The Internet – a massive global network that allows people to communicate – is one of the most important and transformative technologies ever created. It was created for the people, by the people and is about the people, and now it is the people who drive it. So whilst the Internet of people has changed the world, there’s also another Internet emerging that is poised to change the world again – this is the ‘Internet of Things’. This new Internet is not just about connecting people but also connecting things.
WHAT IS INTERNET OF THINGS?
Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of physical objects called ‘things’ that are connected to the Internet, allowing them to send, receive and exchange data. But IoT is a complex concept to be defined precisely. Many people think of IoT as being connected in terms of computer, tablets and smartphones. This definition is restrictive in a sense because IoT describes a world where just about anything can be connected and can communicate in an intelligent fashion. IoT is supposed to revolutionize the way we interact with technology and will fundamentally change the way we live our lives. The phones we use have various sensors and can communicate with other phones and devices. But IoT is not limited to sensors. As more and more non-internet-enabled devices become connected and capable of communicating, Artificial Intelligence, deep learning, natural language processing and image recognition will help them understand each other. In essence, the Internet of Things is one huge cloud. It is a real sea change in the way humans are set to interact with objects and the digital world.
We know that IBM has been in the technology race for a long time but there are some companies worth mentioning. Samsung had purchased a company called ‘SmartThings’ for $200 million. This is the company which didn’t even exist a few years ago. Also, Google purchased a company which manufactures web compatible thermostats and smoke detectors called ‘Nest’ for $3.2 billion. These companies obviously think there’s something big on the horizon as they are willing to put a huge amount of money on the line. The city of Barcelona is one of the IoT –integrated cities. Creating more of those worldwide would be a great achievement. Today, more than 20 billion devices are connected and are a part of IoT. It is estimated that within the next 5 years, the count would be as great as 50 billion.
If we think of IoT, we should try and think of it as standing on a tripod; if one leg goes missing, the whole thing falls down. If machine learning is one leg, then the cloud and chip miniaturization technology are the other two. Through a process of analysis, an IoT brain can decide what it needs to know and what it doesn’t. This process is often guided by human programmers, but it is also inspired by the devices themselves through Machine Learing. In an era where efforts are made to enable almost everything with AI, IoT powered with AI will prove to be of great help.
We’re reaching a very exuberating time where we will have pretty much every single thing in our houses connected to the web. Since control chips are the size of pinheads these days, every imaginable object could be a part of IoT. IoT is not a futuristic idea or concept. It is here.