Over the past 25 years, the Internet become a place for more than just websites to be displayed and for us to find information. It has become a virtual land, country and of course a world of its own to a large degree ...
If used purposefully, it can give vast enjoyment as you can click a, button in one country and be visually connected to a loved one on the other side of the world. A normal telephone call just won't do now to keep in touch, we need video.
We can plug in a Smart Speaker, talk at it to play our favourite music or radio station and we can use our tablets to play a video tutorial on how to make Enchiladas in Eccles, rather than go to Mexico.
We can use our smartphones to tell the delivery driver to put the parcel around the back, using the connected doorbell, from anywhere in the world where your phone has a 4G/5G or fixed internet connection via Wi-Fi.
For industry, this opens up a whole host of possibilities for gathering more data, insights and analytics on both tangible and nontangible assets. An example includes putting air quality and carbon dioxide sensors that send real-time information to a back-end database allowing Facilities Managers to ensure that all the people who work in a particular building always have the right levels of ventilation.
Harvard University has studied this and proven that we lose around 40% of our speed to respond to problems (measured by using cognitive tests) than if we are in a well-ventilated room. The sensors are therefore a thing (as with the likes of Smart Speakers or Doorbells) connected to the Internet - Hence the Internet of Things, or just IoT for short.
Another example would be placing movement sensors in assisted Care Facilities and Retirement Villages, which means that the warden does not spend two hours of the day checking that the residents are up and ready.
The sensors can monitor movement and a linked wearable device detects if the person has fallen down and not moving. With the sensors and devices linked to a local gateway, which in turn sends all the real-time data to the reporting software, an email, or call alert can be sent to the Warden immediately to check up on the resident.
Humidity, temperature, HVAC sensors for air conditioning units, and monitors for Barista Coffee Machines are all available to be used in commercial applications. New IoT sensors are being invented nearly every day by resourceful people, all around the world.
Rolls Royce recently deployed IoT sensors to have real-time data on the condition of their aircraft jet engines. This will indicate and pre-empt when the machinery is wearing thin and they can maintain the equipment before it goes wrong completely, saving valuable time.
The Internet infrastructure was born out of the Telecommunications Industry and is very much a part of our knowledge base. The Internet of Things is just another form of communication.
Albeit machine-to-machine with human actions based on the monitoring.
If you feel inspired to find out more then do call me on 07555 807700 or leave a comment below and I'll be in touch as soon as I can.