An insight on the virtues of IOT

In this world of ours, lives have been heavily dependent on electrical appliances from quite a long time. Embedded technology has been quite extensively researched on, which helps connect several devices to a micro-controller chip, and hence write the logic to control those devices the way we want to. So what could we not achieve with it, is the answer data? The data that we receive from these devices plays a significant role in defining the trends, and hence would help us develop machine learning algorithms. But what is the use of data, if we are not able to achieve interoperability between devices without any constraint on their geographical location. This is the point which brings in the complete focus, the way devices all over the globe interact with each other, exchange data and hence can be controlled over the web that connects us all – yes the WWW (Word Wide Web). This is what we call the Internet of Things(IOT).

Underlying architecture

The above representation from Microsoft gives us a fair idea of how the IOT architecture looks like. Data is emitted by devices, sensors etc. and is aggregated by cloud or field gateways, or the combination of both. This data stream is then forwarded to an Event Queuing system which further sends it to a transformation layer. This is the layer that takes care of doing some basic analysis on the data received and forwards it to either being stored for long-term or being presented in a graphical way to show live data coming from the connected device at that very instant.

Analytics and Technology trends

So now, we have the devices connected to one another and exchanging large amount of data but what do we do with it? This data that we receive can be analyzed in 3 different ways:

1. Edge Analytics: The data that we receive can be very critical at times which would require immediate action. In such cases, a latency of a few seconds spent on analytics on the cloud platform can be a matter of life and death. We can have some sort of inbuilt logic on the gateway or the device itself to control such kind of situations.

2. Stream Analytics: Data received on the transformation layer can be analyzed by comparing multiple streams or comparing streams with historical values and models over a certain period of time, using techniques like sliding window and tumbling window.

3. Big Data Analytics: We can imagine the amount of data which would be coming from millions of devices per second. This data when ingested in the transformation layer can be sent to highly scalable databases, and we can run Big Data analytics on top of it to monitor to technology trends and hence, come out with a machine learning algorithm. For ex, making a robot control itself and make decisions on its own.

Just like IOT, one major technology trend that has been in vogue nowadays is Blockchain which is a data structure that makes it possible to create a digital ledger of transactions and share it among a distributed network of computers. Once a block of data is recorded on the blockchain ledger, it’s extremely difficult to change or remove which brings in a very important use case for IOT connected devices, where data tempering can be addressed and hence increase the trust factor.

Business Application and Industry Alliances

From connected homes and connected cars to smart buildings and transportation, every aspect of our lives will be affected by the increasing ability of consumers, businesses, and governments to connect to and control everything around them. This “next Industrial Revolution” is happening as we speak. It’s so big that it could mean huge revenue streams for companies and many unexplored opportunities. The only question is: Is the world fully up to speed on IoT?

A few key findings from the Business Insider suggest the following:

1. The Internet of Things will be the largest device market in the world, and by 2019 it will be more than double the size of the smartphone, PC, tablet, connected car, and the wearable market combined.

2. The IoT will result in $1.7 trillion in value added to the global economy in 2019. This includes hardware, software, installation costs, management services, and economic value added from realized IoT efficiencies.

3. The main benefit of growth in the IoT will be increased efficiency and lower costs. The IoT promises increased efficiency within the home, city, and workplace by giving control to the user. However, many are hesitant to use devices as security problems are still an issue.

4. IOT lacks a set of standards and technologies that would allow for compatibility and easy of use.

If we discuss about the 4th point mentioned above, interoperability and standardization have been major issues holding back IoT adoption. As a result of that, many alliances have been formed which tend to align to a certain set of standards to make the Internet of Things a seamless, connected ecosystem. For example, OCF (Open Connectivity Foundation), which was assembled earlier this year, is notable for bringing together competitors Intel and Qualcomm to ensure that their products operate smoothly together. Other similar alliances include IPSO, Allseen, One M2M, Thread group, Industrial Internet consortium etc.

Criticism

1. Privacy : Consumers don’t know what the Internet of things is, but they do know they don’t want to share their data. They are aware of the data implications of fitness trackers, connected cars or connected home appliances and are uncomfortable with a company collecting their data, and really hate the idea of that company selling it to someone else.

2. Environmental Impact : A concern regarding IoT technologies pertains to the environmental impacts of the manufacture, use, and eventual disposal of all these semiconductor-rich devices. Modern electronics are replete with a wide variety of heavy metals and rare-earth metals, as well as highly toxic synthetic chemicals. This makes them extremely difficult to properly recycle. Electronic components are often incinerated or placed in regular landfills. With production of electronic equipment growing globally yet little of the metals (from end-of-life equipment) being recovered for reuse, the environmental impacts can be expected to increase.

Hence it would be wise to say that with the new era of IOT about to be unleashed in the coming years, our everyday lives are going to change dramatically either we take it from personal point of view i.e automated home appliances, companies having unlimited access to our device’s data etc., or from the business point of view with many startups which are just knocking on the corridoor with new IOT use case solutions, and also the existing companies leveraging on alliances to make huge revenues. But is this the point we ask a question to ourselves, that ‘Is the world of robots becoming more powerful than humans very near ?’ and be cautious of it ? Well we should, if we would be afraid riding on the backseat of a Google’s self driven car without any driver :D

--PEACE--

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_things#Politics_and_civic_engagement

2. http://www.businessinsider.com/two-major-iot-groups-strike-an-alliance-2016-7?IR=T

3. http://postscapes.com/internet-of-things-alliances-roundup/

4. http://www.businessinsider.com/iot-ecosystem-internet-of-things-forecasts-and-business-opportunities-2016-2?IR=T

5. http://fortune.com/2015/07/06/consumer-data-privacy/