What is the Internet of Things?

There’s no telling the remarkable effect the internet has on our daily lives, especially in relation to connectedness to people and information. Humans have never felt more connected, and it seems humans have never been more knowledgeable too. It’s been humans connecting and sharing his knowledge with other humans in unbelievable ways.

It’s so tempting to think technology has climaxed with these advancements made already. It’s tempting to think the purpose of the internet is set already; to think it’s impossible for it to deliver much bigger value than the enormous value it already has, but nothing could be farther from reality.

That’s because the internet of people you know is been gradually decentralized to accommodate all kind of “Things” too, not just humans.

What do you mean by “Things”?

Simply put, “Things” include everything from cell phones, coffee makers, washing machines, headphones, lamps, wearable devices to almost any electronic machine you can think of. Anything with an Off and On switch (0 and 1) is eligible to be connected to the internet and with each other.

So, you can see the Internet of Things (IoT) as this massive network of connected “things” — not leaving out people though. The relationship is made up of connections between people to people, people to things, and things to things.

Why the buzz about the Internet of Things?
The thing is, the concept of IoT isn’t really new as you might think. As at 1999, Kevin Ashton gave a definition for it and is credited to have coined the phrase “Internet of Things.” Even 10 years before then, a toaster was connected to the internet — the very first — at a conference in 1989. Since then, those in the tech space have been talking up the idea until now that everyone is raving about it.

These discussions have arisen because broadband Internet is largely available all over the world; the cost of connecting to the internet is getting cheaper; a lot more devices are manufactured with Wi-Fi technology and built-in sensors, and there are cheaper smartphones filling up the market every year. All of these factors are creating the buzz for IoT.

How does it affect Individual Lives?

Let’s take this vivid illustration to help your imagination. Let’s say you’re running late, one morning, to a business meeting. You contact your car, say with your smart watch, to pick you up. Your “smart” car, who would already have access to your calendar, would figure out the best route to avoid traffic; and maybe eventually you still get stuck in traffic, the car will notify your client or partner ahead of the possibility of being late. Cool! Isn’t it?

Now, imagine instead of a secretary who does nothing but serve your coffee irregularly — sometimes good coffee, sometimes bad coffee depending on how he/she feels about you — is replaced by a clock that can notify your coffee maker, who you could give access to your medical records, to brew coffee for you just as you like it every day, and serve it as required for your health.

What if your fridge knows when you’re running low on foodstuff and automatically re-ordered more? Or your washing machine or any other home appliance is able to automatically contact the repairer whenever it develops a fault?

And this is only what is known for now about its possibilities. There are a lot more unknown possibilities buried in the future.

We can’t fully understand its impact on our everyday lives, just like the inventors of the mobile phone couldn’t imagine the impact it is having now.

How does it affect Businesses and Industries?

Internet of Things is definitely disrupting some industries, especially manufacturing. It’s been used for organizing machines, tools and people, and tracking where they are.

The health sector is one that would benefit, and already benefiting, a lot from IoT. We are already seeing the power of IoT in this industry with new technologies that allow patients receive care from their home or where they feel the most comfortable.

Wearable technologies and sensors enabling doctors to track their patients remotely and respond to a patients’ health status in real time. With IoT, hospitals can enhance the overall well-being of patients by tracking the use of equipment and even automatically regulate temperature in hospital rooms.

What is the talk about connected cities too?

They’re called “Smart Cities”. There are success stories popping up around the world about IoT smart city solutions. From smart grid solutions that deliver reliable energy transmission at lower rates for consumers to connected infrastructures that enable a better traffic system, efficient emergency systems and improvement in the delivery of public service.

How secure is this Internet of Things?

This is where the world would face its greatest challenge. Since there will be lots of connected devices, they all serve as gateways or potential entry points for a cyber attack.

There’s an example of this in the Mirai botnet attack, in 2016, where hackers targeted IoT devices, including routers and appliances, to shut down internet infrastructures. But this attack only occurred due to human negligence — a failure to reset default username and password combinations.

Increasingly, there are security technologies been built that individuals can purchase to secure themselves from these attacks. But for now, nothing to fear, hackers aren’t really focused on individuals as not so many people have lots of connected devices to the internet.

So, for now, we can only revel in the future this new technology will afford us, and leave security to the experts and the regulators to deal with.

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