Internet of things
Outline
The Internet of things (IoT) is the network
of physical devices, vehicles, home appliances, and other items embedded
with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and connectivity which
enables these things to connect, collect and exchange data. IoT involves
extending Internet connectivity beyond standard devices, such as
desktops, laptops, smartphones and tablets, to any range of
traditionally dumb or non-internet-enabled physical devices and everyday
objects. Embedded with technology, these devices can communicate and
interact over the Internet, and they can be remotely monitored and
controlled. With the arrival of driverless vehicles, a branch of IoT,
i.e. the Internet of Vehicle starts to gain more attention.
History
The
definition of the Internet of things has evolved due to convergence of
multiple technologies, real-time analytics, machine learning, commodity
sensors, and embedded systems. Traditional fields of embedded systems,
wireless sensor networks, control systems, automation (including home
and building automation), and others all contribute to enabling the
Internet of things.
The concept of a network of smart devices was
discussed as early as 1982, with a modified Coke machine at Carnegie
Mellon University becoming the first Internet-connected appliance, able
to report its inventory and whether newly loaded drinks were cold. Mark
Weiser’s 1991 paper on ubiquitous computing, “The Computer of the 21st
Century”, as well as academic venues such as UbiComp and PerCom
produced the contemporary vision of IoT. In 1994, Reza Raji described
the concept in IEEE Spectrum as “[moving] small packets of data to
a large set of nodes, so as to integrate and automate everything from
home appliances to entire factories”. Between 1993 and 1997, several
companies proposed solutions like Microsoft’s at Work or Novell’s NEST.
The field gained momentum when Bill Joy envisioned Device to Device
(D2D) communication as part of his “Six Webs” framework, presented at
the World Economic Forum at Davos in 1999.
The term “Internet of
things” was likely coined by Kevin Ashton of Procter & Gamble, later
MIT’s Auto-ID Center, in 1999, though he prefers the phrase “Internet
for things”. At that point, he viewed Radio-frequency identification
(RFID) as essential to the Internet of things, which would allow
computers to manage all individual things.
A research article mentioning
the Internet of things was submitted to the conference for Nordic
Researchers in Logistics, Norway, in June 2002, which was preceded by an
article published in Finnish in January 2002. The implementation
described there was developed by Kary Främling and his team at Helsinki
University of Technology and more closely matches the modern one,
i.e. an information system infrastructure for implementing smart,
connected objects (Fig. \ref{491492}).
Defining the Internet of things as “simply the point in time when more
‘things or objects’ were connected to the Internet than people”, Cisco
Systems estimated that IoT was “born” between 2008 and 2009, with the
things/people ratio growing from 0.08 in 2003 to 1.84 in 2010.
Applications
Consumer applications
Smart home
IoT devices are a part of
the larger concept of home automation, which can include lighting,
heating and air conditioning, media and security systems. Long term
benefits could include energy savings by automatically ensuring lights
and electronics are turned off.
A smart home or automated home could be
based on a platform or hubs that control smart devices and appliances.
For instance, using Apple’s HomeKit, manufacturers can get their home
products and accessories be controlled by an application in iOS devices
such as the iPhone and the Apple Watch. This could be a dedicated app or
iOS native applications such as Siri. This can be demonstrated in the
case of Lenovo’s Smart Home Essentials, which is a line of smart home
devices that are controlled through Apple’s Home app or Siri without the
need for a Wi-Fi bridge. There are also dedicated smart home hubs that
are offered as standalone platforms to connect different smart home
products and these include the Amazon Echo, Apple’s HomePod, and
Samsung’s SmartThings Hub.
Elder care
One key application of smart home
is to provide assistance for those with disabilities and elderly
individuals. These home systems use assistive technology to accommodate
an owner’s specific disabilities. Voice control can assist users with
sight and mobility limitations while alert systems can be connected
directly to cochlear implants worn by hearing impaired users. They can
also be equipped with