Table of contents
1.
Introduction
2.
IoT
3.
History of IoT
3.1.
1969
3.2.
1980
3.3.
2000
3.4.
2012
3.5.
2015
4.
Advantages of IoT
5.
Disadvantages of IoT
6.
Frequently Asked Questions
6.1.
Why is IoT the future?
6.2.
What are IoT sensors?
6.3.
What is IoT Gateway?
7.
Conclusion
Last Updated: Mar 27, 2024

What is IoT?

Author Sagar Mishra
1 upvote

Introduction

The Internet of Things (IoT) has covered almost every area of our lives, such as the industries we depend on for day-to-day conveniences, like retail shopping, public transportation, digital signage, or even the street lights that brightens our roads at night. And those primary conveniences are simply what we see on the surface. 

Behind the scenes, the IoT is a worldwide system of interconnected devices, machines, and objects with the ability to collect, share and send information over a network without the need for human intervention. And it’s one of the fundamental driving forces at the back of the Fourth Industrial Revolution — also called Industry 4.0.

So, without wasting time, let’s move on with this article. Here, we will look at the definition, the history, and some pros and cons of IoT.

IoT

Source- Link

In the most straightforward terms, the Internet of Things (IoT) is how we describe the digitally linked universe of everyday physical gadgets. These gadgets are embedded with sensors, internet connectivity, and much more hardware that permit communication and control through the web. These devices range from general household objects to sophisticated industrial tools. With more than 8 billion connected IoT devices today, experts expect this number to grow to 13 billion by 2022 and 22 billion by 2025. Oracle has a network of device partners.

An ordinary bulb that can be switched on using a mobile app is an IoT tool, as is a smart thermostat or a motion sensor on your workplace or a connected streetlight. An IoT device could be as critical as a driverless truck or as fluffy as a kid's toy. Some more oversized items may also get themselves filled with many smaller IoT components, which include a jet engine that's now filled with ten thousand sensors accumulating and transmitting information back to make sure it is working efficiently. On an even bigger scale, smart town projects are filling complete areas with sensors to help us understand and manage the environment.

History of IoT

1969

In 1962, the internet itself, a massive component of the IoT, commenced as a part of DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and advanced into ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) in 1969.

1980

In the 1980s, commercial service providers started assisting the public use of ARPANET, permitting it to evolve into our modern internet. Satellites and landlines offer basic communications for much of the IoT.

2000

A guy named Kevin Ashton came up with the name "Internet of Things." He believed that RFID(Radio Frequency Identification) was a prerequisite for the IoT, primarily an inventory tracking solution.

He said if all devices were "tagged," computer systems could manage, inventory, and track them. The tagging of things has been achieved through technologies such as barcodes, digital watermarking, and QR codes.

2012

The Swiss Federal Office of Energy commenced a pilot program called "Smart City Switzerland." They introduced representatives from universities, businesses, and public management together to speak about new ideas for the environment of urban areas. Smart City Switzerland has over sixty initiatives underway and supports new scientific partnerships and innovation. 

2015

Smartphones are a part of the IoT and have become a vital communications tool for many individuals. They joined the IoT with a high degree of enthusiasm from marketers in 2015. The sensors inside those devices are monitored by marketing departments, which send out specific promotions primarily based on the consumer and the product's location.

Advantages of IoT

  • Minimize human effort: As IoT devices communicate and interact with each other, they can automate their duties, helping to enhance the quality of a business's services and reducing the need for human intervention.
     
  • Time-saving: By reducing human effort, it saves lots of our time. Saving time is one of the primary benefits of using the IoT platform.
     
  • Safety concern: It is helpful for safety as it senses any potential threat and warns users. For example, GM OnStar is an integrated device that identifies a vehicle crash or accident on the road. It instantly makes a call if an accident or crash is found.
     
  • Efficient Resource Utilization: It can increase resource utilization and monitor natural resources through understanding the capability and how each tool works.

Disadvantages of IoT

  • Privacy concern: The IoT system gives critical personal data in full detail without the user's active participation.
     
  • Reduce physical and mental issues: Overuse of technology and the internet makes human beings ignorant because they depend on smart devices in place of doing physical work, causing them to become inactive and passive.
     
  • The complexity of devices: The developing, designing, maintaining, and enabling of the extensive technology for IoT systems are quite complicated.
     
  • Security issues: IoT systems are interconnected and conveyed over networks. So, the IoT system gives little control in spite of any security measures, and it could cause various kinds of network attacks.

Also read - active and passive attacks

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is IoT the future?

The future of IoT has the capability to be limitless. Advances to the industrial internet will be improved through increased network agility, integrated artificial intelligence (AI), and the capacity to orchestrate, deploy, automate, and secure diverse use cases at hyper-scale.

What are IoT sensors?

Sensors are devices that are used by IoT to collect data for smarter decisions. Examples of some sensors are Temperature sensors, pressure sensors, and Motion sensors.

What is IoT Gateway?

An IoT Gateway is a virtual platform or physical device that connects IoT modules, sensors, and smart devices to the cloud.

Conclusion

In this article, we have extensively discussed the topic of IoT and the history of the Internet of Things (IoT) in detail. We hope that this blog has helped you enhance your knowledge regarding the topic of the Internet of Things (IoT) and if you would like to learn more, check out our articles on Web Applications. We hope this article has helped you in understanding the Internet of Things (IoT).

Check out this article - Components Of IOT, What is arduino uno

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