Have you heard of smart cities where you can access your home appliances from office? Or of applications that let you control your devices and machines without being in its vicinity?
It’s all working on IoT.
IoT, short for Internet of Things, is the connection of physical devices to internet. It isn’t restricted to just smartphones and tablets but also applies to everyday objects like headphones, cars, kitchen appliances, garages and more. Everything that comes with an on/off switch, be it an instrument or a part of it, can be connected with IoT. By getting all our devices on the same network, we can attain greater control over their functioning and massively increase system efficiency. Efforts, costs and losses, everything is reduced. For instance, suppose that you’re driving to your office for an important meeting and your GPS is connected to your calendar and phone, it will know you’re going to get late by 5 minutes and will send a message to your teammates informing the same. IoT is a powerful means to make our lives easier and more comfortable.
Individuals as well as commercial entities can optimally utilize the technological advent of IoT. Industries that may benefit from it include manufacturing sector, transportation, defence, agriculture, infrastructure, retail, logistics, banks, insurance, food services, healthcare and smart buildings. Thanks to rampant smart phone penetration, lowered technology costs and increasing use of Wi-Fi to connect multiple devices, availing benefits of IoT is no longer farfetched dream.
Potential impact of IoT on our lives is immense. Convergence of technology is becoming an intrinsic part of our realities and the best one can do at this hour is to educate self about internet of things and how to inculcate it in one’s lifestyle.