traffic, control street lights etc.
IoT technology can be used to monitor the vibrations of bridges, buildings etc.
IoT technology can be used to alert officials to empty the waste bins when it is filled with waste.
Industrial Automation
IoT technology can be used to automate the manufacturing process in an industry remotely.
Fault detection and diagnosis in machines will be easy by using IoT technology.
IoT technology can be used to monitor the emission of toxic gases in industry.
Health Monitoring
IoT technology can be used to monitor or identify the health problem. Information regarding health can be send to doctors for analysis. This system will be very useful for senior citizens or physically disabled independently living people.
Smart Environment
IoT Technology can be used to detect pollution and natural calamities.
IoT Technology can be used to detect emissions from factories and vehicles and thereby reducing air pollution.
IoT Technology can be used to track the release of harmful chemicals and wastes in rivers and sea and thereby arresting water pollution.
IoT Technology can be used to send warnings of earth quakes and tsunamis by detecting tremors.
IoT Based Fire Monitoring system
IoT consist of three parts.
Sensor Part: Measures environmental information.
Communication Part: For connection between devices or objects.
Processor Part: For processing data.
Sensor part consists of five sensors which are used for measuring temperature, gas, humidity, luminance and movement. Communication part is needed to interact with mobile devices, cloud services and other objects. The main part in IoT is the processor part which analyzes the collected data, create situations and inform users.
Let us consider an example of a Fire monitoring system.
The first step is ‘Data Acquisition’. Here, data is collected from the gas sensor and the temperature sensor.
The second step is ‘Information Processing’. For processing information, there is a threshold value. The system compares the threshold value with the actual value from the sensors in order to determine whether the quality of air is fresh, poor or moderate.
The third step is ‘Context Making’ in which a high level context is generated. In this step, the system determines whether it is a fire situation in which the temperature is rising and gas is detected or a ventilation requiring situation due to polluted air.
Conclusion
Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging technology which has significance in social, technical and economic field. IoT promises a revolutionary change in the world by developing a totally interconnected smart world which makes relationship between objects to the environment and even to the people. IoT is obviously a powerful technology which can transform the whole world into a smart world which is beyond our imagination.
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