What is the Internet of Things?

Since the digital revolution in the 1950s, a large number of breakthrough technologies have been born. Although only a small number of people used them in the early days, the industry has developed very quickly and most new technologies have become more popular and mass-market.

The convergence of various types of innovative devices (such as RFID chips, sensors, and the Internet) and the connectivity these devices created eventually gave rise to the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT technology marks a major shift in the computer age, meaning that it is not just computers that are connected to the Internet.

History of the Internet of Things

The first IoT use case was born at MIT, where college students used cheap sensors to monitor and refill their Coke machines. More progress was made in the IoT around 1994 when a journal article by Reza Raji proposed the idea of ​​moving data to automate homes and factories.

Microsoft and several other companies had similar ideas around the 1990s, and many media outlets began discussing breakthroughs in the Internet of Things - such as the use of smart devices connected to monitoring information systems - starting in 2002. Nevertheless, 2008 is considered by many to be the official birth year of the Internet of Things industry, when more electronic devices were connected to the Internet than humans.

How does the Internet of Things work?

IoT technology is basically the networking of multiple physical devices and objects, typically consisting of a network of sensors and non-computing devices that communicate with computers or devices on the Internet. These sensors may include thermostats, heart rate monitors, sprinklers, and home security systems. Innovations in IoT technology enable remote monitoring, control, automation, and status checking of a wide range of devices and sensors that can be used in smart homes and self-driving cars.

IoT for individuals and families

IoT technology can be deployed in many different ways for personal and domestic use. Common use cases mainly include home automation, where several devices can be used to monitor and control the use of lights, air conditioners, heaters, and even security systems. These devices can also be connected to other personal devices, such as smart watches and smartphones, or they can be connected to dedicated smart gateways to connect different smart home products (such as smart TVs and refrigerators).

Smart homes can also provide assistive technology for special populations, significantly improving the quality of life for the elderly and disabled - especially for those with vision, hearing or mobility impairments. This may include using real-time sensors to automatically alert their family members when their heart rate is abnormal or they fall. Another interesting approach is to use smart beds to detect whether the bed is occupied, and is already being tested by some hospitals to track when patients leave their beds.

IoT for business and industry

Some examples in industry include using sensors to track environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, air pressure, and quality. Farmers can also use IoT devices to track when their livestock run out of water and food, and manufacturers can receive notifications when important building materials are running low. They can even set up automated machines to order more products when supplies fall below a certain threshold.

limitation

The Internet of Things has brought about many interesting innovations, and will certainly continue to grow. However, the Internet of Things also has certain limitations. One problem with using IoT systems in businesses and homes is the need to constantly monitor and connect devices (many of which may rely on an internet connection). If not implemented properly, companies and homeowners may have to access several different applications to monitor their multiple devices. This makes the Internet of Things inefficient and less attractive to potential customers.

For this reason, companies like Apple and Lenovo have created apps that can control devices in an iOS environment by using voice commands. Other IoT platforms also work around gateways that are independent of the Internet or WiFi, including Amazon's Echo and Samsung's SmartThings Hub. Therefore, the Internet of Things works through devices connected to sensors, which can usually be connected to the Internet or another WiFi receiver to enable centralized control, programming, and monitoring.

IoT Cryptocurrency

Many IoT systems may rely on financial micro-transactions between digital objects, which requires IoT devices to support so-called M2M connectivity - which is basically the exchange of money between non-human devices. In this context, the need for compatible IoT currencies is increasing, and cryptocurrency is certainly a viable alternative.

Initially, many believed that blockchain itself would be the fundamental framework for the M2M economy, as it is suitable for micropayments and is widely used in cryptocurrencies. However, many blockchain networks are limited in the number of transactions they can process per second, which means that most proof-of-work and proof-of-stake blockchain projects currently have certain limitations in scalability, making them unsuitable for handling large-scale M2M microtransactions. Despite this, many blockchain projects are working to address the scalability issue, such as the Bitcoin Lightning Network and Ethereum Plasma.

Summarize

The Internet of Things (IoT) will continue to support the automation, monitoring, and control of large-scale devices, which will continue to improve our daily lives and increase the efficiency of various industries. Cryptocurrency is likely to become part of the IoT revolution and become the digital currency for micro-transactions and the M2M economy. Currently, there are a limited number of cryptocurrency projects targeting the IoT industry, but as technology continues to develop, we may see more cryptocurrency projects in the near future.